Nov 2, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Boston Red Sox infielder Mookie Betts against the East during the Fall Stars Game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Minor league baseball teams are constantly changing cities, nicknames, and affiliates. It’s as unstable as anything in sports. Rarely does a team stick in one spot with the same nickname affiliated with one big league club for a long period of time. One exception to this is the Pawtucket Red Sox who have been a top minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for over 40 years.
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The relationship between the PawSox — as they are commonly known — and the Red Sox isn’t going away. The change for this notable minor league franchise will be the city they represent. New ownership of the PawSox has the team set to relocate in 2017 to Providence, Rhode Island.
The move from Pawtucket to Providence isn’t as drastic as when the Brooklyn Dodgers packed up and moved to Los Angeles. Not only will the team remain in state, it’s also the smallest state in the country they’re moving within. According to Google Maps, Pawtucket is only 5.7 miles away from Providence. A ten minute drive down I-95 will get the loyal fans to the new ballpark. The only difference will be the city they’re in.
Perhaps moving the team to a new city with such a close proximity is problematic out of principle. Why move to a new location at all if the distance between the two cities is less than what some fitness freaks jog each morning?
The big problem here seems to be that because the city changes, the PawSox moniker will have to as well.
According to the Boston Globe, Rhode Island lawyer James Skeffington, the man who will serve as the team’s president, hopes to call them the Rhode Island Red Sox once the move takes place. Now representing all of Rhode Island and not just one city, the Triple-A Red Sox are losing a huge part of their identity.
The PawSox have a deep history and have employed just about every player who has come up through the Red Sox organization. Guys like Roger Clemens, Jim Rice, and Wade Boggs all wore a PawSox uniform at some point when they were just prospects waiting for their first game at Fenway Park. Others rehabbed there over the years too. This routine won’t change, however, the city they do it in will.
If not for the nickname and how well the PawSox did at branding themselves across baseball, the move would be as insignificant as most are at the minor league level. At best, the writers of Family Guy have a premise for an upcoming episode to save the PawSox from moving south to Providence.
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