Introducing: The Staten Island Wise Guys!
Update: April Fools!
It's official: The days of the Staten Island "Yankees" are no more. Native New Yorker and popular character on HBO's hit series The Sopranos, Vincent Pastore, has purchased the New York Yankees' Staten Island affiliate, and big changes are on the way.
"Anybody who knows me knows I'm a huge baseball fan," Pastore said. "I bleed pinstripes, and I love this city. I'm absolutely thrilled to have joined the baseball community, and there's nowhere else I'd rather do it."
As of today, the Staten Island Yankees will be rebranding to the Staten Island Wise Guys. Keeping with the current trend in Minor League Baseball, the new moniker "Wise Guys" is a unique name for the team reflecting its new owner's personal history, while maintaining the Yankees classic pinstripe look.
"I've spent a lot of time in Staten Island. I've got a lot of friends there and it's a wonderful community," said The Sopranos star. "I'm looking forward to being a part of bringing them the baseball experience they deserve."
Staten Island joins a host of teams who have forgone their original team names in favor of something more playful. Since the conclusion of the 2014 season, names such as the "Tortugas" and "Yard Goats" have taken over the landscape of MiLB, and the Wise Guys are happy to join the club.
"Staten Islanders are tough. They're a tough breed of honest, hard-working people that have been through a lot," said Pastore. "Their team needed to be something a little more intimidating, but in a good way. The Wise Guys represent an ideal where you stick with your own through thick and thin. You stand up for what's important no matter what."
And fear not, Wise Guys fans, beloved Scooter the Holy Cow will remain as the team's mascot despite the name change!
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