Alternate identities are back this season in the minor leagues, with several clubs sporting unique team names and branding for select games in 2025. From the Wisconsin Frozen Pizzas to the New Hampshire Space Potatoes, these names are sure to bring smiles to the faces of MiLB fans, but one alternate identity stands out for its connection to Italian heritage.
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, will rebrand themselves as the “Southern Tier Spicy Meatballs” for three games against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Thursday, August 14th, through Saturday, August 16th.
The Spicy Meatballs name reflects Binghamton’s rich Italian heritage as well as the rest of the Southern Tier region of New York State. Specifically in Endicott, NY, many Italian immigrants moved to the area to work at the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company, which was the largest manufacturer of footwear in the country over a century ago. However, as noted by the Rumble Ponies on their website, “local property owners wouldn’t sell land to Italian Immigrants, so Endicott-Johnson purchased properties for their employees and along the cobblestone streets of Endicott grew the vibrant community of Little Italy with fantastic food destinations.” Oaks Inn (1930) and Consol’s Family Kitchen (1946) represent some of the most historic institutions in the village, both of which have meatballs on their menus.
The Binghamton Spicy Meatballs, presented by Mirabito, will feature a primary logo of an Italian gondalier with a meatball face and a baseball bat fork resting on a bed of pasta as he rows through a river of tomato sauce. As for the secondary logo, this depicts the baseball bat fork piercing a meatball baseball alongside spaghetti and sauce. The last component of the team’s alternate identity is the word mark, with “spicy” in red sauce color and “meatballs” written with meatball meat. “Southern Tier” also adorns the top of the word mark as a reference to the region and its Italian influence.
Fans can purchase Binghamton Spicy Meatballs merchandise and tickets through the links attached. Alternatively, if you can’t make the August games against the Fisher Cats, you can catch Binghamton’s other alternate identity, known as the Bathtub Donkeys, on June 28th against the Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A Red Sox) or July 30th against the Harrisburg Senators (Double-A Nationals).
