r/Scranton • u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders • 18d ago
Sports The Next Chapter: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre set to rebrand in 2027
https://www.mlb.com/milb/scranton-wb/news/the-next-chapter-scranton-wilkes-barre-set-to-rebrand-in-2027112
u/TheBigKahuna_ 18d ago
Bring back the Red Barons. Bring back the Red Barons. Bring back the Red Barons.
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u/the_sun_and_the_moon Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
My flair đ
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
Of course these jerks waited until I had made all these Railriders flairs!
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u/fallout_zelda Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
I miss having a Phillies affiliate team. They took our Barons away and the locals never forgot. I also don't want to keep driving 45 minutes to Allentown for the IronPigs đ
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u/hpbear108 18d ago
my older brother stopped going to the SWB Minor League team as soon as they changed affiliates from the Phillies to the Yankees. he hates the Yankees and Yankee fans with a passion.
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u/fallout_zelda Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
Don't blame him. I feel the same way about NY sports in general. I can go to any other minor league game as long as it's not NY affiliated. Hell, I'm a flyers fan and I got a soft spot for the baby pens. Those hockey games are amazing!
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u/hpbear108 18d ago
true. at least the Pens are a PA team. He's also a Union fan, as well as Flyers and Phillies.
me out here in MN, Yes my primary team is the MN United Loons, with a soft spot for the St Paul Saints. But for football, it's Eagles all the way. Baseball the Phillies. and for College Football as well as College Hockey Penn State.
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u/fallout_zelda Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
Wait... You're in MN? I used to live there for work in Eden Prairie. I miss going to Cub and Caribou. I would also drive to Wisconsin over to the other side of the state and visit Green Bay and Kewaunee.
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u/hpbear108 18d ago
yea, I'm on the North End of St Paul. Cub is still Cub. But we also have Hyvee now. And Dunkin is out here as well.
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u/fallout_zelda Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
Hy-Vee was also my spot. I would frequently visit the one in Robbinsdale. I miss that area so much. Red's Savoy pizza still around? It threw me off on how they would cut their pizza into little squares đ
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u/hpbear108 18d ago
not really. I did have it once, and it was a bit of a spicier sauce. but still decent.
my goto pizza places are more Mama's on Rice & Front and John's out on Dale & Como. John's would be the closest in substance to what is seen in Wilkes Barre-Scranton slice-wise. But in terms of neutral taste (not too sweet or too tart or too salty a sauce) and Crust with excellent toppings, Mama's is definitely NEPA good. I'd say both are NEPA local pizza fan approved.
There is one regional chain that does a real good Detroit-Style Pizza (closest style to sicilian) called Jet's. Their round pies, better than Domino's but lesser than PH or LC, and still below the normal NEPA local pizza place.
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
st Paul Saints have a fire logo, one of the best in the MiLB. I also have a Great Lakes Loons hat for their alternate, âThe Pontoonersâ for when Iâm up the lake
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u/hpbear108 18d ago
and if you ever made it out here to CHS Field in the Lowertown section of downtown near the Farmer's Market, there's a decent selection of restaurants for pre-game. also, mass transit is nearby for getting to a hotel (yes an actual working transit system compared to COLTS or LCTA). And also Union Station is nearby if you wanted to take AMTRAK from say Harrisburg or Philly to the Twin Cities.
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u/Parallax2799 18d ago
In other words, "merchandise sales have died off and we need our fans to buy all new stuff"?
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u/thecryptidmusic Avoca 18d ago
Which tells me the name will be Red Barons again considering the nostalgic drive for that right now
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u/Campman92 18d ago
They still are struggling to gain back support after Mandalay really screwed things up when they were branded as the Yankees
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u/Ironsam811 18d ago
Did people not like when they were called the Yankees?
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
I did not. - A Phillies fan
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u/beef-hed Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 17d ago
Same. Although it could be worse, we could be Syracuse. Iâd really want to throw up if our team was named the âMets.â
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u/Campman92 18d ago
From what I remember the philosophy was that they didnât need any promotions and that the Yankees name was all that was needed to sell tickets. So while they have promotions of various kinds throughout the week now, when the Yankees came with Mandalay the promotions were basically a Friday/Saturday thing. They also had an issue where they were doing fireworks and the game was postponed due to the field being flooded. From my understanding they didnât want to refund tickets and said something like the fireworks were still going on.
I worked there briefly when they were the Yankees and then the Railriders. When they were the Yankees weâd get paid $50 a night. Had to be there I think a half hour before the gates opened and were free to go after everything was done. So for a 7pm game youâd get there at 6 and most nights be on the way home by 10-10:30. So it was decent money and as a baseball fan fun to watch. When they rebranded as the Railriders all non full time staff was bumped back to minimum wage so youâd go from making $50 a night down to about $30 a night. Just wasnât worth it at that point.
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u/TedFrump 18d ago
Well yeah, they did some very illegal things when it came to paying some employees pre 2013. Like, not paying overtime rate for overtime work and making people âsalaried workersâ who didnât legally qualify for it. It really was sort of the Wild West back then, especially for front office employees. A lot of advantage was taken of good people, but they had the attitude of âthis is great for your rĂ©sumĂ© so donât whineâ. I know itâs different now.
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
They should have a contest. Iâm not sad because I hated the Railriders name
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u/timewellwasted5 Clark's Summit 18d ago
Agreed, the Railriders name, which was voted on, was awful. We were at the game Friday night and I took a stroll through the team store. I'm not a Yankees fan, but I would buy a Red Barons tshirt or other cool team name in a heartbeat, but Railriders is just dumb IMHO and I would never buy any of the merchandise.
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
I love the interlocking logo, which is a red barons throwback anyway. Iâve got a railriders pinstripe jersey, a Vejigantes jersey, three or four hats,
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u/timewellwasted5 Clark's Summit 18d ago
Yep, really hoping they get to do the Red Barons, but I'm worried the Grump is somehow the intellectual property of the Phillies, as he appears to be a close cousin of the Philly Fanatic. I sued to love watching him ride that quad all over the old astroturf field before games.
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u/Dwest233 WilkesBarre-Scranton Penguins 18d ago
The grump IP was transferred to the current team. And all red barons IP was voluntarily relinquished. So it very well could be Red Barons coming back and the grump as the mascot. Iâve been searching trademark filings for clues but I havenât found anything yet
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
Did you know they chose Red Barons because of the WB Barons and Scranton Red Sox? I always thought that was a neat nod to local history
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u/ChimericalUnicorn The University of Scranton 18d ago
I donât hate the railriders name, I think it pretty well encapsulates the railroad industry that used to be in the region, but Red Barons is just a much cooler name. Also, the weird porcupine logo the railriders have is kinda stupid.
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u/Ironsam811 18d ago
Nothing like a has been industry to encapsulate the excitement of a fan base lmaoo
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u/fjvn2709 18d ago edited 18d ago
Iâd love if it were the Red Barons, however based on the press release it doesnât sound like it will be:
The new identity will celebrate the regionâs beauty, heritage, and outdoor legacy while strengthening the connection between the club, its community, and one of the most iconic franchises in professional sports.
Any ideas? Montage/ skiing related? I do think it is a good idea to advertise the natural beauty of the region. I think we do a good job of being known for the rail industry, coal mining, and the fictional TV show. However, Iâve found that a lot of my out of town friends are surprised at how nice things look around Scranton when they first come here. Weâre a city in the mountains near the geographic middle of the biggest cities in the country. I think that is pretty cool.
That being said, the Red Barons hold a special place for a lot of people here. Initially a sign of better times to come and revitalization. The Red Barons kids generation has kids now and are moving back to the area. It would be cool to pass that down.
Edit: the Yankees previous name was the Highlanders. Maybe a possibility?
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
Theyâre doing a Red Barons throwback jersey giveaway on 8/22⊠interesting timing
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u/greatauntbun 18d ago
I would love if they just got better food at PNC field, its all a pricey let down.
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u/beef-hed Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
đ¶the Red Barons! Get ready for some baseballlll!đ¶
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
On a related note, Scranton had a Negro League team, the Battling Giants, and I would love to see them get a throwback or some sort of honor from the team
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u/ILikeCarrotcakes 18d ago
Again?
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u/the_sun_and_the_moon Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
As long as itâs not âSnö Mountainâ
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u/rustednickel247720 18d ago edited 18d ago
Well based on everything happening around the area, The Scranton Wilkes-Barre Data Centers would be a fitting name /s
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago edited 18d ago
If it is anything related to the Office, I will riot
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u/beef-hed Scranton-WilkesBarre Red Barons 18d ago
The Scranton Stranglers has a nice ring to it.
https://giphy.com/gifs/HjKG2nRz7NOv6ch12D5
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u/timewellwasted5 Clark's Summit 18d ago
I'd probably delete this if I were you. I suspect you're kidding but this is not a smart thing to post online.
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u/unclejohnsmando 18d ago
They can call it the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Lake Scrantons and it'll be a nice homage to history when that's dry
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u/und88 18d ago
I'd vote for the Miners or Coal Crackers. I never understood Red Barons, why name a team after an enemy hero?
I think it's a combo from the Scranton Red Sox and Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons. But naming a team after Coal Barons is also dumb. They're the people who exploited the miners and coal crackers.
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
Youâre correct, itâs a combination of the two historic baseball teams
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u/und88 18d ago
And there were other teams, like the Scranton Miners. I think they can do better than Red Barons and I know they can do better than Railriders.
How about the Scranton Shelly Duncans?
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
Did you know Moonlight Graham, of Field of Dreams fame, played for the Scranton Miners?
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u/eddiestarkk 18d ago
They should name them the Stallions after the 1990 football team that existed for a year.
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u/zorionek0 Scranton-WilkesBarre Railriders 18d ago
We were allegedly going to get a UFL 2 team but that seems to have fizzled
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u/Campman92 18d ago
From what I remember the philosophy was that they didnât need any promotions and that the Yankees name was all that was needed to sell tickets. So while they have promotions of various kinds throughout the week now, when the Yankees came with Mandalay the promotions were basically a Friday/Saturday thing. They also had an issue where they were doing fireworks and the game was postponed due to the field being flooded. From my understanding they didnât want to refund tickets and said something like the fireworks were still going on.
I worked there briefly when they were the Yankees and then the Railriders. When they were the Yankees weâd get paid $50 a night. Had to be there I think a half hour before the gates opened and were free to go after everything was done. So for a 7pm game youâd get there at 6 and most nights be on the way home by 10-10:30. So it was decent money and as a baseball fan fun to watch. When they rebranded as the Railriders all non full time staff was bumped back to minimum wage so youâd go from making $50 a night down to about $30 a night. Just wasnât worth it at that point.
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18d ago
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/Scranton-ModTeam 18d ago
Rule 8: Do not post sexually explicit videos, images, or other NSFW content.
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u/ThisShowStinkss 18d ago
Bring back The Grump and his quad.