Fort Myers did a terrible job of rebranding

For years, the Twins High-A affiliate has been the Fort Myers Miracle. Its a very logical pairing, as the Twins spring-training home is in Fort Myers, and the Miracle could use the same facilities, which include world-class player amenities, and a much nicer complex than a typical MiLB team at that level can boast. The partnership will be continuing, but today the Fort Myers team announced a rebranding on their twitter. It is quite frankly, terrible and poorly-conceived. Whoever signed off on this should probably be fired.

Here is the tweet

Now, I’m not saying that the Miracle couldn’t have used a rebrand, and MiLB teams often do use goofy, locally inspired mascots, but this is a horrible example of both. The name “Mighty Mussels” by itself is a little quirky, but just look at that mascot. To put it delicately, it looks like anatomy. Who designed this, and who said “yes, that looks good?” I think someone slipped up here.

Its so bad that many people are saying its a joke—but if it is, that is an even worse choice than pushing this thing live in a sincere manner. The team site is all-in on the rebrand, selling merchandise and having already changed their colors and logos. I guess if you really want to buy a hat with an angry “mussel” on the front, go for it. I think that thing is officially NSFW in some workplaces though. It certainly deserves at least an ‘R’ rating. One could even argue that its offensive to female fans. You know, half the population, and the half baseball already has more trouble attracting.

I don’t know if the Twins have any sway with their affiliate, but if they do, they should be on the phone trying to make this quietly go away. The most family-friendly of professional sports, Minor League Baseball, where tickets are affordable and there is often a playground on the outfield berm, has a dirty joke of a mascot.

I don’t care if this is a joke, is serious, or even if it slipped through unintentionally. This should probably be a career-ending move for someone. Do better, baseball.