Minor League Baseball Unveils On-Field Brands for “Copa de la Diversión”

Minor League Baseball Unveils On-Field Brands for “Copa de la Diversión”
Teams reveal culturally-relevant personas celebrating their local Hispanic/Latino communities
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Minor League Baseball® (MiLBTM) today revealed the on-field identities of the 33 teams participating in its new “Copa de la DiversiónTM” (“Fun CupTM”) season-long event series this season. “Copa de la Diversión” serves as a key component of MiLB’s “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan®” (“It’s Fun to be A Fan®”) Hispanic fan engagement initiative.
To distinctively launch this new initiative and visually celebrate the diversity that defines MiLB communities nationwide, MiLB and each participating team created culturally-relevant on-field personas that honor their respective U.S. Hispanic/Latino communities that are building, shaping and leading MiLB markets today. All “Copa” teams will adopt these new personas via on-field jerseys and caps during designated “Copa de la Diversión” games during the 2018 season. MiLB also introduced a new, “Copa”-specific website – MiLB.com/Copa – featuring each participating team’s unique identity and the story behind its selected on-field persona, and links for fans to purchase and pre-order any of the on-field caps, branded apparel and tickets to the “Copa” ballpark events.
Teams unveiling Hispanic/Latino identities as part of the “Copa de la Diversión” competition are listed below.

Minor League Baseball Team	Spanish-Language Name	Translation
Albuquerque Isotopes	Mariachis de Nuevo México	New Mexico Mariachis
Bowie Baysox	Cangrejos Fantasmas de Chesapeake	Ghost Crabs
Brooklyn Cyclones	Brooklyn Jefes	Bosses
Charlotte Knights	Charlotte Caballeros	Knights
Corpus Christi Hooks	Corpus Christi Raspas	Snow Cones
Daytona Tortugas	Tortugas de Daytona	Turtles
Durham Bulls	Toros de Durham	Bulls
El Paso Chihuahuas	El Paso Chihuahuas	-
Eugene Emeralds	Monarcas de Eugene	Monarchs (Butterflies)
Everett AquaSox	Everett Conquistadores	Conquerors
Greenville Drive	Greenville Energía	Drive
Hartford Yard Goats	Chivos de Hartford	Goats
Hillsboro Hops	Hillsboro Lúpulos	Hops
Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino	San Bernardino Cucuys	Bogeymen
Kane County Cougars	Kane County Cougars	-
Kannapolis Intimidators	Rápidos de Kannapolis	Fast
Lake Elsinore Storm	Lake Elsinore Storm	-
Las Vegas 51s	Las Vegas Reyes de Plata	Silver Kings
Lehigh Valley IronPigs	Lehigh Valley Tocino	Bacon
Memphis Redbirds	Memphis Música	Music
Oklahoma City Dodgers	Cielo Azul de Oklahoma City	Blue Sky
Omaha Storm Chasers	Omaha Cazadores de Tormentas	Storm Chasers
Pawtucket Red Sox	Pawtucket Osos Polares	Polar Bears
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes	Rancho Cucamonga Temblores	Quakes
Round Rock Express	Round Rock Chupacabras	-
Sacramento River Cats	Sacramento Dorados	Golden
Salt Lake Bees	Abejas de Salt Lake	Bees
San Antonio Missions	San Antonio Flying Chanclas	Flying Sandals
San Jose Giants	San Jose Gigantes	Giants
Stockton Ports	Stockton Caballos	Horses
Tulsa Drillers	Petroleros de Tulsa	Oilmen
Visalia Rawhide	Visalia Toros	Rawhide
Winston-Salem Dash	Winston-Salem Rayados	Striped Ones

“Sports teams symbolize their respective community’s uniqueness, often adopting nicknames and logos depicting these special traits,” said Kurt Hunzeker, MiLB’s Vice President of Marketing Strategy and Research. “MiLB and the participating teams embraced this creative approach when developing the ‘Copa de la Diversión’ brand identities, and the final designs reflect the unique characteristics of each team’s fan base while staying true to MiLB’s one-of-a-kind brand of fan-centric fun.”
For more than two years, MiLB’s collaborative research with local U.S. Hispanic/Latino civic organizations helped establish potential on-field personas that represented the past, present and future of each market’s diverse population. This analysis also highlighted opportunities for the participating teams to enhance their gameday experiences with new food-and-beverage offerings, culturally-relevant music, customer service platforms and other fun activities.
MiLB’s in-house brand development team created 23 of the 33 “Copa”-specific identities, as well as the official logos for “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan” and the “Copa de la Diversión” event series.
The 165-game “Copa de la Diversión” event series begins on April 8, in Round Rock, Texas, and concludes on Sept. 2, in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
###
About Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, is the governing body for all professional baseball teams in the United States, Canada and the Dominican Republic that are affiliated with Major League Baseball® clubs through their farm systems. Fans are coming out in unprecedented numbers to this one-of-a-kind experience that can only be found at Minor League Baseball ballparks. In 2017, Minor League Baseball attracted 41.8 million fans to its ballparks to see the future stars of the sport hone their skills. From the electricity in the stands to the excitement on the field, Minor League Baseball has provided affordable family-friendly entertainment to people of all ages since its founding in 1901. For more information visit MiLB.com.
Follow Minor League Baseball on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.