Major League Baseball (MLB), in the midst of a work stoppage for most of the offseason, finally came to an agreement on March 10th. That means we will have baseball, delayed a week from the original start date, but baseball is back. Minor League Baseball, however, was not going to be effected by this work stoppage since their players are not part of the MLBPA (players union). So it was going to be business as usual in the minors. Had the MLB labor negotiations dragged on, canceling portions of the season, baseball fans in Houston would have still had an avenue to get their baseball fix, and for that fix to be Astros related, as the Astros Triple A affiliate plays right down the road in Sugar Land.
Big League baseball in Houston has been around since 1962 when the Houston Colt .45's took the field in a rinky-dink ballpark that was located about where the Red Lot parking is at the NRG complex, on the north side of NRG Stadium. They played 3 seasons at what was called Colts Stadium while the Astrodome was being built. In 1965, they moved into the Dome and changed their name to the Astros, a space themed name for the futuristic ballpark they'd be playing in, to also go with the Space City nickname Houston had for being home to NASA.
Before the Colt .45's/Astros came along, Houston was a minor league town when it came to baseball. In fact, minor league baseball started being played in Houston in 1888 when the Houston Buffaloes formed, also known as the Houston Buffs. That name was derived at by the main waterway from the city to the Gulf, Buffalo Bayou. And Houston also carries the nickname, the Bayou City. The Buffs played at Herald Park, in what is now Mid-Town, from 1888-1904. In 1905 they moved to West End Park, near what is now Bagby Street and the Pierce Elevated (I-45). That lasted until 1928 when they moved into Buff Stadium, near current day Cullen St & the Gulf Freeway. A Fingers Furniture store was on that location for years after the stadium was demolished. That was their last home as they stayed there until 1962 when MLB came to town.
In 2012 an independent baseball league called the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball came to town, awarding an expansion franchise to the Houston suburb, Sugar Land. That team became the Sugar Land Skeeters. An independent league has no affiliations with MLB. This league mainly provided players a chance to try to resurrect their careers, or other athletes to switch sports, or simply provide an avenue for guys to play professional baseball they wouldn't get otherwise. Roger Clemens attempted a short lived comeback (more of a publicity stunt) with the Skeeters in their inaugural season. Other former Astros, Daryle Ward, Scott Elarton and Wily Taveras have played for the Skeeters. NBA star Tracy McGrady tried his hand at baseball with the Skeeters in 2014.
On January 30, 2022, the official announcement came out that the Skeeters were no more, and that the Astros Triple A affiliate would be called the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Anybody 45 years of age or older immediately defaults to the Steve Miller Band and their 1973 song, "The Joker", with the lyrics, "some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangster of love, some people call me Maurice, 'cause I speak of the pompatus of love". Space Cowboys??
Yes, those are real. And that doesn't take into account promotional nights these minor league teams put on where the Astros own AA affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks, played their Wednesday home games last season as the Corpus Christi Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits.
Before the Colt .45's/Astros came along, Houston was a minor league town when it came to baseball. In fact, minor league baseball started being played in Houston in 1888 when the Houston Buffaloes formed, also known as the Houston Buffs. That name was derived at by the main waterway from the city to the Gulf, Buffalo Bayou. And Houston also carries the nickname, the Bayou City. The Buffs played at Herald Park, in what is now Mid-Town, from 1888-1904. In 1905 they moved to West End Park, near what is now Bagby Street and the Pierce Elevated (I-45). That lasted until 1928 when they moved into Buff Stadium, near current day Cullen St & the Gulf Freeway. A Fingers Furniture store was on that location for years after the stadium was demolished. That was their last home as they stayed there until 1962 when MLB came to town.
The Buffs were a Triple A affiliate of the Colt .45s in 1962, where Houston enjoyed both minor league and Major League baseball for 1 season, before the Buffs reorganized and moved to Oklahoma City, where they are the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers this very day.
After the Buffs packed up and moved to OKC, where they remained a Colt 45/Astros affiliate until 1972, the Houston area didn't have another minor league team until 1977 when the Class A Texas City Stars played 1 season in the Lone Star League that folded after 1 year. It was another 35 years until the Space City metro area would see another minor league team.
In 2012 an independent baseball league called the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball came to town, awarding an expansion franchise to the Houston suburb, Sugar Land. That team became the Sugar Land Skeeters. An independent league has no affiliations with MLB. This league mainly provided players a chance to try to resurrect their careers, or other athletes to switch sports, or simply provide an avenue for guys to play professional baseball they wouldn't get otherwise. Roger Clemens attempted a short lived comeback (more of a publicity stunt) with the Skeeters in their inaugural season. Other former Astros, Daryle Ward, Scott Elarton and Wily Taveras have played for the Skeeters. NBA star Tracy McGrady tried his hand at baseball with the Skeeters in 2014.
The Skeeters played their games at a newly built Constellation Field, off of old Highway 90 and Highway 6, behind the old Imperial Sugar building. They had a nice little run, making the playoffs 5 times and winning 2 ALPB championships. Then Covid and the 2020 season came along, where the league suspended operations. In November of 2020, the Skeeters announced that the Houston Astros had bought controlling interest in the team, and they would be leaving the independent league to become the Triple A affiliate of the Astros. So for the 1st time since 1962, the Astros and their top affiliate, played in the same metro area.
With Minor League Baseball's reorganization after the cancelled 2020 Covid season, the Skeeters found themselves in what is called the Triple A West League, consisting mostly of teams from what used to be called the Pacific Coast League. In the 2021 season, if you went to Skeeters games, there would no longer be players you'd never heard of before. Now they had a team full of top Astros prospects playing every night, and occasionally, Astros players themselves when they'd be on a rehab assignment coming back from injury.
After the 1st season as the Astros affiliate, the powers that be decided on a rebrand. From the beginning, most people thought that the most appropriate name you could have given a Sugar Land team was the Imperials, after the Imperial Sugar Company, which is why the town is called Sugar Land in the first place. In 2012, they missed the boat on that and instead named the team the Skeeters, paying homage to the giant sized mosquitoes we have here in southeast Texas. So when the rebrand was announced, some thought maybe they were going to get it right and go with Imperials. Instead, those powers that be, wanted to keep it in the space theme, like the Astros are.
On January 30, 2022, the official announcement came out that the Skeeters were no more, and that the Astros Triple A affiliate would be called the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Anybody 45 years of age or older immediately defaults to the Steve Miller Band and their 1973 song, "The Joker", with the lyrics, "some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangster of love, some people call me Maurice, 'cause I speak of the pompatus of love". Space Cowboys??
I guess it didn't bother the Astros that Houston is not really fond of sports teams with the name Cowboys in them, in particular, the Dallas Cowboys. And you know that most people, when referring to the Space Cowboys, will shorten it to Cowboys. Then there's also the fact that the younger generation defaults to Urban Dictionary a lot, a site that tracks what "the kids say", and the meanings behind those sayings, which a lot of the times isn't very flattering. Space Cowboy in Urban Dictionary is definitely on the less flattering side.
Space Cowboys is far from the most unusual team name in minor league baseball. Here are a few that stand out;
- Biloxi Shuckers (AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers)
- Akron Rubber Ducks (AA- Cleveland)
- Hartford Yard Goats (AA- Colorado)
- Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (AAA- Miami)
- Montgomery Biscuits (AA- Tampa Bay)
- Pensacola Blue Wahoos (AA- Miami)
- Rocket City Trash Pandas (AA- LA Angels)
- Amarillo Sod Poodles (AA- Arizona)
- Binghamton Rumble Ponies (AA- NY Mets)
Yes, those are real. And that doesn't take into account promotional nights these minor league teams put on where the Astros own AA affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks, played their Wednesday home games last season as the Corpus Christi Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits.
So in that context, Space Cowboys doesn't sound so bad.
For me, Space Cowboys is still about the Steve Miller Band, and I think the Astros missed on the opportunity to have "midnight toker" night at the ballpark, and to call their mascot "Maurice". Instead they keep it "space" related and go with Orion, supposedly a cosmic space dog who is the trusty side kick of the space cowboy. Space Cowboys? If they wanted to make it space related why not the Sugar Land Stars, or Sugar Land Galaxy, Sugar Land Sol, Sugar Land Uranus? Space Cowboys?
Oh well, I guess it will be lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time with the Space Cowboys showing us a good time.
Comments
Post a Comment