MilSox

This is actually my favorite Orioles hat.



I don't necessarily have a problem with the bird, but I think the fact that they're the only team in all of pro sports to have a nickname that starts with O is something they could play up a lot more.  Not to mention the poetic justice of the fact that the only other team that could conceivably put an O on their hat also brands by their nickname instead (A's).

The logo they have now is one of the best in hockey.  NHL or otherwise.  Makes total sense for them to do this. 

Vegas is incredible! I love that shade of red you used.

On 8/15/2019 at 11:21 AM, DustDevil61 said:

 

 

I’d also like to see higher numbers (70-99) in general used throughout the bigs. IIRC there were 4 numbers never used by a Major League player at the start of the 2019 season (80, 86, 89, and 92) until Minnesota’s Ryan Eades took up 80 earlier this year.

I'm gonna need some team's closer to wear 86.

On 8/8/2019 at 1:05 PM, DustDevil61 said:

It looks like the finalist names of the soon-to-be-former New Orleans Baby Cakes (sorry for the fans, but not for the name) are slowly being revealed. First up, the Wichita River Riders:

 

I think I speak for the forum when I say that I’m glad they’re not going with Brandiose.

 

River Riders isn't terrible, but it's becoming a pet peeve of mine when "River" is affixed to names that would otherwise do fine on their own. 

I can tolerate it for teams that play on the Mississippi River since that's far and away America's most famous river. But pretty much all cities are on some kind of river. How is that supposed to make you unique?

On 7/17/2019 at 7:53 AM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

It wouldn't have been the West; the Mets wanted a divisional alignment that was based on something other than geography.

 

The National League's hesitancy to adopt divisions was admirable, but misplaced. What should have been as obvious to that league's owners as it was to the American League's owners is that nothing about the feel of the season would change as long as only the first-place teams could advance; the magic of traditional pennant race would endure. 

 

It's too bad we had none of this skepticism when the owners brought in the three-division alignment and the wild card, which really did kill the pennant race.

 

Anyway, the team that got the worst deal was the White Sox, who were rightfully angry at being grouped with the Angels, Royals, and Pilots, instead of with their peers the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tigers.

On 7/17/2019 at 12:46 PM, schlim said:

I had never really thought about why the White Sox are such a bland team before, but being split from those teams damaged their club a ton.

They further screwed the White Sox by not putting them with the Brewers. Especially once the Senators moved to Texas where they were on their own island in the middle of the country and could have concievably played in either division. Not only did the Sox nearly move to Milwaukee after playing a slate of home games at County Stadium, but both were putting some of their best teams on the field by the early 80s. It's a shame that rivalry was never given a proper chance to blossom. Especially given how well Brewers-Cubs has taken off.

On 6/26/2019 at 4:04 PM, CardsFan79 said:

After reading Bronfman's statements, I wonder if he/his group were told that they'd be given a team one way or another if they play along with this joke for the time being?  I can't believe that they've put in all this work to bring baseball back to Montreal to settle for a ridiculous team sharing plan, nor can I believe that they actually think it's a good idea.

That's what I'm thinking... this is far from the end game for them. I'll bet all they have to do is prove Montreal can draw more fans to their crappy stadium than Tampa Bay does to their crappy stadium, and MLB suddenly has all the legitimization they need to move the team north.

Nah, Milkmen is just offensive in how inoffensive it is.  It's like they want a fanbase full of Ned Flanderses who find baseball as much fun as sitting through church.

40 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

The whole situation had a bit of the old "The Producers" vibe, with the New Orleans AAA team trying to step up business operations in Cuba during the "normalization" efforts. I'm sure @B-Rich would know better, seeing as how he's far closer to the situation than I am. 

 

Let me put it this way: the Baby Cakes brand would be comparable to an team near Milwaukee going with a Cheese Curds (but incorrectly-represented) identity full time. Or, if you want to get the proper sense of local revulsion, a team near Plainfield, WI doing an Ed Gein-themed brand. It's popular to outsiders, but in poor taste to locals.

Oh, but that actually happened....

If the club were named for Wisconsin, maybe I could accept the name as part of a marketing strategy. But the last time I googled to see if any dairies actually exist in MKE County I got a list of DQ locations. 

Hm. I guess my remark was in haste.  I just figured if New Orleans isn't in AAA, then the Southern League or perhaps the Texas League would be an idea spot for them.  It's not like there's anywhere for them to play below that level.

Either way, it makes Brandiose's sticking them with a brand that sold for the novelty but no one actually wanted to support that much more toxic. 

7 hours ago, Gothamite said:

Again, this is why teams do it. 

 

 

It's a one-off marketing stunt. This one happened to be more successful than expected. The problem is that teams are basing their entire identites on these kitschy gimmicks in order to sell merch to people who will never attend a game.

Indeed there were other factors in New Orleans dropping down to the AA level, as there often are with this sort of thing. But would it have still happened had they not stuck the team with such a locally unappealing identity like Baby Cakes?

I like it!  The Chicago flag element is subtle and not at all overdone, and the script "Loyola" looks absolutely gorgeous at center court.

2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

In case anybody wonders why minor league teams do this...

 

 

Because lots of people with disposable income have poor taste?

Disappointing when even a team with one of the best brands in MiLB has to resort to these gimmicks, but it's the way things work nowadays.

At least it's a one-off, and not permanent like those poor fans up the highway in Green Bay who have to root for the Booyah.

On 5/20/2019 at 10:31 PM, WBeltz said:

The San Diego Padres need an alternate that says "Dads" or "Fathers" on it, since you know Padre is Spanish for Father/Dad

I think Friars would be a more accurate (if not technically literal) translation.

Baseball hasn't had an expansion team that was named after a single city since Seattle and Toronto in 1977.

13 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

Given the current stability of the Eastern League and its franchises, the chances of Pawtucket landing a Double A franchise are slim to none. It's far more likely that a New York-Penn League team would be targeted for McCoy Stadium. The Batavia Muckdogs are league-owned and the NY-PL would love to unload the franchise. The Auburn Doubledays are municipally-owned, but the City of Auburn has been shopping the team since 2016.

I hope that's what happens.  McCoy Stadium is one of America's great minor league parks.  It'd be a shame if it had to be abandoned altogether.

On 5/2/2019 at 4:31 PM, tron1013 said:

Ballpark Digest has an article on possible team names for the relocating PawSox. Go Worcester Worcesters!

I'm taken aback at the thought of the Red Sox top farm club being anywhere but Pawtucket.  Are they at least getting a AA or Single A version of the Paw Sox?

Still, Worcester Ruby Legs is about the most perfect name possible for this team.  It's unique, has legit history behind it, and ties into the parent club while keeping their own identity.  I hate that I have so little faith in MiLB these days that I fear they may botch it. 

3 minutes ago, Sykotyk said:

Braves were probably the most notorious for that.

 

Then there's the Mets who saw the B-Mets become the Rumble Ponies and their AAA affiliate switched to Syracuse and suddenly they're now the Mets. 

Ironically, Syracuse is another city with a traditional nickname (Chiefs) that would lend itself to simply applying the parent club's brand.  

That wouldn't surprise me if that were the case.  Some organizations like the Yankees and Cardinals used to take it a step further and made affiliates adopt the parent club's whole identity.

8 hours ago, sc49erfan15 said:

Point is, Asheville is one of the few cities that can legitimately lay claim to a "Beer City" uniform.

7 hours ago, DNAsports said:

Seems to me like we’re going through the food inspired uniforms/names craze again, but now with alcoholic beverages

I think I'm starting to understand why New Yorkers get so cranky when other cities take on their trends.  

14 hours ago, Gothamite said:

Let OKC take a name that means something to OKC, paired with a uniform that reflects the great visual legacy of the Dodgers.

They were the 89ers for over 30 seasons.  A name like that is almost perfect for this sort of thing.

49 minutes ago, DNAsports said:

More and more I tend to dislike when minor league teams are either identical to or use their parent club’s colors. Have some originality and at least SOME fun when it comes to your identity.

I feel like this is another rule that needs nuance to be applied. 

Mostly, if we're talking about clubs like the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Staten Island Yankees, or the San Jose Giants; then I get it. Those teams all play in towns where most of the people are fans of the parent club, anyway. Why shouldn't they want to capitalize on that?

But situations like Oklahoma City Dodgers are annoying. Why would anyone from Oklahoma care about the Dodgers? I could maybe see taking cues from the Dodgers uniforms since they are so iconic. But they really could stand to think of a better name.

Is it me, or does every region of the country not automatically known for something else try to claim they're a hub for craft brewing now?