Clearwater Threshers

13

As I've mentioned several times recently, the Florida State League used to have a majority of teams that just used their parent team's nickname but that's slowly changed until we've reached the point that most teams have their own identity. But it wasn't until today that I realized something about those identities. Here's a list of the nicknames of teams that aren't derived from the parent team:

• Manatees
• Stone Crabs
• Threshers
• Tortugas
• Miracle
• Hammerheads

For that matter, there was a news stories a few years ago about a shark found on the subway in Miami. I had wondered how a shark managed to walk on dry land to the subway. Now the answer is clear: it didn't. It swam there.

In case you haven't guessed by now, a thresher is a type of shark, and you can tell the shark in Clearwater's logo is a thresher because of the tail shape. The main distinguishing feature of a thresher is that the top portion of the caudal fin is almost as long as the body of the shark, while the lower potion is about the size you'd expect. You have to look closely at the shark in the logo to notice this, but the unusual fin shape is definitely there. But that's not the most interesting thing about the logo. The most interesting thing is that the thresher is chasing a baseball that apparently has just been hit and is moving at a rapid speed. A few days ago I would have thought this was impossible since threshers can't fly through the air, but now I get it. Does this actually happen at Threshers games? Because if it does, I just might actually be able to convince my wife to come to a game with me. She's not into baseball, but sharks fascinate her.

Final Score: 13 points.
Penalties: Equipment, 13 pts. Bonuses: None.