Cleveland Indians Minor League Team to Let Fans Choose New Name

There is nothing better than minor league baseball: Awesome theme nights, cool stadiums, must-have uniforms, and now for the Cleveland Indians minor league Lynchburg Hillcats, a unique, fan chosen name.

The Lynchburg Hillcats, a Class A Advanced affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, have announced that they will let their fans vote to change the name of their team. This minor league baseball team is one of the few clubs who are giving the fans full control.

The possible names that fans can choose from are: Lynchburg Lamb Chops, Lynchburg Doves, Lynchburg Hillcats, Lynchburg Derechos, Lynchburg River Runners, and the Lynchburg Love Apples.

Which name would you choose?

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

HOW COOL IS THAT? Imagine if the Dodgers one day decided they’d let the city of Los Angeles choose a new name for the team. We’d get to choose between the LA Wild-Things, LA Flux Capacitors, LA Goodfellas, LA Ghostbusters, or LA Stormtroopers.

The team brought in a branding company to help choose the name. They will also be changing their colors, logo, and fan experience. Reports gathered from newsadvance.com note that the name Hillcats is still very popular among the Lynchburg fans.

“It’s going to be 100 percent a true fan vote,” Hillcats president Chris Jones said. “The Hillcats is as alive as any of the names, maybe more so…I think what we’re seeing is a loyalty to the brand and a loyalty to the team.”

The team isn’t the first that has decided to have a complete branding makeover. The Binghamton Mets decided to do a similar name change this past May. They had names that in my opinion would absolutely change the name game forever.

I’m sorry, but if I lived in a town that housed the Rumble Ponies I’d be a season ticket holder and minority team owner. I love the fact that minor league teams aren’t taking themselves so seriously. However, opinions most definitely vary.

A group of Binghamton Mets die-hards (yes, those exist) were very upset that the beloved nickname B-Mets was not included on this list. They were so upset in fact that they started an online petition to get the name on the list. If you don’t believe me, check it out here.

Recently, minor league baseball teams have begun doing literally anything that will bring in fans and raise ticket sales. We’ve seen promotions that range from George Costanza night to an auctioned-off at-bat. Yes, the St. Paul Saints literally let a fan take an at-bat in the eighth inning of a game after he bid over $5,000 dollars in 2004.

I thank the city of Lynchburg and the Hillcats owners for allowing a unique team name. It makes sense, if you want fans to come to the games, let them choose what name they want to see on the front of their uniforms.

Voting began Tuesday on Lynchburg-Hillcats.com, and runs through Tuesday, July 19 at 5:00 p.m.

Next: Pitchers in the Home Run Derby?

Make sure you go ahead and cast your vote, even if you don’t live in Lynchburg, because this world is just a better place when a baseball team is named after a chop cut from a lamb.