I just read this article, which, if you are too lazy to click on the link, basically says that the AAA baseball team normally known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (to distinguish them from the major league team the New York Yankees) will be re-branded the 'Empire State Yankees' for only one year while their stadium in Pennsylvania is being rebuilt. Apparently this makes sense to someone with dollar signs in their eyes ('Just think, Pinky, we'll force them to buy all new hats and tee-shirts that we'll call 'limited edition'!), but I think it is the worst idea ever. During the one year that this team will be playing its 'home' games in other stadiums, traveling much more than usual, and getting a lot of media attention in those other towns, the team will reach thousands of new fans, create headlines in local sports sections, and...totally confuse everyone with a misleading, temporary new name, image, and logo??? Where did their marketing consultants get their degrees, clown college?
This traveling team situation, while inconvenient for the players and the fans alike, is the perfect opportunity to raise brand awareness and fan potential by increasing the time the Yanks are on the road as mobile ambassadors for themselves and for this area. The fact that the baby Yankees are even IN Lackawanna County is still new to many fans, since it wasn't that long ago that we hosted the Red Barons for Philadelphia. Scranton had the Phillies' AAA team for what, twenty years? And now that we've 'upgraded' to host theYankees, the team is encouraging them to tour under a name that totally removes any traces of NEPA from their logo? S-M-R-T!
The explanation that this temporary name change "will allow [the cities in New York] to more closely identify with the team during its temporary stay" is so ludicrous and nonsensical it barely bears repeating. First of all, people in New York already identify with the major league Yankees. That's not going to change because of anything the minor league team does, and most people will see 'Yankees' and identify the two no matter what the first part of the name is. Secondly, why doesn't the U.S. Army change its name to the Afghanistan Liberation Army when in Afghanistan and the English Ally Army when in England? Oh, of course, because changing their location does not change the make-up of the army, its mission, goals, loyalty, or home base. This might not be the best example but the American military is the American military no matter where its people go. Apparently, the same cannot be said when playing more away games than usual for a baseball team.
Honestly, I don't really care that much about sports, but this decision is such a dumb marketing and PR move that it makes me think the real reason the team is being 'temporarily' re-branded is that they have no intention of coming back to Pennsylvania at all. The situation is complex, but there have been problems with the stadium, problems with funding, and problems with local officials and their wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. Locals will understand when I say that ever since the Yanks came to this area, the feeling has been that their parent company thinks they are too good to play Scranton, and this move leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the whole team.
If the taxpayers are investing their money into this sports team for upgrades and renovations, then we shouldn't get the shaft when they go out into the world. This team is not separate or better than Lackawanna County - they are, at least for the time being, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, and that is how they should be known for this one year of away games. This is the KEYSTONE State, not the Empire State, and if they want to be known as the Empire State Yankees, then maybe they should stay in New York. It seems to me very likely that they will do so. I'm not trying to bring more problems to this area, but reading between the lines makes this seem like a gradual way out of their association with this area. If we pour millions of dollars into renovating to their specifications and end up with no team to generate ROI for that money, it will be one more disaster that this area really can't afford to shoulder.
Also, this might be unclear writing in the original article, but it makes it seem like the Rochester Red Wings not only pushed for this decision but will reap the profits from the merchandising. Great!
UPDATE: The story gets even weirder: The Stadium Authority Board, which OWNS the franchise, apparently had no idea that they were going to change the name. Um...then who is this 'they' that is changing the name?? I think the SAB should put a stop to this immediately, but board president James Timlin said tonight on the news that the board "doesn't have a problem with it." Well, they should - nothing should be done without their approval, why aren't they making a point that they're in charge and nixing this whole plan?
Also, after reading to this article, I think I'm right about the end of the SWB Yankees, as much as I hoped it wasn't true. " 'Right now we're in negotiations with the New York Yankees and Mandalay on whether or not we're going to have baseball in the future of Lackawanna County," said Commissioner Jim Wansacz. He added negotiations are going well, but the news of the name change came as a surprise to the county." I'm pretty sure that if the first half of that last sentence is true and things were going well, the owners of team would not be blindsided by such a ridiculous slap in the face as this name change.
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