The Double-A Erie SeaWolves unveiled an alternate identity just moments ago, highlighting one of western Pennsylvania’s favorite regional foods, Pepperoni Balls. Erie enters the Minor League Baseball food frenzy with a food item that was popularized by Stanganelli’s Italian Foods, which started making them in 1961. The logo, created by
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 Twitter at @Count2Baseball and he maintains the Countdown to Spring Training on Facebook. Paul is a Philadelphia sports fan, but he's not so bad.
Lakeshore Chinooks rebrand as Lakeshore Chinooks for a weekend
For one weekend this season, the collegiate summer level Lakeshore Chinooks, who play in Mequon, Wisconsin, will replace their longtime salmon-based Chinooks brand with one based on Chinook helicopters. The helicopter-based alternate identity portrays the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, with its signature tandem rotor, first introduced in 1962 with a top
Charleston Dirty Birds roll out Pepperoni-themed identity
The Charleston Dirty Birds, who play in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, will change their name to the Pepperoni Rolls for a game this season, paying tribute to a local favorite that has its roots in West Virginia. According to a 2010 article in the New York Times,
Eugene Emeralds to play as Exploding Whales
More than half a century ago, Oregon’s Highway division, in consultation with the United States Navy, tried to remove the carcass of a 45-foot sperm whale that had washed ashore on the beaches of Florence, Oregon, by blowing it up with dynamite. The predictably terrible consequences became the stuff of
Lexington Legends rebrand as Counter Clocks
The professional baseball franchise in Lexington, Kentucky, played as the Legends for more than two decades, dating back to 2001. That changed today, when the team announced that it will heretofore be known as the Lexington Counter Clocks, a tribute “to Kentucky’s historic spirit of independence,” per the team. The
Arkansas Travelers to play as Mad Mallards
The Double-A Arkansas Travelers will play an entire six-game series this summer with an alternate brand that pays tribute to a bird that is hunted during baseball’s winter offseason. The team will play as the Mad Mallards, sporting a duck-themed brand designed by the Little Rock-based firm Eric Rob &
Kannapolis CannonBallers pay homage to BBQ with Q’s identity
The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, announced today, on National Pig Day, that they will pay tribute to the tradition of Carolina barbecue—as well as a huge local barbecue festival—with a pig-based alternate identity. They’ll take the field as the Q’s to coincide with Kannapolis’s
Hartford Yard Goats to play as Bouncing Pickles
The Double-A Hartford Yard Goats will play a game as the Bouncing Pickles this summer, an homage to an apocryphal tale of an obscure law in Connecticut (so obscure that there’s no real evidence that it actually exists). The logo, designed by Caroline Jette, features an anthropomorphized pickle with a
Two baseball teams to share Lake Winnebago Shantymen identity
The High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and collegiate-summer level Fond du Lac Dock Spiders will share an alternate identity for one game each this summer. Both teams will play as the Lake Winnebago Shantymen, a tribute to the popular pastime of sturgeon spearfishing that occurs in the Wisconsin winter. The unique
Old North State League introduces Porcupines to North Carolina
The Old North State League, a 15-team collegiate wood bat league in North Carolina, introduced the Pineville Porcupines as the latest brand in the world of community-level baseball. The nickname was selected by a fan vote, winning “by a landslide,” per the team. The logo features a grimacing porcupine with
Akron Rubberducks will rebrand for one night as Sauerkraut Balls
The Akron RubberDucks, Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, will pay homage to a local delicacy for one night only when they play as the Akron Sauerkraut Balls this summer. This carries on the team’s tradition of highlighting local foods, including playing as the Jojos—a local term for seasoned potato
Hickory Crawdads to play as Dickory Docks
The High-A Hickory Crawdads unveiled an alternate brand that plays off a popular nursery rhyme. They’ll play three games this summer as the Hickory Dickory Docks. The alternate brand features the titular clock, which, depending on which version of the traditional song you sing, is visited by either a series