Albuquerque Isotopes
Encyclopedia
The Albuquerque Isotopes are a minor league baseball
team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico
. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League
, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers
. Albuquerque was previously represented in the PCL as a Dodgers' affiliate by the Albuquerque Dukes
, who won several PCL championships in the 1970s and 1980s before relocating to Portland, Oregon
, as the Portland Beavers
in 2001. The Isotopes began play in 2003 when the Calgary Cannons
relocated to New Mexico
.
The Isotopes' mascot
is Orbit, a yellow, orange, and red alien.
was the influence for the new name of the team. In the episode "Hungry, Hungry Homer
", main character Homer Simpson
attempts to thwart the team's plan to move to Albuquerque by going on a hunger strike. Subsequently, when an Albuquerque Tribune
online survey helped the team decide its new name, "Isotopes" received 67 percent of the 120,000 votes.
Though team president Ken Young admitted that the name came from the series, he said at the name's unveiling, "We picked it because over the past year it has become a popular name, and it does have something to do with Albuquerque." In the three months after the team's name was announced in September 2002, before the team ever took the field, the team sold more merchandise than the Albuquerque Dukes sold in any single season, and led minor league baseball in merchandising revenue in 2003. The team said they were able to tell when episodes featuring the Springfield Isotopes would air in different markets based on clusters of orders from different viewing areas. The team has no working agreements with the Fox Broadcasting Company
or The Simpsons.
However, statues of Homer and Marge Simpson can be seen at Isotopes Park.
The "Isotopes" name is appropriate, since New Mexico has a number of well-known scientific/military facilities dealing with nuclear technology, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory
, Sandia National Laboratories
, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP), as well as hosting the Trinity test
.
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
. Albuquerque was previously represented in the PCL as a Dodgers' affiliate by the Albuquerque Dukes
Albuquerque Dukes
The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.-History:The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class-D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank Huelman was the league leader in home runs,...
, who won several PCL championships in the 1970s and 1980s before relocating to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, as the Portland Beavers
Portland Beavers
The Tucson Padres are a minor league baseball team, representing Tucson, Arizona, in the Pacific Coast League . They are the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team was formerly known as the Portland Beavers and played its last home game at PGE Park on September 6, 2010...
in 2001. The Isotopes began play in 2003 when the Calgary Cannons
Calgary Cannons
The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons replaced the Calgary Expos who played in the rookie level Pioneer League...
relocated to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
The Isotopes' mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is Orbit, a yellow, orange, and red alien.
Name origins
The fictional Springfield Isotopes from the long running TV series The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
was the influence for the new name of the team. In the episode "Hungry, Hungry Homer
Hungry, Hungry Homer
"Hungry, Hungry Homer" is the fifteenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons and it aired on March 4, 2001. In the episode, Homer Simpson becomes a Good Samaritan after discovering the simple joys of helping people in need—which is put to the test when he goes on a hunger strike after the...
", main character Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
attempts to thwart the team's plan to move to Albuquerque by going on a hunger strike. Subsequently, when an Albuquerque Tribune
Albuquerque Tribune
The Albuquerque Tribune was an afternoon newspaper in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 1922 by Carlton Cole Magee as Magee's Independent. It was published in the afternoon and evening Monday through Saturday....
online survey helped the team decide its new name, "Isotopes" received 67 percent of the 120,000 votes.
Though team president Ken Young admitted that the name came from the series, he said at the name's unveiling, "We picked it because over the past year it has become a popular name, and it does have something to do with Albuquerque." In the three months after the team's name was announced in September 2002, before the team ever took the field, the team sold more merchandise than the Albuquerque Dukes sold in any single season, and led minor league baseball in merchandising revenue in 2003. The team said they were able to tell when episodes featuring the Springfield Isotopes would air in different markets based on clusters of orders from different viewing areas. The team has no working agreements with the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
or The Simpsons.
However, statues of Homer and Marge Simpson can be seen at Isotopes Park.
The "Isotopes" name is appropriate, since New Mexico has a number of well-known scientific/military facilities dealing with nuclear technology, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
, Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP), as well as hosting the Trinity test
Trinity test
Trinity was the code name of the first test of a nuclear weapon. This test was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, at the new White Sands Proving Ground, which incorporated the Alamogordo Bombing...
.
Awards
- In September 2009, Mitch JonesMitch JonesMitchell C. Jones is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates.-Amateur career:Jones played ball in high school at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, and was drafted by the Texas Rangers in and the Baltimore Orioles in and . He opted instead to complete his college...
was named the winner of the Joe Bauman Home Run AwardJoe Bauman Home Run AwardThe Joe Bauman Home Run Award is the award given to the minor league baseball player who hit the most regular season home runs that year. The award, first given in 2002, is named after Joe Bauman, who set a then-professional record with 72 home runs in 1954, while playing for the Roswell Rockets of...
, for the most home runs, 35, in all of Minor League BaseballMinor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
.
Cultural references
- In the USA NetworkUSA NetworkUSA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
series In Plain SightIn Plain SightIn Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program...
, the character Raphael Ramirez (Cristian de la FuenteCristián de la FuenteCristián de la Fuente Sabarots is a Chilean-American actor.-Early life:De la Fuente was born in Santiago, Chile, as the only child of chemist Hugo de la Fuente and Adriana Sabarots, a homemaker of French descent...
) plays for the Isotopes. - In the AMCAMC (TV network)AMC is a cable television specialty channel that primarily airs movies, along with a limited amount of original programming. The letters originally stood for American Movie Classics; however since 2002, the full name has been deemphasized as a result of a major shift in programming...
series Breaking BadBreaking BadBreaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
, which is set in Albuquerque, Walter White can be seen wearing an Isotopes hat. - In the NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series "The VoiceThe Voice (U.S. TV series)The Voice is an American reality talent show that premiered on April 26, 2011 on the NBC television network. Based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland, the series was created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. It is part of an international series...
", music producer Adam Blackstone wore an Albuquerque Isotopes hat during Season One Battle Rounds preparations.