The Lakewood BlueClaws, a Single-A Phillies affiliate in the South Atlantic League, are celebrating their 10th annual Bruce Springsteen Appreciation Night, playing as the BruceClaws in tonight’s game against the Hickory Crawdads. The BlueClaws, who play in Springsteen’s native New Jersey, will take to the field in jerseys that emulate
Author: Paul Caputo
Paul Caputo is a grown man who collects plastic ice cream helmet sundaes from minor league baseball stadiums because he likes logos that much. Paul is the host of the Baseball By Design podcast and he is the author of the first book published by SportsLogos.net, The Story Behind the Nickname: The Origins of 100 Classic, Contemporary, and Wacky Minor League Baseball Team Names (also available on Kindle). He can be found on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky at @baseballbydesign, and he maintains the Countdown to Spring Training on Facebook. Paul is a Philadelphia sports fan, but he's not so bad.
Minor league teams to adopt Spanish-language identities
Minor League Baseball unveiled a program that targets Hispanic and Latino fans of the sport in the United States. “Es Divertido Ser un Fan” is the Spanish-language version of Minor League Baseball’s “It’s Fun to Be a Fan” campaign, which was launched earlier this year. The program, which will see
There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand: The Story Behind the Savannah Bananas
When you go to the website for the Savannah Bananas, a summer collegiate-level team in the Coastal Plain League, the first thing you see, in big, bold, all caps type, is this slogan: WE MAKE BASEBALL FUN. When it comes to telling the story behind the team’s nickname, that’s pretty
Baby Cakes to wear throwback New Orleans Pelicans unis
The New Orleans Baby Cakes have become the poster children (or poster babies) for outrageous minor league baseball nicknames. But this Friday, the team will revive one of the sport’s classic identities. The Baby Cakes will play as the New Orleans Pelicans—not an homage to the contemporary identity adopted by
A Puerto Rican Amphibian in Kissimmee: The Story Behind the Florida Fire Frogs
The Florida Fire Frogs have ambition. First, they’re one of only a handful of minor league baseball teams named for an entire state. A few others spring to mind, like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Arkansas Travelers, and Connecticut Tigers—and hey, the Carolina Mud Cats are named for two states—but
2018 Atlantic League ASG logo is (Long Island) ducky
The Long Island Ducks will host the Atlantic League All Star Game for the third time in 2018. The Ducks, who hold basically all of the league’s attendance records, including leading the league in attendance in 14 of their 17 seasons, hosted the 2002 and 2010 All Star Games as
Gwinnett Braves announce finalists in name-the-team contest
The Triple-A Gwinnett Braves, who will rebrand for the 2018 season, announced the six finalists in their name-the-team this morning. The names listed below and the rationale behind them come from the G-Braves website, where the vote is taking place as you read. I have broken them down into four
In the Hunt: The Story Behind the Down East Wood Ducks
The story behind the brand-new Down East Wood Ducks, a brand-new Single-A team in the Carolina League, needs to be addressed in two parts: 1. Where exactly is Down East? and 2. What is a Wood Duck? First, as a geographic signifier for a sports team, “Down East” is probably as
Rochester Red Wings pay tribute to Garbage Plates
Our continuing coverage of baseball players dressing up like food items continues with the cryptically named Rochester Plates. The Rochester Red Wings, Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, will take to the field for one game later this season in uniforms that pay homage to the 100th anniversary of a
Northwestern Exposure: The Northwest League’s New Logo
If you’ve been to the Pacific Northwest, you will immediately recognize the color palette featured in the new logo for Minor League Baseball’s Northwest League. Placid blues and greens (and if we’re being honest, grays) surround you at every turn. Countless waterways and sprawling forests and (when the skies clear
Say hello to the Syracuse Salt Potatoes
If the term “salt potatoes” sounds to you like a magical combination of two of the most delicious food things you could ever combine, then you are spot on. It turns out that during the steamy summer days in Syracuse, New York, barbecues and picnics and fairs feature tiny potatoes
Uh Oh, It’s Magic: The 2017 Baseball Winter Meetings Logo
Every December since 1901, executives, owners, general managers, scouts, hot dog vendors, and job seekers from Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball’s collective 190 teams convene for four days for the sport’s Winter Meetings. The event has become a media extravaganza, culminating with the Rule 5 Draft, when the