Minor league baseball in Southwest Virginia has rebranded.
The team known for the last seven years as the Red Sox will now be known as the Salem RidgeYaks.
The team's front office said finding a name that better suited the region, started about two years ago, with a lot of fan feedback. The design, colors, and fonts of the new moniker were created to embody Salem's heritage and heart.
The logo, unveiled in a public ceremony Saturday at Salem Memorial Ballpark, features a yak paddling a kayak, which General Manager Allen Lawrence said pays tribute to the popularity of outdoor recreation. The yak's hairline represents the Blue Ridge Mountains.
"The kayak represents the waterways and the outdoor recreation that we love here in our area," he said. "The yak personifies strength, resilience, and hard-working spirit that our players, and our community are so well known for. And the yak – it has a double meaning. For anyone that doesn’t know, a yak in baseball is a home run.”
Lawrence said the process of finding the new name took nearly two years, included a lot of fan feedback, and enlisting the help of a branding company.
Lawrence says it became hard to market the Red Sox brand, when many connect that name solely to the major league club.
"It gives us a brand that people in this area can be excited about," he explained. “We’ve got a lot of Yankees fans and Cubs fans and Dodgers fans and Orioles fans that come out to the ballpark every night, and they were a little hesitant to wear Red Sox across their chest. But now, RidgeYaks I think gives them an alternative, something they can be proud of when they think of this area.”
With the debut of RidgeYaks name also comes a new mascot- Mac the Yak.
The class-A minor league franchise will remain affiliated with the big league Boston Red Sox. President and CEO Sam Kennedy calls the rebrand "an exciting new chapter that celebrates the passion and pride of the Salem community while continuing the strong connection between our organizations. We look forward to many more seasons of great baseball and shared success between Salem and Boston," he said.
Lawrence said management is still talking about using other names for special themed nights, like Beermonger, a nod to the expanding craft industry.
An online petition, with hopes of naming the ball team for a nearly endangered salamander native to Appalachia - the hellbender - has now netted more than 300 signatures.
"it could be an alternate identity," he said. "I know there was a lot of thought put into. Maybe we can fine-tune that and bring it to life."
Opening Day for the Salem RidgeYaks is April 2nd, 2026.
