El Paso's new Triple-A PCL team yesterday announced it will be called the Chihuahuas, with "red, black and Chihuahua tan" as its colors and the team logo showing "a snarling Chihuahua dog," according to a front-page piece by Bill Knight of the EL PASO TIMES. The team mascot "will be introduced at a later date." A newly opened official team store had "five different styled caps and various T-shirts and other souvenirs already on sale." San Diego-based design firm Brandiose "helped bring the Chihuahua look to life." The group "met with members of the organization and El Pasoans to get a feel for what might work here." The five finalists in the naming process were "Aardvarks, Buckaroos, Chihuahuas, Desert Gators and Sun Dogs" (EL PASO TIMES, 10/23). MILB.com's Benjamin Hill noted Chihuahuas was chosen in a "Name The Team" contest that "garnered over 5,000 submissions." Chihuahuas GM Brad Taylor said, "Through the entire (branding) process, our focus was on fun and on finding something that could appeal to kids." Hill noted the franchise will use "a variety of 'Chihuahua' imagery, with the primary logo featuring the team name emblazoned in front of the snarling titular canine." The road cap features a "stylized upwards-tilting 'EP' upon a red background, while a more whimsical alternate logo depicts a Chihuahua swinging a bone as though it was a baseball bat." The team is moving to El Paso "after three seasons in Tucson, where they were simply known as the Padres, marking affiliated baseball's first appearance in the city" since the Double-A Texas League Diablos left after the '04 season (MILB.com, 10/22).
