Baseball Team Mascots by Category Funny Baseball Team Mascots by Category

يونيو 27, 2022 إرسال تعليق

10 of the funniest minor league baseball names

May 27, 2022

The Carolina Disco Turkeys are an armature baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Carolina Disco Turkeys

Baseball is full of traditions, and one of those traditions is teams at the minor league, semi-pro and summer collegiate level coming up with team names that are creative, interesting and downright hilarious.

From minor league teams affiliated with Major League Baseball to minor league teams on the independent and collegiate circuit, we took a good luck at all of the team names out there and came up with our Top 10.

Some may wrinkle your forehead, others may have you jumping online and getting something from the gift shop. Either way, here goes...

10. Florence Y'alls

The Florence Y'alls play in the Frontier League. They've won three championships.

Florence Y'alls Facebook

League:Frontier League (independent)

Location:Florence, Kentucky

This name certainly doesn't lack Southern charm. The Florence Y'alls were originally known as the Florence Freedom and have won three championships. The franchise originated in 1994 in Erie, Pennsylvania as the Erie Sailors.

The Y'alls play in the Frontier League — a partnered league of Major League Baseball.

9. Gastonia Honey Hunters

The Gastonia Honey Hunters play in the Atlantic League. Their inaugural season was 2021.

Gastonia Honey Hunters

League:Atlantic League (independent)

Location: Gastonia, North Carolina

Don't mean to badger you, but that's the mascot of this team. The logo depicts the animal in a defensive stance apparently after coming out of a pool of honey.

The Honey Hunters were new last season in the Atlantic League that recently became a partnered league of Major League Baseball. The Atlantic League has been used as a testing league at times for potential game-changing efforts to speed up the game of baseball. They've used robot umpires (now officially "out") and experimented with the pitcher's mound's height and distance.

8. Binghamton Rumble Ponies

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are the Double-A affiliate of MLB's New York Mets.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies Facebook

League:Minor League Baseball Double-A Northeast

Affiliate:Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets

Location:Binghamton, New York

Sometimes it just takes a name to get a good laugh and maybe some merchandise. That can certainly be said about the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, whose logo isn't that threatening when you notice it's just a carousel horse that's apparently breathing fire.

The Rumble Ponies are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, so fans get the pleasure of seeing future major leaguers develop into potential stars. The team previously had the Mets moniker, but some Minor League teams broke away from having the same name as the parent club (hence the Omaha Storm Chasers were previously the Omaha Royals), and while it's not known if that's entirely the case in Binghamton, the Rumble Ponies came to be in 2017.

7. Norwich Sea Unicorns

The Norwich Sea Unicorns play in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. For several years they were an MLB affiliated team.

Norwich Sea Unicorns

League:Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL)

Location:Norwich, Connecticuit

It's always fun to see teams take a mascot and twist up it's name to become quite the marketable team name.

But don't let the name Sea Unicorns fool you, the animal's actual name is a narwhal. Fun fact: The tusk is actually a tooth.

The Norwich Sea Unicorns were previously an affiliated Minor League franchise, but when Major League Baseball restructured the minor league system, the Sea Unicorns weren't chosen for affiliation. In 2021 they made their way to the collegiate summer league circuit.

6. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

League:Minor League Baseball Triple-A East

Affiliate:Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins

Location:Jacksonville, Florida

Seriously, how could you not name a baseball team in an ocean city after something that lives in the water. Got to give clever points those who established the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp brand because not only is the logo that of a fighting shrimp, but it's stance as a "J" is stellar.

The Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, so that means fans get to see not only future major leaguers, but current ones as they make their way back from injury on rehab assignments. T hat doesn't only apply to the Jumbo Shrimp — the visiting team could have someone of notoriety on their roster as well. If you ever head to a game, bring a blank ball and a Sharpie, you never know who'll show up.

5. Hartford Yard Goats

The Hartford Yard Goats are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

Hartford Yard Goats Facebook

League:Minor League Baseball Double-A Northeast

Affiliate:Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies

Location:Hartford, Connecticut

The term "goat" is thrown around a lot these days. To be clear that's G.O.A.T., better known as the "Greatest Of All-Time." Just about every grizzled veteran in baseball is getting this nickname from Yadier Molina to Mike Trout, and with every G.O.A.T. label comes debate.

But while baseball's G.O.A.T. is up for discussion, baseball's Yard Goats are developing future major leaguers who hope to make their way to the Mile High City. The Hartford Yard Goats are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, and this is one team where the logo is a moot point — the name alone is very minor league/semi-pro. Hopefully this goat doesn't come with a curse that lasts more than a century.

4. Amarillo Sod Poodles

The Amarillo Sod Poodles are the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Amarillo Sod Poodles Facebook

League:Minor League Baseball Double-A Central

Affiliate:Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks

Location:Amarillo, Texas

Whether you're "thinking back on Amarillo" at the "Y'all Come Back Saloon," or trying to make it "Amarillo by mornin'," this city in the Texas Panhandle is pretty popular. So obviously the baseball team would have to stand out with it's name, right?

Enter the Amarillo Sod Poodles, prairie dogs dressed to the nines in full Texas cowboy attire. The Sod Poodles made their way from San Antonio and were formerly an affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They've stayed connected to the National League West as they are now an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

3. Rocket City Trash Pandas

The Rocket City Trash Pandas are based in Alabama and are the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.

Rocket City Trash Pandas Facebook

League:Minor League Baseball Double-A South

Affiliate:Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels

Location:Madison, Alabama

This is by far one of the best team names in the minor leagues. Not only because Trash Pandas is incredibly awesome as much as it is clever, but the fact that the team isn't named after a specific city or state. The Rocket City name comes from nearby Huntsville, Alabama and its significant role in the space industry.

The Trash Panda mascot is actually that of a raccoon and is named for the animal's cleverness in obtaining what it wants from the garbage.

Merchandise for this team has been popular across all facets of baseball. The team's debut was delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn't stop the team store from making quite a profit and running out of some items.

2. Burlington Sock Puppets

The Burlington Sock Puppets are located in Burlington, North Carolina and play in Appalachian League.

Burlington Sock Puppets Facebook

League:Appalachian League (collegiate)

Location:Burlington, North Carolina

They were known as the Burlington Royals while they were a minor league affiliated team, but following Major League Baseball's rearrangement of the minor league the franchise found a new purpose on the collegiate level and was renamed the Burlington Sock Puppets.

And what's really cool is that the Sock Puppets logo really looks like two dads (one cool, one mellow) out enjoying the summer with a good ol' fashion baseball game. And no, at least online, it doesn't appear they sell actual sock puppets in their team store.

1. Carolina Disco Turkeys

League: All American Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA)

Location:Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Logo? Check. Colors? Check. Name? Check-check.

The Carolina Disco Turkeys pretty much cover all the bases when it comes to the quality of a funny clever, and attractive team name. I mean, c'mon, the second you read "Disco Turkeys," your mind immediately goes to a T-shirt and other merchandise, right? Mix that in with being unforegetable, and you have winner.

The logo is actually a bird in a white disco suit busting its best moves.

A name like Disco Turkeys pretty much guarantees a nice Donna Summer's evening of the national pastime and some of the greatest music ever made. Just remember to check your temperature before heading out to the ballpark — you don't want to catch a Saturday night fever, and of course on those hot Carolina nights, all of us are doing our best at "Stayin' Alive." But always remember if you can't handle the "Hot Stuff," you can always listen to the game "On The Radio."

*mic drop*

Honorable Mention