The polls have closed, all precincts have reported and the voters have spoken in the Southern Maryland Baseball "Name Your Team" contest. The official team name when minor league baseball comes to Southern Maryland next spring will be the "Blue Crabs." The team will play at Regency Furniture Stadium in Charles County, MD.
Officials of Maryland Baseball today announced the results of an "Extra Innings" vote, conducted online at www.somdprobaseball.com, at Arby's locations throughout the Southern Maryland region and by mail. The contest ended at midnight on Friday, April 21. "Blue Crabs" was the leading vote-getter among six finalists announced by Maryland Baseball in late March. Thousands of votes were cast in the final phase of voting.
The order of finish, with percentages of the final vote, was as follows:
BLUE CRABS 38.2 %
Ospreys 19.1 %
Rockfish 16.0 %
Blue Herons 9.1 %
Aviators 8.9 %
Eagles 8.7 %
"The name 'Blue Crabs' reflects a combination of tradition and fun, both characteristics that fans will experience while attending games in the new ballpark," said Jon Danos, Maryland Baseball President.
A committee comprised of team personnel, league officials and representatives from Charles County reviewed the submitted names, along with the comments registered by the community, in selecting the Blue Crabs.
The names of all those who submitted the winning name will be entered in a random drawing to determine the winner of the "Name Southern Maryland's Team" contest grand prize: a pair of season tickets for life to all Blue Crabs home games at Regency Furniture Stadium.
The "Extra Innings" vote followed an overwhelming response to the original "Name Southern Maryland's Team" contest, which ended on March 5. The "Name Your Team" voting was sponsored by STAR 98.3, OLDIES 97.7, WKIK 102.9, WPTX 1690-AM and Arby's restaurants.
Development of the team logo, uniform designs and related items will begin immediately, and the results will be unveiled in the near future. Interested fans are encouraged to submit their own Blue Crabs logo ideas by mailing them to Maryland Professional Baseball, Southern Maryland Baseball, P.O. Box 1677, Waldorf, MD 20604.
The public is invited to log-on to http://www.somdprobaseball.com/ for current information and regular updates about the Blue Crabs and Regency Furniture Stadium. The new, 4,500 seat, multi-purpose entertainment complex will be located on Piney Church Road, off of Billingsley Road, between Routes 5 and 301, just south of Waldorf. Opening Day is slated for spring of 2007.