UPDATE: At a Nov. 24 press conference, owner Dave Heller announced the new team name, Modesto Roadsters. The original name first announced Nov. 10, Glow Riders, will be retained for games celebrating the region’s Latino lowrider culture. Kit fox Cruiser will remain the team mascot.
Upon further review, Modesto’s new baseball team might be called the Classics, Roadsters or Graffiti instead of the Glow Riders.
Too many fans deemed the Glow Riders a swing and a miss after last week’s press conference announcing the new name. So team owner Dave Heller did a play review and reversed the call – sort of.
He could retain the Glow Riders as a secondary name when the team reaches out to the Latino community, Heller told The Modesto Focus. But he’s considering the Classics, Roadsters or Graffiti as the team’s primary name.
“I hope the community will give me a few days to reflect on this decision,” Heller said, promising a final one no later than Monday, Nov. 24.
His company, Main Street Baseball, reserved the Graffiti USA Museum that day, insiders say – an appropriate venue to unveil any of the three new cruising-based finalists confirmed by Heller.
Social media has drawn thousands of comments since popular backlash forced Heller to reconsider the Glow Riders after announcing the name at a Nov. 10 press conference attended by Modesto and Ceres dignitaries.
Blowback on Glow Riders name
Most commenters were critical. Examples:
- “The name is horrible. Come on, Modesto – do better.”
- “Please, for the love of God, change it.”
- “The Glow must go!”
Some commenters, however, saw racism in outcry against the name Glow Riders, which evokes the Latino lowrider culture.
Heller said the Glow Riders name fits the goals of Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión program that reaches out to the Latino community. Modesto’s new team will compete in the independent Pioneer Baseball League, whose rules are different than the official minors.
Fans of the Modesto Nuts, which departed after the team’s final game Sept. 7, will remember coming to John Thurman Field several times each season to see home players sporting Alebrijes de Modesto jerseys. An alebrije is a mythical creature guiding departed spirits to the afterlife.
Two years ago, Latino low riders joined with hot rod enthusiasts in persuading the Modesto City Council to repeal a 33-year ban on cruising – an encouraging example of two cultures working together.
Recently, baseball fans had voted in a “name the team” contest leading to last week’s Glow Riders announcement, although Heller indicated no clear consensus.
Among the most active local social media feeds hosting the new-name debate are those run by Modesto Councilman Chris Ricci and Modesto View magazine’s Chris Murphy.
Murphy, a founding board member of the Graffiti museum, is cheerleading a Modesto Roadsters logo designed by associates featuring a coupe driven by suggested mascot Ralston the Rally Goat, combining two legends of Modesto history.
The city’s name is Spanish for modest, describing founder William Ralston declining to have it named after him. And the goat evokes results of a public contest more than a century ago to establish a city motto; leaders turned down the most popular suggestion, “Nobody’s got Modesto’s Goat,” in favor of the more dignified Water Wealth Contentment Health.
“There’s a sense of whimsy in this,” Murphy said.
How about ‘Modesto Classics’?
City Councilman Jeremiah Williams is pushing for the Classics to honor Modesto’s ties with American Graffiti and Stars Wars creator George Lucas, the world’s largest winery in Gallo, several agricultural powerhouses, and stars including Carol Channing, Jeremy Renner and Timothy Olyphant.
“These are classic examples of who we are and who we’ve been,” Williams said.
He still likes the mascot also unveiled last week, Cruiser the Kit Fox, a nod to both Modesto’s classic car heritage and an animal native to the Valley.
Williams sketched a suggestion for a Classics logo incorporating Modesto’s famed arch, classic cars and baseball, expecting that Heller’s artists could render a more polished image.
Heller staged a “beer-hall caucus” at Sidelines Whiskey Jack’s to hear community feedback on the team name, The Modesto Bee reported, the night before announcing former Giants star J.T. Snow as the team’s first manager last week.
Heller dubbed the event a “Drinks with Dave listening session,” while some praised his willingness to reconsider the team name.
Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact him at garth@cvlocaljournalism.org.