Baseball By Design: Stories of Minor League Logos and Nicknames

The Frontier League's Lake Erie Crushers pay tribute to the wine industry in northern Ohio with their nickname and logo. This episode features the smalltown story of the team, its brand, and a local ice cream helmet collector. Guests include:

Guests include:

• Jacqueline Kramig, Sacramento River Cats
• Meg Kramig, Kramig Creative
• Jason Jennings, Twitter @jj9892454
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

The Triple-A Sacramento River Cats have been a mainstay in the Minor League Baseball landscape for almost a quarter century. On this episode we delve into the brand, their relationship with their parent club in San Francisco, and some of their alternate brands.

Guests include:

• Jake Ward, Justin Wiltron, Greg Coletti, Sacramento River Cats
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy, Twitter @rangeramy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: w...

The Winston-Salem Dash are named for the piece of punctuation between the names of the two towns that joined to form one—but is it the right piece of punctuation? On this episode we dive deep into the Dash's punctuation-based name and a few of their alternates, and Grammar Girl herself is back on the podcast! Guests include:

• Amanda Weaver, Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications, milb.com/winston-salem
• Travis Knisely, Grap...

The High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels fully embrace the corniness of their home state. Their logo has been around for more than a decade and a half, but it often goes underappreciated. Guests this week include:

• Scott Wilson, General Manager, Cedar Rapids Kernels
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Heather Hucka, Cerro Gordo County Conservation, Lime Creek Nature Center

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The collegiate summer level Fort Collins Foxes have new owners and a new brand for the first time since their inception in 2006. Guests include:

guests:

• Preston Munsch & Rochelle Reynolds, Fort Collins Foxes, fortcollinsfoxes.com
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy, Twitter @rangeramy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

• Twitter @Coun...

The Danville Dairy Daddies took the social media world by storm with the unveiling of their hunky bull of a logo. This episode features perspective from the team and the designer recorded before that unveiling took place. Guests

include:

• Austin Scher, General Manager, Danville Dairy Daddies
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Amber Graves, Lime Creek Nature Center

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For years, the team in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, played as the Barnstormers, but the team recently launched a new brand with the nickname Stormers. This episode features interviews with the team and the designer conducted just hours before the unveiling, as well as Lancaster native and Baseballpalooza regular Dave Hirte. Plus, Dan Simon is back with a Studio Simon Stumper!

• Lauren Zuckerman, Director of Marketing, lancasterstorme...

The Lexington Legends are back! On this episode, most of which was recorded before the world saw the team's new brand, the Legends owner and designer talk about bringing back a beloved nickname with a new suite of logos. Guests include:

• Alicia Amling, Temerity Baseball, Lexington Legends
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Brendan Kane, Educator, Kentucky

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The High-A Tri-City Dust Devils have two alternate brands that don't seem connected to one another at first, but dig deeper with Erik the Peanut Guy and you'll see how they relate. For the first time, this episode focuses entirely on alternate identities: the Columbia River Rooster Tails and Viñeros de Tri-City. Guests include:

• Erik "The Peanut Guy" Mertens, Tri-City Dust Devils, Twitter @ItsErikMertens
• Jason Klein, Brandiose, ...

The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball are named for a military aircraft closely tied to their hometown. On this episode:

• Chuck Domino, Consultant, flyingboxcars.com
• Skye Dillon, www.skyedesignstudios.com
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

• Twitter @Count2Baseball
• Instagram @baseballbydesign
• linktr.ee/Baseb...

The Double-A Biloxi Shuckers pay tribute to the seafood industry in the Gulf Coast with their anthropomorphic oyster brand. Guests this week include:

Guests include:

• Javik Blake, Shuckers Broadcaster, Twitter @javblake8
• Jason Klein, Brandiose, brandiose.com
• Dee, Manager, Blind Tiger Restaurant, Website
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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• Twitter...

The Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm play in a place not known for stormy weather. The team's on-field emcee Kaz Egan joins to talk about the significance of the name, Kim Cousins of the Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce discusses the team's connection to the city's slogan "Dream Extreme," and Dan Simon is back with a Studio Simon Stumper.

Guests include:

• Kaz Egan, DIrector of Promotions & Fan Engagement, Insta @kaz.egan
...

The Rome Emperors ditched their parent-based identity in favor of a penguin-based brand, which was met with a nearly universal positive response when it was unveiled this offseason. GM David Lane, designer Dan Simon, and wildlife correspondent Ranger Amy Burnett discuss the meaning behind the brand.

• David Lane, General Manager, Rome Emperors
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Ranger Amy Burnett, I...

The Hanshin Tigers, who recently won their second-ever championship in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League, are named for the fiercest of big cats. This episode explores the Tigers brand, the Curse of the Colonel, and baseball in Japan at large with guests:

• Masanori Shintani, lifelong Tigers fan (live from Laos!)
• Shane Barclay, owner, JapanBall
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy, Twitter @rangeramy
• Dan Simon, S...

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, have an identity based on their home in "The Natural State." This episode explores that name, their chicken-based alternate identity, and their freshly released updated suite of logos.

Guests include:

• Justin Cole, General Manager, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
• Michael Thurman & Brad Bishop, Torch Creative
• Jay Schneider, Arkansas State Parks
• Dan Sim...

Minor League Baseball logo design superstar Dan Simon stops by to celebrate a successful 2023 and look forward to more in 2024. We chat about foul balls, graphic design peccadillos, dark beer, and more in this end-of-year special.

On this episode:

• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon
• Do you need more than Dan Simon?

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

• Twitter @Count2Baseball
• Inst...

Designer Todd Radom is true to his word, and is back in episode 107 to talk about the enduring mystery of the Baltimore Orioles' use of an upside-down apostrophe in their O's logo—and more! We talk about Todd's collection of reimagined retro World Series logos, the Las Vegas A's, and apostrophes in general.

And designer Dan Simon is back, not only with his weekly Studio Simon Stumper, but with his own thoughts on apostrophes and hu...

The Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats have been around for 20 years, but they almost had a very different identity that was announced and then retracted. We delve into that story this week. Guests include:

• Michael Neis, General Manager, New Hampshire Fisher Cats
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy, Twitter @rangeramy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

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The collegiate summer level Madison Mallards have a unique brand built around a common bird. The team's suite of alternate identities builds on a fun primary identity that features a duck calling his shot Babe Ruth style. Guests include:

• Kyle Chisholm, Marketing Director, Madison Mallards
• Brent Bartels, Creative Services Manager
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy, Twitter @rangeramy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studios...