The soon-to-be former New Britain Cats are now the soon-to-be former Hartford Yard Goats.
"We wanted a name that would identify our organization as family friendly and appeal to kids as well as baseball fans throughout the region," said team owner Josh Solomon. "Unfortunately, we had no idea that 'Yard Goat' was a type of railroad locomotive, and the resulting backlash forced us to go back to the drawing board."
The result? Instead of rooting for obscure railroad jargon, baseball fans all over the state will receive a special treat: Say hello to the Hartford Huskies!
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| David, the mascot of the new Hartford AA Baseball team. |
Unlike the Yard Goats, reaction to the Huskies moniker has been uniformly positive.
"Let's face it," said Joe Torre. "A baseball star is not a goat. One does not handle a bat or glove like a goat. This new name should go over well."
Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy agreed.
"The state of Connecticut," Shoughnessy said, "is a vicious mix of Yankees, Red Sox and Met fans. And that's just during the summer months. The rest of the year, the state's residents are pitted against each other as Celtics or Knicks, Patriots or Giants, even Revolution or Football Club. Thankfully, the Connecticut community spirit can now continue past March Madness and extend all summer long."
