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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Andrew Joseph

The most ridiculous team names in minor league baseball, ranked

Minor League Baseball Baseball DoubleA Astros Rays (Organization) TripleA

The path to Major League Baseball is like no other in sports. Players get drafted in one of the 20 rounds, and then they are tasked with navigating a wide-ranging system of affiliated baseball in the minor leagues.

While there are serious issues with minor league baseball in terms of player wages, the teams themselves are important to communities that otherwise would never have a professional sports franchise. And that leads to some excellent team names that uniquely represent a home city.

Out of the 120 teams across minor league baseball, we settled on our 10 favorite team names. Yes, these are real teams.

10
Montgomery Biscuits

Food-based team names are never intimidating, but biscuit somehow works perfectly. Their official hashtag is #ButterUp. I mean, that’s just awesome for the Rays’ Double-A affiliate.

9
El Paso Chihuahuas

The Padres’ Triple-A affiliates have one of the funnier logos in minor league baseball. Good dog.

8
Cedar Rapids Kernels

Food-based names will never not be funny to me. That hat is incredible, though.

7
Bowling Green Hot Rods

The High-A affiliate of the Rays got their name in 2009 as a nod to the city’s automotive history. But as an actual team name, it sounds quintessentially minor league and reminds me of the Andy Samberg movie. That’s not a bad thing.

6
Binghamton Rumble Ponies

The Mets’ Double-A affiliates used to be called the Binghamton Mets, which was unbelievably dull. They switched names in 2017 and settled on Rumble Ponies after fans voted on submitted names. It’s supposed to be after a carousel ride because apparently Binghamton is the “Carousel Capital of the World.” That’s a thing that exists.

5
Modesto Nuts

As the Single-A affiliate of the Mariners, the Nuts adopted the name after their affiliation with the Athletics ended in 2005. They apparently produce a lot of nuts in Modesto and didn’t think too much into the name. Their mascot is serious nightmare fuel.

4
Sugar Land Space Cowboys

The Astros’ Triple-A affiliate are only in the second season with the Space Cowboys name after changing it from an even more ridiculous name (Skeeters!). The team rebranded after it moved from independent ball to become an Astros affiliate. It’s still a fun name, but Skeeters would have topped this list.

3
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

They seriously named a baseball team after something you’d order at Joe’s Crab Shack.

2
Amarillo Sod Poodles

The Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliates have only had this name since 2019. And it apparently wasn’t well received at first because it’s so goofy. But minor league baseball names are supposed to be weird and fun. There’s no denying they succeeded with that.

1
Rocket City Trash Pandas

The Angeles’ Double-A affiliates adopted the name back in 2020, and I have a hard time seeing any team topping that one. The mascot is iconic.

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