The minor league baseball season is winding down, but before the September call-ups make their way to the Bigs and the young hopefuls head to fall leagues to hone their crafts, we’ll squeeze every bit of theme night goodness out of the season. To that end, the Round Rock Express,
Category: Minor League Baseball
Great Orange Heron: The Story Behind the Delmarva Shorebirds
The Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds play in Salisbury, Maryland, a town of roughly 30,000 residents that bills itself as the crossroads of the Delmarva Peninsula. This raises the important question, what in the world is the Delmarva Peninsula? While most sports teams identify their geographic location by a city or state,
A Brand with Some Bite: The Story Behind the Jupiter Hammerheads
Let’s be honest, of all the sharks out there in the world, hammerheads are one of the few that can be described as goofy looking. They have tiny mouths under their big, crazy noggins (technically called cephalofoils), which they use to stun and pin prey like stingrays, octopus, and shellfish
Buzzing Sound: The Story Behind the New Britain Bees
The official seal of the city of New Britain, Connecticut, features a beehive and the Latin inscription, “Industria implet alveare et melle fruitur,” which translates to “Industry fills the hive and enjoys the honey.” The city embraces the simile “busy as a bee”—an expression whose origins go back more than
Lakewood BlueClaws pay homage to The Boss as BruceClaws
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
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