Minor/Independent/Collegiate League Baseball Logo/Uniform Changes

[Pizzaman7294]

If I see that stupid grin one more time....

[WSU151]

The Florida State League unveiled a new logo that's a tremendous upgrade from the original:

New:

Old:

 

[Brian in Boston]

On 12/5/2019 at 1:48 PM, mr.nascar13 said:

 

Maybe it's just me, but I find something odd - indeed, off-putting - about the Narwhal playing dress-up in sea-captain's garb while wielding a harpoon. It would be like the Milwaukee Bucks rolling out a primary mark that depicted a deer sporting a winter ear-flap cap, camouflage hunting jacket, and orange safety vest, while toting a bolt action rifle.    

 

[SportsLogos.Net News]

Florida State League updates logo

December 7, 2019 - 00:08 AM

The Florida State League will enter the 101st year since its founding with a new logo created by Florida-based Fooser Sports Design. The logo features colors you would associate with Florida, as well as imagery of a baseball, an outline […]

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[LAWeaver]

5 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

 

Maybe it's just me, but I find something odd - indeed, off-putting - about the Narwhal playing dress-up in sea-captain's garb while wielding a harpoon. It would be like the Milwaukee Bucks rolling out a primary mark that depicted a deer sporting a winter ear-flap cap, camouflage hunting jacket, and orange safety vest, while toting a bolt action rifle.    

 

The hunted has become the hunter.

[SportsLogos.Net News]

MiLB rebrands: A roundup

December 7, 2019 - 15:18 PM

For exactly two months, beginning October 5 and culminating December 5, eight affiliated minor league baseball teams announced rebrands. The season of rebrands featured everything from teams merely updating an existing suite of logos to franchises changing cities and adopting […]

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[Rebuy]

I'm late here but I love the branding for the Wichita Wind Surge. Not sure about the name but the home hat with Pegasus is a thing of beauty and the rest of the set looks good. It's nice to have a non brandiose set.

[Rebuy]

On 12/5/2019 at 2:46 PM, Sodboy13 said:

The Connecticut Tigers are now the Norwich Sea Unicorns. Their logo is a narwhal. So they could have easily been the Norwich Narwhals, which is good and sounds unique, but Brandiose gotta Brandiose.

 

Completely agree. Sea Unicorns is totally unnecessary when Narwhals is unique and alliterative. Of course Brandiose just had to have their trademark grimace on the logo with a harpoon bat. They've become so lazy it's crazy. I think it'd be easy to come up with a cool Narwhals logo that didn't fit the Brandiose formula.

[gosioux76]

The Portland Pickles, the independent minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon, today announced the formation of a collegiate wood-bat farm team they're calling the Portland Gherkins. It's so ridiculous and fantastic and I love everything about it. 

https://www.portlandpicklesbaseball.com/news/2019/12/10/press-release-pickles-baseball-announce-farm-team-the-portland-gherkins

 

Here's my bold, outlandish statement about this club: The Portland Pickles are evolving into the West Coast equivalent of the St. Paul Saints. An unaffiliated minor league franchise run so professionally, and with such whimsy, that it becomes competitive, if not preferable, to the MLB experience. 

Edited December 10, 2019 by gosioux76
Added wisdom.

[Gothamite]

On 12/6/2019 at 5:45 PM, Brian in Boston said:

Maybe it's just me, but I find something odd - indeed, off-putting - about the Narwhal playing dress-up in sea-captain's garb while wielding a harpoon. It would be like the Milwaukee Bucks rolling out a primary mark that depicted a deer sporting a winter ear-flap cap, camouflage hunting jacket, and orange safety vest, while toting a bolt action rifle.    

 

I always felt that way about this Bucks alternate logo:

 

 

That is so clearly a hunter's trophy.

 

 

 

[Brian in Boston]

1 hour ago, gosioux76 said:

The Portland Pickles, the independent minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon, today announced the formation of a collegiate wood-bat farm team they're calling the Portland Gherkins.

 

Here's my bold, outlandish statement about this club: The Portland Pickles are evolving into the West Coast equivalent of the St. Paul Saints. An unaffiliated minor league franchise run so professionally, and with such whimsy, that it becomes competitive, if not preferable, to the MLB experience. 

Unless something has changed with the Portland Pickles' operation, the team is not an independent, unaffiliated minor league franchise. Rather, the Pickles are a collegiate summer baseball team that competes in the summer wood bat West Coast League.

So, it would appear that one collegiate summer baseball team has elected to operate another collegiate summer baseball team as an "official farm affiliate". Said affiliate will be operating in the same market... out of the same facility... playing a schedule comprised, at least in part, of games against teams from the same league as the parent club.

Interesting.   

[gosioux76]

4 minutes ago, Brian in Boston said:

Unless something has changed with the Portland Pickles' operation, the team is not an independent, unaffiliated minor league franchise. Rather, the Pickles are a collegiate summer baseball team that competes in the summer wood bat West Coast League.

So, it would appear that one collegiate summer baseball team has elected to operate another collegiate summer baseball team as an "official farm affiliate". Said affiliate will be operating in the same market... out of the same facility... playing a schedule comprised, at least in part, of games against teams from the same league as the parent club.

Interesting.   

Nothing has changed, and the words I used were exactly what I meant. The terms "independent, unaffiliated" is not to say it's some random barnstorming franchise, but a professional club that isn't an affiliate of a Major League Baseball franchise. Therefore "independent" and "unaffliated." 

 

As such, the West Coast League is an independent minor league — as in, independent of Major League Baseball, in much the same way as the league in which the Saints play: the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. 

 

 

But you're right, what the Pickles have done here is create another wood-bat collegiate team, but one that operates more as a barnstorming developmental club made up of primarily local players vying for the opportunity to suit up for the Pickles. They'll play other clubs in the same league, but I don't get the sense that they're competing in the league. Just playing to develop up-and-coming talent. 

 

[monkeypower]

32 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

Nothing has changed, and the words I used were exactly what I meant. The terms "independent, unaffiliated" is not to say it's some random barnstorming franchise, but a professional club that isn't an affiliate of a Major League Baseball franchise. Therefore "independent" and "unaffliated." 

 

As such, the West Coast League is an independent minor league — as in, independent of Major League Baseball, in much the same way as the league in which the Saints play: the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. 

 

Summer collegiate wood bat is different than independent minor league though...

 

Yeah technically, any baseball team that isn't in the MLB or the MiLB is "independent" and "unaffiliated", but that's not what independent, unaffiliated baseball means. Independent, unaffiliated baseball is semi-pro baseball. The West Coast League isn't an independent minor league, it's a summer collegiate wood bat league. And since the Pickles are a summer collegiate wood bat team, they can't even be a professional team or else any players attending an American college couldn't play for them.

 

Back to the original topic, what's the point of the Gherkins? Is there really a need for a summer collegiate team to have farm team of sorts, especially when they are going to be playing out of the same stadium at the same time? I don't really understand the thought process here. 

[gosioux76]

12 minutes ago, monkeypower said:

 

Summer collegiate wood bat is different than independent minor league though...

 

Yeah technically, any baseball team that isn't in the MLB or the MiLB is "independent" and "unaffiliated", but that's not what independent, unaffiliated baseball means. Independent, unaffiliated baseball is semi-pro baseball. The West Coast League isn't an independent minor league, it's a summer collegiate wood bat league. And since the Pickles are a summer collegiate wood bat team, they can't even be a professional team or else any players attending an American college couldn't play for them.

 

Back to the original topic, what's the point of the Gherkins? Is there really a need for a summer collegiate team to have farm team of sorts, especially when they are going to be playing out of the same stadium at the same time? I don't really understand the thought process here. 

I get the difference now. Thanks for taking the effort to educate me. 

 

As for the Gherkins, I think it's just a novelty. Another opportunity to watch inexpensive baseball, but with primarily local talent, and the added bonus that they could make the Pickles roster. It's something to fill out a summer schedule and put some people in seats when the Pickles are out of town. Add to it the novelty branding, and it's nothing more than a brand extension. 

[monkeypower]

28 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

I get the difference now. Thanks for taking the effort to educate me. 

 

I don't know if I fully explained the difference because I didn't know you didn't know.

 

Independent league baseball is semi-pro baseball. It's professional baseball, just leagues not affiliated with the MLB or MiLB.

 

Summer Collegiate wood bat leagues are for college players to continue to play baseball over the summer. They are amateur leagues made up of college players who are recruited and signed by the wood bat teams, but are not paid because of college eligibility reasons. 

 

28 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

As for the Gherkins, I think it's just a novelty. Another opportunity to watch inexpensive baseball, but with primarily local talent, and the added bonus that they could make the Pickles roster. It's something to fill out a summer schedule and put some people in seats when the Pickles are out of town. Add to it the novelty branding, and it's nothing more than a brand extension. 

 

I think it's still just a weird move considering how these summer leagues typically work. I don't know how big of a draw it is for players to sign with a "minor league" summer team that only plays exhibition games when there are, according to the summer collegiate baseball Wikipedia page, 64 other leagues across North America. I understand not everybody's going to want to/can move away just to play baseball for a summer, but the added bonus of potentially making the Pickles roster isn't really a bonus when players don't really tryout to play for summer teams.

[Brian in Boston]

1 hour ago, gosioux76 said:

Nothing has changed, and the words I used were exactly what I meant. The terms "independent, unaffiliated" is not to say it's some random barnstorming franchise, but a professional club that isn't an affiliate of a Major League Baseball franchise. Therefore "independent" and "unaffliated."

 

As a collegiate summer team the Portland Pickles are, indeed, "independent" and "unaffiliated" with regard to their relationship with Major League Baseball.. However, the Portland Pickles are not a professional club. Their players aren't paid. In fact, their players can't be compensated, as that would strip said players of their amateur status, thus preventing  them from competing collegiately ever again. 

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, monkeypower said:

I don't know if I fully explained the difference because I didn't know you didn't know.

 

Independent league baseball is semi-pro baseball. It's professional baseball, just leagues not affiliated with the MLB or MiLB.

 

 

 

 

[gosioux76]

1 hour ago, monkeypower said:

 

I don't know if I fully explained the difference because I didn't know you didn't know.

 

Independent league baseball is semi-pro baseball. It's professional baseball, just leagues not affiliated with the MLB or MiLB.

 

Summer Collegiate wood bat leagues are for college players to continue to play baseball over the summer. They are amateur leagues made up of college players who are recruited and signed by the wood bat teams, but are not paid because of college eligibility reasons. 

 

 

I think it's still just a weird move considering how these summer leagues typically work. I don't know how big of a draw it is for players to sign with a "minor league" summer team that only plays exhibition games when there are, according to the summer collegiate baseball Wikipedia page, 64 other leagues across North America. I understand not everybody's going to want to/can move away just to play baseball for a summer, but the added bonus of potentially making the Pickles roster isn't really a bonus when players don't really tryout to play for summer teams.

Here’s my theory, which I’m totally winging: it’s possible the Pickles had more interested local players than roster spots and found a creative solution to the problem that doubles as a novel branding and merchandising opportunity. 
 

The other thing to know about the Pickles: they’re remarkably good at what they do. I spent  the past 10 years in Portland — closer to the Hillsboro Hops side of town, so I never made it out to a Pickles game. That’s one of my big regrets after leaving. Everyone I know whose attended a game raves about it; fun, inexpensive, family friendly but with decent local food and a diverse beer selection. 
 

They’re somehow lowbrow and professional at the same time and it just seems to work. 
 

Knowing that, taking a flier on a so-called “farm team” with a cute name and all local players doesn’t seem too out of character.

[Brian in Boston]

2 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

Here's my bold, outlandish statement about this club: The Portland Pickles are evolving into the West Coast equivalent of the St. Paul Saints. An unaffiliated minor league franchise run so professionally, and with such whimsy, that it becomes competitive, if not preferable, to the MLB experience. 

Nothing has changed, and the words I used were exactly what I meant. The terms "independent, unaffiliated" is not to say it's some random barnstorming franchise, but a professional club that isn't an affiliate of a Major League Baseball franchise. Therefore "independent" and "unaffliated."

I'll grant you the "whimsy" factor insofar as the Pickles and Gherkins branding is concerned. That said, I don't know that I'm ready to label the organization "the West Coast equivalent of the St. Paul Saints" just yet. They've been around for a grand total of four seasons, while the modern incarnation of the Saints just completed its 27th campaign.

Don't get me wrong... the Portland Pickles have put together a well-run summer collegiate operation over their first four seasons. That said, so have the Savannah Bananas... a team that, in addition to being no slouch in the "whimsy" department itself, has averaged 4,083 fans per game, put together an 88-game sell-out streak over three consecutive seasons, and captured the Coastal Plain League's Petit Cup Championship in its inaugural year. And the Bananas have done it in a city and metro area much smaller than that which the Pickles can draw from. 

As far as West Coast League operations are concerned, the organization that impresses me is that of the Victoria HarbourCats. No, there's not a lot of "whimsy" on display at Royal Athletic Park, but talk about a team that's created an impressive following. Over the course of seven seasons, the HarbourCats have built-up their average attendance to over 2,300 fans per game, which - again - is pretty amazing given the fact that the city and metro area population in the market is a fraction the size of that which exists in Portland.

But, when it comes to identifying collegiate summer baseball's "equivalent of the St. Paul Saints", the closest you're going to find are the Madison Mallards. In 2001, their inaugural season in the Northwoods League , they finished fourth in attendance, drawing just 1,039 fans per game. In their second season, the 1,973 fans per game that they averaged was good enough to lead the league in attendance. Since earning that honor in 2002, the Mallards have yet to cede the Northwoods League attendance crown to any other ball club. In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the Mallards drew over 4,400 fans per game. In 2005, they exceeded 5,000 fans per game, pulling in an average crowd of 5,738. The 2006 Northwoods League season saw the Mallards average crowd size rise to 6,056. Over 11 of the next 13 seasons, the Mallards' attendance would exceed 6,000 fans per game. The high mark over the past 13 seasons was 2015's 6,358 fans per game. The "low" was an average of 5,884 in 2010. In all, the Madison Mallards have averaged 5,474 fans per game over their 19 years of existence. On the field, the Mallards have won four division titles, qualified for the playoffs eight times, advanced to the Northwoods League Championship Series on four occasions, and won the league championship twice. Any way you slice it, that's impressive.

[gosioux76]

15 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

I'll grant you the "whimsy" factor insofar as the Pickles and Gherkins branding is concerned. That said, I don't know that I'm ready to label the organization "the West Coast equivalent of the St. Paul Saints" just yet. They've been around for a grand total of four seasons, while the modern incarnation of the Saints just completed its 27th campaign.

Don't get me wrong... the Portland Pickles have put together a well-run summer collegiate operation over their first four seasons. That said, so have the Savannah Bananas... a team that, in addition to being no slouch in the "whimsy" department itself, has averaged 4,083 fans per game, put together an 88-game sell-out streak over three consecutive seasons, and captured the Coastal Plain League's Petit Cup Championship in its inaugural year. And the Bananas have done it in a city and metro area much smaller than that which the Pickles can draw from. 

As far as West Coast League operations are concerned, the organization that impresses me is that of the Victoria HarbourCats. No, there's not a lot of "whimsy" on display at Royal Athletic Park, but talk about a team that's created an impressive following. Over the course of seven seasons, the HarbourCats have built-up their average attendance to over 2,300 fans per game, which - again - is pretty amazing given the fact that the city and metro area population in the market is a fraction the size of that which exists in Portland.

But, when it comes to identifying collegiate summer baseball's "equivalent of the St. Paul Saints", the closest you're going to find are the Madison Mallards. In 2001, their inaugural season in the Northwoods League , they finished fourth in attendance, drawing just 1,039 fans per game. In their second season, the 1,973 fans per game that they averaged was good enough to lead the league in attendance. Since earning that honor in 2002, the Mallards have yet to cede the Northwoods League attendance crown to any other ball club. In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the Mallards drew over 4,400 fans per game. In 2005, they exceeded 5,000 fans per game, pulling in an average crowd of 5,738. The 2006 Northwoods League season saw the Mallards average crowd size rise to 6,056. Over 11 of the next 13 seasons, the Mallards' attendance would exceed 6,000 fans per game. The high mark over the past 13 seasons was 2015's 6,358 fans per game. The "low" was an average of 5,884 in 2010. In all, the Madison Mallards have averaged 5,474 fans per game over their 19 years of existence. On the field, the Mallards have won four division titles, qualified for the playoffs eight times, advanced to the Northwoods League Championship Series on four occasions, and won the league championship twice. Any way you slice it, that's impressive.

 

I'm not ready to label them that either.

 

You're pretty good at parsing language, so it's worth pointing out that I merely said the "Portland Pickles are evolving into the West Coast equivalent of the St. Paul Saints," not that they are, definitely, absolutely, THE west coast equivalent. Those words matter, especially when you're trying to undercut a point that this organization -- yes, even at the mere "grand total of four seasons" -- is doing things pretty well. As someone who grew up in Minnesota during the early days of the Saints and watched the Pickles evolve in Portland, I can see some early parallels in how they're building their organizations in their markets. 

 

Also, I wouldn't dismiss the Portland market's size as some disqualifier. Portland's a NBA and soccer town with big-league baseball aspirations. AAA baseball was considered surplus to the needs of the market a decade ago, yet there's still a fondness for the swashbuckling nature of the old Portland Mavericks. There's a lot more going on there for sports entertainment. I remember receiving the press release about the Portland Pickles' launch and thinking it was a joke. So launching a wood-bat collegiate league in that city and making it a draw, in my mind is a far more impressive feat than thriving in places like Madison or Savannah -- minor league markets where you're probably the only game in town.