A good old-fashioned American baseball game may seem synonymous with convention, but the MiLB says to heck with the orthodox! Bring on the Space Cowboys! From the East Coast to the West, the nation can get a giggle out of the Minor League Baseball team names with the majority of the teams sporting off-the-wall identities.
Out of all the weird and wonderful, who’s first to bat for having the most outrageous team name? We surveyed 4,000 baseball fans across the nation to find out the ranking for the most outrageous Minor League Baseball team name and here’s what they decided.
And we Root, Root, Root for the Rocket City Trash Pandas
Hats off and (paws up) to the Trash Pandas for winning America’s number one most outrageously named MiLB team. The Trash Pandas have won the hearts of many with their endearing and eccentric name. Once previously known as the Bay Bears, upon repurchase and relocation in 2020, the Rocket City team got a facelift for something a bit more…grungy. Now the Trash Pandas have been proudly wearing the name for 3 years with a unique symbol of a raccoon, or more affectionately named trash panda, blasting out of a garbage bin into outer space… to fight the Sugar Land Space Cowboys perhaps?
Amarillo Sod Poodles Score Second
Following closely behind in position two were the Amarillo Sod Poodles. Amarillo was home to several Minor League team identities before the Sod Poodles came to town, but names like The Thunderheads, Gassers, and Gold Sox couldn’t even compare. Much like the Trash Pandas, the Amarillo Sod Poodles got a rebrand of rarity. Where else will you find a team like the Sod Poodles?
Whether it’s the general corkiness or the perplexing wonder of what exactly is a sod poodle, this team proudly ranks second. And for all those wondering: no, it’s not exactly a poodle, but rather what the Texas Panhandle fondly calls a prairie dog. The more you know!
Binghamton Rumble Ponies Gallop into Third Place
Showcasing their strong, yet strange, steeds, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies rank number 3 for the MiLB’s most outrageous team names. The Double-A affiliate, the New York Mets, decided to run with a more unusual team identity. When it came time to rename the team, submissions were left to fans with the Stud Muffins coming in second and the Rumble Ponies claiming win to the official name change. We think it was a stomping success.
Quack Quack! The Akron Rubber Ducks Are Where It’s at
Making on the board at fourth place are the Akron Rubber Ducks. But not so fast. Could this bath time/baseball icon be reconsidering its namesake? On June 20, the RubberDucks official Twitter account tweeted this out:
Just when this Akron MiLB team gets the rubbery recognition they deserve, they consider a name change. Does their throwback name, The Aeros, have the same ring?
Big Hopes for the Albuquerque Isotopes
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an…Isotope? Making their way to fifth place, the Isotopes have just a peculiar story as they do name. When it came time to rename and rebrand back in 2002, the vote was left to the public. Taking fondly to the fictitious team, the Springfield Isotopes from the TV show The Simpsons, the majority vote was given to that very name. Seemingly random, it does fit nicely into the state’s theme of science and mysterious technology. Area 51, anyone?
The Other Funky Finalists
Rounding off the Wackiness were the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 6th place, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys in 7th, the Lansing Lugnuts for 8th place, and finally, the Hartford Yard Goats completing the top 9.
Honorable mentions include the Biloxi Shuckers, Montgomery Biscuits, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, El Paso Chihuahuas, Beloit Sky Carps, Toledo Mud Hens, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Richmond Flying Squirrels, Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Everett AquaSox, Corpus Christi Hooks, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Aberdeen IronBirds, Greensboro Grasshoppers, and the Erie SeaWolves (in ranking order).
Which team do you think has the most outrageous name?