Promo Watch: 2017's edible alternate identities
You are what you eat.The 2017 season saw the continued growth of a promotional craze that shows no signs of abating: Minor League teams adopting temporary identities based on food items. This trend began with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' Bacon uniforms in 2014, and the next season, the Fresno Grizzlies
You are what you eat.
The 2017 season saw the continued growth of a promotional craze that shows no signs of abating: Minor League teams adopting temporary identities based on food items. This trend began with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' Bacon uniforms in 2014, and the next season, the Fresno Grizzlies took the idea further by announcing their now regularly recurring Tacos moniker.
The recently concluded Minor League campaign saw a wide variety of food-based themes and names, with some teams expanding on previous promotions and others jumping into the fray for the first time.
The most important meal of the day
For the third consecutive season, the Mud Hens hosted an Eggs and Bacon series against the IronPigs. Lehigh Valley brought the bacon, of course, while Toledo suited up in egg-themed duds that befit an egg-laying species. The Eggs got shelled in the first game of the April 29 doubleheader but didn't crack under pressure and won the two remaining games of the series as bacon proved to be more fizzle than sizzle.
Brunch has proven popular in a lot of places, including Richmond. Capitalizing on this beloved meal option, the Flying Squirrels played 12:05 p.m. Brunch & Baseball games. During these contests, the team wore waffle-themed uniforms that allowed them to move syrup-titiously around the diamond.
Eat your vegetables
Stockton, California, is the "Asparagus Capital of the World." The Ports, seeking to capitalize on this notable fact, unveiled an asparagus-themed alternate logo in 2012. This eventually led to the team wearing full-blown asparagus jerseys; 2017's iteration featured the vegetable in full stalk-to-tip glory.
Meanwhile, a little further north, the Sacramento River Cats played their first-ever game as the Tomatoes. Their transformation into this esteemed vegetable (fruit, if you want to get technical) occurred during July 29's Farm to Fork celebration of local agriculture.
New York's finest
On Aug. 5 and again on Labor Day, the Syracuse Chiefs became the Salt Potatoes. This upstate New York specialty is simple -- boil potatoes and salt, dip in butter -- but much beloved. Salt potatoes are but one potential ingredient in the endlessly adaptable Rochester, New York specialty known as the Garbage Plate. The Red Wings, declining to incorporate "garbage" into their name, played a game as the Plates on Aug. 10. In 2018, the International League club will utilize this moniker during all Thursday home games.
The main course
On June 16, the Albuquerque Isotopes saluted New Mexican cuisine by playing as the Green Chile Cheeseburgers. Fresno, the evening's opponent, commemorated the occasion by playing their first Tacos road game.
In 2016, the Brooklyn Cyclones became the Coney Island Franks. This season they honored another New York City culinary staple by becoming the Slices. The Aberdeen IronBirds, also of the New York-Penn League, spent an evening as the Steamed Crabs.
In Lakewood, the BlueClaws took their long-running admiration of pork roll to new levels, by -- you guessed it -- playing a game as the Pork Rolls. New Jersey loved this new jersey:
For dessert, one only needed to advance two levels up from Lakewood within the Philadelphia system. On Aug. 7, the Reading Fightin Phils suited up as the Whoopie Pies.
The originators
As previously mentioned, Lehigh Valley and Fresno deserve the credit (or blame) for kick-starting the temporary food-based team name trend. The two teams have long "feuded" with one another on Twitter, regarding who is more innovative and that eventually spilled onto the field. The teams jointly announced a Bacon vs. Tacos competition this past March in which fans were asked to vote for one or the other. The IronPigs won, and thus the Grizzlies had to wear bacon caps during their game on June 22. This marked the first time in professional baseball history that an entire team wore another team's cap on the field.
Meanwhile, the two teams continued to break food-related boundaries independently of one another. The IronPigs staged their second annual "Salute to Philadelphia" by playing as the cheesesteak-themed Whiz Kids. The Grizzlies added another dimension to their already-robust "Tacos" identity by wearing Oreo Taco uniforms on Aug. 24.
Wash it down
You know what goes hand in hand with food? Drink. For the second consecutive season, Asheville wore sudsy duds as the Beer City Tourists. Looking for something a little (or a lot) harder? The Bowling Green Hot Rods once again saluted their region's history of illicit whiskey production with Bootleggers Night. Somewhat similarly, the Peoria Chiefs took the field as the Distillers.
All day, every day
For the 14th consecutive season, Montgomery's Minor League Baseball team played each and every one of its games as the Biscuits.
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