Requiem for minor league team names

Let’s have a chat about minor league baseball, starting with the New York Yankees’ Triple-A Affiliate in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

It was announced Saturday that after 14 years as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the team would have a new name in 2027. Now, they are the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Highlanders. Complete with color change and a bear mascot too! Out with the navy, gold, white, and “cranberry,” in with navy pinstripes and some forest green.

The name, while not overly creative, fits the team. The Yankees were originally named the New York Highlanders, largely because their home stadium Hilltop Park (aka “The Rock Pile”) stood far uptown in Washington Heights. It’s also an indirect nod to the Scranton area. The Highlanders’ home stadium is in Moosic, part of the Appalachian Mountains’ “Ridge and Valley” area.

Translation: It’s a popular camping and hiking spot.

Now, I don’t mean to get all “Old man yells at cloud,” but what happened to minor league baseball? I remember taking summer road trips through New England and the names, while sometimes a little strange, made sense. The now-defunct New Haven Ravens rhymed. The Portland Sea Dogs play in a small coastal city. The Erie SeaWolves are a nod to Lake Erie and their original team affiliate, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

But now? It’s not like we don’t love independent minor league baseball like the Staten Island FerryHawks or, bless them, the Savannah Bananas, but looking at today’s minor league teams reads more like a list of teams trying to out-gimmick each other.

Keeping in mind, Triple-A ball is still largely a group of respected old school squads. The Columbus Clippers, Iowa Cubs, Salt Lake Bees, and infamous Toledo Mud Hens among them. And don’t forget the ever old-school Durham Bulls either, Meat.

But even then, the Miami Marlins’ affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida suddenly became the damn Jumbo Shrimp after over five decades as the Suns.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Down in Double-A, the Akron Aeros suddenly rebranded to the Akron RubberDucks. The former Navigators/Defenders of Norwich, Connecticut moved to Richmond, Virginia and became the Flying Squirrels. The New Haven Ravens moved to New Hampshire and became the Fisher Cats.

As the Harrisburg Senators, Altoona Curve, and Reading Fightin’ Phils hope their small old-school Pennsylvania contingent holds together, right?

Until then, the rest of us will look at the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and long for the old Carolina Mudcats. Oh, and the old New Orleans Zephyrs? They’re now the Wichita Turbo Tubs.

Don’t look at Single-A ball. Just don’t.

Look, in the grand scheme of things, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Highlanders is tame. It works for the Yankees.

Except minor league ball is also supposed to be a nod to the home city. At least in some small way. And RailRiders worked for Scranton for so many reasons: the city’s history as a railroad hub, Pennsylvania’s long relationship with the steel industry, and more.

But hey, it’s fine. Because now there’s a new name AND a bear.