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Aberdeen IronBirds*
Acereros del Norte
Águila de Veracruz
Aigles de Trois-Rivières
Akron RubberDucks
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Algodoneros de Unión Laguna
Altoona Curve
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Augusta GreenJackets
Beloit Sky Carp*
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Boise Hawks
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Bradenton Marauders
Bravos de León
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Capitales de Quebec
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Charleston Dirty Birds
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Charlotte Knights*
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Chicago Dogs
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Cleburne Railroaders
Columbia Fireflies
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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
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Florence Y'Alls
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
Fort Wayne TinCaps
Fredericksburg Nationals
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Grand Junction Jackalopes
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Greenville Drive
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Harrisburg Senators
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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
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Kansas City Monarchs
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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
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Mariachis de Guadalajara
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Reading Fightin Phils
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Salem Red Sox
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Spire City Ghost Hounds*
Springfield Cardinals
St. Lucie Mets
St. Paul Saints
Staten Island FerryHawks
Stockton Ports
Sugar Land Skeeters
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Sussex County Miners*
Syracuse Mets
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Tennessee Smokies
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Toledo Mud Hens
Toros de Tijuana
Tri-City Dust Devils
Tri-City ValleyCats
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Visalia Rawhide
Washington Wild Things
West Michigan Whitecaps
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Winnipeg Goldeyes*
Winston-Salem Dash
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Worcester Red Sox*
York Revolution
Aberdeen IronBirds 72

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 2014 May 25

For those who don't know, the Aberdeen IronBirds are owned by Cal Ripken, who was nicknamed "The Iron Man" and who played for the Baltimore Orioles, informally known as "The Birds". For the life of me I can't figure out where the IronBirds name comes from. It's a mystery to me.

Cal Ripken is, incidentally, the reason why I do baseball reviews. When I started the Bush League Factor, it was a hockey-only thing. When I got to the point that I was close to having all the hockey teams done, I was trying to decide what sport to do next, and I chose baseball in part because I had really gotten into baseball over the previous few years. The reason I had gotten into baseball? The Baltimore Orioles (then starring Cal Ripken, Jr.) and the fact that I worked third shift at the time. My schedule often didn't put my two days off together, so a day off basically meant staying up all night (no point trying to change my sleep schedule for a single day) and staying at home watching TV (because there's not a lot to do at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday night in Raleigh today, and there was even less fifteen years ago). 3 a.m. on a Tuesday night also isn't a great time to watch TV unless you like infomercials. But Comcast SportsNet would air the evening's baseball game in a heavily edited form. Basically, they trimmed a lot of the fat — the spitting and scratching, the throws from the pitcher to first base to keep the base runner from leading off too much, et cetera. For a lifelong hockey fan, it kept my attention much better than a game in real time would have at that time. But I probably wouldn't have even given the edited baseball a chance were it not for the fact that the games featured this guy who at the time was still extending the streak for most consecutive games played every time he stepped onto the field. So basically, if you hate the Bush League Factor's baseball reviews, blame Cal Ripken, Jr. Also, if you hate the Bush League Factor's baseball reviews, why the fuck are you reading this?

Given all this, I think I would find it pretty hard to be critical of the team's name, logo, or much of anything else. That could have been a problem a few years ago, when the logo was of a jet plane with a facial expression reminiscent of Thomas The Tank Engine. Fortunately, they recently replaced that logo with the one you see above. What needs to be said about this? It is, literally, an iron bird. True, most birds don't have flames shooting out of the tips of their wings, but most birds aren't made of metal, so there. The use of the looking-right-at-you perspective is particularly effective here, especially when you think about the iron talons. Here, think about it: There's a huge bird of prey coming right for you, it's made of iron, and it's got flames shooting out of it. You've got half a second to decide what to do. What's it going to be? That's right: you've just soiled yourself. And that's why this is a good logo.

Final Score: 72 points.
Penalties: Wordplay, 23 pts; Software, 27 pts; Compound, 34 pts.
Bonuses: Logo, -12 pts.


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