About two and a half years ago, I wrote an article titled, “Top 10 Most Hilarious Minor League Baseball Team Names.” It was a very fun one to research and write, and it was pretty successful. So, I wanted to revisit the topic and write a sequel. After the 2020 debacle, MLB re-organized the minor leagues, re-aligning some teams, dismissing some, while adding others. With those changes, I figured it was a perfect time for the sequel. So, two and a half years later, here are ten more hilarious Minor League Baseball Team names, ranked in order of hilariousness:

10. Beloit Sky Carp

MLB Affiliate: Miami Marlins

Class: High Single-A

Reason Behind the Name: After coming very close to being eliminated as a minor league team during the 2020 madness, the Beloit Snappers were purchased, had a state-of-the-art stadium built, and rebranded themselves to something a little more catchy. The Sky Carp won out from a naming contest, representing the type of geese that do not migrate south for the winter. In the same way, the citizens of Beloit are seemingly choosing not to leave their home city like once upon a time, instead building a thriving community in their Wisconsin town.

Thoughts: It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…..carp? The old Snappers name consistently ranked near the bottom of merchandise sales, so in an age of ridiculous minor league names, this is exactly what they needed. It grabs your attention and I really like the reason behind the name.

9. Sugar Land Space Cowboys

MLB Affiliate: Houston Astros

Class: Triple-A

Reason Behind the Name: Another result of the 2020 Minor League Baseball re-alignment, the Space Cowboys went from being an independent league team (the Skeeters) to being the last stop for Houston Astros prospects before entering the show. The name is a nod to two things prominent to the local area: the NASA Space Center in Houston and the past and present cowboys of the Lone Star State.

Thoughts: “Some people call me a Space Cowboy…”. If you don’t think of this song when you hear this name then you don’t know good music. Now, this is part of my list of hilarious names, because in a way it is, but it’s also awesome. And the song has a lot to do with that.

8. Biloxi Shuckers

MLB Affiliate: Milwaukee Brewers

Class: Double-A

Reason Behind the Name: Biloxi, Mississippi is a southern coastal town on the Gulf of Mexico. Being a coastal town, Biloxi has a deep history in the seafood industry, especially oysters (hence shucking an oyster).

Thoughts: My first thought when I hear the word “shuck” is corn. Maybe that’s because I didn’t grow up anywhere near the coast. I wonder which one is easier, shucking corn or oysters? Either way, I would rep a team shirt saying, “I’m a sucker for the shuckers.”

7. Richmond Flying Squirrels

MLB Affiliate: San Francisco Giants

Class: Double-A

Reason Behind the Name: After the Connecticut Defenders left for Richmond, Virginia in 2009, the team re-branded and a naming contest was held. The Flying Squirrels was entered by a man from Prince George County after he apparently had a run-in with a flying squirrel while clearing some brush. The community thought it was a fun name to hopefully represent a fun baseball atmosphere.

Thoughts: Has anyone ever seen a squirrel fly? To be honest, I wasn’t even sure how real vs how much of a legend they were. Turns out they don’t really fly (which I figured), but instead glide between trees. I don’t know what they do with their mascot at home games, but if they are not shooting him out of a cannon at every game then they are doing it wrong.

6. Fayetteville Woodpeckers

MLB Affiliate: Houston Astros

Class: Low Single-A

Reason Behind the Name: In our great home state of NC, the Woodpeckers were chosen like so many other minor league nicknames…from a naming contest. In honor of the red cockaded woodpecker that was very prominent in the Fayetteville area at one time, the name beat out the Jumpers, Fatbacks, Fly Traps, and Wood Dogs.

Thoughts: If my first thought is not Woody the Woodpecker, then it is of the many mornings I was woken up at 6:00 in the morning as a kid by woodpeckers pecking away on the side of our house, right outside of my bedroom. How sweet would it have been if the team could have somehow gotten the rights to use Woody as the team’s logo. They better at least play his catchphrase during home games.

5. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

MLB Affiliate: Minnesota Twins

Class: Low Single-A

Reason Behind the Name: After 28 seasons with the Miracle nickname, Forty Myers decided to get fancy with their name in 2019. With its proximity to the beach, the mussels made sense. But not just any mussels. We’re talking about mussels with muscles.

Thoughts: This would have been the perfect team for Barry Bonds. Or Mark McGwire. Or Roger Clemens. Look for their mascot to receive a 60-game ban sometime in the near future.

4. Lehigh Valley IronPigs

MLB Affiliate: Philadelphia Phillies

Class: Triple-A

Reason Behind the Name: The Lehigh Valley region is deeply rooted in the iron industry, so when naming the team, it pays homage to the region while also carrying a very unique name. Pig iron is the type of iron that produces steel once it is melted down. All the steel production in the area was a huge force in the production of railroads and skyscrapers in the 19th century.

Thoughts: I really didn’t know if iron pigs were a real thing or not. I knew iron horses were a term for a train, so I thought maybe iron pigs could be something like that. I firmly believe when the starting rosters are announced before each home game, the team should play “Iron Man” with the robotic intro to the song replacing the word “man” with “pig” before the classic guitar riff kicks in. Man, that would get the crowd into it!

3. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

MLB Affiliate: Miami Marlins

Class: Triple-A

Reason Behind the Name: Probably what you would have imagined…there are shrimp caught in the area.

Thoughts: They say all the weird things happen in Florida. This name for a baseball team certainly upholds that notion. It’s funny because they were known as the Suns for decades, until people decided it was time to get weird. Jumbo shrimp do sound pretty tasty right now, though.

2. Fort Wayne TinCaps

MLB Affiliate: San Diego Padres

Class: High Single-A

Reason Behind the Name: You’ve heard of Johnny Appleseed, right? This name has all to do with him. And I had no idea. Johnny Appleseed (whose real name was John Chapman) spent his final years in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is buried in the city. Legend has it that ol’ Johnny used to wear a tin cooking pot as a hat. So, of course, why would you not name your minor league baseball team after that?

Thoughts: This is definitely one of the most random name choices of all time. But maybe they are just crazy about Mr. Appleseed up there in Indiana…I don’t know. At first I thought the name referred to the psychos who wear tin foil on their head so no one can read their minds. That would’ve been something special. However, if they really want to do it right, they should find a way to make look-a-like tin can cooking pot hats for the fans and players to wear on special TinCap promotional nights. If that’s not possible, just wrap tin foil on all the players heads…at least the players on the other team wouldn’t be able to read the Fort Wayne players’ minds.

1. Hartford Yard Goats

MLB Affiliate: Colorado Rockies

Class: Double-A

Reason Behind the Name: The term “yard goats,” I just found out, is a rail-road term for the switch engines that shuttle the train cars between different locomotives. Hmmm. The logo of the team, however, is exactly what you thought it would be: a goat.

Thoughts: Ahh, nothing stirs up the image of baseball like a billy goat roaming around munching on some grass. As a matter of fact, the team could save a lot of money on field maintenance if they hire some yard goats to take care of the grass. Minor League baseball is all about getting quirky, and that’s about as quirky as it gets.

Garett

10 MORE Hilarious Minor League Baseball Team Names