Miracle morph into the Mighty Mussels
After 28 seasons as the Miracle, Fort Myers' Florida State League team is coming out of its shell. The Mighty Mussels have washed ashore. The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels name was unveiled to the public during a ballpark news conference Tuesday morning, alongside a logo set featuring the titular brawny bivalves
After 28 seasons as the Miracle, Fort Myers' Florida State League team is coming out of its shell. The Mighty Mussels have washed ashore.
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels name was unveiled to the public during a ballpark news conference Tuesday morning, alongside a logo set featuring the titular brawny bivalves in a variety of athletic poses. The logos were created by Brandiose, the San Diego-based design firm that regularly works with Minor League Baseball teams. The Mighty Mussels are the latest in a line of Brandiose logos introduced over the past month, following the Missoula PaddleHeads and Worcester Red Sox.
The Mighty Mussels are the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, a relationship extending back to the team's inaugural 1992 season in Fort Myers. Their home of Hammond Stadium also serves as Minnesota's Spring Training facility. The just-retired Miracle moniker dates back to 1989, when the franchise was established as the Miami Miracle. The Mighty Mussels are the latest Florida State League club to reference an aquatic entity in its name, joining the likes of the Tampa Tarpons, Charlotte Stone Crabs, Daytona Tortugas, Jupiter Hammerheads and Clearwater Threshers.
Fort Myers' new identity comes amid of period of larger change for the franchise, which was purchased prior to the 2019 season by Andrew Kaufman of Jacksonville-based Zawyer Sports. Kaufman also owns the Jacksonville Icemen, a hockey franchise competing in the ECHL (an orphan initialism that previously stood for East Coast Hockey League).
Kaufman said the rebrand was motivated by a "disconnect" between the Miracle name -- which originated outside of Fort Myers -- and the local community. Brainstorming sessions around the new name included two prerequisites: It must be regionally specific while also reflecting a healthy, active lifestyle. Mighty Mussels is, of course, a double entendre since the mussel in question has plenty of muscles.
"When you walk along the beach and spot a mussel shell, looking at its colors as the light reflects off the black shell, there's purple, light blue and orange," said Kaufman. "Well, those would be cool colors from a character development standpoint. Think Disney, but edgy."
Visit the Mighty Mussels team store »
Brandiose co-founder Jason Klein added that designing an anthropomorphic mussel brought up certain challenges.
"Does it have to look like what a mussel actually looks like? Because if you're too literal, people will look at it and go, 'What is that?'" he said. "You have to think of both the reality as well as the fiction that is perpetuated. Mickey Mouse might not look too much like a mouse, but people see a mouse. It was the same kind of thing here."
Tuesday's news conference also included the unveiling of a Mighty Mussels comic book, produced in a limited edition of 1,000. The comic details the origin story of the Mighty Mussel, a baby mussel who, after being separated from his family by a rogue wave, stumbles upon a glowing bat. The bat transforms him into a benevolent bivalve behemoth, granting him the strength he needs to rescue his family from the clutches of a cadre of evil Gym Rats. Klein said this super-heroic origin inspired the team's purple "Mussels" font, which he describes as "comic book, SpongeBob, aquatic and tropical all mixed together."
"The comic book is a big deal for character development," said Kaufman, who noted there will be a new issue produced every season. "We'll hand those out [at the news conference] and still have a couple hundred left for sale. It's an ongoing saga -- I can see there being 'The Revenge of the Gym Rats.'"
The Mighty Mussels primary logo features the musclebound mussel pointing skyward in what Kaufman describes as a "Let's go!" gesture. It is complemented by a pair of alternate logos. One features the mussel pumping a baseball-weighted dumbbell, while the other features two mussels enthusiastically greeting one another.
"That's an homage to the Minnesota Twins logo," said Klein. "But it became, 'How do we take the craziest fitness icon and merge it with the Twins handshake?' I think the appropriate term for that logo would be 'a Schwarzenegger-esque riff on the Twins handshake.'"
Now that the Mighty Mussels and their origin story have been unveiled to the world, Kaufman and his staff will devise ways to incorporate the team's branding into the gameday experience.
"There will be a lot of things that have that muscle theme," said Kaufman. "Like a flex cam, muscle tees in the gift shop, a bar called 'The Bar Bell' and maybe a Gym Rat Race. And each year, there are more and more characters who may appear."
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels will make their debut on April 9, playing at home against the St. Lucie Mets.
Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MiLB.com and writes Ben's Biz Blog. Follow Ben on Twitter @bensbiz.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between