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
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 159

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 2022 July 1

Kannapolis has long struck me as an odd name. Having lived as a kid in Maryland, I of course knew that the capital of Maryland is Annapolis, and that the name means "city of Anne". So Kannapolis must mean "city of Kanne", right? I mean, that's just logic. I have no idea who Kanne is, but but she (he?) must be important to get a city named after her (him?), even if it's not a state capital.

It turns out that the name actually means "city of Cannon", referring either to Cannon Mills (a textile mill that Kannapolis was founded around) or James William Cannon (the founder of Cannon Mills). Apparently in its early years the area was also known as Cannonopolis, Cannapolis, and Cannon City. How exactly the C became a K is unclear. It's apparently a common belief in the area that kanna (or more accurately, καννα) is Greek for loom and thus Kannapolis means "city of looms", but καννα isn't the Greek word for loom and even if it was that's not where the name comes from.

It should come as little surprise to you, after reading that last paragraph, that Cannon Ballers is intended as a reference to Cannon Mills, among other things (it's also a racing reference, but I don't feel like getting into that right now). So they basically named the team after the same thing they named the town after. I suppose you can't blame them, because what else is there in Kannapolis to name a team after?

Oh, right: there's the thing the team was named after for nearly twenty years before it was called the Cannon Ballers. From 2001 to 2019, the team was the Kannapolis Intimidators, after NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Earnhardt became a part owner for the team a few months before he died, and the team named itself after his nickname almost immediately after he joined the ownership group. So why did the team change its name recently? Because in 2018 it was sold to new owners, and the Earnhardt family still owns the trademark on the Intimidator name. From what I could find the Earnhardt family didn't make the new owners choose a new name, but it seems that marketing the team without owning the trademark was going to be...complicated. Thus the new name. Not that the team has totally gotten away from the association with Dale Earnhardt. The outfit that the stuntman in the Cannon Ballers logo is wearing is reminiscent of Earnhardt's racing uniform, and the stuntman's moustache looks sort of like Earnhardt's moustache, too. I'm not entirely certain how the team is getting away with this, but I figure either they got permission or they were careful to make things just different enough to have plausible deniability.

The stuntman character has a name, incidentally. His name is Boomer Baller. Had I written this review two or three years ago that would almost certainly have resulted in me trying to shoehorn an "Okay boomer" joke in here, but it's a bit late for that now. And had I written this review about thirty-five years ago when I was a teenager it would almost certainly have led to a much more immature joke, because how does a name like "Boomer Baller" not lead to really immature jokes from teenagers? I'm not entirely certain how I'm resisting the urge to make such a joke now. But I'll just point out that "Boomer Baller" is a ridiculous sounding name and leave it at that. It sounds like a name from a really stupid comedy movie. In fact if you told me there was a minor character in Talladega Nights named Boomer Baller I'd probably believe you. They really should have come up with a better name.

Maybe they could have named him Kanne.

Final Score: 159 points.
Penalties: Reference, 10 pts; Alliteration, 5 pts; Script, 7 pts; Equipment, 13 pts; Humanoid (egregious), 61 pts; Cartoon, 47 pts; Name, 10 pts; Logo, 12 pts.
Bonuses: Local, -6 pts.


This page Copyright ©2022 Scott D. Rhodes. All rights reserved