Baseball By Design: Stories of Minor League Logos and Nicknames

Baseball By Design: Stories of Minor League Logos and Nicknames

Baseball By Design tells the story of America one minor league baseball logo and nickname at a time. Paul Caputo covers minor league baseball at all levels for the website SportsLogos.net. On this podcast, he talks with front office personnel and designers about the origins of some of the game‘s best and wackiest logos and nicknames. Instagram, Threads, Bluesky: @baseballbydesign

Episodes

July 29, 2025 42 mins

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:

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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:

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July 15, 2025 50 mins

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:

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    July 8, 2025 50 mins

    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:

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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!

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    June 24, 2025 56 mins

    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:

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    June 17, 2025 59 mins

    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:

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    June 10, 2025 51 mins

    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:

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    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...

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    May 27, 2025 48 mins

    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:

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    May 20, 2025 53 mins

    The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have a classic name and a brand that they have expanded with a number of recent alternate identities. Guests this week include:

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    May 13, 2025 54 mins

    The brand-new collegiate summer level Marion Hungry Mothers are name for an almost definitely apocryphal legend of a mom and her child running for their lives. Guests include:

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    Ride along with designer Dan Simon, host of the Baseball Bucket List podcast Anna DiTommaso, and Ranger Amy on the annual road trip affectionately known as AnnaDannaPalooza. This year we dodge Georgia raindrops in Atlanta, Columbus, and Rome to sneak in four games (and a trip to the Georgia Aquarium) in 48 hours.

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    April 29, 2025 36 mins

    The Triple-A Norfolk Tides switched from a traditional brand to one based on a Neptune seahorse just over a decade ago. The new brand tells a number of stories about the ecology and the culture of Virginia's Tidewater region.

    Guests include:

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    April 22, 2025 52 mins

    The Triple-A Rochester Red Wings are one of the longest-tenured teams not only in Minor League Baseball, but all of sports. The team pre-dates a certain hockey team of the same name by two years.

    Guests include:

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    April 15, 2025 58 mins

    The Fresno Grizzlies have a brand based on an iconic, extinct animal that is featured on the California state flag, the California Grizzly. Additionally, they are innovators in alternate brands, launching the MiLB food frenzy with their groundbreaking Tacos identity.

    Guests include:

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    April 8, 2025 54 mins

    The brand new High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers is the Hub City Spartanburgers, who play in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Their burger-based brand gets into all the condiments, and then some! Guests include:

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    April 1, 2025 56 mins

    As we launch the 2025 baseball season, longtime Minor League Baseball reporter and commentator Ben Hill stops by to discuss new logos, minor league baseball culture, and Weird Al Yankovich.  

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    March 25, 2025 51 mins

    The Washington Wild Things have played in the independent Frontier League since 2002 with a logo that features a sunglasses-wearing animal. In this episode we delve into just what that animal is. 

    Guests include:

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    March 18, 2025 45 mins

    Thomas Harding has covered the Colorado Rockies for more than a quarter century, and during that time has developed an interest in sports design and even created some of his own logos. He joins from Spring Training in Arizona to discuss the history of Rockies branding, sports branding at large, and some of his own work.

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