Padres Double-A Team To Be Named Amarillo Sod Poodles
After weeks of planning and fan anticipation, the new Double-A team for the Padres has been officially dubbed as the Amarillo Sod Poodles.
The name beat out the Boot Scooters, Bronc Busters, Jerky, and Long Haulers, while joining other fun names in the Minor Leagues such as the Travers City Beach Bums and the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
The Padres were in search of a new Double-A team after it was announced that the San Antonio Missions would be becoming a Triple-A team and are now an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Padres had interest in other cities, including Chattanooga, but San Diego decided to stay in Texas and went with Amarillo.
Many are confused by what a “Sod Poodle” is, and a quick search shows that a Sod Poodle is a nickname given to prairie dogs, a type of ground squirrel, by the pioneers of Western Texas, and are described as aggressive and ready to protect their group.
Many had negative views of the name when it was announced with the other four names, but fans have quickly embraced the fun name after it was announced. Amarillo wisely plugged their team shop on Twitter after the announcement to take advantage of the hype.
WE ARE OFFICIALLY THE AMARILLO SOD POODLES!!!! #SodPoodles pic.twitter.com/i9UVny4khe
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) November 13, 2018
The Sod Poodles will be a member of the Texas League and will be inserted into the South Division, replacing the spot left vacant by the Missions. They will be paired up with the Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros), Frisco RoughRiders (Texas Rangers), and Midland RockHounds (Oakland Athletics). The Northern Division consists of the Arkansas Travelers (Seattle Mariners), Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Kansas City Royals), the Springfield Cardinals ( St. Louis Cardinals), and the Tulsa Drillers (Los Angeles Dodgers).
The team will be taking part in the 2019Â baseball season and will field an impressive team, most likely consisting of players from Lake Elsinore like Jorge Ona, along with holdovers like Hudson Potts and Buddy Reed. The Sod Poodles will play in a brand new $45.5 million stadium in downtown Amarillo and is set to open on April 8, 2019.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.