Minor/Independent/Collegiate League Baseball Logo/Uniform Changes

[kimball]

48 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

Tweet by a local sports broadcaster: "Sources say that it will be announced tomorrow that the Baby Cakes will move to Wichita. The Baby Cakes have a lease through 2021, so baseball is not leaving yet, AND there is a group in NOLA hoping to bring an AA southern league team in by then".

 

I don't know where to begin.

 

So, Lou Schwechheimer buys the team 3 years ago, talks about how he is going to do great things by giving us a more local nickname (among other things) and changes the name prior to last year, , and now is planning to move them? 

 

As I noted in a post in 2016,  Schwecheimer is also head of an organization called the Caribbean Baseball Initiative, which also includes a sub-group called BaseballHavana, which was formed after Obama began working to normalize relations with Cuba.  Schwechheimer secured the exclusive rights from Minor League Baseball to return professional baseball to Havana.   He obtained the necessary licensing from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

 

However, that initiative, and what I thought was his ultimate goal of moving the Miami Marlins AAA franchise to Havana, wound up being squelched by the surprising election of Trump later that year.   Hilary Clinton would have certainly continued Obama's policies toward Cuba; instead Trump reinstated travel and trade restrictions that Obama had eased.  Essentially, Schwechheimer's whole "Baseball Havana" deal was screwed.

 

As Brian in Boston stated, "the Baby Cakes' attendance was down precipitously this season." I projected that as well, noting that a poll indicated 91% of respondents did not approve of the name change, and that many online (like myself) stated that they would not spend any money on the team -  not just merchandise, but also actual game attendance.  There were also some calls for a formal boycott of the team by fans,

 

All I can hope for is that the "group in NOLA hoping to bring in an AA team" is NOT as indicated in the article linked by Buzzcut; i.e. the same Schwechheimer  ownership  group. 

 

Get him, his lame management, and his stupid "Baby Cakes" name out of here for good;  let us have an AA Southern League team (with a decent name) with some nice regional rivals in Biloxi, Pensacola, Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Jackson, MS.

 

 

 

It's unfortunate that they're downgrading to Double A, but the Southern League does sound like a much better situation for NOLA. I just HOPE they don't take the Baby Cakes name with them. I would assume they might revert back to the Zephyrs possibly? It's too bad they can't go with the Pelicans. 

[buzzcut]

Hey BRich, do you mind if I steal your story and post it on another forum?

[rams80]

1 hour ago, Green27 said:

 

The new North Alabama AA team (Mobile BayBears relocation) will be unveiled tonight. Still speechless at the list of options.

 

 

Brandiose Delenda Est

[Dilbert]

https://whnt.com/2018/09/05/rocket-city-trash-pandas-chosen-as-new-madison-baseball-teams-name/

 

Trash Pandas it is! I would have gone with North Alabama over Rocket City but of all the names Trash Pandas was the best.

[B-Rich]

2 hours ago, buzzcut said:

Hey BRich, do you mind if I steal your story and post it on another forum?

Feel free.

 

You may want to use the original 2016 post for reference to BaseballHavana, etc.

[RyanB06]

1 hour ago, Dilbert said:

https://whnt.com/2018/09/05/rocket-city-trash-pandas-chosen-as-new-madison-baseball-teams-name/

 

Trash Pandas it is! I would have gone with North Alabama over Rocket City but of all the names Trash Pandas was the best.

 

It'll be "Huntsville" or "Madison" within two years, because people who don't know better will plug "Rocket City" in their GPS and not find it.

 

(Precedent: the "Hardware City" Rock Cats, which lasted two seasons before becoming "New Britain" because nobody outside New Britain knew what "Hardware City" WAS.)

[Dynasty]

Another dumb name.

[rams80]

Wake me when we get the logo with the bat-swinging cartoon raccoon.

[Burmy]

Meanwhile, on some ship in the galaxy:

Rocket: "Quill, who do these Earthlings think they are profiting off my likeness?  Granted, I am a very handsome sort, but they're called the name I HATE!"
Star-Lord: "It's a hip trend they hop on to make the extra money...it's a gravy train!"
Drax: "With my appetite, I'd probably USE the whole train of gravy for one meal."

Gamora: "Just as long as I'm not the one who has to swab the ship bathroom that night..."

Rocket: "Whatever...this is worthy of my newest, MOST upgraded baby yet!"
Star-Lord: "That wouldn't be necessary...you could just sue them, and either get them to change the name, or get some of the profits."
Rocket: "You got a good point, Quill...always wanted to collect a bounty of Earth dollars!"
Groot: "I am Groot?"

Rocket: "You probably wouldn't want any...they'd be like a graveyard to you."

[Brian in Boston]

Rocket City Trash Pandas?

 

This is what happens when a too-self-reverentially-clever-for-its-own-good design firm counsels a team's ownership group to present fans with a predetermined pool of mediocre-to-asinine team identities and then waits for bad taste and human nature to take over in the ensuing "Name-the-Team" vote. 

And as if taking the field as the Rocket City Trash Pandas wasn't embarrassing enough, the easily-gulled owners and management in Madison will inevitably double-down on their questionable judgement and allow Jason and Casey to talk them into throwing a "What If? Night", during which they'll don the logo and colors of the Madison Moon Possums. Oh... and let's not forget the inevitable food-themed identity package that the team will be talked into securing for a reasonable up-charge. After all, what's a minor league baseball season without the opportunity to cheer on the North 'Bama Butter Beans for a homestand or two?    

Brandiose has gone from creating a sports identity package as classically attractive as that sported by the Clearwater Threshers to... well,  "jumping the ThunderShark".  If this doesn't represent the nadir of modern sports branding, I don't want to see what does.

[TBGKon]

https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/09/06/its-baby-cakes-to-wichita-southern-league-to-new-orleans/

 

so far half right, New Orleans to Wichita all but official.

[chrysleraspen08]

11 hours ago, rams80 said:

Wake me when we get the logo with the bat-swinging cartoon raccoon.

 

I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if the raccoon was swinging a rocket or a trash can instead of a bat.

[kimball]

My rules of baseball nicknames ...

 

MLB: Go traditional, no funny business (the reason why everyone hated Devil Rays).

AAA: Go traditional, you can get a little original but Storm Chasers or Baby Cakes should not be allowed in AAA. Names related to the parent club are cool, but no Iowa Cubs or Omaha Royals please.

AA: Traditional is preferred, but original nicknames get a pass. Names like Baby Cakes, Biscuits, RubberDucks, Rumble Ponies work here. But, still prefer a bit more traditional.Again no parent club nicknames.

A/Rookie: Whatever goes -- Orem Owlz, Everett AquaSox, Fort Wayne Tin Caps. Even parent club nicknames -- Helena Brewers, Grand Junction Rockies or Staten Island Yankees. 

 

That said, I can live with the Trash Pandas. Just not sure about Rocket City?

[Wings]

2 hours ago, AstroBull21 said:

https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/09/06/its-baby-cakes-to-wichita-southern-league-to-new-orleans/

 

so far half right, New Orleans to Wichita all but official.

 

Looks like the Baby Cakes name might stay with the new double A team. 

[DustDevil61]

I think this gif pretty much sums up the Zephyrs/Baby Cakes ownership with  this whole Baby Cakes rebranding and subsequent Wichita relocation saga a mere 3 years later:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CaliforniaGlowin]

I hope the Pizza Rats is permanent.  "Staten Island Yankees" seems redundant when the real Yankees are nearby.  Based on the twitter hashtag, the fans prefer the PR name.

[B-Rich]

2 hours ago, Wings said:

 

Looks like the Baby Cakes name might stay with the new double A team. 

 

Please, god, no.

 

Lease expires after 2020 season.  State (stadium owner) can (and should) say to Schwechheimer, "NO LEASE FOR YOU! Hit the road, jack, and don't let the door hit you on the way out."

 

Concurrently, get Gayle Benson to acquire the AA Southern League franchise and give the lease deal to her (word 'round these parts is those wheels are already turning).

 

The state owns the entire site, and the Saints and Pelicans training/practice facilities are already right next door:

 

And the late Tom Benson had actually bought an AA team to move here in '93, but was trumped by the AAA Denver Zephyrs deciding to move to the market.

[Wings]

Return of the Zephyrs hopefully or something classic. Not Baby Cakes, not ThunderGators, not CyberBeavers.

[TBGKon]

I do hope the ownership changes in NOLA.  It seems the guys initiative was to more to Havana, but that got shot down.

 

Local ownership by the Bensons would be ideal I would assume.

[ChicagoOakland]

The Baby Cakes name better die.

I saw a tweet from a local NOLA reporter that cited the merchandise sales going up since they switched, but that most of those gains were from out-of-state online orders and actual ticket sales took a nosedive.

 

People aren't going to see a team if they approach themselves like a joke. The Baby Cakes might be the biggest joke in MiLB.