Minor League Baseball Means: MLB Rehab

The parent club of the Minor League team throughout the year will send players coming off a injury to get some at bats or innings in before be reassigned to the Major League team. The majority of these players either come from Extended Spring Training  in Arizona or Florida. Some may have got injured recently while playing in the majors. The assignments are mainly based on the location of the Minor League Baseball team and if the team is playing a series at home. Considering the Reds play in the National League and Pensacola will be a easy flight to Houston , Atlanta, or  Miami, its not that hard to be believe that the Reds would send their rehabbing players  at some point if Louisville is on the road, Sometimes the rehab appearance will be just for a inning or two and sometimes if can be for a whole series. Just last month the Tampa Bay Rays sent Evan Longoria to Montgomery for four days. The Biscuits opened the gates an hour and half earlier then normal for fans to watch Longoria take batting practice.  Minor League teams like the rehabs because it usually means bigger crowds due to people attending the game that normally wouldn't  attend due to the media attention the player brings to the city.  One year the Baybears received Jake Peavy for two games and the team dug out 300 old  bobble-heads they had left over from a promotion when Peavy was playing for them. Eventually, Wahoo fans will be paying close attention to the transaction wire withe the hope of Votto or Arryo type player visits the Emerald coast.

Minor League Baseball Means: Celebrities and Former Players

Sure you saw some former Major League Baseball players in the American Association League but nothing with prepare you for the amount of celebrities and former players one will see at a Minor League Baseball game. They may be in house to throw out the first pitch, a charity event, or simply doing promotion for the team.This past summer in Ogden I got to meet Tommy Lasorda who was visiting the Raptors for a weekend series. Tommy got his managerial start with Ogden and never forgot how supportive the city was to him during the early part of his career. He makes it a point to catch a couple of Raptors games every year and last year the team declared the weekend that he visits " Tommy Lasorda Weekend".  The Birmingham Barons had Brittney Spears shoot a video inside their park for one of her videos a couple of years back and she stuck around for a couple of innings. The last week of the season last yea,r I got to meet some Utah Jazz players and get some autographs. Just this week, Yahoo Sports had a photo of Randy Savage behind home plate watching a St.Lucie Mets game in Florida weeks before his death. Former Major League players even come out to visit their sons and cousins playing in Minor League Baseball. I had the chance to meet Jesse Barfield who I remember watching when i was younger at a Baybears game in 2004.  His son, Josh, told me the day before that he would be visiting and I gathered up some cards for him to sign the next day. Finally, wouldn't it  be appropriate to have Don Sutton to throw out the 1st pitch on Opening Day ?

Thoughts on The Team Name

For the most part, the name was the best from what we were given. You can not tell me with over 1,500 entries that those were the most creative names. However, the name should stick with visitors considering the name is unlike anything currently in Minor League Baseball.  The key will be not look anything like the Florida Marlins and I imagine the colors are going to be a trio of blue, white and aqua green in different combo's.