Top 10 Minor League Baseball Team Names

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By Noah Dahl

Teams in Minor League Baseball are always changing their names in order to be more creative and relevant for the next season. There are 261 teams to choose from so only picking ten was very hard. Unfortunately, not a lot of people are aware of these awesome team names so with this list I am going to go through what I believe to be the most interesting and creative team names and a few honorable mentions as well.

Honorable Mention 1- Auburn Doubledays

The Doubledays are a Short Season Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is named after Abner Doubleday who was a Civil War General, Auburn, NY native, and is credited with creating the game we all know and love today, baseball.

Honorable Mention 2- Rocket City Trash Pandas

The Trash Pandas are a Double-A affiliate of the Anaheim Angels. This team is coming into its inaugural season in 2020. In the first 13 months since the unveiling of the team’s name and logo they sold 2 million dollars worth of merchandise.

10. Toledo Mud Hens

The Mud Hens are a Triple-A Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Toledo, Ohio has been the home of different Minor League Baseball teams off and on since 1883. The Mud Hens era began in 1896 as the Swamp Angels which can be argued to be a better name than the Mud Hens which became the team name in 1965.

9. Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs

Iron Pigs are a Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The name Iron Pigs is a reference to Pig Iron, used predominantly in manufacturing steel which Lehigh Valley is known for. Before the name Iron Pigs the team was the Ottawa Lynx and an affiliate of the Montreal Expos from 1993-2002.

8. Chattanooga Lookouts

The Lookouts are a Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The Lookouts are the oldest team name in the league being off and on since 1885. Before the affiliation with the Reds, the team had an affiliation with the Minnesota Twins and before that the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Lookouts are among the 42 teams that MiLB will be cutting ties with at the conclusion of the 2020 season in order to fulfill their proposed plan to cut the leagues down.

7. Hartford Yard Goats

The Yard Goats are a Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team has been active since 1983. This team has proven themselves to be true road dogs. In 2016 due to the construction of their new home Dunkin’ Donuts Park, they played all games on the road. They finished 74-67 and 3rd in the Eastern Division. The team has two mascots, a male green goat named Chompers, and a blue female goat named Chew Chew.

6. Augusta Greenjackets

The Greenjackets are a Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The team's name is in honor of the Masters golf tournament played in Augusta Georgia, where the winner receives a green jacket. The tournament is played across the river from where the Greenjackets play home games. Prior to the affiliation with the Giants this team had an affiliation with the Red Sox where it saw rehab stints with Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis.

5. Batavia Muckdogs

The Muckdogs are the Short-Season Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Muckdogs are located in Batavia, NY where the population is less than 16,000 people. Batavia is one of the smallest cities to host a professional baseball team. The team has surrendered to the New York Penn League prior to the 2018 season for not meeting financial requirements. Essentially to break that down, the owner gave the team to the league they play for and said figure it out. Easy for the league because they become one of the 42 teams that the MiLB will cut. Even with no one wanting them and less than 800 fans at each home game, the team won its division in 2019.

4. Akron RubberDucks

The RubberDucks are a Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team changed its name in 2013 from the Aeros to the RubberDucks, for the better. The owner held a name-the-team contest where the fans pick names and vote on them, the finalists were RubberDucks, Gum Drippers, Tire Jacks, and Vulcans. The Owner picked RubberDucks due to the ties in the city, the rubber industry has deep roots in the city of Akron. This team has seen many greats such as pitcher and friend of Take Your Base Sports James Karinchak.

3. Montgomery Biscuits

The Biscuits are a Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Their team owner also held a name-the-team contest and he selected the name Biscuits because of the marketing and pun possibilities. A couple he had in mind were things like “Hey butter butter butter butter” and the teams souvenir store name “biscuit basket”. During games biscuits are shot from an air cannon and the official colors of the team are butter and blue.

2. Richmond Flying Squirrels

The Flying Squirrels are a Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The team's name came about after a name-the-team contest in 2009. Some finalists were Hambones, Rhinos, Flatheads, and Hush Puppies. The name Hambones was immediately ruled out after a city-wide uproar and the NAACP involvement finding the name could be used as a derogatory term towards the African American Community. The team has been an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants since 2003.

1. Albuquerque Isotopes

The Isotopes are the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team name came from the fictional Springfield Isotopes in the TV show “The Simpsons.” The team got the name in 2003 when the organization put an article in the Albuquerque Tribune for the fans to come up with a new name and Isotopes got 67% of the votes. The team embraces the name and relationship to the Simpsons, the park has statues of Homer, Bart, Lisa and Marge that were created as promotional items for the movie in 2007.