Minor League Baseball Alternatives for 2025

With the beginning of baseball season coming soon, many minor league teams have come up with some alternative identities during the season.  While this isn't a complete list, I have come up with some of the more interesting alter egos coming to a ballpark near you this season.

Arkansas Travelers - Barkansas Dizzys

The Arkansas Travelers (Texas League) will honor the club's longtime ballpark pup. A permanent resident of Dickey-Stephens Park, Dizzy can always be found cruising the concourse during Travs games with a baseball in his mouth. He is the faithful canine companion of Greg Johnston, the Travelers’ Vice President of Stadium Operations who is in his 50th year working for the organization. Dizzy is often found on the field before Travs games chasing baseballs or rolling in the grass before spending a few innings signing “pawtographs” on the concourse.

Akron Rubber Ducks - Akron Cheese Salads

Unique to Akron, the cheese salad is a side dish with lettuce, thick slice of tomato, radishes, black olives and other salad favorites topped with a mountain of shredded mozzarella cheese. The cheese salad first began to pop up on dinner tables at many restaurants throughout Akron. After years of being Akron’s pizza, lasagna and fried chicken sidekick, the cheese salad can be found on numerous dining room tables as the perfect complement to many meals in Akron.

Akron Rubber Ducks - Akron Galley Boys

This is a tribute to the cooks known as galley boys who worked in galley-style kitchens in the area's drive-in restaurants over the years.

Amarillo Sod Poodles - Yellow City Pigweeds

The alternate name is a celebration of the regions’ unique natural beauty. By referencing the iconic yellow soil and wildflowers that blanket the land in spring and summer, the new identity deepens the connection to the area’s stunning landscape. It also brings attention to the pigweed plant, a distinctive species found in the Texas Panhandle, which transforms into the famous tumbleweed when it matures and is carried by the wind. The new identity not only honors Amarillo’s environmental richness but also highlights its resilient, ever-evolving nature, a nod to the region's wild spirit and enduring charm.

Beloit Sky Carp - Wisconsin Supper Clubbers

The Beloit Sky Carp of the High-A Midwest League will play as the Wisconsin Supper Clubbers for every Friday night home game during the 2025 season as a tribute to the traditional supper clubs that are part of Wisconsin's heritage.

Binghamton Bathtub Donkeys

Binghamton's humorous alter ego is in reference to a New York State law that makes it unlawful for a donkey to sleep in a bathtub.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies - Southern Tier Spicy Meatballs

Another Binghamton alternate name is inspired by the rich Italian Heritage found not only in Binghamton, but throughout the Southern Tier region; specifically Endicott, NY. In the early days of Endicott, NY an area known as the “North Side,” was huge with Italian roots. Many of the Italian immigrants moving to the region worked at a shoe factory known as Endicott-Johnson. However, local property owners wouldn't sell land to Italian Immigrants, so Endicott-Johnson purchased properties for their employees and along the cobblestone streets of Endicott grew the vibrant community of Little Italy with fantastic food destinations. Some of those restaurants remain to this day with Oaks Inn and Consol's Family Kitchen.

Clerburne Railroaders - Clerburne Eagles

The Cleburne (TX) Railroaders of the independent American Association will play a game as the Cleburne Eagles in June of the 2025 season to honor the city's former Negro League team by that name.

Delmarva Shorebirds - Delmarva Wild Ponies

Delmarva will have a special identity that pays tribute to the historic Wild Ponies that inhabit Assateague Island. As part of this special identity, the Wild Ponies brand will feature on-field jerseys and hats, Wild Ponies branded merchandise, and a whole night devoted to celebrating this historic fixture in our Delmarva community.

Eugene Emeralds - Eugene Nine

The Eugene (OR) Emeralds of the High-A Northwest League will play a game in the 2025 season under the Eugene Nine alternate identity to honor the history of Negro League baseball and Eugene's Black Community.

Fayetteville Woodpeckers - Cape Fear Crocs

Long before the Fayetteville Woodpeckers first took to the field in 2019, the town of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was home to another team. The Cape Fear Crocs, Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos, played for four seasons from 1997 to 2000.

Fresno Grizzlies - Fresno Tacos

Aug. 6 is the Grizzlies' fifth annual "Taco Truck Throwdown," during which popular taco trucks from throughout the Central Valley set up shop outside Chukchansi Park and vie for supremacy. The annual event regularly results in one of the team's biggest crowds of the year. In 2014, 19 trucks were on hand and 27,000 tacos consumed. This year's event will have a record 25 vendors, meaning that the 30,000-taco barrier may well be broken.

Hartford Thunder Chickens

Thunder Chicken is a nickname for wild turkeys because of their loud gobbling sound and it’s also a nickname for the ruffed grouse - a bird native to Connecticut. Will also be the Leaf Peepers.

Hudson Valley Renegades - Hudson Valley Big Apples

The Big Apples is an identity centered on celebrating the state of New York and all that it has to offer. Not only does it pay tribute to the nickname of New York City, the Big Apple, but also to New York State’s apple farming and agricultural life. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York is the second-largest producer of apples in the nation, and ranks in the top ten in production of 30 commodities.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp - Jacksonville Honey Drippers

The Honey Dripper, a delicious frozen treat served in a variety of flavors while often including fresh fruit, is a summer tradition that goes by different names across many locales in the American South. The Honey Dripper moniker, however, can be traced to Jacksonville and is one of Northeast Florida’s many illustrious symbols of home, including in the city’s OutEast neighborhood. Throughout each Honey Drippers Weekend, fans will be able to sample the sweet treat at VyStar Ballpark.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats - New Hampshire Space Potatoes

The Space Potatoes identity is backed by the wide-ranging lore of firsts in New Hampshire. On top of being the state’s official vegetable since 2013, the white potato first found American soil in Derry, New Hampshire by early 18th century Scots Irish settlers. The Fisher Cats mash the potato’s roots in New Hampshire with the infamous Barney & Betty Hill incident that occurred on Route 3 in New Hampshire’s White Mountains late in the summer of 1961, remarked as the first widely reported alien abduction in the United States.

Reading Fighting Phils - Reading Flapjacks

The Reading Fightin Phils, Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, are excited to announce that they'll be playing as the Reading Flapjacks for the 22nd Annual Morning Game on Tuesday, September 9. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. against the Somerset Patriots.

Toledo Mud Hens - Toledo Mud Crawlers

The identity pays tribute to Toledo’s storied history with the automotive industry and love for all things muddy. It features an off-roading vehicle driven by a three-finger waving duck.

Winston-Salem Dash - Winston-Salem Hooch Pooches

This feisty pooch (Boston Terrier) who makes its rhyming name and Chicago heritage his personality, will make his debut during the Salute to Chicago game. This pooch, dressed in his bootlegging best, is set to represent those who delivered hooch in Chicago and made way for the rise of racing in North Carolina, which is home of Bowman Gray Stadium, located in Winston-Salem. Players will hit the field in specialty Hooch Pooches jerseys and caps, on Friday, June 20, bringing the perfect blend of speed and swagger to the ballpark.

Wisconsin Rapids - Central Wisconsin Mashers

The Central Wisconsin Mashers. With a rich appreciation for the agriculture in the area and the goal to spotlight local exports, the Rafters teamed up with the Food+Farm Exploration Center and McCain Foods to present this identity.