The Lynchburg Hillcats, High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, are in the midst of renaming their team (or not), and have unveiled the six options plucked from the fan-submission part of the process. Here they are, in order of my favorite to least favorite: Lynchburg Derechos: With this option, Lynchburg would join
Category: Minor League Baseball
Departing Now: The Story Behind the Round Rock Express
More than a century and a quarter before the world was introduced to the Round Rock Express baseball team, Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, the International and Great Northern Railroad brought trains to Round Rock, Texas. The railroad industry changed the face of the city forever. According to the city’s
Lakewood BlueClaws will wear CATurday jerseys for Saturday game
One of the fun things about Minor League Baseball is all of the wacky promotions that you’ll see from time to time, and the zany uniforms that come with them. The uniforms are sometimes fun little alternates, and other times they’re flat-out nonsensical, but rarely do you see a uniform
Chopping Onions: The Story Behind the Batavia Muckdogs
Since 1998, the short season Single-A Batavia Muckdogs have been represented by a snarling menace whose roots look like they should trace back to the toughest of junkyards. The unapologetically fierce dog, bursting from between the slats of a wooden fence, belies the true (and pretty well obscured) origin of
Brooklyn Cyclones celebrate independence as Coney Island Franks
Following in the footsteps of the Fresno Tacos and Lehigh Valley Cheesesteaks, the Brooklyn Cyclones will take to the field wearing their hometown’s signature food item as a team brand. Sunday, July 3, a day before Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, the one-day-only Coney Island Franks will pay
Cleared for Takeoff: The Story Behind the Wichita Wingnuts
Wichita, the largest city in the state of Kansas, is inextricably tied to the aviation industry. During the 1900s, the city produced more airplanes than any other. Six aircraft manufacturers were founded in Wichita in the 1920s and 1930s, and the industry would be responsible for more jobs than any other
Staten Island Yankees will have a new name in 2017
We already have one New York–based minor league baseball team ditching its parent club’s brand—the Binghamton Mets will go by a new name next year. Now the Staten Island Yankees have announced that they’ll make a go of it with their own identity. The team, which plays in the short-season
Striking it Rich: The Story Behind the Tulsa Drillers
In 2002, when starry eyed recent college graduates Jason Klein and Casey White of Plan B Branding visited Tulsa, Oklahoma, on a research trip for one of their first projects, the spectacular view from their luxurious accommodations gave rise to a minor league baseball brand that has endured for more than a decade.
Top 25 Minor League Merchandise Teams Are Diverse, to Say the Least
Minor League Baseball just released its annual list of its top 25 teams in terms of merchandise sales, and the only consistent thing about it is that there is no consistency. The list represents a wide diversity of teams and approaches to branding. It includes a range of classifications, from Triple-A
Feeling Blue: The Story Behind the OKC Dodgers
There are few trends in sports more pronounced than minor league baseball teams abandoning their parent club’s brand in favor of a unique nickname appropriate to the local community. So shortly after the 2014 season, when the Oklahoma City RedHawks announced that they would take on the name of their
Junior Hockey Jersey Battle on the Ball Diamond
The Quebec Capitales of baseball’s independent Can-Am League are no stranger to bringing ice to the ballpark. Once again the Capitales and their opponents will don jerseys paying tribute to their respective local hockey teams — for 2016 the Capitales will wear uniforms based off of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL
Gimme Some Fin: The Story Behind the Daytona Tortugas
For 22 seasons, the Florida State League was home to the Daytona Cubs. But after the 2014 season, when Chicago switched its High-A affiliate from Daytona to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the team in Daytona signed on with the Cincinnati Reds and started the process of developing a new identity. “We