The Oregonian’s Tyson Alger takes a look at the Single-A Vancouver Canadians (Northwest League) as a model for longevity after the shine wears off the first-year Single-A Hillsboro Hops (Northwest League). Read more and watch video here. As a side note, we love just about everything about the new Hops franchise, but the team gets a “C-” for Barley the mascot.
July 23, 2013 · 5:54 am
Vancouver a Model for Hillsboro?
Filed under Branding & Marketing, Fun & Atmosphere, League & Franchise
Tagged as Barley, Hillsboro Hops, Northwest League, Single-A, Vancouver Canadians
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It is a great logo for kids and adults; I mean, a hop is a hop and he is not dangerous to anyone until someone adds water, yeast and barley to the mix.
You don’t like Barley? My wife and I just returned from our road trip for the year which included two games in Hillsboro. We loved Barley. But were upset that they did not have a stuffed Barley and they did not have a home cap (the one with Barley on it) in my size. They were actually out of a lot of sizes. A lot more popular than they expected I assume.
I love the new logo, but I am annoyed by primary mascots that just look like a dude in a costume, with people arms and feet, particularly when the design is so literal. It’s a pet peeve, I guess. There are a number of bad ones in minor-league baseball. That said, it’s cool to have a secondary mascot like the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ Mr. Celery, the San Antonio Missions’ Henry The Puffy Taco, or the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ Hambone, but these mascots are intentionally goofy and take a backseat to the main mascot face of the franchise. Maybe Barley will grow on me, but I think a primary mascot should be super kid-friendly with plenty of character, and, unless it’s a tough mascot, be fun, cuddly with girth around the belly, and wear big fun shoes. Below are some great examples based on my personal taste/opinion:
Cylo – Lancaster Barnstormers
Orbit – Albuquerque Isotopes (2012 Mascot Mania champion!)
Thunder – Lake Elsinore Storm
Big Mo – Montgomery Biscuits
Sherman the Shorebird – Delmarva Shorebirds
Muddy the Mud Hen – Toledo Mud Hens
Shelly the Horse – Arkansas Travelers
I understand your point. A slight tweak would be good. The logo is really awesome. Other mascots in the NWL area pretty awesome. We really like Dusty in Tri-City, Webley in Everett (my wife’s favorite because she loves frogs), Crater in Salem-Keizer and Sluggo in Eugene.