Welcome back guys and thanks for joining us again for another edition of our Team Logo Power Rankings! This week we head to the Western region of High-A, the smallest league at this level with only 6 teams, but honestly, some of the best we’ve seen throughout our power rankings.
This week, we had 4 guys on the rankings all together. Sean, Manny and Chris, plus 1 guest. This week we had the help of Paul Caputo, an MiLB Correspondent for SportsLogos.Net (Twitter @Count2Baseball) and the author of The Story Behind the Nickname: The Origins of 100 Classic, Contemporary, and Wacky Minor League Baseball Team Names. Go check out his work and show him some love! We thought Paul would be an amazing contributor to the blog and he really did deliver. He really went in depth with his rankings, was extremely thoughtful, and we can’t thank him enough for his dedication and love for the game.
As usual, if you’re a regular reader of the blog, keep scrolling. We don’t want to drag you through all the scoring and category nonsense again. If you’re a first-time reader of either the blog or the Logo Power Rankings specifically, (THANK YOU for checking us out!), but check these blogs out now before reading on. It’ll definitely help you get a sense of how we do things!
As a reminder, we’re pulling our logos from this MiLB article series as our reference – the ones you see below 👇
Without Further Ado…
High-A West League Power Rankings
#6 TRI-CITY DUST DEVILS
Sean
“I really wanted to like this logo more than I actually did. I mean, a 12 isn’t a bad score by any means, but something about the face of this “Dust Devil” looks off to me. It looks too innocent of a tornado/dust-devil type of thing to really intimidate me. The colors here aren’t bad, but a little more white would have done the trick for me. Nothing here really “pops”. they did a great job though incorporating the colors of the regions topography.”
Manny
“The longer you stare at this one the more intricate and cool it gets. The devil is inside the dust tornado but there seems to be a face to it that is separate from everything else going on. Actually the longer I look at this, the creepier it gets. I feel like no matter where I look at it from it’s always watching me. Pretty unique logo, pretty “eh” color scheme.”
Cv9
“Did they have a contest at their local elementary school for a new logo? I mean this logo is just not great in any way, shape, or form.”
PAUL CAPUTO
“An anthropomorphized weather pattern has been done (the Lake Elsinore Storm had a storm cloud with a face before they switched to their current eyeball logo) but if you look at the Dust Devils logo, it feels like nothing you’ve seen before. He’s a scary weather feature and he has a sneaky glean in his eye. This logo may be due for a refresh, but I hope they always keep this personality. They haven’t had a rainout in two decades, but they’ve had games delayed by dust storms. Hyper appropriate to the local area! Tan and blue are basically the only colors in this part of Washington, and they work well together in this logo.”
#5 VANCOUVER CANADIANS
Sean
“Love the maple leaf incorporated into the logo, and the baseball adds a nice touch to a letter-style branding. But everytime I look at this I can’t help but see that it looks what was written on my Middle School Science assignments – C+.”
Manny
“Ahh not much to say here. It’s a sub-par logo in a division that has some bangers. It’s easily forgotten and gives me strong hockey vibes.”
CV9
“Man I hate the lack of originality when it comes to some Canadian sports teams (I’m over-exaggerating but naming your team the Canadians? C’mon. How would people feel if there was a team called the Washington Americans. Just not enough effort.) But back to the logo – I do like this logo a lot with with the incorporation of the baseball in the center of the letter with the accenting overplayed, but classic, Canadian leaf.”
PAUL CAPUTO
“In terms of a nickname, the Canadians sacrificed their claim to uniqueness in favor of patriotism, and that’s okay. That said, their suite of logos includes a Canadian Mountie running with a handful of baseball bats, which is great, and definitely unique. Their type-based cap logo does not aim for intimidation, but that chisel-jawed Mountie is not to be trifled with! The team made a conscious choice to market itself as Canada’s team (and they are the only affiliated minor league team in the whole country), so it makes sense that their efforts at geographic inclusion focus on the country at large. Straight from the Canadian flag!”
#4 SPOKANE INDIANS
Sean
“This logo is actually pretty nice for one that includes a letter. The feather is a really nice touch and the off-white cream color always plays.”
Manny
“Pretty basic logo but the meaning is there and makes it’s point. Not sure how much longer the “Indians” name will last but I feel that this is a pretty tame rendition and use of the name.”
cv9
“The feather gives a nice accent instead of just being a simple letter logo. Good color scheme, all-in-all solid, nothing too special though.”
PAUL CAPUTO
“Other teams in all sports have used Native American imagery and in particular the name Indians. The name is not unique, but the way the team has incorporated the local Native American community into its branding and its stadium experience is a model for how this can be accomplished in a respectful and meaningful way. Their primary jersey, which says “Spokane” in the Salish language, is in the Hall of Fame for being the first to incorporate written Native language. It’s not designed to be intimidating, but it is a serious, respectful brand that commands respect. The eagle feather imagery is sacred to the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the logo itself is based on artwork from a member of the tribe. No question it’s appropriate to the region. The red, blue, and warm neutral white have a classic baseball feeling.”
#3 EVERETT AQUASOX
Sean
” I look at this and see nothing else but the Rainforest Cafe Frog. Inspired by the Pacific Tree Frog (and Brooks Robinson?), I had to give it some credit in Geographic Inclusion, and it’s certainly unique. But other than that, it leaves me wanting more.”
Manny
“I have the urge to go to my local rainforest cafe and order a chocolate volcano cake after looking at this. I really am digging the color scheme. It’s a super bright and vibrant logo that is hard to miss and just looks great on merch. The intimidation factor on this is basically none. Unless this little guy spits acid on you or something it’s kind of adorable.”
CV9
“Absolutely a top tier logo and definitely better than the old logo, a giant hot dog named Frank. According to long-time team radio broadcaster Pat Dillon, “The frog is a cross between a Pacific tree frog and a Central American red-eyed tree frog—and Brooks Robinson”. I gave this a 2 intimidation factor but that could rise if this little dude is poisonous.”
PAUL CAPUTO
“They delve into the archaic spelling of socks that we’ve seen in other baseball teams—Red Sox and White Sox in MLB and Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League to name a few—but the groovy frog more than makes up for it in the uniqueness of this brand. Maybe not so intimidating at first, but if you encountered a tiny, multicolored frog in the soggy forests north of Seattle, you’d probably steer clear. They use a frog for their logo because of all the rain they get there (49 inches a year!), but when I wrote about this team, their radio announcer told me that the frog is “a cross between a Pacific tree frog and a Central American red-eyed tree frog and Brooks Robinson.” Central America is not exactly local to coastal Washington, and neither is Brooks Robinson. There are 10 million colors distinguishable by the human eye and this logo uses most of them. I love it.”
#2 HILLSBORO HOPS
Sean
“Now this. This is as close to perfection as I could get. The green is perfect. The splash of navy and powder blue and white alongside it is *Chef’s Kiss*, beautiful. He looks intimidating, sure, but they’ve also been a FORCE in the league, winning 3 championships in their 7 years in Hillsboro. But I don’t want to ever give a perfect score. I have no intention of doing it. I sat here thinking about this for a while. I couldn’t do it. What happens if I score a perfect 16 and then later on in a future power rankings segment I find something better? What do I do? So I took a look at their 2021 campaign and notice they’ve fallen to 5th place. They couldn’t hold their dominance. So they don’t intimidate me as much. I’m sorry, Hops. I really am. Keep on keeping on, King.”
Manny
“This is a neat logo. In a dying era of cigarette sponsored and beer-sponsored things it’s nice to see something still stand. While the hops are not a beer or beer affiliated, they are the main ingredient. The logo itself it’s pretty dope. The smug look of the hop lets you know he is swiping 30 bags a year and will probably be the first guy out on the field when benches clear. He has a nice head of lettuce under that cap too.”
CV9
“This logo is based off of beer and an evergreen tree, so for the average American sports fan you have to love this. Me personally, I think they could’ve done better. It’s definitely original being the only American sports team named the hops, I think it could just be better.”
PAUL CAPUTO
“A handful of teams at various levels use beer in their brands, but this is the only one that uses an anthropomorphized hop. Look at that furrowed brow and that grimace. He’s clearly up to something. Named for the preponderance of hops-based agriculture outside Portland—definitely locally appropriate. The use of blues and greens is an intentional reference to the Pacific Northwest.”
#1 EUGENE EMERALDS
Sean
“I love this. This almost looks like a hairy Green Giant, but I’m all here for it. The foot looks like it’s ready to stomp the shit out of any opponent in its tracks. I wouldn’t wanna catch this guy in the forest at night. The colors are great, but I wish there was a little more white or maybe even a pop of gray.”
Manny
“Deep in the lush forests of Oregon lurks a mythical tree swinging unit better known as the Emerald. This is what minor league logos are all about: really incorporating the geographical location of the team and creating something cool. Looking like a pissed off and hairy Jolly Green Giant reminding you to eat your broccoli while also making sure you bat .375.”
cv9
“Great rendition of the Sasquatch here, since it’s believed to some that the Sasquatch has been seen in Oregon. Not true, that guy isn’t real. It gives me a jolly green giant feel as well. Cool color scheme, all in all a solid logo.”
PAUL CAPUTO
“There are a few other minor league teams that base their brands on mythological creatures—the Vermont Lake Monsters and the erstwhile Las Vegas 51s are examples—but a brand that features the Sasquatch figure that lurks in the forests of the Pacific Northwest is definitely unique. He’s a huge monster swinging an uprooted pine tree like a baseball bat. I’d be scared. The whole brand focuses on the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Great local connection. If you’ve ever spent time in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, you know that it’s layers of green upon on green, so this fits the bill.”
Complete Rankings
- Eugene Emeralds
- Hillsboro Hops
- Everett Aquasox
- Spokane Indians
- Vancouver Canadians
- Tri-City Dust Devils
The Three Spot 
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