The Elizabethton River Riders are the fourth of ten new identities in the works for Appalachian League teams. The team announced its new identity, which was created in house by Major League Baseball, this morning. The nickname draws on the affinity that residents of Elizabethton, Tennessee, have for recreating on
Category: Minor League Baseball
New Appy League team Johnson City Doughboys pays homage to WW1 soldiers
The Johnson City Doughboys are the third of ten Appalachian League teams to announce rebrands this offseason. The Doughboys nickname draws on patriotic pride, and specifically pays homage to a “Doughboys” statue, the only of its kind in the state of Tennessee, located near the team’s stadium. The term Doughboys
Appy League introduces Bristol State Liners in flurry of rebrands
The Appalachian League baseball team that plays in the Twin Cities of Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia, heretofore the Bristol Pirates, is reviving a century-old nickname of one of the cities’ previous teams. The original Bristol State Liners made their Appalachian League debut in 1921 and played for five seasons.
Stirring Up Debate: Introducing the Burlington Sock Puppets
If your city once laid claim to the title “Hosiery Capital of the South” and you’re trying to name a minor league baseball team, it would be almost criminally negligent not to seize on that fact. To that end, just moments ago, the Appalachian League’s franchise in Burlington, North Carolina,
Battered Bastards of Baseball Reborn
In the violently shifting landscape of minor league baseball, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, one of more than 40 teams to lose its Major League affiliation, have given rise to a new independent league that features, among others, a reboot of an iconic band of misfits and outcasts from the 1970s, the
Negro Leagues’ Portland Rosebuds Rebooted
The Wild Wild West League, a four-team summer wood bat baseball league for high school and college players, was formed in 2020 by the Portland (Oregon) Pickles in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league announced it will continue in 2021, featuring two new teams, the Willamette Wild Bills and
Danville Baseball Team looking for name suggestions
If there’s a silver lining to the reorganization of minor league baseball, which caused more than 40 teams to lose their affiliation with Major League parent clubs, it’s that all 10 teams in the Appalachian League will get unique nicknames. The Appy League, as it’s known to friends and family,
Negro Leagues Kansas City Monarchs reborn as independent team
The longest-running team in the storied history of Negro Leagues has been revived in the form of a team in the independent American Association. The Kansas City T-Bones, who have played in Kansas City, Kansas, since 1993, made the surprise announcement today that in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball
Tulsa Drillers add D logo, alternate cap
The Double-A Tulsa Drillers celebrated #NationalHatDay by introducing a new logo and on-field cap. The alternate D logo, which is drawn from the D in the Drillers’ script wordmark, will be paired with the team’s home white and road grays. While the D presumably stands for Drillers, the team is
Gastonia Honey Hunters join Atlantic League
The city of Gastonia, North Carolina, will be home to the Honey Hunters, a new baseball team in the independent Atlantic League beginning this season. Per the team, the nickname “pays homage to the original Honey Hunter, Hunter Ransom – Gaston County’s first freed slave and African American land owner.
St. Paul Saints commemorate affiliation with a twist on a classic
The St. Paul Saints, a franchise that has made a name for itself with unique promotions and a sense of humor, have been an iconic independent minor league baseball team since 1993. Most recently, the team celebrated its 2019 American Association championship with a one-block, three-minute parade that featured players
Hudson Valley Renegades update brand with NY affiliation
Minor league baseball has undergone seismic changes in recent weeks, with Major League Baseball imposing a new order on the system of farm teams that serve as the pipelines for the big league clubs’ players. Teams have changed everything from affiliation status, classification, and parent clubs. One of those teams