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Scrappers unveil first changes in team logos
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Dave Smith General Mgr of the Scrappers announcing the new logo at Eastwood Mall in Niles
By Pete Mollica
Scrappy, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ mascot, now will look more like a dog than a human in the primary logo.
NILES — During the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ 10 years, the organization has made a lot of changes, but the logo has remained the same.
General manager Dave Smith said it was time for a change.
Wednesday at the Eastwood Mall, the Scrappers unveiled their new logos, which included a new primary club logo, two new ball cap logos and team uniform logos.
“Our old logo had team mascot Scrappy in a human-like pose and we felt that he should be more of dog in the new logo,” Smith said.
The primary logo features Scrappy in a dog-like position wearing a chained collar and having a baseball bat in its mouth. A cardinal red color surrounds the logo and the team name as the primary color.
The team uniforms feature the revised Scrappers script on the home and road jerseys along with cardinal red numbers on the front and back. The batting practice jerseys are now cardinal red with the revised Scrappy head on the front and a navy blue number on the back.
The new “teeth” logo appears on a navy blue home cap while the Scrappy head appears on a cardinal red road cap.
The team also introduced a new tagline “Baseball with Bite” and will be used for the 2009 season featuring the tagline itself on top of the new “teeth” logo.
The new designs were created through collaboration with Plan B Branding, a San Diego-grown creative ideas company specializing in storytelling and branding ideas.
Partners Casey White and Jason Klein dreamed up fresh looks for the World Series, Major League Baseball clubs and premier Minor League teams. Last year Major League Baseball asked Plan B to modernize the logos and uniforms for America’s oldest baseball club, the Cincinnati Reds.
“It was a fun process working with Jason and Casey to create a new look for the Scrappers,” said Smith. “Our goal was to design a new look and feel for the team but not to lose focus on the importance of Scrappy and the Scrappers’ team name.
Smith said the entire process took about nine months.
Mahoning Valley is the short-season Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and the organization recently signed a new two-year contract with the Indians through 2010.
The new logos are also incorporated on all of the team merchandise which is available for sale.
When asked how soon the new merchandise would be available, Smith said, “as long as it takes you to walk around the corner to our Scrappers kiosk located just off center court in the mall.”
Merchandise along with some new Scrappers season ticket plans are also available for the holidays, and can also be purchased at Eastwood Field or on line at www.mvscrappers.com.
The 2009 Mahoning Valley Scrappers season will begin on June 19 when they play host to the Jamestown Jammers in the first of a six-game season opening home stand.