TinCap Reaction

First I'll start off with a correction. The name of the team formerly known as the Fort Wayne Wizards is spelled TinCaps. Not Tin Caps as I have written over the last few days.

I believe that I made my feelings about improper capitalization known in this post here. Quoting myself....

Not to be all nitpicky, but you know what I hate? You probably do if you have read this blog for any amount of time. But, #17 on my list of what I hate: improper capitalization to try and be cute. man, do i hate that. it is right between #16 sitting around a car dealership all morning waiting for a car repair to get done and #18 the dallas cowboys.

On to reaction to the TinCaps from the Fort Wayne public and press and various other sources.

TinCaps? Quirky, yes, but not loving it - yet

Do I like TinCaps, the name picked to replace Wizards as the Class A team moves into its new digs next season at Parkview Field in Harrison Square? It’s OK. It could grow on me. It’s better than Fusion.

My initial reaction was “TinCaps? Really? That’s it?”

Of course, that was before one of the team’s owners, Hardball Capital CEO Jason Freier, explained the name’s origin and how it’s a nod to Johnny Appleseed. Seems he wore a cooking pan on his head. (Appleseed, not Freier.) It was a tin cap or TinCap, as we should say hurriedly so as not to allow a space between the words.

Appleseed is a Fort Wayne icon, buried here and celebrated with an annual festival, which takes place out there by the old ballpark, in an ironic twist.

The closer

Most people will need time to digest the new name, but not everyone.

As I was writing this column, my 11-year-old son came in the room. I showed him the name and logo and his reaction was immediate.

“That’s cool. I need to get a hat with that (logo) on it.”

I believe that’s the response the TinCaps are counting on.

Fans weigh in on new team name

As of 11 p.m. Thursday, nearly 200 people had left comments and more than one thousand people had taken our online poll about the name change.

Newschannel 15 also caught up with people around Fort Wayne to get their feedback on the new name. Some of it was good:

"I think it's pretty awesome! Actually I think they should have made it the Harrison Squarepants," says Carla Park.

"It's actually a pretty cool name compared to the Wizards, and it's for Johnny Appleseed, so it's actually better," adds Maxwell Gearhart.

And some of the feedback we got was not so good:

Karen Pennycoff says," I don't like it, it doesn't seem very sporty you know, very go get ‘em boys."

"I don't know. It's not my favorite, probably not the one I would have chosen," adds Roy Askins.

Team reaction within the same story:

Team officials say they expected this kind of reaction--to some extent.

Tin Caps General Manager Mike Nutter says, "We knew this was coming. We knew this would happen. We're not questioning anything we did, and we're happy with the process to get to the name we arrived at."

Team Co-owner Jason Freier adds, "Change tends to evoke this kind of response. We knew we did not want to pick a standard name. The real question is going to be the test of time. We think we've got a good brand and that it'll grow on people."

A few Indiana Blogs
Formerly the Fort Wayne Wizards

Admittedly, I didn't think much of the new name at first, but as I think more about it, the more I like the name. Anyway, of course, in addition to the new name, there's also their new location at Parkview Field in Harrison Square in downtown Fort Wayne. It's a hard thing to adjust to, since I liked both Memorial Stadium and its easily accessible location. Nevertheless, I look forward to the new season next spring and the newly named TinCaps.

Fort Wayne Tin Caps Are You Serious?

If your not a big fan of Fort Wayne baseball this probably won’t interest you much. Not only has Fort Wayne built a new baseball stadium for the minor league baseball team but the team now has a new name: “Tin Caps” The former Fort Wayne Wizards will now be called the Tin Caps in honor of Johnny Appleseed. Now if I remember the story right he wore a tin pot on his head not a cap. Wouldn’t the Fort Wayne Potheads be more appropriate? Just kidding !! The new logo for the Fort Wayne baseball team is an angry apple wearing a tin cap, sort of reminds me of the “Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes”

Really? Let's see.



The genius of this movie is that you never really get a clear shot of the monster...just like in Jaws.

Does Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette have anything on his blog?

The Fort Wayne … TinCaps?

The new nickname? The TinCaps. No, really, the TinCaps.

The logo actually looks fairly cool. It’s an apple with a face, wearing a pot, I guess. The nickname has something to do with Johnny Appleseed regularly wearing a tin cooking pot upon his head.

OK, that begs this obvious question. Is it a good logo and nickname when you have to explain it to everyone?

I think that my shorthand for TinCaps is going to be SeCaps instead of T-Caps. SeCaps??? Se being the letters to represent Tin on the Periodic Table of Elements???? Atomic Weight of 50???? Anyone? Is it a good joke when you have to explain it to everyone?

I think that I will stop right there....on this topic...for today