What's In a Name?

 

Earlier in the year during a profile segment, shortstop and graphic artist Jeff Schoenhofen stated that he is constantly on Cap’n Jack to refresh the uniforms.  Many on the team have expressed that same sentiment and apparently, the call for a new uniform gained momentum and did not stop there.  In a recent flurry of activity, the Master Batters manager put out an in-team challenge to either keep the current name or come up with a new team name to go with their new uniforms. In addition to the original team name, twelve others were crafted for team review.  Beside Master Batters, other names submitted were; The Gnaturals, High Voltage, Band of Brothers, The Phillies, Snapdragon, The Long Rods, Shockers, Hit The Cut, Ken Special, Big Hack No Contact, Tools of Ignorance, and New Lenox Will County Coyote Hawks (more on those in a minute). The vote came down to the team to choose between Master Batters, The Gnaturals, and High Voltage.  After nearly 6 ½ years and in the long shadows of the Master Batters 13th season, the original name did not garner one vote. Gnaturals won by a score of 6-4 over High Voltage making them undefeated. You may ask, what’s in a name?  A name is a name.  The real question is, what was the hurry?

 

The Gazette takes a closer look at the names in Vote 2021.

Master Batters – A play on words for a solo activity known in England as a Jay Arthur.  A rather sophomoric name that “stuck” as the team sported the neon green for more than a half-dozen years.

The Gnaturals – A clever play on words to the gnat situation and famous Robert Redford movie.  Seems like an ‘in the moment’ theme as gnats are not really high on the food chain and only impact three weeks of the season.  Most are glad that the team didn’t have gas or they might be called The Farts.  It’s hard to imagine the thought of the mighty gnat in the late fall season games when a hot coffee is more in demand than a cold beer.

Gnater Batters - A double play-on-words with the original team name and delicious Nabisco cookie best dipped in milk.  We are trying too hard kids.  Take a deep breath.

High Voltage – One of the many AC/DC albums owned by this writer in the late 70’s as an early teenager.  Side 1 is a classic with It’s a Long Way to the Top, Rock n Roll Singer, The Jack, and Live Wire.  Once original singer Bon Scott died, the band never played Long Way to the Top live ever again as the plucky singer played the bagpipes on that number.  Live Wire is arguably the next best track on the entire album, which features TNT and High Voltage on side 2.  Anyway, the name was drummed up because a big number of players are electricians or work for the 2,000 pound local electric utility.  Power outage here.

Band of Brothers – May as well call it Band of Sissies.

The Phillies – Piss on The Phillies would be better.

Snapdragon – A Hawkism for wickedly turning the ball over with the emphasis on dragon.  SnapDRAGON

The Long Rods – How old are we?

Shockers – Probably not the best name for a team with an abundance of electrical workers.  What’s next, Short Circuit, Power Outage, Faulty Wiring or Blackout?

Hit The Cut – Reach for the ball. 

Ken Special – Not bad.  Kellogg’s might have a beef with their Special K branding.

Big Hack No Contact – Swing and a miss.

Tools of Ignorance - Lord

New Lenox Will County Coyote Hawks – Silkscreen would cost a fortune.

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