Today, Spuds executives and members of the front office unveiled new minor league branding for three Boise teams in front of a group of national and local media outlets. "With the continued improvement and popularity of the Boise Spuds, we felt now would be a great time to freshen some of our minor league teams," owner Francis Nephi Grigg IV said. "One of our goals is to have the best farm system in the Brewster, so as our young ballplayers enter and move up the system, we want to give all our loyal fans of their local minor league affiliates something to be excited about. Plus who doesn't love wearing new gear?!"Kicking off the ceremonies was Tulsa mayor Rebecca DeCarlo, who walked across the stage in a gold blouse and black pencil skirt. DeCarlo has been a season ticket-holder of the Tulsa Drillers, the Spuds Single-A team, since the teams inception in 2035. "Today is a monumental time for the city of Tulsa and our history of athletics," the Mayor said beaming. "As the oil capital of the world, we're pleased that tradition will continue in Tulsa. It's my pleasure to announce the new Single-A team in Tulsa will now be known as the Tulsa Ginzels! For those of you not familiar with the petroleum industry, a ginzel is a nickname for a rookie worker in the oil field, and with so many incredible talented young players spending their journey as a professional in Tulsa, we think this name is perfect!"
The official colors of the Tulsa Ginzels is black and gold, an homage to the term "black gold" attributed to petroleum during the oil boom of the early 20th century. The team's wordmark will feature a custom oil-dripping font and the home jerseys will be adorned with a sleeve patch of the silhouette of Tulsa's famous 75-foot Golden Driller statue, which will also be the team's secondary logo.
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Next, Kane Wells, the Double-A manager of the Buffalo Bisons, took the stage. "While I'm extremely excited to be a part of this announcement, I do have to say, as native of the state of New York, this is a bit difficult," Wells laughed. "I can say our time in Buffalo was wonderful but I know the organization i looking for unique branding and grow in new markets. The organization realized being one of four or five other teams in New York and New Jersey wasn't doing baseball fans in the area any favors. That said, I'm thrilled to be managing the Spuds' newest Double-A team, the Weymouth Irish!" Wells unzipped his Boise Spuds jacket to reveal the home jersey for his new club and pulled a new Weymouth hat from behind the podium and tugged it over his combed hair.
The relocation to Weymouth makes the Irish the only existing BBA team to be located in Massachusetts. The team's identity is a nod to the Boston Celtics, the legendary NBA franchise, which has a stronghold across New England and the team hopes to piggyback on those ties. Weymouth, located about 15 miles south of Boston, has a long history of Irish immigration and currently has the tenth highest Irish population by percentage in the United States. The team color is forest green and features a three-leaf clover as the team logo. The home jersey will be cream and feature a vintage solid green button pad design. Additionally, both the home and road jerseys will feature a sleeve patch showing the flags of Ireland and the United States.
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The final presentation was announced by Chet Simmons of the Singin' Simmons, the popular brother/sister country music duo from Salt Lake City. "Music has always been important in our lives," Chet told the crowd, "but as many of you know, our father Chris played in the BBA for a few years so we're a big baseball family as well. And being fifth generation Utes, being a part of this announcement is truly an honor for the Simmons family. So without further ado, who better to show off the Alpines new look than my beautiful sister, Maggie!" The crowd erupted in cheers as Maggie strolled onto the stage in the new Alpines jersey, along with blue jeans and cowboy boots.
The Triple-A club will go from forest green and white to and updated green-teal and bright orange color scheme. A new interlocking S and L for Salt Lake will become the primary logo and hat logo, replacing the old capital A.
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Merchandise for all three clubs are available on Boise Spuds website, as well as each team's website and are currently on sale in the Spuds team store.
