Welcome to Ben’s Biz Beat LXXXII or, for those of you who prefer less archaic numeral systems, Ben’s Biz Beat 82. Let’s talk about Minor League Baseball and, lest I forget: (I hope you had a) Happy Thanksgiving! |
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NEWS ROUND-UP: NEW LOGOS AND MORE
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November is always a big month for Minor League logo unveils, and one of the reasons is because it’s beneficial for teams to have new merchandise for sale in advance of the holiday shopping season. What follows is an overview of recently released logos, which, come to think of it, could double as an impromptu gift guide for the tapped-in Minor League Baseball fan in your life. Maybe that tapped-in fan is you.
We begin with 2023’s only full-scale rebrand, announced on Nov. 16. Rome, Georgia's longstanding South Atlantic League team, previously known as the Braves, has begun its reign as the Emperors.
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I spoke with Emperors GM David Lane about the impetus for the rebrand, which further solidifies the connection between the Georgia locale and the esteemed city for which it was named. Combining a Roman Emperor with an Emperor Penguin gives the team a kid-friendly mascot to build around while still referencing various ancient Rome motifs. Lane, for his part, said that they didn’t want to build a look around a “Little Caesars-looking dude that walks around with a golden metal helmet.” So, a penguin it is.
READ ABOUT THE ROME EMPERORS AND THEIR NEW LOOK HERE
For more Rome-related ruminations (or Rominations, as I sensibly call them), make sure to check out Episode 432 of The Show Before the Show podcast. Veteran logo designer Dan Simon, who brought the Emperors brand to life, joined myself and longtime logo fiend Tyler Maun for a wide-ranging conversation.
LISTEN TO DAN SIMON ON THE SHOW BEFORE THE SHOW PODCAST HERE
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The Lake Elsinore Storm have long had one of the most well-known logos in the Minors: a pair of menacing, forever unblinking eyes. This eye-conic look remains a big part of the Single-A San Diego affiliate’s identity.
However! The Storm have updated their primary logo, featuring a cleaner, crisper wordmark. The lettering, previously black with a red outline, is now red with a white outline. As for how a team named the Storm came to be associated with disembodied eyes, it’s because the original logo, in use from 1997-2001, featured them embedded in a storm cloud (the eyes of the Storm, as it were).
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Continuing with the theme of “red, black, white and menacing,” the Erie SeaWolves released a “Dead Red” version of their Howling Dead identity. |
The Howling Dead logos and uniforms, unveiled in November of 2022, were described by SeaWolves president Greg Coleman as “our team’s take on the familiar Jolly Roger flag. It lets our opponents know they’re in for a battle.”
Given this description, one might think that the SeaWolves are part of the Pirates’ system. They were initially, from 1995-98 in the New York-Penn League, but since 2001 the Double-A Eastern League club has served as a Detroit Tigers affiliate.
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The Winston-Salem Dash, historically a sartorially conservative organization, changed things up last season with their Hyphens and Flights alternate identities. Their latest new look is the Golden Age Collection, featuring an “on-field jersey and cap worn for all Saturday home games in 2024.” This uniform combo was “inspired by the golden era of Winston-Salem” which, judging by the duds seen above, seems to have been the 1920s.
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In the perennial stadium anthem “Jump Around,” Everlast raps that he’s “got more rhymes than the Bible’s got Psalms.” Replace “rhymes” with “alternate uniforms” and that’d be a pretty good description of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Their latest is, like Winston-Salem’s Golden Age Collection, a Saturday-specific get-up.
Specifically, these are Pennsylvania Dutch and hex-inspired uniforms, which celebrate the superstitious hex signs placed by the Pennsylvania Dutch on barns, homes and various other buildings. The hex wards off any enemies who may be trying to enter, which in the case of the IronPigs means International League rivals like the Syracuse Mets.
On Nov. 20, five days after unveiling their Saturday uniforms, the IronPigs revealed what they will wear on Sundays.
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The IronPigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies, and what you see above is the 2023 iteration of their long-running Philadelphia-themed uniforms. It pays tribute to the “style and colorways” of the 1970s and ‘80s Phils. Close your eyes and imagine Manny Trillo decked out in one of these uniforms. It’s easy if you try. |
I know you thought I'd leaf you alone for once, but this is Josh Jackson, host of Ghosts of the Minors, The Show Before the Show segment in which I challenge you to identify the real Minor League team or player hiding among frauds.
Since this week's
The Show Before the Show is a special Thanksgiving edition, I'm using this space to call your attention to a seasonally appropriate story.
... Unless you've already heard the one about the Minor League mascot who went to college.
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BUON APPETITO: IRONPIGS CHEF BRINGS THE ITALIAN TOUCH |
For the last month I’ve been saying that I’m done with my 2023 ballpark road trip stories, but then I go through my notes and voice memos and find another one. So it was with this, about Lehigh Valley IronPigs executive chef Alessandro Buccino.
Buccino is a native of Italy and lived there through 2010. Throughout that time he never worked in the food service industry and had only the dimmest awareness of baseball. So how did he get to where he is today? I’d advise you, as always, to click the link.
READ ABOUT LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS EXECUTIVE CHEF ALESSANDRO BUCCINO HERE
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EVEN MORE MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ITEMS OF INTEREST
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People always ask me what I do during the offseason. Unlike Rogers Hornsby, I refrain from staring out the window in a trance-like state of stultifying boredom. I simply keep paying attention to what’s going on in the world of Minor League Baseball, because there’s always a lot going on.
“Like what?” you ask. “Like this!” I reply.
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Fans of old, awesome ballparks should be thrilled by the news that the Daytona Tortugas have signed a 20-year lease with the city of Daytona Beach, which allows the team to keep playing at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Baseball has been played at this City Island location since 1914, with the first Florida State League team establishing residence there in 1920. Jackie Robinson and his Montreal Royals teammates spent Spring Training at the ballpark in 1946, marking Jackie’s first games in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.
A series of improvements are currently underway at “The Jack,” ensuring that this venerable and charming facility meets Major League Baseball’s requirements for its Minor League ballparks. Check out the Daytona Tortugas Ballpark Guide and then plan a trip to see this gem for yourself.
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Prior to the 2021 season, the Appalachian League lost its affiliated status and became a summer-collegiate circuit. I loved visiting each of the Appy League’s 10 teams in 2016 and hope to return to the region again someday; if you’ve never experienced the small-town charms on offer, I’d highly recommend it.
Heading into 2023 the league will have a slightly different makeup, however. The Princeton Whistlepigs have dropped out, after determining that upgrades to their ballpark would be cost prohibitive. In their place comes another West Virginia entity, in Huntington. The team, currently referred to as Tri-State Baseball, will play at Marshall University’s brand-new Jack Cook Field.
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The Salt Lake Bees announced that Tony Parks will be the team’s next broadcaster. Parks, a Salt Lake City sports media veteran who had previously served as the Bees’ on-field emcee, replaces Steve Klauke. Klauke had called games for the Pacific Coast League franchise since its inaugural 1994 season. |
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are set to host the Mexican League Sultanes de Monterrey for a pair of exhibition games on April 2-3. The Blue Wahoos will play as their Pok-Ta-Pok Copa de la Diversión identity during this pair of preseason tilts.
And speaking of Pensacola: Nearly two decades before they were hired to be MLB managers on the same day, Carlos Mendoza (Mets) and Joe Espada (Astros) were double-play partners for the independent Pensacola Pelicans. The Pelicans operated from 2002-10 and were replaced in 2012 by the Blue Wahoos.
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