Team Naming Sabermetrics or Over-Analyzing Team Names

[bleachercreature]

If you're thinking... say what? I don't blame you. This is about the over analysis of team names that some (including myself) use when trying to set up leagues.

Am I the only one that finds myself in this boat: analyzing the source of inspiration for team names, finding out how they fit, the overuse of devices like alliteration, or simply how a city and nickname sound together.

I'm actually sitting here looking at a league that I'm planning right now going, ok this may teams start with this letter, this many team names have a war theme, this many an animal theme, this many a weather theme, this many have some connection to their city, etc.

It reminds of the paralysis by analysis approach of sabermetrics.

Do any other peole do anything similar to this or am I just insane?

[Antonin]

I put some thought into my fictional team names only to the extent that I never use Native American themes. In recent years the approach I have used is to pick a bunch of names at random out of a dictionary, and then assign them to my teams. Some names chosen in this way work, some don't. You'd be surprised at the interesting names you sometimes get.

I try to avoid having two names that start with the same letter in one division (i.e., no "Rangers" and "Rockets"). Often I will throw a couple of astronomy-themed names into the pool--Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, etc. This approach works well for me.

No, you're not insane. Having a league with fictional team names you like is really important. You are going to be looking at those standings for hopefully a long time.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by bleachercreature

If you're thinking... say what? I don't blame you. This is about the over analysis of team names that some (including myself) use when trying to set up leagues.

Am I the only one that finds myself in this boat: analyzing the source of inspiration for team names, finding out how they fit, the overuse of devices like alliteration, or simply how a city and nickname sound together.

I'm actually sitting here looking at a league that I'm planning right now going, ok this may teams start with this letter, this many team names have a war theme, this many an animal theme, this many a weather theme, this many have some connection to their city, etc.

It reminds of the paralysis by analysis approach of sabermetrics.

Do any other peole do anything similar to this or am I just insane?

I did the same thing with my ABF league and am considering changing names of many of my EBL league teams because I seemed to love birds when i created the league when I was 10. i also try to make sure not too many teams have teh same colored logo and similar colored jerseys/caps.

[ArcAngel]

Along these linse, the problem I am having is that in my current file, I have added 3 additional levels of minors (120 teams total, with 31 to go), and am having a hard time trying to fill them out with teams that make sense based on the parent clubs.

For instance, trying to find decent Aspen uniforms is proving to be difficult.

I also have the Portland Beavers, Québec Capitales, Vancouver Canadians, Edmonton Trappers, Calgary Cannons, Ottawa Lynx and Winnipeg Goldeyes as major league teams - so you can imagine the quandary I face in finding names that are appropriate.

[kq76]

I put way too much thought into naming my teams too.

[ra7c7er]

I try to use historical or cultural names in cities. But admittedly in my 68 team world I stopped after 8+ hours and started just going with alliterations.

Also since i use the nickname project exclusively for uniforms and logos I'm bound by those.

[NoOne]

yes, you are all nuts.

i'm ridiculous about other things in the same way.

[iggyhood]

I try to use names that seem to have a local flavour (in my mind) but there are some team names that I use year in year out regardless as I just like them (SF Seals, Portland Beavers, Brooklyn Atlantics, Key West Tropics)

Similar to Antonin I do not use Native American (or other indigenous group) names, but thats personal to me

[ra7c7er]

Originally Posted by Antonin

I put some thought into my fictional team names only to the extent that I never use Native American themes. In recent years the approach I have used is to pick a bunch of names at random out of a dictionary, and then assign them to my teams. Some names chosen in this way work, some don't. You'd be surprised at the interesting names you sometimes get.

I try to avoid having two names that start with the same letter in one division (i.e., no "Rangers" and "Rockets"). Often I will throw a couple of astronomy-themed names into the pool--Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, etc. This approach works well for me.

No, you're not insane. Having a league with fictional team names you like is really important. You are going to be looking at those standings for hopefully a long time.

Originally Posted by iggyhood

I try to use names that seem to have a local flavour (in my mind) but there are some team names that I use year in year out regardless as I just like them (SF Seals, Portland Beavers, Brooklyn Atlantics, Key West Tropics)

Similar to Antonin I do not use Native American (or other indigenous group) names, but thats personal to me

I tend to feel the same about Native American names but I do use Tribe as one team in my world. Nauvoo Tribe to be exact. It was either go with something Native American-ish (Tribe could be used for a lot of people it's not blanket Native American) or go with something Mormon (it's where Mormonism was created) I thought it was more respectful to go with Nauvoo Tribe then Nauvoo "something Christian based on people who slaughtered hundreds of Native Americans for no reason in the area".

That being said I am kind of on the fence about offensive names. I do think names like Redskins are offensive But I don't think other Native American related names are. I don't find Braves wrong that could be Brave anything. Replace the hatchet with any other hand weapon and you have a name based on anything. Blackhawks I don't find offensive since it was never actually a tribe but it was a Native American chief so I don't know.

And then what about derogatory terms used as team names that aren't Native American?

I guess in the end it's more about context for me then just a blanket this is wrong.

[TomVeal]

If a city has, or has had, professional or semi-professional baseball teams, I use one of the past team nicknames. If it hasn't, or if the names are extremely unsatisfactory, I borrow a name from another sport, from a college in the vicinity or, as a last resort, from random imagination.

For example, a team in Fort Collins, Col., which has only a single year of minor league history (1898 - nickname unknown to me), might be the Foxes (current team in the independent Centennial League) or the Rams (after the teams at local Colorado State University).

[David Watts]

I use the nickname project. I tend to name teams by a process of elimination based on team colors. That way when I play out my games, each team has a unique color, making them easier to recognize.

[ra7c7er]

Originally Posted by David Watts

I use the nickname project. I tend to name teams by a process of elimination based on team colors. That way when I play out my games, each team has a unique color, making them easier to recognize.

I do that to. It's a interesting way to self discover something. I've noticed what color combinations I like better and which I don't like at all.

[STeK]

Not only team names but logos as well. I have spent hours trying to get a logo that I am satisfied with. Logos are really an exercise in OCD futility. Surely I am an expert on the history and culture of many US cities by now with all of the research I have done!

[Fyrestorm3]

Originally Posted by David Watts

I use the nickname project. I tend to name teams by a process of elimination based on team colors. That way when I play out my games, each team has a unique color, making them easier to recognize.

Yeah, I get hyper-sensitive about my team colors, too. It extends to jerseys (No, this team can't wear a blue cap - two other teams in their division already wear blue caps! It just won't work!)

[Padreman]

One
Pet peeve of mine is team Colors too many blues and reds just bug me I want teams with orange, grey, black, brown, green, teal, purple ect. If there was a realistic way to implement pink I would. And I hate state name so no Colorado Rockies or Texas Rangers or Minnesota Twins they are the Denver Rockies, Dallas Rangers, Minneapolis Twins. And I never do multiple teams in one city. No Mets and White Sox sorry relocated. Angels back to Anaheim

[STeK]

Originally Posted by Antonin

I put some thought into my fictional team names only to the extent that I never use Native American themes

why not? so i take it you don't use any US cities that have a name originating from American Indians?

In all honesty this offends me, being American Indian, nobody even realizes the city they live in probably derives from a indian name. Anybody that makes this statement as OP is probably an ignorant liberal.... sorry truth hurts.

[Peregrine]

I like to use, where possible, historical minor league team names from that city. Baseball Reference has an extensive listing.

[STeK]

Originally Posted by Antonin

I put some thought into my fictional team names only to the extent that I never use Native American themes

What? C'mon. Why is that?

[Tram2Whitaker]

I don't really have a method per se, but I do avoid the Native American names as someone stated earlier, when naming fictional teams (I do however maintain the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland and Indianapolis Indians) I also do not waste too much energy on minor league teams.

I have had leagues in which I've had a theme, such as my 1871 Confederate League; all the teams' names were military leadership positions: Norfolk Admirals, Atlanta Generals, Lousville Colonels (that may have had a bit of 20th century influence). Many times, I'll stick to animal names.

For a while when I had Cephas James' logo pack, I let the teams' assigned color dictate their nickname. Say the hex code for my Atlanta team was #6500ed; I would search for the file with a similar code, and assign that name to the team. Sometimes there wasn't a match, but I could still find something close.

[Fyrestorm3]

Originally Posted by Tram2Whitaker

I don't really have a method per se, but I do avoid the Native American names as someone stated earlier, when naming fictional teams (I do however maintain the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland and Indianapolis Indians) I also do not waste too much energy on minor league teams.

I don't straight-up avoid Native American references, because in my opinion, not all of them are offensive. I would never call a team the "Indians" or "Redskins" - or give them a bright, toothy, red-faced mascot, for that matter - but I see no problem using names such as "Braves," "Chiefs," "Blackhawks," and others that don't flat-out insult a race of people. You don't have to outright avoid all Native American names, in my opinion, just the derogatory ones.