At the start of the Mets off-season we made a list of things to look forward to before Opening Day 2019. While most were Mets team released (GM/free agent signings/internal decisions as to who is playing what) on our list was “what will the Mets AAA Syracuse Club be named?”
Yesterday we found out that the Mets went with the safe choice and revealed the Syracuse Mets:
Meet the Mets! The Syracuse Mets, that is. The International League club unveils its new name and logos: https://t.co/f4MxLEZZu6 pic.twitter.com/0SZf7pyoHK
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) October 16, 2018
This is a lot better than the Syracuse Chiefs / Sky Chiefs and definitely fits the mold of branding upstate as Mets country too. Albeit a little boring. Binghamton recently went through the process of changing their name from the Mets (25 years) to the Rumble Ponies and in the process relaunched excitement about minor league baseball in the Southern Tier. Renaming the team was just part of that, the new owners, who demanded the name change, invested quite a bit in the stadium, the promotions got considerably better and then there was Tim Tebow:
Speaking of Tebow, other regional Triple A teams are anticipating a Tebow, Syracuse reunion:
The @SyracuseMets bring a new moniker and a new team to Coca-Cola Park next season.
See 10 of their contests against the IronPigs with a special Mets Plan. https://t.co/KMpf161PY6
— IronPigs (@IronPigs) October 16, 2018
Overall I don’t hate the rebranding, I just think it’s a little bland. If the Mets didn’t change their double A team this would have the last four stops of development on a player’s journey:
- St Lucie Mets
- Binghamton Mets
- Syracuse Mets
- New York Mets
The Mets also have the Kingsport Mets, which essentially use same logo for their hat (at least St Lucie changed theirs a bit). On the positive side, with so many teams calling themselves the Mets it will give us an opportunity to see some crazy Mets promotional jerseys throughout the season.
