Baseball By Design: Stories of Minor League Logos and Nicknames

The collegiate summer level Madison Mallards keep hitting it out of the park with their popular alternate identities. They'll play a game this season as "The Dudes" in tribute to the movie The Big Lebowski later this season. Guests include:

• Kyle Chisholm, Marketing Director, Madison Mallards
• Brent Bartels, Creative Services Manager
• Jim Christopher, Ballpark Nation, YouTube @ballparknation
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosim...

When the wind is blowing the right direction and the General Mills plant is producing the aromas from one of its signature items, the whole city of Buffalo takes on the smell of a freshly poured bowl of cereal. And the team can trace the origins of "My City Smells Like Cheerios Night" to an episode of this podcast from 2023! Guests include:

• Pat Malacaro, Bisons Broadcaster, Twitter @PatWGR
• Valerie Ruiz, Stadium Food Girl, Inst...

The Double-A Columbus Clingstones will play select games this year as the Scrambled Dogs, a tribute to a local delicacy that has its roots in an iconic pharmacy soda fountain.

This week on the podcast:

• Mike Jones, Graphic Designer, Insta @bucket826
• Kellie Oliver, Owner, Dinglewood Pharmacy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

• Instagram @basebal...

The Double-A Tulsa Drillers have a classic brand and a host of fun alternates. Their identity pays tribute to Oklahoma's oil industry.

This week on the podcast:

• Justin Gorski, General Manager, Tulsa Drillers
• Live check-in from the ballpark with Ranger Amy, Chris Storm, and Julie Nickelasian
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

• Instagram @baseba...

The Double-A Reading Fightin Phils have one of Minor League Baseball's longest standing relationships with their parent club, they have a primary identity based on a hot dog vendor who dresses like a guy riding an ostrich, and they lay claim to the title Baseball Town.

This week on the podcast:

• Jake Starr, Lead Broadcaster, Reading Fightin Phils
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosim...

The independent professional Lake Country DockHounds will pay tribute to their home state's favorite watering holes when they play as the Wisconsin Dive Bars. This episode explores the development of that brand.

Guests include:

• Bryan Giese, Dockhounds Director of Marketing, Insta @bgiese77
• Gregory Schuch, Dockhounds Designer, Insta @schuch.greg
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Ba...

The Single-A Visalia Rawhide have had the same identity since 2009, a text-based, Western-themed logo that features a whip. But they've ventured into the alternate identity with a fun character-based brand, the Central Valley Sir Loins

Guests include:

• Griffin Epstein, Broadcaster, Visalia Rawhide
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon, studiosimon.net

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

• Instagram @baseballbydesign
• Threads ...

Sports design royalty Todd Radom joins to discuss his new book, The Ballpark and Beyond, which explores the history of baseball through amusing and interesting anecdotes. Who was the first team to have a website? How many MLB ballparks have burned down? Who is in the Discarded Mascot Island of Misfit Toys? The answers to these questions and more are in this episode!

Pre-order The Ballpark and Beyond at toddradom.com/the-ballpark-an...

The collegiate summer level Zebulon Devil Dogz will take up residence in the former home of the dearly departed Carolina Mudcats. They'll field a team of Australian players and sport a brand that has its roots in two hemispheres. Guests include:

• Caleb Whitmore, General Manager, Zebulon Devil Dogz
• Brian Begley, Designer, iambrianbegley.com
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball...

The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are paying tribute to a classic movie that put their hometown on the map with a Fargo Woodchippers alternate identity. The fun new brand is a serious departure from their traditional-feeling primary brand. Guests include:

• Eli Swanson, Director of Communications and Marketing, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
• John Worthen, Worthen Design
• Jim Christopher, Ballpark Nation, YouTube @ballparknation
• Dan Simon, Stu...

Your host Paul checked off a life list item with a visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to see a World Baseball Classic game. The trip turned into so much more with great friends, cultural experiences, and a chance to chat with Pool A's play-by-play broadcaster. 

This week on the podcast:

• Tyler Maun, WBC Broadcaster, MiLB Show Before the Show Host, Insta @tylermaunpxp
• Ed Rivera, Dad Hat Chronicles, Insta @thedadhat216
• Dan Simo...

The short-season class A Lowell Spinners were lost to history with the reorganization of affiliated Minor League Baseball. But six years later, they are back with new owners and at a new classification! This episode explores the reborn Spinners with some old and new marks.

This week on the podcast:

• Marc Deschenes, Owner, Lowell Spinners
• Jim Macleod, jimmacleod.com
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_sim...

The Newport Gulls play in the collegiate summer level New England Collegiate Baseball League, and they are the first team from Rhode Island featured on Baseball By Design. Their adorable seagull-based logo has endured for a quarter century.

This week on the podcast:

• Chuck Paiva, Owner, Newport Gulls
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Base...

The Stockton Ports, Single-A affiliate of the Athletics, are based in one of the country's largest inland ports, 80 miles east of the San Joaquin River. They also play in the Asparagus Capital of the World. Guests this week include:

• Pat Filippone, President, Stockton Ports
• Jason Klein, Brandiose, brandiose.com
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

The Nanaimo NightOwls and the Nanaimo Bars are one team that plays in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Their nicknames are a tribute to local wildlife and a confection named for the area.

This week on the podcast:

• Jim Swanson, Managing Partner, Nanaimo NightOwls/Bars
• Reuben Butterfield, Round 3 Agency
• Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball...

The brand-new Hill City Howlers, Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, base their brand on a series of classic movie monsters. The team, formerly the Lynchburg Hillcats, play in a ballpark adjacent to a cemetery, setting the spooky scene. Guests include:

• Dylan Narang, Owner, Hill City Howlers
• Jim Christopher, Ballpark Nation, YouTube @ballparknation
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

The newest team in the Pioneer League celebrates the natural and cultural diversity of Long Beach, California, not to mention the town's signture 11 miles of coastline. The text-based identity is a departure from the trends in minor league baseball branding.

Guests include:

• Ena Patel, President, Long Beach Coast
• David Sauer, Musician, One High Five
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find th...

From 1994 to 2016, the Brevard County Manatees graced the fields of the Florida State League with a logo based on one of the ocean's most endearing animals. Guests include:

• JP Brooker, Ocean Conservany, jpbrooker.com
• Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon

Find the Baseball By Design podcast online:

• Instagram @baseballbydesign
• Threads @baseballbydesign
• Bluesky @baseballbydesign.bsky.social
• ...

The Salem RidgeYaks, Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, are the latest affiliated Minor League Baseball team to move away from a name based on their parent club to one that celebrates an aspect of the local community. The nickname pays tribute to outdoor recreation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Guests include:

• Allen Lawrence, General Manager, Salem RidgeYaks
• Dr. Chris Mayer, Professor of Recreation Studies
• Dan Simon, Stu...