Baseball By Design: Stories of Minor League Logos and Nicknames

The Gary SouthShore RailCats play in a unique corner of northwest Indiana where baseball, railroads, and Lake Michigan merge, and where they exist in a time zone different from the rest of their state. Their scrappy cat-based identity reflects the region and the realities of independent baseball.

Guests include:

• Andrew Mild, broadcaster, Gary SouthShore RailCats
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
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The Québec Capitales are carrying on a storied tradition of baseball in Canada's French-speaking province. The independent team has been around for more than a quarter century with a brand that has come to represent the entire region.

Guests include:

• Michel LaPlante, former player, manager, GM, and owner, Québec Capitales
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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The Lincoln Saltdogs, an independent professional team in the American Association, are named for a unique feature in the landscape of Nebraska—which used to be a vast inland sea. Guests include:

• Elijah Herbel, Lead Producer, Lincoln Saltdogs, Insta @herbel_essences
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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The collegiate summer-level NoCo Prospectors are named for the traditional sense of prospectors—mining for gold—as well as the fact that the team is made up of younger players, or prospects. Guests include:

• Preston Munsch & Rochelle Reynolds, NoCo Prospectors, website
• Matt West, Designer, Black Box Merch
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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The Florida State League's Bradenton Marauders pay tribute to their parent club in Pittsburgh with a pirate-themed brand, but make no mistake, the identity is completely their own.

Guests include:

• Craig Warzecha, GM, Bradenton Marauders
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Matt Frick, Curator, St. Augustine Pirate and Treasurer Museum

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It's that most wonderful time of year: the Baseballpalooza ride along! This year the gang visited the Malmo Oat Milkers of South Bend, Great Lakes Loons, West Michigan Whitecaps, and Joliet Slammers. Join Fish, Scuba, Ron, Mealey, Pearlman, Jon, Shady, Hirte, Zim, and your host Paul on a wondrous four-day adventure! Plus Dan Simon with a Studio Simon Stumper!

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The Schaumburg Boomers are named for prairie chickens, a distinctive bird that once dominated the landscape of the midwest. The Curved Brim Media meetup included a stop in Schaumburg, so we'll check in live from the game. Guests include:

• Michael Larson, GM, Schaumburg Boomer
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy

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The Keene Swamp Bats play in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Their name derives from the bats who feast on mosquitoes found in the swamplands adjacent to the team's ballpark. Guests include:

• Kevin Watterson, President/GM, Keene Swamp Bats
• Joe Tolman, Bulldog Design, website
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy

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The collegiate summer-level Boulder 64s were founded as the Boulder Collegians in 1964. Under new management and in a new league, the team has a new brand. Guests include:

• Preston Munsch & Rochelle Reynolds, Boulder 64s, website
• Matt West, Designer, Black Box Merch
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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• Instagram @baseballbydesign
• Threads @ba...

The Gastonia Ghost Peppers, an independent professional team in the Atlantic League, played with seven different identities in 2024, then let fans vote on which one should be the permanent brand. Guests include:

• Nick Matarese, The Barn Creative
• Ed Currie, PuckerButt Pepper Company, puckerbuttpeppercompany.com
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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When John's Oliver's HBO show Last Week Tonight offered to rebrand one minor league baseball team, 47 clubs volunteered for the honor with very little idea what they were signing up for. The Erie SeaWolves were selected, and just weeks later, the Erie Moon Mammoths were born. The name is a tribute to a mammoth skeleton discovered by diver George Moon more than 30 years ago in Erie County's Lake Pleasant. Guests this week include:

The Great Lakes Loons, High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, play just above the ball of the thumb on the Michigan mitten. They're named for a bird that has creepy red eyes and is known for a mournful call that is often heard in movies. Guests include:

• Chris Munkdhenk, GM, Great Lakes Loons
• AJ Chlebnik, naturalist & Michigan native
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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Minor League Baseball royalty Erik "the Peanut Guy" Mertens visited Colorado, and we spent the day checking out the Denver Bears defunct ballpark, a Colorado Rockies game, the National Ballpark Museum, and the Sundae Helmet Hall of Fame!

• Erik "The Peanut Guy" Mertens, Tri-City Dust Devils, Twitter @ItsErikMertens
• National Ballpark Museum, ballparkmuseum.com
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

The Hudson Valley Renegades, High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, have had a brand based on a raccoon for more than three decades. Guests this week include:

• Will Young, Assistant GM, Hudson Valley Renegades
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy

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• Instagram @baseballbydesign
• Threads @baseballbydesign
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The collegiate summer level Morehead City Marlins having been pushing boundaries for a few years, with the latest entry in a parade of double entendres being the Crystal Coast Booty Divers. Guests include:

• Buddy Bengel, Owner, Morehead City Marlins
• Brian Begley, Designer, iambrianbegley.com
• Matt Frick, Curator, St. Augustine Pirate and Treasurer Museum
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Ranger Am...

The Delmarva Shorebirds, Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, play in a part of the country named for three states. Guests this week include:

• Chris Bitters, GM, Delmarva Shorebirds
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy

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• Instagram @baseballbydesign
• Threads @baseballbydesign
• Bluesky @baseballbydes...

The Sussex County Miners, an independent professional team in the Frontier League, unveiled an alternate identity that honors one of New Jersey's quirkiest quirks—it's the only state in the union where it's illegal to pump your own gas. The team will play select games as the Fill it Up Regulars. Guests include:

The independent York Revolution play in a central Pennsylvania town that lays claim to the title of the nation's first cap...

The independent York Revolution play in a central Pennsylvania town that lays claim to the title of the nation's first capital—but their identity is more about industry than patriotism. Guests this week include:

• Eric Menzer, Vice Chairman, York Revolution
• Phil Broder, Kite Maker, Facebook
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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