Baseball


HOME
HOCKEY
OTHER

RULES
RANKINGS
HISTORY



TEAMS

Teams with asterisks are not yet posted

Aberdeen IronBirds*
Acereros del Norte
Águila de Veracruz
Aigles de Trois-Rivières
Akron RubberDucks
Albuquerque Isotopes
Algodoneros de Unión Laguna
Altoona Curve
Amarillo Sod Poodles
Arkansas Travelers
Asheville Tourists
Augusta GreenJackets
Beloit Sky Carp*
Billings Mustangs
Biloxi Shuckers
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Birmingham Barons
Boise Hawks
Bowie Baysox
Bowling Green Hot Rods
Bradenton Marauders
Bravos de León
Brooklyn Cyclones
Buffalo Bisons
Capitales de Quebec
Carolina Mudcats
Cedar Rapids Kernels
Charleston Dirty Birds
Charleston RiverDogs
Charlotte Knights*
Chattanooga Lookouts
Chicago Dogs
Clearwater Threshers
Cleburne Railroaders
Columbia Fireflies
Columbus Clippers
Corpus Christi Hooks
Dayton Dragons
Daytona Tortugas
Delmarva Shorebirds
Diablos Rojos del México
Down East Wood Ducks
Dunedin Blue Jays
Durham Bulls
El Paso Chihuahuas
Empire State Greys*
Erie SeaWolves
Eugene Emeralds
Evansville Otters*
Everett AquaSox
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
Florence Y'Alls
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
Fort Wayne TinCaps
Fredericksburg Nationals
Fresno Grizzlies
Frisco RoughRiders
Gary SouthShore RailCats
Gastonia Honey Hunters
Gateway Grizzlies
Generales de Durango
Glacier Range Riders
Grand Junction Jackalopes
Great Falls Voyagers
Great Lakes Loons
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Greenville Drive
Guerreros de Oaxaca
Gwinnett Stripers
Harrisburg Senators
Hartford Yard Goats
Hickory Crawdads
High Point Rockers
Hillsboro Hops
Hudson Valley Renegades
Idaho Falls Chukars
Indianapolis Indians
Inland Empire 66ers of San
   Bernardino

Iowa Cubs
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Jersey Shore BlueClaws*
Joliet Slammers
Jupiter Hammerheads
Kane County Cougars
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Kansas City Monarchs
Lake County Captains
Lake Country DockHounds
Lake Elsinore Storm
Lake Erie Crushers
Lakeland Flying Tigers
Lancaster Barnstormers
Lansing Lugnuts
Las Vegas Aviators
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Leones de Yucatán
Lexington Counter Clocks
Lincoln Saltdogs*
Long Island Ducks
Louisville Bats
Lynchburg Hillcats
Mariachis de Guadalajara
Memphis Redbirds
Midland RockHounds
Milwaukee Milkmen
Mississippi Braves
Missoula Paddleheads
Modesto Nuts
Montgomery Biscuits
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Nashville Sounds
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Jersey Jackals
New York Boulders
Norfolk Tides
Northern Colorado Owlz
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Ogden Raptors
Oklahoma City Dodgers
Olmecas de Tabasco
Omaha Storm Chasers
Ottawa Titans
Palm Beach Cardinals
Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Peoria Chiefs
Pericos de Puebla
Piratas de Campeche
Portland Sea Dogs
Quad City River Bandits
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Reading Fightin Phils
Reno Aces
Richmond Flying Squirrels
Rieleros de Aguascalientes
Rochester Red Wings
Rocket City Trash Pandas
Rocky Mountain Vibes
Rome Braves
Round Rock Express
Sacramento River Cats
Salem Red Sox
Salt Lake Bees
San Antonio Missions
San Jose Giants
Saraperos de Saltillo
Schaumburg Boomers
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Sioux City Explorers
Sioux Falls Canaries
Somerset Patriots
South Bend Cubs
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Spokane Indians
Spire City Ghost Hounds*
Springfield Cardinals
St. Lucie Mets
St. Paul Saints
Staten Island FerryHawks
Stockton Ports
Sugar Land Skeeters
Sultanes de Monterrey
Sussex County Miners*
Syracuse Mets
Tacoma Rainiers
Tampa Tarpons
Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos
Tennessee Smokies
Tigres de Quintana Roo
Toledo Mud Hens
Toros de Tijuana
Tri-City Dust Devils
Tri-City ValleyCats
Vancouver Canadians
Visalia Rawhide
Washington Wild Things
West Michigan Whitecaps
Wichita Wind Surge
Wilmington Blue Rocks
Windy City Thunderbolts
Winnipeg Goldeyes*
Winston-Salem Dash
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Worcester Red Sox*
York Revolution
Mississippi Braves 71

Notice: All logos on this page are included within the parameters of 17 U.S.C. § 107, which states that the reproduction of a copyrighted work for purposes of criticism and/or comment is not an infringement of copyright. No challenge to the copyrights of these logos is intended by their inclusion here.
Posted 2009 August 19

The Atlanta Braves own all of their farm teams except for their Advanced Single-A affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League. It shows. All of the other teams use the Braves name, and all of them use the Atlanta Braves logo with some modification that serves no purpose other than to get the name of the city into the logo.

This, my friends, is phenomenally boring. I understand that the Atlanta Braves are a relatively popular team, thanks to their having been broadcast on TBS for years, so there's a certain marketing value to using the Braves name. But four times? Not even the Yankees do that, for crying out loud (they do this three times). And the fact that the Atlanta Braves own the teams doing this puts a different spin on it. If the local owners of the baseball team in Des Moines decide that they want to call their team the Iowa Cubs, no one can say that nobody in Des Moines was asked what they thought of the name. It's a little different when a team in Danville Gwinnett Mississippi is named after a team in Atlanta because of a decision made by someone in Atlanta. Granted, there's no worry of the team in Danville Gwinnett Mississippi changing its affiliation the way the team in Des Moines might, but I still don't like it. Would it kill them to run "Name the Team" contests in each of the cities and let them have their own identity? Apparently so.

And it's not like it's a great name or logo to begin with. No, I'm not going to go off on a rant about the name being offensive to Native Americans (I try to steer clear of that controversy). But even if you accept the idea that Native American-themed names are acceptable, then "Braves" is still pretty stupid. It just sounds silly, and it's worth pointing out that you never hear people, even in a historical context, referred to as "Braves" anymore. In other words, while arguments about the word "Indian" are largely confined to its use as a team name, use of "Brave" seems to be controversial even in general use. Between that and the fact that the name sounds fairly stupid anyway, it probably needs to be retired. But even if they're not going to quit using the name in Atlanta, they could at least find something better for their farm teams.

They could do do what the NHL's Los Angeles Kings have done. The Kings have given the minor league teams they've owned named with a similar but different name: Reading Royals, Manchester Monarchs, Ontario Reign. (Okay, so the last name sucks, but it fits the theme. And the other two are pretty cool). The Atlanta Braves could do the same. You could have the Gwinnett Warriors, or the Danville Chiefs. Or maybe they could try to obtain permission from nearby nations to use those names, the way Florida State does with the Seminole. It might not work. Maybe the Choctaw wouldn't be too keen on working with an organization called the Atlanta Braves. There's no longer a significant native American population near Gwinnett. But it's a thought. Like I said, it would be an improvement.

As for the Danville Gwinnett Mississippi Braves, they modify the Atlanta logo by adding a baseball and a baseball diamond (complete with curved outfield) simply adding the word "Gwinnett" above the logo putting a state outline behind it, having a baseball flying out of the city where the team plays, and adding the word "Mississippi" in a block near the top of the state. What's really sad is that even these differences weren't original. They were originally used by the Richmond Braves, although now that that team has moved to Georgia, they no longer use the same logo. Maybe the people in Atlanta figured that since Danville is so low on the totem pole, they didn't deserve their own logo. Or maybe that was just their plan for Virginia teams. Given the fact that all the others were given some kind of background element, this does make them somewhat distinct. Or maybe they just couldn't be bothered to try this time around. Apparently they were inspired to really try to make it as different as possible this time around, given the limitation of needing to keep the Atlanta Braves logo in it. Or maybe they just couldn't decide what to do. I don't know. But at least now they're the only team using that particular variation, so at least they are unique in their lack of being unique.

That doesn't change the fact that the name stinks and the logo is unoriginal.

Final Score: 71 points.
Penalties: Region (egregious), 17 pts; Script, 7 pts; Offspring, 12 pts; Equipment, 13 pts; Name, 10 pts; Logo, 12 pts.
Bonuses: None.


This page Copyright ©2009 Scott D. Rhodes. All rights reserved