Tagged: Swinging Friar
Here Goes Somethin’
Hello, and welcome to the latest and therefore greatest era in Ben’s Biz Blog history.
As you may or may not have noticed, the entire MLBlogs network has transitioned from Typepad to WordPress. This switch in blogging platforms has not been without growing pains, but like the Davies brothers on treadmills the Kinks are being worked out.
Minor League Baseball news waits for no blogger, however, so I’ll put aside my anxiety and dive right into the fray. I have two lead items for today, both hailing from indestructible subgenres of the Minor League experience: mascots and logos.
On the costumed character front, the Tucson Padres have jumped out of the frying pan and into the friar. Behold this spectacular seminarian, a dimpled deacon with a haircut that’ll bowl you over:
Thumbs Up for Papal Authority!
Sez the team:
The Tucson Padres are excited to announce the “identical long lost twin” of the Swinging Friar, the San Diego Padres mascot, is here in Tucson.
Weird, you’d think that a friar would be more likely to have a fraternal twin. Regardless, this missing mendicant needs a name and that’s where you come in. The team is currently accepting submissions, at media@tucsonpadres.com as well as their official Facebook page. A few fans have already suggested “Friar Tuc”, and while I like that in theory it would lead to rampant pronunciation confusion.
Robed Pierre?
Moving on to the world of logos, the Bowie Baysox hope that you’ll fall for this one hook, line, and sinker:
Drawn to 'Scale'
Reminiscent of pitching greats such as Steve Trout and Catfish Hunter, this logo will be worn by the team during each and every Friday home game. Explains the team:
The fish is a combination of the rockfish or striped bass and the Oyster toadfish. Those two species were selected because both thrive in a healthy Bay. In conjunction with the new logo, the Baysox have partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Trust to help raise funds for the independent, nonprofit grant-making organization.
The logo was designed by the Philadelphia-based 3601 Creative Group, proving that there are other fish in the sea besides Plan B Branding and Studio Simon. Baysox fans are split in their opinion of the new look, with many registering disapproval on Facebook. I recommend that the team compile these dissenting views under the headline “Friday Fish Fried!” Surely the Friar would approve, based both on name similarity as well as day of the week dietary restrictions.
It’s time to bring this first post of a brave new era to an end, but not before mentioning the Tennessee Smokies’ “Deal of the Century.”
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of professional baseball in East Tennessee, the team is selling Opening Day tickets for a dollar (100 cents). But this deal is only available for 100 hours, starting yesterday at 1 pm and extending through Thursday at 5 pm. Act now!
And, please, let me know if you are having any issues with this blog (finding old entries, post layouts, missing photos, etc). I will do my best to rectify.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
From Tucson Arizona All the Way To Reynosa
To paraphrase Neil Young: “Hey Hey My My, Logo News Will Never Die.”
The latest development within this eternal Minor League news subgenre hails from Tucson, as the T-Pads unveiled their uniforms yesterday.
The three variations depicted above, from left to right:
Home: White jerseys and pants, with “Padres” written across the front in the same font the
San Diego Padres wore from 1978-1984.
Military: [T]he Tucson Padres are wearing camouflage military jerseys for Sunday home games and other appropriate military holidays…As a gesture of support for the Tucson military community, the San Diego Padres are giving these game worn jerseys from 2010 to the Tucson Padres for the 2011 season.
Road: Gray jerseys and pants, with “Tucson” scripted across the front in the same font the San Diego Padres wore from 1978-1984.
And then there’s the cap:
As you’ll recall, the T-Pads’ retro desert-themed logo was unveiled in January. Yesterday’s uniform announcement completes the look, and is just the latest in what has been a rapid-fire offseason for the PCL’s newest entry. My recent Minoring in Business feature takes a look at the club — how it came to be as well as its future — and can be read HERE.
And since we’re on the indestructible topic of logo news, take a look at the Nashua Knights of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
The Silver Knights are unaffiliated and amateur and therefore out of my jurisdiction, but I am including them because the team’s operations are being overseen by the Lowell Spinners. The logo is the work of diehard Parisian baseball fan Aurelien Durand, who first came to the Spinners’ attention after he submitted well-regarded logos to the New York-Penn League and NYPL All-Star Game logo contests.
Finally, baseball journalist Alejandro Aguerrebere recently sent me an email containing Mexican League logos. What better time than now to share a few?
Take ’em on out, boys:
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
