Origin of Minor League team names: R

Since 2004 I am addicted to Minor League baseball. Not that it is easy to attend a game when you live in the Netherlands, but I love the way those clubs are more focused on families, children and the related entertainment.
In 2008 I attended my first Minor League game at Adelanto, CA. The High Desert Mavericks (then an A Advanced affiliate of the Mariners) hosted the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (then an Angels affiliate, now part of the Dodgers organization) in a California League matchup. Since then I am in love.

This time the letter:

R

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes:
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ stadium, the Epicenter, is built right next to the San Andeas Fault. When the team announced to move to Rancho Cucamonga from San Bernadino after the 1992 season, fans were asked to select a name for the new team and on September 30, 1992, it was announced that six people had suggested the name “Quakes,” which was chosen by the teams’ management as the winner from over 200 different choices. A fitting name it is indeed, as the ballpark sits adjacent to a number of earthquake fault lines.
IMO this club has the best logo and certainly the best cap in MiLB.

   
Reading Fighting Phils:
Baseball in Reading dates back to 1858.
In 1967, the Philadelphia Phillies decided to end their relationship with Macon of the Southern League and place their Class-AA affiliate in Baseballtown. Out of the 118 minor league teams affiliated with a Major League parent club that year, only Reading and three others have remained associated with the same organization through the 2004 season. The team is owned and operated by the parent club and the team chose to adopt the Phillies nickname in 2012.

Reno Aces:
In 2007 it was announced that the Arizona Diamondbacks’ AAA team would leave Tucson for Reno after the 2008 season. The team adopted the name Aces. The word has a double meaning. First of all an ace pitcher. But the word ace also refers to a playing card because of Reno’s gambling industry.

Richmond Flying Squirrels:
After the AAA Richmond Braves moved to Gwinnett the void was filled after a year. The San Francisco Giants decided to move their AA team, the Connecticut Defenders to Richmond.
The name the Richmond Flying Squirrels was chosen through a Richmond Times-Dispatch readers “name-the-team-contest”, which ended on October 15, 2009. Other finalists were the Rock Hoppers, Hambones, Rhinos, Flatheads, and Hush Puppies. (The name Hambones was later ruled out of the contest after the city’s uproar and the NAACP finding that “the Hambones” could be seen as a derogatory term directed towards the African-American community.)

Main and alternate logos

Rochester Red Wings:
The Red Wings are one of the oldest minor league teams around. The team dates back to 1899 when the team was called Rochester Broncos. The team was also know as Rochester Tribe (1922–1928), Rochester Colts (1921) and Rochester Hustlers (1908–1920) In 1929 the team got affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, which may explain their name. The team has never changed the name since.

Rome Braves:
One of the many Braves’ farm teams operated by and named after the parent club.

Round Rock Express:
The Round Rock Express is a class Triple-A Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team in Round Rock, Texas, owned by RSR Sports (Nolan Ryan, Don Sanders, Reid Ryan) and founded by Reid Ryan, son of Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. The team is affiliated with the Texas Rangers, for whom Nolan Ryan serves as the president and principal owner. The team is named after Nolan Ryan’s fastball, which nickname was the Express.