What should they be called?
Something that flies? Farms?
Maybe some fightin’ dogs that are a little rag tag from hanging in the local diesel shop?
Hagerstown’s new minor league baseball team takes to the field next spring, and Downtown Baseball LLC, its owner, updated the public Wednesday on its efforts to name the crew during a news conference at the Hagerstown YMCA on Eastern Boulevard. It comes as the team’s new multimillion-dollar stadium is being built by the state at Baltimore Street and Summit Avenue.
Downtown Baseball and others associated with the team announced the five top names for the team that came from a contest in which the public could submit suggestions of their own.
After more than 1,700 names submitted in an online contest through Herald-Mail Media, team officials picked the five they liked, said Chuck Domino of Domino Management Consulting Co., who is helping Downtown Baseball LLC come up with a name. The names were unveiled Wednesday when kids from the YMCA’s summer camp took turns doing an about-face with posters to show a waiting crowd the different names.
And the names are …
The names chosen are the Hagerstown:
- Battle Swans
- Diezel Dogs
- Flying Boxcars
- Haymakers
- Tin Lizards
What do you think Tin Lizards refers to?
People who submitted names were able to explain their choices if they wanted, and team officials said they learned through the process that tin lizards are a nickname for trains. Hagerstown has long been known as “The Hub City” because of the train lines that extend from town like the spokes of a wheel.
How about Battle Swans?
Swans are an integral part of the Hagerstown scene with those that grace City Park along Virginia Avenue. David Blenckstone, the general manager for the team, referred to the birds in the news conference as the “crazy swans in City Park” whose temperament can be tricky at times.
Diezel Dogs comes from … ?
Diesel can relate to everything from the trains in town to the area’s trucking industry.
OK, what about the Flying Boxcars?
The Flying Boxcars pay tribute to the hulking military aircraft that were built here by Fairchild in the mid-1900s.
And the Haymakers?
Well, there’s plenty of that cut on farms around Washington County.
How were the five names selected?
Domino said a group of people associated with Downtown Baseball got together and looked over the possible names the public came up with to make a decision on which ones might work best.
Besides himself, Domino said the group included Blenckstone, Linda Ebersole, a representative for Downtown Baseball and the team ownership made up of Howard “Blackie” Bowen, Don Bowman, James Holzapfel and Frank Boulton. Ebersole is Bowman’s daughter.
Previously:Hurry! You have a little more than a week to submit a Hagerstown baseball team name
In picking the top five names, the group looked at deciding factors such as which ones would make good logos or be a good representation of Hagerstown, Domino said.
Although there were a lot of good submissions, many had to be thrown out because they would have been trademark infringements due to other teams already using them, team officials said.
How were people able to submit names?
The public was able to submit names by clicking on a link for the Name the Hagerstown Baseball Team under the “Extra, Extra” heading at www.heraldmailmedia.com. After giving their email address, participants could submit a name.
The link went up May 22 and submissions were accepted until June 5.
Now the public can pick their favorite name out of the five selected through the same link until July 7. The winning name will be announced July 20.
Domino said the final vote by the public will help team officials decide on a final name. For example, if one of the names is a runaway winner in voting, that may convince team officials to go with it, Domino said.
The person who comes up with the winning name will get two free season tickets for the team’s inaugural season and a team jersey and hat, team officials said previously.
More:‘It’s going to be first-class’: State releases sketch of Hagerstown’s new stadium
Four random entrants will get two tickets to opening night and a team jersey and hat, and 10 random entrants will get two tickets to opening night.
The stadium is ‘coming out of the ground’
Close to $70 million in state funds have been secured to build the team’s stadium, which is being referred to as the Hagerstown Multi-Use Sports and Events Facility. It will also be used for community events and festivals.
In May, the Maryland Stadium Authority, which is overseeing the construction, released an architect’s rendering of the facility, which shows where its main entrance will be off the Hagerstown Cultural Trail behind center field.
The stadium design features a variety of seating, from high-top table configurations to fixed grandstand seats, club suites, a kids zone and a VIP area that gives a unique close-up feel to home plate action, said Al Tyler, vice president of a capital projects group for the authority.
Tyler said previously that he anticipates steel for the stadium will start going up next month.
A number of local politicians and business leaders joined team officials at the YMCA announcement.
Bowen said the new team and stadium is a big moment for downtown that will spur more economic development.
“It’s already happening,” Bowen said. He said the stadium is “coming out of the ground and it’s very exciting.”
Domino said he has been involved in many similar baseball projects over the years, and said the Hagerstown stadium will have “all the bells and whistles.”
“I can tell you that the ball park being developed downtown is going to be very special,” Domino said.
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