#Space cowboy series

“This ties into the community and it’s something people really love,” Jennings says of the rebrand.

Which is also part of what minor league baseball is all about. For most of the three hours, there is a long line outside of the team store.Įven those who are still unsure over the new Space Cowboys name appear eager to scoop up some of the rebrand’s new merchandise. That’s going to be a good name.” - Sugar Land manager Mickey Storeyĭuring the three hours of this Space Cowboys intro event, 5,672 fans come into Constellation Field for the party, having paid $1 each (which is donated to the Astros Foundation). Being chased by a pack of squealing kids. There are giant bouncy houses in right field, lawn games in left field (including cornhole and giant Connect 4), a ballon artist creating animals and hats for kids and several selfie stations.Īnd there’s Orion, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys’ new furry blue cosmic dog mascot, running around. The official Space Cowboys “reveal” day this weekend reinforced the idea that while the team’s name is changing, the fan fun is not. Which does not mean things are suddenly start to get super serious around Sugar Land’s baseball team. Space Cowboys comes across as a little more serious. So I really, really enjoy it.” Houston Astros catching prospect Korey Lee showed off one of the Space Cowboys’ new hats. It kind of ties into the Big League uniform. 1 prospect in the Astros system, says of the new Space Cowboys name and look. “I love it,” Lee, who is considered the No. You get the idea that elite players like this never really loved being called a Skeeter. Like Alex Bregman did last year in Sugar Land’s first season as the Astros’ Triple A affiliate.

The Astros’ current all-star talents also complete rehab assignments in Sugar Land. The Sugar Land Space Cowboys will be about preparing top prospects on the cusp - like 23-year-old catcher Korey Lee - to be Major League Astros. A place where a 50-year-old Rafael Palmeiro could come back and play alongside his son. The Sugar Land Skeeters were about offering a place that Roger Clemens could come back a pitch as a 50-year-old, taking on the had beens and never have beens that largely fill independent league baseball. “Future stars up through the organization.”

“He made an investment and it’s a definite effort to say this is going to be one family. “Obviously Jim Crane went out and bought this team,” Tom Jennings, the Astros vice president of merchandising & retail operations, tells PaperCity. Space Cowboys - complete with the logo of an astronaut in a cowboy hat gazing up with star dust on his helmet - fits that more than Skeeters. Sure, the Astros can have fun, but it’s built around the winning.

#Space cowboy series

The Astros methodically built one of Major League Baseball’s true power teams - a near modern dynasty with three World Series berths in five seasons - by taking things seriously. Where else could you name a team after a mosquito than in the humid Houston area?īut once Astros owner Jim Crane purchased the Sugar Land club in the 2021 season, the Skeeters were endangered. And became beloved by many in Sugar Land. The Sugar Land Skeeters name that this minor league team had since it debuted as an unaffiliated Independent League Team in 2012 screamed zany hijinks.