Top 5 MLB Team Names, Without Tradition
As one of the oldest organized national sports leagues in the United States, dating back to the birth of the National League in 1876, Major League Baseball (MLB) has a rich history tied to its teams, players, ballparks, and traditions. Perhaps the most overlooked - and perhaps the driest - tradition in the MLB is the names of some of the teams themselves.
Since the early 1900s, teams in baseball have adopted nicknames to go along with their cities. Many were named after coaches or players, such as the Cleveland Naps (now the Guardians) named after star player Nap Lajoie. Others have taken on monikers based on geography (Colorado Rockies), uniform color (Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs), regional wildlife (Florida/Miami Marlins), or a variety of other reasons for which one might give a name to a team.
I often see rankings for which MLB team has the best nickname, but rarely do they remove from account the tradition of a team - just because a team has been around for over 100 years doesn't make their moniker better than a team of under 40 years. While nostalgia has value in the sport of baseball, I don't believe brand longevity makes a great nickname.
The following is my list of the Top 5 nicknames in the MLB if each retained their original nickname story but was unveiled in 2023 (Spoiler alert: teams named after foot coverings aren't in this list).
5. San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants' name originated when the team still resided in New York before moving to the opposite coast. The "Giants" name is a great one for a baseball team because of the intimidation it provides of a bigger and stronger team.
4. Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins take 4th on my list of nicknames because of the animal itself. This name is fitting for a team in Miami because, along with the sword protruding from their faces, marlins are much larger than the average fish you might find in the Atlantic Ocean, along which Miami sits.
3. Houston Astros
Before you heard "Houston, we have a problem," the Houston Astros replaced the old Colt .45s name for the southeast Texas club. Because of the location near the NASA training facilities, it's an appropriate name for a Houston team. It speaks value to the unknown of space travel and to the advancements in technology in and around Houston. (Photo from Houston Space Center)
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
The hot desert of the Western U.S. is full of dangerous fauna, including the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. The area relevance and dangerous nature of this scaled creature is a great reason on its own to name a team from Arizona. But wait, there's more: the first part of the name, Diamond, is a double entendre, also relating to the fact that the game of baseball is played on a diamond.
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
In my opinion, the Pittsburgh Pirates have the top nickname in the MLB. Pirates have become synonymous with a variety of fictional and nonfictional seafaring outlaws: Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Jack Sparrow, etc. While the name comes from some players breaking rules and joining the Pittsburgh club from another league, the "Pirates" name is still one to be feared.
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