Cape Cod League

[Waffles]

Now, Cape Cod teams are being forced to choose between maintaining a link with the major leagues and remaining true to their homespun heritage. In the case of the Chatham Athletics, homespun is winning out. The team has changed its name to the Anglers to sidestep a trademark dispute with Major League Baseball. The teams have a Nov. 1 deadline to abandon their names or purchase team uniforms and merchandise exclusively through licensed vendors.

Full article here.

On one hand, yeah, more greedy MLB, evil Bud Selig, blah, blah, blah.

On the other hand, it's an interesting region with no shortage of inspiration for names (Chatham Anglers is a GREAT start), and it's such a unique little niche league that using non-sequitur major league names (like Hyannis Mets) always seemed a little incongruous.

[whalersjets]

Hopefully the Bourne Braves go back to the "Canalmen" name.

[gingerbreadmann]

I think here is a case of you have both hands playing a factor. I mean a first yeah I see the cruelty factor but now that you mention it, it would be cool to see more unique nicknames and such based on the unique type of league it is. That is, excluding Harwich and Orleans like the article mentioned. I can't believe Chatham changed their name. It's especially weird since I have been going to the A's baseball camp the past two years (seeing guys like Allan Dykstra, who I was around a lot last year, even at lunch places, drafted, is awesome) and now all my merchandise is useless(not really ). This is a nonprofit league who gives free admission to see high quality baseball, and contributes to MLB teams a unique chance to see top prospects on display all in one place during the summer and using wooden bats even. Something like 18% of all MLB players played in this league at one point. I can't believe you could put type of burden on these teams and their cities. Sure it's a chance to go back to unique nicknames and such but MLB did not have good intentions when they did this. While it would be quite exciting to see teams get the chance to re-identify creatively, at least to me it's still the Y-D Red Sox, the Hyannis Mets, and the Chatham A's. However, it has always seemed silly why some teams have regional nicknames and some have MLB nicknames.

[Mac the Knife]

It's a bush league move by MLB, but in the end the Cape Cod League will be the winners - they'll have an all-new revenue stream which they can tap into, holding their own intellectual properties and generating cash from them.

[Lee.]

Hopefully the Bourne Braves go back to the "Canalmen" name.

I'd go with "Identities," personally.

[Jigga]

Given that Harwich had the Mariners moniker 40 years before the Seattle Mariners came into existence, wouldn't precedence come into play here?

[Mac the Knife]

Given that Harwich had the Mariners moniker 40 years before the Seattle Mariners came into existence, wouldn't precedence come into play here?

No, not really, as MLB can hang the Cape Cod League out to dry in terms of underwriting if it chose to. So while in a legal sense the Cape Cod League would be on solid ground, in reality MLB's got them by the short and curly's.