New Orleans 'Crawdaddy's' come to life
In season two of IFC's Brockmire, the titular character (played by Hank Azaria) works as the home broadcaster for the New Orleans Crawdaddy's. The Crawdaddy's -- yes, the name features unaccountably incorrect apostrophe usage -- are a fictional entity. But earlier this week, they briefly became reality.
In season two of IFC's Brockmire, the titular character (played by Hank Azaria) works as the home broadcaster for the New Orleans Crawdaddy's. The Crawdaddy's -- yes, the name features unaccountably incorrect apostrophe usage -- are a fictional entity. But earlier this week, they briefly became reality.
The New Orleans Baby Cakes -- Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins -- suited up as the Crawdaddy's for May 1's Brockmire Night, a celebration of the offbeat and oft-raunchy baseball-centric comedy. In this regard, it was similar to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' 2016 Mermen promotion, with the Pelicans assuming the identity of the team that Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) played for in season three of HBO's Eastbound and Down.
The Baby Cakes' one-night-only rebranding had a clear New Orleans tie-in, as the second season takes place within the Crescent City. But the promotion began to take shape over a year ago, well before the New Orleans Crawdaddy's were a Brockmire plot point. As is so often the case these days, it all began with a tweet.
"It was April 17 [2017]. I was sitting on the couch watching Brockmire," said Baby Cakes corporate sales executive Trevor Johnson, the driving force behind the promotion. "It was probably the third episode. I'm watching it, like, 'This show's hilarious!' So, I sent out a tweet, 'Hey, how can I get Hank Azaria, as Brockmire, to come PA a game?' I included Sazerac, because that's his drink of choice and Sazerac is from New Orleans.
"Hours after that, I got a response from Blake Callaway. 'IFC wants to help.' He's an executive vice president with IFC, so we went from there. We started sending emails back and forth. ... A couple months later, we emailed again. He had introduced me to other marketing people within IFC. It ramped up, and eventually he told us that Brockmire would be taking a job with the New Orleans Crawdaddy's."
Johnson's initial tweet proved prescient, but there were still decisions to be made and hurdles to be cleared.
"My original thought was that we'd wear Brockmire jerseys," Johnson said. "He's known for his plaid jacket, so let's do a plaid-jacket jersey. I pitched the idea [to IFC], but they said it was more about bringing the show to life, so us actually being the Crawdaddy's. They sent us the logo, but then it was, 'OK, but the Hickory Crawdads exist.'"

Indeed, the Hickory Crawdads are the Class A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Johnson and Baby Cakes assistant general manager Bob Moullette reached out to Minor League Baseball, based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and received approval to use the Crawdaddy's name so long as the Hickory Crawdads approved. The Crawdads' front office said that they were OK with it, but since the team had just been bought by the Texas Rangers, approval was needed from them as well.
"I'm thinking, 'Oh, man. All these hoops to jump through,'" Johnson said.
The negotiations continued on several fronts as the Baby Cakes worked with IFC and Minor League Baseball to establish both the specifics of the uniform and the overall parameters of the promotion. It wasn't always easy, but it all worked out in the end.
"We got permission from IFC to sell [Crawdaddy's] shirts. We put the shirts online, and during the presale we sold half of our inventory before the night of the game. Then we knew right away it was going to be a fun night," Johnson said.
While Azaria wasn't able to make it to the game, he sent along prerecorded baseball calls that the Baby Cakes were able to employ at appropriate moments in the ballgame. IFC contributed Brockmire tumblers that were distributed to fans, as well as several Hank Azaria autographed baseballs that the team used as raffle prizes. Despite Brockmire's penchant for off-color remarks and degenerate behavior, all of Azaria's contributions to the promotion were as family-friendly as anything associated with the show could be.
The Crawdaddy's jerseys that the Baby Cakes players wore on Tuesday night are currently being auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting New Orleans' American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. That auction won't end until the Crawdaddy's make a second on-field appearance, however. On June 15, it will be Crawdaddy's vs. Tacos, with both New Orleans and opposing Fresno assuming alter egos.
"It took over a year, and a lot of back and forth with email and phone calls, but we pulled it off," Johnson said. "It was a lot of fun to put together."
Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MiLB.com and writes Ben's Biz Blog. Follow Ben on Twitter @bensbiz.
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join 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
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.
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
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.”