Earlier this month we asked you, our readers, “if Raleigh secured a major league baseball team, what should the MLB team name be?” You hit these suggestions out of the park.
The conversation was sparked after Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon voiced his support for major league baseball to establish itself in NC.
If that isn’t enough to get you pumped... according to Sports Business Journal, Raleigh is the No. 22 media market in the nation and a top host for amateur sports.
The folks at MLB Raleigh, a grassroots movement rooting for the great American pastime to establish home plate in Raleigh, have pitched the Grays and Tigers, a nod to former Negro league teams, and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission threw out an idea for Copperheads on X, formerly Twitter.
Here are a few of our favorite submissions and how they would represent Raleigh + NC.
- Carolina Aviators | It’s no secret that NC is first in flight thanks to the Wright Brothers’ successful aviation at Kill Devil Hills in 1903. Considering 60% of North Carolinians are driving around with “First in Flight” license plates, I can only imagine that this team name would take flight as well.
- Carolina Kudzu | During the 1920s and 1930s, Southern states planted kudzu seedlings to prevent erosion — flash forward to 2023, and the invasive vine is relentless and runs rampant in forests, invading trees and smothering them from sunlight. Sounds like an intimidating
plantbaseball team name. - NC Silver Squirrels | Our state is home to five species of squirrels, with the gray, or silver, squirrel being the most prominent. In 1969, the gray squirrel was adopted as NC’s state mammal. These adaptive animals are active year-round, even in intense cold weather. It could be cute to adopt the gray squirrel “warning bark” as our chant.
- Raleigh Red Wolves | Did you know red wolves are almost to the point of extinction? The approx. 35 confirmed surviving wild red wolves live in the NC’s Albemarle Peninsula. This rare wolf has a reddish coat and tends to live in a close-knit pack.
- Raleigh Red-Tailed Hawks | The most popular hawk found in NC often perches on telephone poles and soars 200 to 300 feet to scope out its prey. They are known to be alert, fast, and they have great endurance.
- The Carolina/Raleigh Hounds | MLB Raleigh already has this design on its site, created by local designer and NC State design grad Blair Torres. The Plott hound was embraced as NC’s state dog in 1989 and is the only official dog breed developed in NC. These pups are intelligent, confident, and focused.
- The Raleigh Oaks + Carolina Acorns | We know... there are already the Oakland A’s... but Raleigh certainly fits the bill for the Carolina Acorns. After all, we have a giant one that lives in City Plaza to prove our acorn loyalty.
- The Velvet Cloaks | The now demolished inn stood on Hillsborough Street for more than five decades and hosted a slew of celebrities and politicians, including Bob Dylan. The building was of New Orleans style and was once one of Raleigh’s grandest hotels. But there is just something so mysterious about “The Velvet Cloaks.”
