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Winnipeg Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier said the single-game rebrand to the Manitoba Mosquitoes is a good fit for the club since the summertime pest is jokingly referred to as Manitoba\u2019s unofficial bird.<\/p>\n
The Manitoba Mosquitoes will take the diamond for a weekend series-opener against the Lincoln Saltdogs on July 31, with hopes of being equally irritable to their opponent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty big trend in Minor League Baseball, just to have a little bit of fun for one game or three games, and that\u2019s what we were trying to do here,\u201d said Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier.<\/p>\n
Alternate identities have long been a part of MLB affiliate leagues, but have gained even more steam in recent years, with teams across all levels of the minor leagues creatively designing an ode to their host city for a day or a series.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s become an established promotional strategy at this point, so much so that fans can vote on which minor league club sports the best alternate uniforms each year. The Arkansas Travelers (Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners), who converted to the Barkansas Dizzys \u2014 a salute to a popular local English cream golden retriever named Dizzy \u2014 for five days, won the award last summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe probably had a list of 10 different names \u2014 I don\u2019t want to say them because you never know if we\u2019ll use them in the future \u2014 but Mosquitoes just seemed very on-brand for our sport,\u201d said Collier. \u201cSince we play on grass, they can appear quite prominently in the ballpark, and mosquitoes have often been referred to as Manitoba\u2019s unofficial bird, so it seemed like a good rebrand to try this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trend is gaining traction across the American Association. The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks will become the Fargo Woodchippers for five games, debuting against the Goldeyes on June 12. The Woodchippers are an ode to the popular film Fargo, which infamously included a wood chipper as a central part of the movie\u2019s plot and celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty big trend in Minor League Baseball, just to have a little bit of fun for one game or three games, and that\u2019s what we were trying to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also getting in on the fun are the Lake County DockHounds, who will briefly rebrand to the Wisconsin Dive Bars for three contests to celebrate the state\u2019s renowned selection of places to pull up a stool and grab a cold one.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s plausible \u2014 and perhaps even likely \u2014 that more will follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wait-and-see thing,\u201d said Collier. \u201cWe hope people think it\u2019s kind of funny and think the merchandise is cool. We\u2019ll see how it goes, how Goldeyes fans embrace it, but I\u2019d love to do it every year and keep coming up with new and unique rebrands, and keep having fun with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The announcement of the Goldeyes\u2019 alternates came a couple of hours after the American Association played an April Fool\u2019s joke on media and fans, releasing a farcical news release that stated the league would implement a complete overhaul of its rules for the first game of the season.<\/p>\n
The release claimed that Opening Day (May 14 and 15) would be renamed \u201cBanana Baseball Day,\u201d and teams would follow the unique rules of the Savannah Bananas \u2014 a popular team based in Georgia that is best described as the diamond\u2019s version of the Harlem Globetrotters.<\/p>\n
The league even stated that if the rule changes proved successful, it would look at making permanent changes as early as next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Logan and the coaches have done a nice job to bring back the key pieces and supplement them with new guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned long ago, on this morning, to not take anything at face value,\u201d said Collier. \u201cThat certainly would\u2019ve been big news, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collier hopes the Fish make headlines with their play again after a disappointing campaign last summer that saw the club finish last in the West Division with a 41-58 record.<\/p>\n
Third-year skipper Logan Watkins has been busy assembling the roster all winter with the goal of returning to the playoffs for a second time in his tenure.<\/p>\n
With some familiar faces \u2014 including Max Murphy, Landen Bourassa and Adam Hall \u2014 and some new, intriguing pieces, the Goldeyes are sitting at 24 players on the roster and have room to carry as many as nine more when spring training begins on May 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Logan and the coaches have done a nice job to bring back the key pieces and supplement them with new guys,\u201d Collier said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year wasn\u2019t where we wanted to be, but going 10-24 in one-run games, we were in it, just couldn\u2019t get that extra run or extra two runs. I think that\u2019s something he looked at going into the off-season \u2014 putting the team together is getting over that hump and getting back to the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Goldeyes announced Wednesday its single-game name and jersey change for the club\u2019s July 31 matchup against the Lincoln Saltdogs.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/joshuafreysam<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Joshua Frey-Sam Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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