Tampa Bay Rays -> Carolina Pilots relocation

[dgnmrwrw]

22 hours ago, Flames1fan said:

can you do one with a pinstrip jersey

 

I abandoned this idea a while back, mostly because I think it relegates the unique, bright color scheme, but here you go.

 

I don't hate the look, but I prefer the clean version with the colored sleeve and pants stripes.

 

And a bonus, banana yellow Sunday home alternate!

 

Don't know if that one would make the final uniform set either. I'll be back soon with thoughts on relocation... Yes I know relocation talk for the Rays is like beating the ground meat of a dead horse, but this is just for fun.

[Ridleylash]

Not gonna lie; I like that yellow set a lot more as the road uniform then the grey one. It's extremely unique and ties both meanings of the "Rays" name into the same jersey as well as Florida's own nickname of The Sunshine State.

[coco1997]

I actually love that yellow alt, though I’d probably make the cap bill navy.

[Flames1fan]

loving the pinestripes and thanks

[dgnmrwrw]

Thanks for the replies everyone. So... it feels like there's been relocation talk surrounding the Rays almost as long as they've existed. Some of that talk seems to consistently hover around relocation to a site in North Carolina, whether in Charlotte, Raleigh, or the Triad (Just no. I live there, and it won't work). There's no doubt that North Carolina has a large, rich history with baseball--mostly minor leagues during the last 50-75 years. By my count (I'm sure I'll be corrected), there are currently 2 NC teams in the International League, 4 NC teams in the South Atlantic League, 4 NC teams in the Carolina League, 1 team in the Atlantic League, plus other semi-pro or summer/college leagues. 

 

It appears the MLB-to-NC chatter has picked up recently, especially with a group in Raleigh pushing hard to bring a team there. As a native North Carolinian, I never had a natural "home" team to cheer for, and this intrigues me. So I decided to play around with the idea of the Rays relocating to NC. Personally I think Raleigh would be the more likely destination, if only because the Charlotte Knights AAA team's stadium would be a pain to upgrade to current MLB standards. But I played around with franchise name ideas for Raleigh, Charlotte, and "Carolina," trying to pick team names that leaned toward one of the two metro areas, or ones that could easily be adopted by either city. I've tried to make all the nicknames have some sort of connection to their location.

 

So my ideas were thus, ranked in order of my preference for each individual "home" location:

 

Charlotte

1. Miners (first gold rush in US)
2. Racers (obvious)
3. Knights (obvious)
4. Rapids (US National Whitewater Center, probably in poor taste now)

Raleigh

1. Engineers (potential double meaning: Railroad hub/Tech sector)
2. Mustangs (Banker horses of the NC Outer Banks)
3. Explorers/Voyagers (Lost Colony)
4. Oaks (City of Oaks)

Carolina

1. Pilots (Wright brothers, 82 Airborne in Ft. Bragg, Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte; Raleigh and Charlotte (6th busiest in US/World in traffic) airports
2. Hounds (Plott hound, state dog)
3. Grays (gray fox, personally always loved this as a "traditional" baseball name)
4. Wolves (red wolf, native to the state but almost extinct a few decades ago; reintroduced in eastern NC in 1987)

I've sort of played around with a few of these that I like the best, but I initially settled on "Carolina Pilots," with no idea which city they would call home. I know the issues with the Milwaukee/Seattle/MLB regarding the "Pilots" name. There's no intention to rectify those here, I've just used the name because I think it works well.

 

So I've got a pretty good start on that particular identity, but I'd love to hear any ideas about any of the other potential locations or names, or any new ones anyone has for a Rays-to-NC relocation scenario. I'd love to explore several options and make this into something of an ongoing series.

[coco1997]

The Carolina possibilities all have lots of potential. The only one I'm not big on is "Wolves," as it's a bit generic.

 

For Raleigh, they're all pretty solid, but I think Raleigh Mustangs works best. One thing to consider is the other three names all begin with vowels, and since "Raleigh" ends in a strong A sound, those three sound a bit awkward when said aloud ("Ralayoaks," etc.). 

 

The Charlotte suggestions are pretty good, too, but the name "Miners" would probably make the team a target for jokes about how they should be in the Minors when they're not playing well. 

 

 

[_DietDrPepper_]

The only ones I see as realistic possibilities that have potential are Carolina Pilots or Charlotte Knights. And with the Brewers using Pilots uniforms as throwbacks, and Seattle doing the same I think the smart idea would stick to the Knights brand. It’s already there and it would be unique to the league

[dgnmrwrw]

16 hours ago, coco1997 said:

The Carolina possibilities all have lots of potential. The only one I'm not big on is "Wolves," as it's a bit generic.

 

For Raleigh, they're all pretty solid, but I think Raleigh Mustangs works best. One thing to consider is the other three names all begin with vowels, and since "Raleigh" ends in a strong A sound, those three sound a bit awkward when said aloud ("Ralayoaks," etc.). 

 

The Charlotte suggestions are pretty good, too, but the name "Miners" would probably make the team a target for jokes about how they should be in the Minors when they're not playing well. 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, BellaSpurs said:

The only ones I see as realistic possibilities that have potential are Carolina Pilots or Charlotte Knights. And with the Brewers using Pilots uniforms as throwbacks, and Seattle doing the same I think the smart idea would stick to the Knights brand. It’s already there and it would be unique to the league

 

All solid observations, thanks guys. I'll go ahead and post the Pilots when finished since they're very close to completion. But then I think I'll move on to Knights and Mustangs.

[sky1324]

Well, Raleigh has no business being even a suggestion here, but how about Firebirds for Charlotte? A lot of people use it for Atlanta or Phoenix, but the Firebird statue is one of Charlotte's icons, and the name lends itself to really neat imagery. Other than that, Knights is clearly the second choice.

[dgnmrwrw]

Quick preview of home wordmarks for the three names I'm considering (so far) Pilots, Mustangs, Knights:

 

[coco1997]

Looks exciting!

[Ridleylash]

On 7/29/2019 at 12:59 PM, dgnmrwrw said:

So my ideas were thus, ranked in order of my preference for each individual "home" location:

 

Charlotte

1. Miners (first gold rush in US)
2. Racers (obvious)
3. Knights (obvious)
4. Rapids (US National Whitewater Center, probably in poor taste now)

Raleigh

1. Engineers (potential double meaning: Railroad hub/Tech sector)
2. Mustangs (Banker horses of the NC Outer Banks)
3. Explorers/Voyagers (Lost Colony)
4. Oaks (City of Oaks)

Carolina

1. Pilots (Wright brothers, 82 Airborne in Ft. Bragg, Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte; Raleigh and Charlotte (6th busiest in US/World in traffic) airports
2. Hounds (Plott hound, state dog)
3. Grays (gray fox, personally always loved this as a "traditional" baseball name)
4. Wolves (red wolf, native to the state but almost extinct a few decades ago; reintroduced in eastern NC in 1987)

 

If you don't mind, I think I'll offer some extra name possibilities to play with;

 

Charlotte

• Charlotte Buzz (a reference to the city's nickname of "The Hornet's Nest" that evades the use of "Hornets")
• Charlotte Monarchs (a reference to the moniker of "The Queen City")

Raleigh

• Raleigh Ravens
• Raleigh Rails (a double-meaning here; references both the bird family and Raleigh Union Station)

Carolina

• Carolina Salamanders (salamanders being the state amphibian in both Carolinas)
• Carolina Caracaras

[Dan O'Mac]

I've always liked the name "Aviators" instead of Pilots, personally.

[dgnmrwrw]

1 hour ago, DastardlyRidleylash said:

 

If you don't mind, I think I'll offer some extra name possibilities to play with;

 

Charlotte

• Charlotte Buzz (a reference to the city's nickname of "The Hornet's Nest" that evades the use of "Hornets")
• Charlotte Monarchs (a reference to the moniker of "The Queen City")

Raleigh

• Raleigh Ravens
• Raleigh Rails (a double-meaning here; references both the bird family and Raleigh Union Station)

Carolina

• Carolina Salamanders (salamanders being the state amphibian in both Carolinas)
• Carolina Caracaras

 

Interesting ideas. I've actually already done a Charlotte Monarchs concept, waaaaaaaaaay back in the day. I think Buzz would be too close to the NBA's Hornets. I do like the possibility of Rails. Salamanders I really like, but may be a bit too "minor league." We'll see.

 

11 minutes ago, Dan O'Mac said:

I've always liked the name "Aviators" instead of Pilots, personally.

 

I almost went with that, given the troubles with the "Pilots" history/ownership. Might go back to it.

[dgnmrwrw]

[coco1997]

Fantastic!

[dgnmrwrw]

And heeeeeeere we go... Presenting the Carolina Pilots. 

 

 

Colors are sky blue, midnight blue, and yellow, with touches of "sand" in the logos. I intentionally tried to go with a more "generic" theme as opposed to literal imagery of a pilot or a plane. I was attempting to make something that would better fit in with other logos in the league, and I've mocked up an AL logo sheet replacing the Rays with the Pilots.

 

Some basic treatments for the primary logo. Pretty generic alternate logo/sleeve patch. I had another sketch involving a scene with the Wright brothers' plane and a more modern military jet, but it was becoming too busy and didn't seem to "fit." Also, a bunch of treatment options for the "Pilots" script.

 

[StrongXStyle]

The pilots script looks great

[coco1997]

Nice work!

 

Things I like:

 

- The color scheme is really nice. 

- The T-bars on the road set are a nice touch!

 

Things I don't like:

 

- The colors on the home uniform script bleed together. Maybe stick to just one outline? Or even consider making the script light blue, outlined in navy and then yellow. 

- I would consider dropping the pinstripes on the home set in favor of t-bars, to match the road uniform.

- The wings on the cap logo look like they should be following the curve of a roundel that isn't there, if that makes sense. Maybe think about having the ends of the wings run parallel to the angles of the "C."

[JG36]

I think the stripes from the shoulder to the arm on the road uniform should be taken off, but the stripe around the neck and arm line should stay. Otherwise, looks fantastic!