The new logo for the Double-A Eastern League Hartford Yard Goats "needed a bold color for the outline and lighter color to pop," and "it was obvious to everyone involved that two colors would make a mark in Greater Hartford -- blue and green, the colors associated with the dearly departed Whalers," according to a front-page piece Paul Doyle of the HARTFORD COURANT. Former MiLB exec and consultant Chuck Domino said, "That was the easiest part of this whole process. It's only right and it would be a tribute, and I think it would make a lot of people happy if we pay homage to the Whalers. That was an easy one." Yard Goats Owner Josh Solomon, whose team is currently playing its last season as the New Britain Rock Cats, said, "People still love the Whalers." Doyle notes the intent of the designer, San Diego-based Brandiose, was to "use colors to give the team's brand a strong local flavor." At one point, there was an "effort to incorporate the train theme into the logo, from giving the goat a conductor's hat to including railroad tracks at the base of the image." But Domino said it "felt too cartoonish." Domino then "Googled the defunct New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company and was struck by that logo," as he "loved the lettering." Brandiose co-Founder Jason Klein said, "We were exploring all different types of colors. ... We spent a lot of time immersing ourselves in the traditions and the personality of Hartford -- and one of the themes that came up was … there's a history of things being ripped away from Hartford." Doyle notes early reaction to the new logo on social media "was mostly positive" (HARTFORD COURANT, 7/9). ESPN's Keith Olbermann said of the logo, “It is a goat chewing on a bat. ... The goat eating the team’s bats is only going to be an issue every time the team doesn’t hit” ("Olbermann," ESPN2, 7/8).
