The Hot Rods' “Bowling Green Cavemen” alternate identity represents the many beautiful cave systems scattered across the state of Kentucky.

The Hot Rods inspiration was drawn from the nearby caves to Bowling Green Ballpark -- Mammoth Cave is the largest cave system in the world, just 20 minutes away from the Hot Rods home, as well as Lost River Cave that sits in Bowling Green.

“We will take the field several times as the Bowling Green Cavemen this season,” said Kyle Wolz, Hot Rods General Manager and COO, when the idea was introduced in 2024. Along with representing the cave systems of Kentucky, it also represents a hidden piece of Hot Rods Baseball history. “It serves as a ‘what could have been promotion’ as to what the Hot Rods could have been named,” said Wolz.

As legend in Bowling Green has it, Bowling Green Ballpark was built in 2008 and the developers realized the land they were building on was a part of a cave system. This made the developers weary of digging further, resulting in an untraditional ballpark with both home and visiting clubhouses being placed beyond the outfield walls.

“When we were coming up with the idea of this identity, we wanted to tie in several cave features you would experience when visiting the caves in Kentucky,” said Wolz. One of the main themes of the jerseys are stalagmites and stalactites, along with Bowling Green’s version of the pre-historic cavemen.