Vote to name RVA’s new baseball team (Also: WTF?)

Valerie Catrow — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:37:47 +0000

So...

The Times-Dispatch has released the reader-submitted names for Richmond's new baseball team. Here they are, in all of their WTF glory...

Richmond Rock Hoppers
(Because people hop on rocks on Belle Island sometimes, I guess?)

Richmond Rhinos
(Maybe this makes sense because Richmond is really old. Or... nah, I got nothin'.)

Richmond Flatheads
(After a quick wikipedia search, I found that this could refer to the screwdriver, an engine, a Native American nation, a family of fish, a medical condition caused by remaining in one position too long, or a song by The Fratellis. Of course.)

Richmond Flying Squirrels
(Due to Richmond's love of all things deceptively cute/terrifying.)

Richmond Hambones
(Clearly because of the ham. This is the only one I kind of get, although I personally would have preferred "Ham biscuits.")

I really don't know what else to say. Perhaps you all have some input...

Update

The T-D has finally shed a little light on the origin of these suggestions:

Flatheads: a kind of catfish commonly found in the James River.
Flying Squirrels: soar in Virginia.
Hambones: paying homage to Virginia ham.
Rock Hoppers: people or animals on river rocks.
Rhinos: alliteration featuring a powerful image.

Resume your conversation...

Another update

Check out this interview with the franchise's CEO, Chuck Domino. Here are a couple comments of note:

"We got a lot of names that made me yawn, a lot of names that would have been very popular," said Domino. "We could have said 'Rapids.' We could have said 'Rebels.' We could have said 'Virginians.'
"But to me, totally boring, not what we represent. We represent obtuse, fun, off-beat, you name it. We're not your grandfather's minor-league front office, I can guarantee you that."

Yet another update

And we've got another one in the running...

The Richmond Hush Puppies.

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