Baseball By Design: Stories of Minor League Logos and Nicknames

The Charleston Dirty Birds pay homage to the tiniest heroes of local industry with their brand—the literal canaries in the coal mine. The Godfather of Minor League Baseball Branding, Chuck Domino, stops by to talk about his philosophy of naming teams; designer Carolina Buchas talks about the development of the logo; and Jordan Bennett, curator of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, educates us on the history of the use of canaries in the mining industry.

Charleston Dirty Birds

Caroline Buchas

National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum

Baseball By Design

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The Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers have one of the most popular brands in the minors, but they had a unique challenge in replacing a brand based on beloved native son Dale Earnhardt. Alicia Amling of Temerity Baseball, designer Dan Simon of Studio Simon, and six-time Guinness Record holder and human cannon baller himself David "The Bullet" Smith tell the story of this unique brand on this episode.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Dan Simon, Studio Simon

David "The Bullet" Smith

Baseball By Design

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The High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods are more than just a cool minor league team with a great logo—they're an integral part of their community. On this episode of Baseball By Design, the team's award-winning general manager Eric Leach stops by to talk about not just the team's brand, but the role they play in being good neighbors; home-grown designer Brandon Lamarche of 3-2 Designs talks about his work on all of the team's brands; and Mariah Hughes of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green joins to discuss car culture, sink holes, and the museum experience.

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Eric Leach

Brandon Lamarche, 3-2 Designs

National Corvette Museum

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In Baseball By Design's first ever Tampa Bay Rays-style opener, Sofie Dill joins to tell the story of how she ordered a pizza for Mariners player Jesse Winker. Then, we're joined by Tyler Maun and Josh Jackson, who cover Minor League Baseball in lots of ways, including writing for MiLB's website and on the Show Before the Show podcast. Most importantly for the purposes of this podcast, Tyler Maun writes in-depth stories about teams' logos, nicknames, and uniforms, and Josh Jackson hosts a podcast segment called "Ghosts of the Minors," which delves into some of the quirkiest team names in early days of the sport. 

Sofie Dill

Tyler Maun

Josh Jackson

Baseball By Design

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For two decades, the Pioneer League team in Missoula, Montana, was called the Osprey before they rebranded as the PaddleHeads—a nickname that describes both moose and people who love being on the river. The team survived a season cancelled by COVID and losing their Major League affiliation when the minors were reorganized in 2020, and now have a popular brand new in an idyllic setting. On this episode, team president Matt Ellis, Brandiose partner Jason Klein, and Pioneer League Vice President Henry Hunter discuss the unique identity.

Missoula PaddleHeads

Brandiose

Pioneer League

Baseball By Design

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The Burlington Sock Puppets are the only team in the new-look Appalachian League whose logo was not created by Major League Baseball. In the first-ever group interview on Baseball By Design, designer Dan Simon of Studio Simon is joined by Sock Puppets Owner/Team President Ryan Keur, General Manager Anderson Rathbun, and Assistant General Manager Thomas Vickers to discuss the disagreements and discussions that led to the groundbreaking identity.

Burlington Sock Puppets

Dan Simon, Studio Simon

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Designer extraordinaire Todd Radom is back on Baseball By Design, this time to discuss his work on the Wichita Wind Surge's Pegasus-based brand and what the nickname Wind Surge means to the up-and-coming city of Wichita, Kansas—not to mention the alternate Turbo Tubs brand that he created. The team's director of fan experience Bob Moullette also joins, offering his perspective on the transition from the notably wacky New Orleans Baby Cakes brand to the  more austere Wind Surge identity.

Todd Radom

Wichita Wind Surge

Baseball By Design

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The Triple-A Worcester Red Sox—or WooSox to friends—have a brand built around the iconic yellow smiley face created by commercial artist and Worcester native Harvey Ball. This episode features the team's director of productions Tim Quitadamo, Brandiose designer Jason Klein, baseball media member and Red Sox fan Gabrielle Starr, and Harvey Ball's son Charles.

WooSox

Brandiose

Gabrielle Starr

Baseball By Design

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It's opening day for the collegiate summer level West Coast League, owner of a brand new logo that highlights the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, where the league operates. The 16-team league features such wacky teams as the Portland Pickles, Walla Walla Sweets, and Nanaimo Night Owls/Bars (who play by different names according to the time of day), but the new logo is understated and subtle.

The league's commissioner Rob Neyer, TV commentator and author or co-author of eight books on baseball, joins the podcast to talk about the league, the logo, some of the teams, and his latest book, The Umpire Is OUT, about openly gay umpire MLB umpire Dale Scott.

Rob Neyer

West Coast League

Baseball By Design

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The collegiate summer level Danville Otterbots made a splash with their aquatic robot mammal logo. Otterbots general manager Austin Scher stops by to discuss the many layers of significance to the team's brand—along with his own extensive knowledge of minor league baseball branding. Plus, Otterbots Ambassadors Tim Stoops of Montana and Johnny Bowlin of Mississippi discuss the team's ground-breaking ambassador program.

Danville Otterbots

Ambassadors on Twitter

Baseball By Design

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