‘Capitals’ Ready To Throw First Pitch

20/03/2009 05:18

Golden Baseball League franchise bought by NHL's Oilers renamed

Ding dong the Cracker-Cats are dead.

Edmonton's franchise in the Golden Baseball League was renamed the Edmonton Capitals on Wednesday.

"I think the name will be quickly adopted," said Patrick LaForge, who, in addition to being the president and CEO of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers, is also the Capitals governor.

"Capital city. Oil capital. We finally have a pro sports team in this city that we can call the Capitals.

"The name symbolizes all that makes this city stand out above the rest." One name that never stood out was Cracker-Cats.

"Twenty-eight out of every 29 games someone would ask me what is a Cracker-Cat," said Capitals manager Brent Bowers. "I shook my head and told them I didn't know.

"It was like Jeopardy. All I knew was it had something to do with oil." While it seemed like many people were hoping for a return to the name 'Trappers' -- the highly successful Triple-A team that played in Edmonton, LaForge said "The Trappers had a great run. It was a wonderful era, but it also conjured up a lot of things we didn't care for." While LaForge would not elaborate, he did say the Trappers "left in a huff and people had very strong feelings about that," a reference to the way the Trappers were bought and then sold by the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos -- almost overnight and with little public discussion.

The Trappers were also started by ex-Oilers owner Peter Pocklington.

"This is a new start to a new idea," said LaForge, adding that the Trappers name did not come up very often in a re-name the team contest. The promotion drew over 2,000 suggestions.

Miranda Diakiw was selected in a random draw from a pool of those who also chose the Capitals name.

"This is a new game, a new kid, a new family." And LaForge said that the Edmonton Capitals are not the Triple-A Trappers.

"Nobody wanted to live with that never-ending comparison with Ron Kittle," he said.

Whatever the name, the biggest change is clearly the new ownership, with Edmonton Oilers staff now running the team after it was purchased from Dan Orlich by Daryl Katz and the Rexall Sports Corporation a few months ago.

"I know this city wasn't too fond of (last year's) owners," said Bowers. "It's going to be a baseball city. It's going to be nice." "It got to be a distraction on a daily basis," said Mark Randall, who was introduced as the team's pitching coach.

LaForge said there is a still a lot of passion for baseball in Edmonton. "I didn't get as many phone calls when the Oil Kings returned as when we bought the baseball team. People were constantly phoning saying 'Thank God.' " The Cracker-Cats, LaForge said, "became a black eye." Someone suggested that perhaps the best thing the Capitals could do is put up a big sign around Telus Field that said "Under new management."

STOCK REPORT -- The Capitals will maintain a year-round pub in what is currently the Home Plate Lounge. The team has now launched a 'Design Our Logo' contest. Fans can submit their entries at the new team website www.capsbaseball.ca.

SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:

Well, folks, it really took a helluva lot of thought and a real genius to come up with the name ‘Capitals,’ didn’t it? Why did the Oilers even bother having the naming contest? I can hardly wait to see the logo – oh, oh, wait a minute – how about a baseball against a black background?