The trend of changing minor league team names reached a new low on Tuesday, when the Akron Aeros (AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) changed their name to…the Akron Rubber Ducks.
That's right – Rubber Ducks. Francisco Lindor, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, is going to be wearing a yellow duck on his cap next year.
In 2011, the Aeros held a poll of the team's fans to rename the team, and the incumbent name won with 70% of the vote. Content with kicking democracy in the teeth, the club is changing the name to the runner-up, Rubber Ducks, two years later. The name change is already in effect on the team's official website as well.
The Eastern League is rife of awful mascots. The Rubber Ducks will join the Reading Fightin' Phils (whose mascot is an ostrich) and Richmond Flying Squirrels in the terrible mascot pantheon, while the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, New Britain Rock Cats, Portland Sea Dogs, and Erie Seawolves also have animal-based mascots. The Binghamton Mets also use a bee in their alternate logo.
And I thought the El Paso Chihuahuas was a bad idea…
[Photo via Darren Rovell]
