How other minor league baseball teams were named
The general manager of the El Paso Triple-A team is no stranger to team-naming contests.
Brad Taylor was responsible for launching the brand new ballpark and then new Minor League Baseball team in the Bowling Green, Kentucky community in the summer of 2008. The Bowling Green Hot Rods are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
In August 2008, the Bowling Green Baseball Club held a name-the-team contest to determine what moniker it would employ during its inaugural 2009 campaign. Hot Rods was the winner, but Cave Shrimp was a popular second choice. Mammoth Cave, which is close to Bowling Green, is the home to a species of blind albino shrimp known as Kentucky Cave Shrimp.
Cave Shrimp’s popularity led to “What Could’ve Been Night” in which the team was rechristened the Cave Shrimp and special shirts were given away to attendees. The night’s theme was also used to change the outcomes of a Super Bowl, NCAA basketball game, and even if Roseanne had sung the National Anthem with a great voice.
El Paso’s Triple-A baseball team announced the five finalist names for the team on June 20: Aardvarks, buckaroos, chihuahuas, desert gators, and sun dogs.
An overwhelming majority of El Pasoans are not happy with the choices and made their opinions known through social media. Team officials said the team name will definitely come from the list of five and will be chosen by which name has the most votes.
The public can vote once a day until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time June 27. Go to http://www.elpasotriplea.com/vote to vote. Minor League Baseball would have to approve the name chosen.
Ten years ago Albuquerque was trying to come up with a name for its new team. Some wanted it to be called the Dukes in a nod to the city’s previous team.
An Albuquerque Tribune poll was taken and Isotopes was the winner. But why Isotopes? Because that is what the Albuquerque team was named when the fictional baseball team from “The Simpsons” moved from Springfield to Albuquerque.
