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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
Spokane Indians 76

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 2011 April 16

A few years ago (2005, to be precise), the Spokane Indians became the second team in Northwest League history to win the league championship despite having a losing record (37-39) in the regular season. Since they were the second, there must have been another team to accomplish the same feat. This is impressive, but it does make you wonder what the hell a team with a losing record was doing in the playoffs in the first place. One of the things I've always liked about baseball is how the regular season means more. In hockey and basketball, over half the league makes the playoffs even in the highest league (there have even been minor leagues in hockey over the years where every single team made the playoffs.) By contrast, Major League Baseball lets in a mere eight out of thirty teams, and most minor leagues don't let many more in. That's not to say baseball playoffs are perfect — most of the minor league have some silly "split season" format, which always struck me as rather silly — but you don't expect losing teams to make the playoffs. How did this happen?

Apparently, the playoffs in the Northwest League (from 1965 to 2009, at least) simply featured the East Division champion playing the West Division champion, the way the baseball gods intended. And as it turned out, in 2005 the East Division just sucked. The 37-39 Indians were indeed the East Division champions, while the West Division's third-place Everett Aqua Sox were 42-34. In 1982, it was even more bizarre. The Medford A's were the only team in the entire league who had a winning record (they were 53-17). The 34-36 Salem Angels were not only the North Division champions, they were also the second best team in the league. Or maybe they were the best, since (as previously noted) they won the playoffs. I'm sure the Medford A's didn't live that one down until the following year, and they only lived it down that year because they once again dominated the league and also managed to win the playoffs. Things weren't nearly so dramatic in 2005, but still: a team with a losing record won the playoffs. Odd.

So what do you do when you are so lucky that you manage to win a playoff series you didn't really have much right to be in? Most people, being superstitious, would change as little as possible. Not these guys. They chose that year to start working on a new logo — assuming, I guess, that they had just spent any luck the old logo could possibly bring them. Normally, they would avoid any native American imagery in the logo. This is apparently a tradition in Spokane, and just the sort of thing you expect a team to do when it's embarrassed by the political incorrecteness of its team name but doesn't want to change it because it's been using it for over a century. But this time the Spokane Nation approached the team about creating some sort of official connection between the two groups. As a result, the team incorporated two feathers into their logo. They also created a secondary logo which is identical to the primary logo except that it is written in Salish, and it doesn't have the feathers. I'd tell you what the words in the logo transliterate to, but I don't speak Salish. Neither, for that matter, do most Spokane under the age of 60, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

All in all the logo isn't spectacular, but given their hesitance to use any but the most subtle native American imagery, I can understand why. It's probably the best BIC* logo out there, not only because there's a valid reason for them to have fallen back on the BIC approach but also because it's a nice color scheme. Okay, so red, white, and blue isn't very original, but the reason it gets used a lot is that it looks good. Besides, the color scheme here is technically not red, white, and blue; it's red, beige, navy blue, and sky blue.

And be honest: how much originally do you really expect, or even want, out of a team that's been using the same name since 1903? Exactly. Give 'em a pass.


* Baseball in circle


Final Score: 76 points.
Penalties: Equipment, 13 pts; Letter, 24 pts; Irrelevance, 39 pts; .
Bonuses: None.


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