Funny names for baseball teams
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I went to the Salem Red Sox game today in Salem, VA — they played the Down East Wood Ducks from North Carolina and won 5–4.
A couple of years ago when the Down East Wood Ducks first moved to Kinston, North Carolina, they put the name of the new ballclub to a vote. The team presented the town with five options and the naming choice caused quite a stir. The options were the Down East Hogzillas, the Down East HamHawks, the Down East Eagles, the Down East Wood Ducks, and finally, the Down East Shaggers.
Shaggers.
I jest you not.
Shaggers.
What surprised me more than the possibility of “Shaggers” being a legitimate option, was that the source of the controversy wasn’t actually about Shaggers as part of the team’s name at all. The controversy was that the new home of the baseball team — Kinston, wasn’t considered part of Down East North Carolina .
Shaggers, totally fine, apparently.
The town wanted Kinston as part of the name of the new team. And why not, the Kinston Shaggers would have been a superb name. To add insult to injury, the Down East Wood Ducks had already been trademarked by the owners and so they decided to go with that without even announcing a winner.
Bastards.
