Don't get too excited. Major League Baseball isn't bringing a second team to DFW.
But if all goes as planned, professional baseball will be played in Dallas starting next year. The Southwest League of Professional Baseball (SWL), an unaffiliated independent league, announced earlier this week that a team based at Reverchon Park will join the newly formed league for its inaugural season in 2019.
The Waco BlueCats, Royse City Griffins and Joplin (Mo.) Miners have also been announced as league members. Two other clubs will join the league before next season, according to the SWL website.
The fun part? The Dallas team doesn't have a nickname yet, so fans are being asked to submit their ideas for one on the team website. Below, we've listed some possibilities, trying to stay as specific to Dallas as possible.
(Disclaimer: Our friends at D Magazine took a swing at this already, strongly suggesting Pegasus – a nod to Dallas' famed flying horse – as a nickname. That's not bad, all grammar issues aside. But for originality's sake, we steered clear of Pegasus and their other clever suggestions, like the Dallas Humidity)
In alphabetical order:
Dallas Cedars. We're coming in hot with a tree nickname. Try to contain your excitement. But this kind of sounds cool, no? As trees go, the coniferous kind might not instill much fear in opponents, but it fits with Dallas. Cedar Springs Road. The Cedars neighborhood. Cedar Crest golf course. Cedar Hill suburb. Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve. Mountain cedar allergies. We're a cedar-heavy city.
Dallas Darts. Say what you will about DART as a transportation system, but it makes for a decent (and alliterative) baseball nickname.
Dallas Frozen Margaritas. The frozen margarita machine was invented in Dallas. Enough said.
Dallas Hams. Yes, the Hams. Way back in the 1880s, the Hams were the first pro team in Dallas, playing in the Texas League, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. Dallas' minor-league names later included the Steers, Rebels, Eagles and Rangers, with many of those games played at Burnett Field in Oak Cliff.
Dallas High Fives. What's more Dallas than the highly congested High Five at U.S. 75 and LBJ Freeway?
Dallas Old Reds. One of the more distinctive buildings in Dallas is the Old Red Courthouse on Houston Street. Built in 1892, it's now a museum of Dallas history and culture. The Reds are a classic name for the MLB team. This would be a Dallas-centric take on that.
Dallas Skyline Sluggers. Not specific to Dallas, but Reverchon Park has a decent skyline backdrop, especially from the tollway behind it. The Dallas skyline would look good on a jersey, too. Also, compared to the other three teams in the league, Dallas *probably* has the best skyline.
Dallas White Rox. An homage to our favorite nearly-filled-with-sewage lake in northeast Dallas. A more traditionally spelled "White Rocks" would work, too, but Rox brings to mind the Red Sox and White Sox (and the less widely known nickname for the Rockies). And it just looks cool.
Also considered: Dallas 56'ers (city chartered in 1856, and the team will play 56 home games), Dallas Highlanders (Highland Park; Lake Highlands; Dallas, Scotland; original name for the Yankees), Dallas Mockingbirds, Dallas Oaks (Oak Lawn, Live Oak Street, Oak Cliff), Dallas Jets (Southwest, American Airlines based in DFW), Dallas Chaparrals (former Dallas basketball team, now known as the San Antonio Spurs).