It was a sad day when the Yakima Bears announced they were leaving town. The Single-A minor league baseball team packed its bags and headed south to Hillsboro, Oregon after last season. But what does any of that have to do with beer? A lot.
Short Season LLC., the franchise that owns the team formerly known as the Yakima Bears, announced the new team name this morning via social media. In doing so, they also unveiled perhaps the coolest baseball logo ever designed. The Hillsboro Hops will start their season next June. I, for one, am ordering a hat as soon as they’re available.
In a press release, Hops general manager K.L. Wombacher said the franchise decided to go with the name “Hops” because it had never been used in professional baseball and because of its importance to the region. Wombacher said, “The name ‘Hops’ recognizes Hillsboro’s proud agricultural heritage and the fact that Oregon is the second largest hop producing state in the United States.”
About the Hillsboro Hops:
The Hillsboro Hops are the Single-A baseball affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. The team’s season runs from mid-June to early September. The franchise relocated to Hillsboro in 2012 and will begin play in 2013 in a new state-of-the-art 4,500 seat stadium. The Hops are part of the 55-year old Northwest League, which includes teams in Boise, Eugene, Salem-Keizer, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Everett and Vancouver BC.