Once upon a time, back in the 20th Century, most minor-league baseball teams showed off an affiliation to their major league club by taking the same nickname. Remember the Beloit Twins? Or the Orlando Twins?
No more. Affiliation-by-association has transformed into cuter and more local, with the Twins' Class A team in Fort Myers being the latest to make a switch.
On Tuesday, the Fort Myers Miracle became the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
Baseball's main minor-league website, MiLB.com reports: "The just-retired Miracle moniker dates back to 1989, when the franchise was established as the Miami Miracle. The Mighty Mussels are the latest Florida State League club to reference an aquatic entity in its name, joining the likes of the Tampa Tarpons, Charlotte Stone Crabs, Daytona Tortugas, Jupiter Hammerheads and Clearwater Threshers."
When the Twins established a Class AA team in Pensacola, Fla., last season, the team was christened as the Blue Wahoos, in honor of a fish native to the region. Another Class A team, which is now located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa., is called the Kernels.
The Miracle/Mighty Mussels were purchased earlier this year by Andrew Kaufman of Jacksonville, Fla., who helped explain the rebrand.
Kaufman told MiLB com: "When you walk along the beach and spot a mussel shell, looking at its colors as the light reflects off the black shell, there's purple, light blue and orange. Well, those would be cool colors from a character development standpoint. Think Disney, but edgy."
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