MLB Teams By Name

While Bronx Baseball Daily is primarily a Yankees blog, sometimes we like to examine and discuss topics that focus on baseball as a whole. I was curious about the length of time each major league baseball team has used their current name. Most fans already know that prior to 1913, the New York Yankees were named the New York Highlanders and before that, the Baltimore Orioles.Many clubs have moved, new ones have been added several have changed or added to their names. Let’s take a look at each current club and a gander at some major league baseball history:

1. Tampa Bay Rays: 2008
2. Washington Nationals: 2005
3. Los Angles Angels of Anaheim: 2005
4. Arizona Diamondbacks: 1998
5. Florida Marlins: 1993
6. Colorado Rockies: 1993
7. Toronto Blue Jays: 1977
8. Seattle Mariners: 1977
9. Texas Rangers: 1972
10. Milwaukee Brewers: 1970
11. Kansas City Royals: 1969
12. San Diego Padres: 1969
13. Oakland Athletics: 1968
14. Atlanta Braves: 1966
15. Houston Astros: 1965
16. New York Mets: 1962
17. Minnesota Twins: 1961
18. Cincinnati Reds: 1960*
19. San Francisco Giants: 1958
20. Los Angeles Dodgers: 1958
21. Baltimore Orioles: 1954
22. Philadelphia Phillies: 1945*
23. Cleveland Indians: 1915
24. New York Yankees: 1913
25. Boston Red Sox: 1908
26. Chicago Cubs: 1903
27. Chicago White Sox: 1901
28. Detroit Tigers: 1901
29. St. Louis Cardinals: 1900
30. Pittsburgh Pirates: 1891

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You probably noticed a few asterisks on the list. The Phillies played as the Blue Jays from 1943-1944. Prior to that, they were named the Phillies from 1890-1942, making them the oldest team on the list. Cincinnati changed their team name to the Red Legs from 1954-1959. Before that, they had been the Red’s since 1890 and the Red Stockings from 1882-1889.

So what did we learn from this list? The 60′s were a time of changing baseball names. We also learned that the Pittsburgh Pirates are the oldest active team and have used their name longer than any other team. How many of you were surprised by that?

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