The MLB Ferris Wheel - TOR, MIL (2/30)

[Megildur]

Inspired by mcrosby's excellent NBA Moniker Carousel, I've been working on what I'm calling the MLB Ferris Wheel.

 

The rules are fairly simple, the nickname of the team gets moved to another city and then that city's nickname gets similarly moved. This will cycle through all the 30 teams, with nicknames being placed where I could justify them making sense. All are linked together in a circle, which I will post a graphic of once I have a couple teams up. The Rockies and Phillies will be the hardest to move, so I'm allowing myself to create "equivalent nicknames" for both, which you'll see later. I also replaced Cleveland with the Montreal Expos in the cycle, which will mean that Montreal gets a new nickname and the Expos go to a new city. All clear? Let's hop to it then:

 

First up: Los Angeles Dodgers -> Toronto Dodgers

 

 

According to Wikipedia, "Toronto currently operates the largest streetcar system in the Americas in terms of track length and ridership," which makes it a natural fit for a team originally called the Trolley Dodgers.

 

 

The royal blue and red color scheme come from Toronto's logo, as does the maple leaf. Two blue stripes on the sleeves and the split-style font appears in the cap T and the numbers. As for the Dodgers, direct nods include the wordmark, red number on front, the structure of the primary logo, and the block letter shaped T. The "Toronto" wordmark comes from the letters in the "Dodgers" and "Los Angeles" scripts.

 

Any guesses for where the Blue Jays will fly to?

[Brian in Boston]

4 hours ago, Megildur said:

Any guesses for where the Blue Jays will fly to?

 

Perhaps to Philadelphia, as a nod to the logo and secondary nickname that the Phillies once adopted?

[jaytavo305]

Great presentation, excited for this series to play out ! 

[coco1997]

Love the premise of this series!

 

Put the Brewers in Seattle and have their name refer to coffee instead of beer.

[DCarp1231]

A couple ideas

 

Baltimore Mariners

Arizona (Sun)Rays

Boston (Tea)Pirates

Chicago Expos

Chicago Giants

Texas Twins

Los Angeles Mets

Washington Yankees

New York Royals

 

[teeray01]

I like this so far.  Cool concept.  I hope you will be continuing with the UBA as well.

[shadyloaf]

I'd go:

 

 

Toronto Dodgers

Philadephia Blue Jays

Tampa Bay Pirates

Los Angeles Rays of Anaheim

Houston Angels

Seattle Astros (bit of a stretch, but space needle)

San Diego Mariners (naval base)

Texas Padres (largest hispanic population in the US)

Kansas City Rangers

New York Royals (named after royalty)

New York Braves (After FDNY)

Boston Yankees (Sox fans will hate this, but they are the farthest north)

Atlanta Reds (Matches the color of the other atlanta sports teams)

Arizona Orioles (the Bullock's Oriole is found in the western US)

Baltimore Diamondbacks (Diamonback terrapin is Maryland's state amphibian)

San Francisco Twins (refers to the bay area cities)

Oakland Giants (oaks are big you know?)

Colorado Brewers (switching miller for coors)

Cleveland Rockies (Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame)

Chicago Cardinals (state bird)

Los Angeles Nationals (Most NL Penants)

 

[MilSox]

Milwaukee White Sox

 

https://tht.fangraphs.com/a-short-history-of-the-milwaukee-white-sox/

[Megildur]

19 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

Perhaps to Philadelphia, as a nod to the logo and secondary nickname that the Phillies once adopted?

 

17 hours ago, coco1997 said:

Put the Brewers in Seattle and have their name refer to coffee instead of beer.

 

19 hours ago, jaytavo305 said:

Great presentation, excited for this series to play out ! 

 

8 hours ago, DNAsports said:

A couple ideas

 

Baltimore Mariners

Arizona (Sun)Rays

Boston (Tea)Pirates

Chicago Expos

Chicago Giants

Texas Twins

Los Angeles Mets

Washington Yankees

New York Royals

 

2 hours ago, shadyloaf said:

Toronto Dodgers

Philadephia Blue Jays

Tampa Bay Pirates

Los Angeles Rays of Anaheim

Houston Angels

Seattle Astros (bit of a stretch, but space needle)

San Diego Mariners (naval base)

Texas Padres (largest hispanic population in the US)

Kansas City Rangers

New York Royals (named after royalty)

New York Braves (After FDNY)

Boston Yankees (Sox fans will hate this, but they are the farthest north)

Atlanta Reds (Matches the color of the other atlanta sports teams)

Arizona Orioles (the Bullock's Oriole is found in the western US)

Baltimore Diamondbacks (Diamonback terrapin is Maryland's state amphibian)

San Francisco Twins (refers to the bay area cities)

Oakland Giants (oaks are big you know?)

Colorado Brewers (switching miller for coors)

Cleveland Rockies (Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame)

Chicago Cardinals (state bird)

Los Angeles Nationals (Most NL Penants)

 

2 hours ago, NicDB said:

Milwaukee White Sox

 

Thank you all for your involvement! Out of the 32 suggestions so far, roughly 4 are correct, but I won't tell you which ones quite yet. There are some great ideas here that I wish I'd thought of before though.

 

One rule I made for myself, that I forgot to include above, is that no nickname will return to a city where it's been before. So, no New York Giants, Boston Braves, Philadelphia Athletics, etc. I'll also add that I had the Yankees getting moved to Boston on my list for awhile, but ended up switching it elsewhere. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I really would've enjoyed messing with both Yankees and Sox fans, but the almighty Ferris Wheel wouldn't allow it. Sacrifices had to be made and I have all the teams planned out already, but I may have to do some extra swaps at the end for combos such as the Boston Yankees that didn't make the list.

[Brian in Boston]

Arizona Orioles (Three species of orioles - Bullock's, Hooded, and Scott's - are common summer nesters in Arizona.) 

Atlanta Rangers (The 75th Ranger Regiment and the Ranger Training Brigade are both headquartered at Fort Benning, GA.)

Baltimore Braves (In recognition of the last line of each verse of The Star-Spangled Banner.)

Baltimore Diamondbacks (as in Diamondback Terrapin)

Baltimore Mariners (Baltimore's maritime history)

Boston Mariners (Boston's maritime history)

Cincinnati Cardinals (state bird of Ohio, as well as neighboring Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia)

Cincinnati Red Sox (A reference to the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the 1880s and Cincinnati Redlegs of the 1950s.)

Colorado Brewers (Coors, as well as the craft brew scene)

Colorado Cubs (a nod to the minor league Denver Bears)

Colorado Reds (The State of Colorado's name is derived from the Spanish colorada, meaning "red", or "colored red".)

Colorado Red Sox (The State of Colorado's name is derived from the Spanish colorada, meaning "red", or "colored red".)

Chicago Expos (World's Columbian Exposition or A Century of Progress International Exposition)

Chicago Giants (the City of REALLY Big Shoulders)

Kansas City Twins (Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas)

Miami White Sox (Of course, they'd have to be worn with shorts and either orthopedic shoes or sandals.   )

Philadelphia White Sox (A reference to the Philadelphia White Stockings of the 1870s National Association.)   

St. Louis Brewers (Anheuser-Busch)

St. Louis Expos (Louisiana Purchase Exposition)

San Diego Mariners (San Diego's maritime history) 

San Diego Marlins (game fishing out of San Diego)

San Francisco Expos (the Panama-Pacific International Exposition or the Golden Gate International Exposition)

San Francisco Mariners (San Francisco's maritime history)

San Francisco Padres (Mission San Francisco de Asis, aka Mission Dolores)

Seattle Cascades (replacing Rockies as a mountain-themed name)

Seattle Expos (Century 21 Exposition)

Seattle Rainiers (replacing Rockies as a mountain-themed name)

Tampa Bay Marlins (Gulf of Mexico game fishing out of Tampa-St. Pete) 

Tampa Bay Pirates (history of piracy, including the likes of José Gaspar)

Tampa Bay Twins (Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida)

Texas Diamondbacks (Within the distribution range of the Western Diamondback rattlesnake.)

Washington Braves (in homage to Washington, D.C.'s namesake, as well as the presence of Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon in the D.C. Metro Area)

[LaGrandeOrange]

Wow, the Toronto Dodgers are perfect and  I’m excited about this series’ alternate universe. I’m guessing Montréal ends up with the Mets (for the Métro perhaps, and that it works in both languages.) or perhaps the Angels, since we have multiple famous angel statues.

[DCarp1231]

I’ve been trying to figure out where you’re putting the Padres...

 

...is it... Miami?

[TrueYankee26]

2 hours ago, DNAsports said:

I’ve been trying to figure out where you’re putting the Padres...

 

...is it... Miami?

Arizona would also make sense

[Brian in Boston]

Padres as the name for a Miami or Phoenix-based MLB team wouldn't be nearly as fitting as for a California franchise located in San Diego, San Francisco, etc. The nearest missions to what is now the location of Phoenix were situated between 115 to 175 miles southeast of the modern city. As for Spanish missions in Florida, the longest lasting of these were located in the northern tier of the state, from the site of present day St. Augustine to the Panhandle. Efforts to establish a long-term mission presence in the region of Miami were undertaken on three separate occasions, failing to last each time.        

[BigRed75]

On 2/15/2021 at 7:19 AM, Brian in Boston said:

Miami White Sox (Of course, they'd have to be worn with shorts and either orthopedic shoes or sandals.   )

 

 

Underrated comment.

 

It's perfect. I love it!

[Megildur]

On 2/14/2021 at 8:58 PM, DNAsports said:

I’ve been trying to figure out where you’re putting the Padres...

 

...is it... Miami?

 

On 2/14/2021 at 11:32 PM, TrueYankee26 said:

Arizona would also make sense

 

On 2/15/2021 at 5:05 PM, Brian in Boston said:

Padres as the name for a Miami or Phoenix-based MLB team wouldn't be nearly as fitting as for a California franchise located in San Diego, San Francisco, etc. The nearest missions to what is now the location of Phoenix were situated between 115 to 175 miles southeast of the modern city. As for Spanish missions in Florida, the longest lasting of these were located in the northern tier of the state, from the site of present day St. Augustine to the Panhandle. Efforts to establish a long-term mission presence in the region of Miami were undertaken on three separate occasions, failing to last each time.        

 

All I'll say is that one of you has it right!

 

I've been rather blown away from the support for this, so thank you all.

 

Toronto Blue Jays -> Milwaukee Blue Jays

 

 

The Blue Jays will make their nest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The blue jay itself can be found throughout southern Canada and eastern and southern states in the US. I also considered that the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers both joined the MLB in the same decade (despite previous iterations of the Blue Jays in Philadelphia 1944-1945 and a former Milwaukee Brewers franchise in 1901). Both franchises use of modernized retro looks also made for a fun concept.

 

 

So, the colors come from Milwaukee's logo, with the blue jay itself replacing the BiG logo and taking on its colors. The maple leaf is out, while an outline of Wisconsin is in (many Brewers teams have worn Wisconsin-based alternate logos in the past, so this outline comes from this one). Gone is the barrel-like font and instead comes a new font, one that I feel like mixes the Blue Jays and Milwaukee well. The wordmarks have the royal blue subtly within the navy, a nod to the Blue Jays' split font, but also recognizing that Milwaukee doesn't use the royal a lot already. The number goes on front, ala how Milwaukee already does it, while the bird logo makes it onto the sleeve and the cap. The wordmark is pushed to the left so that the letters aren't split by the shirt opening.

 

Someone may have already guessed where the Brewers are headed, but y'all will have to wait and see where they set up shop. If you wanted to see this lovely 90's logo revived though, then you're in the right place!

[DCarp1231]

19 minutes ago, Megildur said:

 

 

 

All I'll say is that one of you has it right!

 

I've been rather blown away from the support for this, so thank you all.

 

Toronto Blue Jays -> Milwaukee Blue Jays

 

 

The Blue Jays will make their nest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The blue jay itself can be found throughout southern Canada and eastern and southern states in the US. I also considered that the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers both joined the MLB in the same decade (despite previous iterations of the Blue Jays in Philadelphia 1944-1945 and a former Milwaukee Brewers franchise in 1901). Both franchises use of modernized retro looks also made for a fun concept.

 

 

So, the colors come from Milwaukee's logo, with the blue jay itself replacing the BiG logo and taking on its colors. The maple leaf is out, while an outline of Wisconsin is in (many Brewers teams have worn Wisconsin-based alternate logos in the past, so this outline comes from this one). Gone is the barrel-like font and instead comes a new font, one that I feel like mixes the Blue Jays and Milwaukee well. The wordmarks have the royal blue subtly within the navy, a nod to the Blue Jays' split font, but also recognizing that Milwaukee doesn't use the royal a lot already. The number goes on front, ala how Milwaukee already does it, while the bird logo makes it onto the sleeve and the cap. The wordmark is pushed to the left so that the letters aren't split by the shirt opening.

 

Someone may have already guessed where the Brewers are headed, but y'all will have to wait and see where they set up shop. If you wanted to see this lovely 90's logo revived though, then you're in the right place!

The Blue Jays look fantastic!

 

As for the Brewers, the only speculations that have been made are Colorado, Seattle, and St. Louis. I almost feel like Colorado and St. Louis would be too on the nose. Seattle would be more of an intriguing and out-of-the-box take on the Brewers name.

[MilSox]

I certainly wasn't expecting this. I had to look it up and see if Blue Jays were native to Wisconsin (they are). 

 

I do like the Wisconsin outline in place of the maple leaf. 

[Brian in Boston]

16 hours ago, DNAsports said:

As for the Brewers, the only speculations that have been made are Colorado, Seattle, and St. Louis. I almost feel like Colorado and St. Louis would be too on the nose.

There's also the fact that markets such as Colorado or St. Louis might more readily lend themselves to identities beyond that of Brewers. As an example, while I listed Colorado as a potential landing place for the Brewers identity up-thread, I also pointed out that Colorado lends itself to identities like Reds and Red Sox (colorada - Spanish for "red"/"colored red" - being the inspiration for the state's name).

For what it's worth, I still like Seattle Cascades as a mountain-themed name to replace the Rockies identity outside of Colorado.     

[DCarp1231]

1 hour ago, Brian in Boston said:

There's also the fact that markets such as Colorado or St. Louis might more readily lend themselves to identities beyond that of Brewers. As an example, while I listed Colorado as a potential landing place for the Brewers identity up-thread, I also pointed out that Colorado lends itself to identities like Reds and Red Sox (colorada - Spanish for "red"/"colored red" - being the inspiration for the state's name).

For what it's worth, I still like Seattle Cascades as a mountain-themed name to replace the Rockies identity outside of Colorado.     

If names are open to different interpretations, I could see White Caps(Sox) in Colorado, Rockies in Cleveland (Rock n Roll HoF) and Reds in Arizona (Desert Landscape)