Minor league baseball has plenty of quirky names. The Montgomery Biscuits, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Albuquerque Isotopes -- there's any number of weird mad libs you can plug in to get an MiLB name. However, the San Diego Padres-affiliated Amarillo "Sod Poodles" may have just taken the cake.
The logo is weirdly abstract and befitting of the new name.
WE ARE OFFICIALLY THE AMARILLO SOD POODLES!!!! #SodPoodles pic.twitter.com/i9UVny4khe
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) November 13, 2018
The Padres' Double-A affiliate -- formerly the San Antonio Missions -- moved to Amarillo for the 2019 season, and this naming process has taken a while. Some of the other finalists for the new team name included the Boot Scooters, Bronc Busters and... "Jerky." Just "Jerky."
The Padres' Triple-A team is the El Paso Chihauhuas, so there is a delightfully strange trend in the San Diego farm system. The Sod Poodles can also go by "Soddies," which is miraculously worse than Sod Poodles.
This name is here to stay, however. There's a song, because of course there is.
The Sod Poodles name was initially hated by Amarillo, but public opinion is turning. The team picked its name via a contest, and those voting wanted new options. However, the team stuck to its guns, and said, "We're going to go viral, dammit."
And it did! The Sod Poodles truly are a success story we haven't seen since the likes of Gritty (a month and a half is an eternity in internet years). Some of the other silly names across the country got in on the fun.
We are all in on this! pic.twitter.com/yoL581KyBH
— Clinton LumberKings (@LumberKings) November 13, 2018
We're on board... pic.twitter.com/fbKrsdykEn
— Lansing Lugnuts (@LansingLugnuts) November 13, 2018
It seriously sounds like one of those "What is your team name? Use the first letter of your name to pick from Column A, the last number of your DOB to pick from Column B, and the last letter of your surname to pick from Column C" type of deals.
— Sue J ⚾️ (@Tigger7) November 13, 2018
Hope to see the logo with State of Texas background on one of the caps pic.twitter.com/940NGTtHWf
— Hooks Fan (@Richard_Ripke) November 13, 2018
— Brian (@BrianOverBraun) November 13, 2018
@MiLB is perfect. Don’t ever change.
— Ashley (@ashleytwhite) November 13, 2018
@BarstoolBigCat @PFTCommenter @hen_ease Early contender for next year's minor league baseball names Mount Rushmore.
— Conor Krebs (@ConorKrebs) November 13, 2018
Sod Poodles. Trash Pandas. Woodpeckers. And there are more to come. 👀
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) November 13, 2018
Which new identity is your favorite??? pic.twitter.com/Pe9MEnr83s
That last tweet is only included to illuminate the "Trash Pandas."
The love for the Sod Poodles, however, isn't universal by any means.
The Amarillo Sod Poodles. The Soddies. I didn’t think they would really do it. Maybe it will grow on me. #SodPoodles pic.twitter.com/7Fewbv0AAD
— Alex Driggars (@AlexDriggars) November 13, 2018
Hey, @SodPoodles, how could you name the team anything other than the Amarillo Armadillos? It was right there! ⚾️
— John Paul Farmer (@johnpaulfarmer) November 13, 2018
— Padres Fanatic (@padres_faithful) November 13, 2018
I mean, yeah, sure.
— Peter Nygaard (@RetepAdam) November 13, 2018
Its pronounced "Prairie Dogs". You are the Amarillo Prairie Dogs. Enough with the childish adjective random animal names.
— kyfry (@kyfry87) November 13, 2018
Since you're probably wondering what a Sod Poodle is, it's a nickname for a Prairie Dog, as that last angry user noted. Yes, it's silly. Yes, it's arguably stupid. But part of the process in trying to get to the majors is playing for teams with these names (I assume).