The Atlanta Braves Triple-A minor league team held a six-month long contest to rebrand their team and find a new name. On Friday, it was announced the new team name is the Gwinnett Stripers. But the name wasn't one of the finalists from the contest.
There were over 900 submissions sent in from more than 4,000 fans, pitching a new team name.
The six finalists were Big Mouths, Buttons, Gobblers, Hush Puppies, Lambchops and Sweet Teas. Big Mouths was the winner decided by the public. But once the organization began working on branding the name and making uniforms, they decided it didn't fit their ultimate vision, according to a press release from the team.
“Big Mouths was the inspiration that ultimately led to the Stripers,” General Manager North Johnson said in a statement. “We felt focusing on the striped bass would better reflect our community, with Lake Lanier known as a premier destination for striped bass fishing and located just a short drive away from Coolray Field. The Stripers name perfectly fits the region while also having a timeless baseball feel.”
Since Big Mouths and Stripers are both considered winners of the “Name the Team” contest, and each name submitted by multiple fans, the team randomly selected one fan from each group to receive two 2018 season tickets. Patrick Kelly of Decatur, GA (Big Mouths) and Jay Andrews of Sugar Hill, GA (Stripers) have both been selected.
The new logo features a stripped bass leaping towards a hook with a baseball on it. The color scheme features a "striper green" color along with the tradition Braves colors of red and navy.
