Where'd the MLB Teams Get Their Names? Part 5

Baseball is America's game, and some of the teams seem to portray the American spirit of the game. Some of that is because of how long they'd been around. But where did they get their names from? Sure some seem simple and obvious: Yankees for the Americans of the Revolitionary War era, birds like Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Orioles, or then there are colors like Reds. But what is a Met? What are the Dodgers dodging? Although there are many things in dispute in the MLB (such as baseball's origin itself, the year of the MLB's beginning, etc.), the names of the teams typically have a origin. Here is Part 5 of an explanation of these.

The Western Division Teams 1

22. Giants - The Giants began in 1883 as the New York Gothams. They lasted as the Gothams until 1885. Supposedly, after beating the Phillies, the manager called his players giants, and the name stuck. That year the team was renamed the Giants. The team continued in that way until 1957 when the Giants announced they were moving to San Francisco. Since 1958, the Giants have called San Francisco home.

23. Angels - The Angels' name had been around as a baseball team in LA since the 1880's, but the current team was an expansion team from 1961. They were known as the Los Angeles Angels from 1961-65, when they were called the Calfornia Angels. This lasted until 1996. The following year the brand was changed when the team was sold, and since the city of Anaheim put up so much money for renovations to the stadium, they were known as the Anaheim Angels. In 2005, they were sold again and renamed the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim".

24. Padres - The Padres began as an expansion franchise in 1969. They were named after a minor league team in San Diego that lasted from 1936-68. The "padres" in the team name is a reference to the Franciscan friars that founded San Diego in 1769 (for those that don't know, padre is Spanish for father).

25. Mariners - After the Pilots debacle in 1969-70, some members of Seattle sued the MLB for breach of contract. They built the Kingdome in hopes of acquiring a new franchise. In 1977, the Mariners began in honor of the seamen that were tied to the history of Seattle.

26. Rockies - In 1985, the Pirates almost went to Denver, but that deal fizzled out. There had been talk of a Denver team for a number of years. It finally happened when Denver was awarded a team in 1991, which began play in 1993 as an expansion franchise alongside the Florida Marlins. The Rockies are named simply after the Rocky Mountains.

Check back for Part 6!