No, I don’t mean Chipper… “Chopper” is the name given to the mascot of the Gwinnett Braves AAA minor league team. You may remember, back in January I lamented the fact that the powers that be did not let the fans choose the new team name and we were stuck with Gwinnett Braves, a completely boring and generic name I thought, compared to the great team names that characterize minor league baseball. I also said at the time that as a token to “fan participation” there would no doubt be a “name the mascot” contest. Well, I guess I wasn’t paying attention – I missed it! The winning name is “Chopper.”
Let’s take a look at other team mascot names from the AAA league. The Buffalo Bisons’ have several mascots it seems. My farorite is “Chip.” (Get it? Buffalo chip) The Columbus Clippers have a couple as well. One named “Krash” and one named “Lou Seal.” The Lehigh Valley Ironpigs originally had “Porkchop,” but quickly changed the mascot’s name to “Ferrous.” The great Toledo Mud Hens’ mascot is named… “Mudonna.” And the Durham Bulls’ mascot is named “Wool E. Bull.”
According to the article, the Gwinnett Braves mascot is a woodchuck. So along with the “Braves chop,” I guess “Chopper” is ok… it’s growing on me.
