MilSox

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

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?

-Salt Lake Royals FC/SC (basically the Americanization of their current name) -Salt Lake City FC/SC -Utah Swarm FC/SC

I would toss a few more in there.. the Tacoma Rainiers, Spokane Indians, Eugene Emeralds, and even some new-ish ones like the Everett Aqua Sox and Hillsboro Hops (man... the Pacific Northwest kills it with baseball identities!). But I think we're on the same page for the most part. This was a pretty standard practice up until the 1990s. Before affiliated farm clubs became standard for MiLB (1960s or so), there was a certain level of prestige associated with having a look based on a big league club because it showed your players had a direct path to the majors that most teams didn't. In fact, the Milwaukee Braves hats were exactly what the American Association's Brewers wore in their last few years of existence as the Braves top farm club. Frankly, I think it's about time for the pendulum to swing back the other way with this. I'll gladly take another Syracuse Mets situation over another Brandiose abomination.

I think there's a little more nuance to these things. Some minor league cities offer themselves up to some truly great, time-tested identities (Buffalo Bisons, San Antonio Missions, Toledo Mud Hens, etc.). But others are just better off adopting the parent club's identity or some sort of spin off. The great thing about the Connecticut Tigers uniforms is that they don't actually say Tigers. You can call them whatever you want and they can still look like this. That said... another f-ing Brandiose rebrand? I really wish they would stick with the Tigers identity.

Those "paintbrush" script helmet logos were kind of the thing in the 70s and 80s. I think half the Pac-8 schools had them at one point.

I envy your youth. But you're talking about 80+ years in blue and yellow vs less than 30 in navy and gold, so....

About gd time! They should have made this move well over a decade ago.

Awesome story! Even though I consider myself much more from Milwaukee, I think I would be more excited to see Timber Rattlers paraphernalia than Brewers in my travels simply because the odds are so much more rare. And they're still more than likely Brewers fans who I can talk baseball to.

Have the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers really been a thing for a quarter century already? They were still the Appleton Foxes when my family moved to the area and I always thought that was a superior name.

It was actually the first jersey I can remember liking because of the color. I thought the Bucks looked wrong in purple even back then and thought the deer unis made them look like themselves again.

If this had been their original road jersey, they could have kept these. They really dropped the ball going all-in on purple when they'd always been green + some other color up to that point (and since). That script is a beaut. Get rid of the dropshadow and it'd look as good as when the Brewers used it.

That's actually a pretty good look for them. I would love to see some of these northern New England teams sewing the seeds for an Expos return.

As much of an advocate for the BiG that I am, I always felt like the Motre Bame unis were never given a fair chance. They got replaced by those awful Miller unis after 5 years and now will only ever be associated with some very terrible teams. Perhaps your idea is something @SFGiants58 might be interested in mocking up? Does anyone actually associate those colors with Seattle anymore? Either way, I think I need that hat in my life... what a beaut!

I actually had this idea for "Micro Brews" if the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers ever rebranded. Glad it's actually getting used somehow. I love the monogram too. Wouldn't be mad if the Brewers actually used it.

I'll grant you, most of the North Stars uniforms were basic enough to look like they came from a sports equipment catalog. That's something you can generally get away with when you have awesome and unique colors, but the black really muddied up the look. Ironically, I became a North Stars fan when they wore black. I started following hockey the last year they played for the Stanley Cup and I thought "North Stars" was the coolest name I'd ever heard of for a team. Their colors were still pretty close to the Packers too, which was definitely a plus. I'll even say (in hindsight) that pretty much all of the North Stars uniforms could have been executed better. But I don't think anything they ever wore crossed the line into questionable taste like, say... Cooperalls, Vancouver's "Flying V," and most 90s alternates.

Years ago, the Astros wore uniforms that didn't make any sense because they were a space-themed team with a brand inspired by the railroads. Now we have the opposite.

I always thought they got rid of those unis way too soon. They've aged incredibly well, IMO. While the current unis have aged terribly. But it's all a moot point when the 1982 fauxbacks are probably the best they've ever worn. And it's clearly what the fans prefer.

Homecoming for Terry Porter. And the best uniforms the Bucks ever wore.

Here's another thing I'm sure you've forgotten (because even Brewers fans barely remember that it happened).

This is quite an entrenched baseball tradition, though. Los Angeles Angels. Montreal Royals. Oakland Oaks. And plenty more.

Kannapolis Cannons sounds like a perfectly fine, classic name for a minor league club. You know that's NOT what Brandiose is gonna do if they get a hold of it, though.

Yea. Don't get rid of the name, just refresh the brand.

I think I get what you mean and I think the fauxbacks are infinitely better for many of the reasons you cited.