These Baseball Team Names Are as Bad as It Gets

Baseball has a history of bad team names.

From inappropriate mascots in the Negro Baseball Leagues to some odd choices for minor league baseball — RubberDucks, anyone? — these are the baseball team names that should never have been allowed on the diamond.

Duration: 2017-19

League: MiLB

Bottom line: The Baby Cakes are a derivative of King Cakes, which are a popular New Orleans treat during Mardi Gras. Every King Cake has a tiny, plastic baby inside it, and whoever ends up with the slice of cake with the baby then has to buy the next King Cake.

The New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA have a seasonal mascot that’s the King Cake Baby and the local Triple-A baseball team decided to make it their permanent mascot. Thus, the “Baby Cakes” team name was created, and it was chosen above several others representing the New Orleans culture, including the Crawfish, Po’boys and Tailgators.

Duration: 2005-15

League: MLB

Bottom line: This name actually spawned a lawsuit by the city of Anaheim against the Angels’ owners. In 1996, the city and the franchise agreed to a new lease that mandated “Anaheim” appear in the team’s name. Angels owner Arte Moreno tried to skirt around that by rebranding the Anaheim Angels as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, as he wanted the backing of L.A. for marketing purposes.

While Moreno won out in court, the name change was universally pawned. Anaheim residents didn’t want anything to do with Los Angeles, and MLB fans thought the full name was a mouthful. Some Anaheim locals even mockingly made T-shirts that read “Anaheim Angels of Anaheim” and wore them to games. After a decade under the name, the Angels quietly dropped the “of Anaheim” part and are now known as the Los Angeles Angels.

Duration: 1883-1906

League: National League

Bottom line: One of the most popular nicknames of the city of Boston is Beantown. It derives from the regional dish of Boston baked beans, and thus, the nickname of the Boston Beaneaters spun off that. But with beans being synonymous with producing flatulence, do you really want to be called a Beaneater?

Apparently so, as for 24 years that was the team name before it eventually became what today is the Atlanta Braves. The Beaneaters were actually quite successful, winning six pennants — the same amount the Braves have won in 56 years under that name.

Duration: 2019-present

League: MiLB

Bottom line: “Boot Scooters,” “Bronc Busters,” “Jerky,” “Long Haulers”… what are those names? Those were the team names that “lost” to Sod Poodles in a name-the-team contest held by the club. The ownership group didn’t hide the fact that they wanted an absurd name for what was then the San Diego Padres’ affiliate, and they achieved their goal.

So what exactly is a Sod Poodle? It’s a nickname for a prairie dog, which is highly prevalent in Amarillo, Texas. Prairie dogs are known for their togetherness, and the hope was that the team nickname would help form a family-oriented, close group amongst the players.