The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professiona ...
team based in
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of the Southern Maryland region. It is an urban area, with a popul ...
. They are members of the North Division of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
, an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
"partner league" of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
. Since 2008, the Blue Crabs have played their home games at
Regency Furniture Stadium
Regency Furniture Stadium is a 4,200-seat baseball park in Waldorf, Maryland that hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 2, 2008, as the tenants of the facility, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers, ...
. They represent the counties of
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
,
Calvert, and
St. Mary's, which are located on the
Southern Maryland
Southern Maryland is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region includes all of Calvert, Cha ...
peninsula between
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
and the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
.
In 2006, Southern Maryland residents chose the name "Blue Crabs" in a team-sponsored fan ballot. The name refers to the indigenous
blue crab, the official state crustacean of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
. The Blue Crabs' fanbase has been nicknamed the "Crustacean Nation", an allusion to the
Cardinal Nation and the
Red Sox Nation Red Sox Nation is a term used for fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase was coined by ''Boston Globe'' feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986, article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between ...
fan clubs of the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
.
History
Charles County
Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Wash ...
initiated efforts to bring affiliated professional baseball, in the form of a relocated
Class A Kinston Indians team, to the
Southern Maryland
Southern Maryland is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region includes all of Calvert, Cha ...
region in 1985, but those plans fell through. The progress made on the ballpark was reversed after Charles County commissioners voted against its financial support, instead deciding to funnel money to infrastructure projects. There were also concerns about marketability of the baseball team in a then-largely rural area. However, Southern Maryland's population boomed soon after as the suburban expansion of
Washington, D.C. encompassed the region.
In 2004, the town of
Hughesville was targeted by
Opening Day Partners
Opening Day Partners (ODP) is a company that owns and operates independent baseball teams in the United States. Since 1982, Opening Day Partners has owned and operated its own Minor League Baseball teams, operated teams for other organizations, ...
to be the home of its Southern Maryland franchise, but the town's residents voted against the measure to retain the area's rural nature. After Hughesville residents denied the ballpark, all focus was shifted to Waldorf, a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
of Washington, D.C. The Atlantic League formally announced an expansion team for Southern Maryland on February 15, 2006. The Blue Crabs were originally supposed to be an expansion team for the 2007 season, but the construction bids for
Regency Furniture Stadium
Regency Furniture Stadium is a 4,200-seat baseball park in Waldorf, Maryland that hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 2, 2008, as the tenants of the facility, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers, ...
came in over budget. Instead, the Blue Crabs' inaugural season was pushed back to 2008. The team name was chosen in a name-the-team contest in Southern Maryland with six finalists to choose from: Blue Crabs, Blue Herons, Aviators, Rock Fish, Ospreys, and Eagles. Fans were able to vote online, through the mail, or at participating Southern Maryland-area
Arby's
Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants system wide and third in terms of revenue. In October 2017, ''Food & Wine'' called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain (after Subway)".
Arby ...
Restaurants.
Initially, there was some concern about how the Blue Crabs would impact the attendance of the nearby
Double-A Bowie Baysox
The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium.
History
From 1989 to 1992, ...
, a
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
affiliate that plays approximately away. The Baysox anticipated a small attendance drop initially, but did not worry about the issue in the long term.
The Blue Crabs were owned by Opening Day Partners and
Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally co ...
, a former
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
with the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Robinson was inducted into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. In November 2016, the team was sold to a new ownership group, Crabs On Deck, LLC, headed by
Frank Boulton
Frank Boulton is a baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning wh ...
, the founder and CEO of the Atlantic League and owner of the
Long Island Ducks and
Bridgeport Bluefish
The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...
.
The Blue Crabs were the runner-up in the 2009 Atlantic League Championship Series versus the
Somerset Patriots
The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...
. They again finished runner-up in the 2015 Atlantic League Championship Series versus Somerset.
On July 13, 2019, Blue Crabs outfielder Tony Thomas became the first player in professional baseball history to steal first base. Atlantic League/MLB rule changes introduced in 2019 allow batters to steal first base on any pitch not caught in flight.
Logos and uniforms
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs official colors are navy blue, light blue, red, tan, and white. The primary logo depicts a navy blue crab outlined and detailed in tan. The crab has red pincers and eyes, with a scowl of determination. Centered above the crab is the "Blue Crabs" wordmark in white with the words "Southern Maryland" centered above in red with light blue and red ribbon-like lines underline the wordmark. The entire logo is outlined in tan.
The Blue Crabs wear caps produced by OC Sports and uniforms by Alleson Athletic. The home caps are white with navy blue and light blue trim, charged with the cap logo featuring a "B" interlocking with a C-shaped crab pincer. The away caps are navy blue throughout, also charged with the interlocking "BC" cap logo. The home jerseys are white with the "Crabs" wordmark centered across the chest in navy blue with light blue outline. The away jersey is gray with the "Southern Maryland" wordmark in light blue and navy blue outline. The team wears navy blue alternate jerseys with the "Blue Crabs" wordmark centered across the chest in white. The Blue Crabs' batting practice cap is navy blue with the crab cap logo.
Season-by-season records
The Blue Crabs tied for first place in the Liberty Division for the second half of 2009. They also won a first-round playoff series against the
Long Island Ducks, 3–2, on September 29, 2009. However, they lost the championship to the
Somerset Patriots
The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...
.
Philanthropy
The Blue Crabs hold a series of charity events that benefit such organizations as the Southern Maryland Food Bank, The Salvation Army, Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, Soldier's Angels, Orioles Advocates, and the
American Red Cross. Other events such as the Red Cross blood drive and
Prostate Cancer Awareness Night are held at Regency Furniture Stadium to promote health and wellness. On the team's final game of the 2008 season, the Blue Crabs raised $8,139 for the
College of Southern Maryland
The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is a public community college with campuses in Hughesville, La Plata, Leonardtown, and Prince Frederick, Maryland. It serves students living in Southern Maryland's Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert count ...
as part of the institution's 50th anniversary. Prior to the 2009 season, the team partnered with the Charles County Hospice House to allow the non-profit charity to take advantage of theme nights for fundraising opportunities.
Mascot
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs' official
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
is an
anthropomorphic, blue creature named Pinch. He wears a Blue Crabs home jersey with red and white sneakers. The mascot debuted on April 19, 2008, at the Charles County Youth League's opening day parade held at Laurel Springs Park in
La Plata. Pinch's name alludes to the
pincer Pincer may refer to:
* Pincers (tool)
*Pincer (biology), part of an animal
*Pincer ligand
In chemistry, a transition metal pincer complex is a type of coordination complex with a pincer ligand. Pincer ligands are chelating agents that binds tig ...
of a crab.
He resides at
Crabby Cove, an artificial pond designed for recreational use at Regency Furniture Stadium.
Current roster
Retired numbers
; 42 (
Jackie Robinson):
2B, Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997
References
External links
*
{{Maryland Sports
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball teams
Professional baseball teams in Maryland
Opening Day Partners
Baseball teams established in 2006
Charles County, Maryland
2006 establishments in Maryland