The Amarillo Sod Poodles — a Double A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Texas League — have unveiled an alternate identity and will become the “Yellow City Pigweeds” for a half-dozen games this season.
While the Sod Poodles trace their founding to 2019, the franchise was originally the “San Antonio Missions” and were relocated from San Antonio to Amarillo as part of a larger relocation. So, for all intents and purposes, the Soddies, as they are colloquially known, were “born in 2019.” From that persepctive, they’re one of the new MiLB franchises.
In their short lifetime, the Soddies have worn a number of crazy jerseys (more on that here), and taken on some alternate identities (such as the Pointy Boots and the Calf Fries). In other words, just your average MiLB team these days.
So when the Sod Poodles unveiled their latest alter ego, the “Yellow City Pigweeds,” it probably shouldn’t raise too many eyeballs.
Let’s have a look, starting with the hype video…
PIGWEEDS, ROLL OUT!💛💙
The complete uniform of the Yellow City Pigweeds is here & it is PIGTASTIC! pic.twitter.com/9hQSZUZjNr
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) March 5, 2025
Before we discuss the uniform, if I didn’t know the Soddies were a D-backs affiliate, I would have sworn they were somehow a Brewers affiliate. At least we can see where they seemingly got the inspiration for the colors and stylistic elements…
Brewers CC references aside, the uniform is actually quite nice, and — unlike the Crew — it’s a full powder blue uniform.
The cap is light blue, with a gold brim, and features one of the Pigweeds’ newly created alternate logos.
If you’re trying to read into it, it’s literally a pig being chased by a tumbleweed. But there is actually such a thing as pigweed, which is native to the Texas Panhandle, which turns into tumbleweed when it matures and is blown by the wind. So the alternate identity at least plays upon the local flora.
The jersey features a large script wordmark, taking up half the chest, and reads “Yellow City” in script, with “Amarillo” written in black block lettering across the tail between Yellow and City. And in case you’re wondering, yes, “Yellow City” is a nickname for Amarillo. Here’s a clear look at the chest logo:
The remainder of the jersey is spartan, with the left sleeve displaying a “YC” logo created just for the occasion.
The team didn’t provide any stills of the rear of the jersey, but I grabbed a screenshot from the video. The jerseys are NNOB with a bright gold number outlined in thick navy blue (for plenty of visibility).
They’ll debut the new uniforms on April 27, and they’ll also be worn on the following dates: May 30, June 25, July 31, August 17, and September 11.
The team hopes to enjoy the same popularity with these uniforms as they did for their Calf Fries look.
The team will actually be keeping the Calf Fries uniforms around for this year as well. They’ll be worn thrice (May 10, June 13, and August 3).
Sod Poodles President & General Manager Tony Ensor, said of the uniforms, “After the success of our award-winning Calf Fries alternate brand launch two years ago, we are thrilled to add the Yellow City Pigweeds to our repertoire as another exciting identity for the upcoming season. One thing I love about this new identity is that once again, we have used part of our culture in the Panhandle that will not only help to tell the story of West Texas to our fans, but also foster new fans nationwide.”
He added, “One of the great charming things about minor league baseball is that we get to be creative in this process. Our job is to entertain fans, to create experiences at the ballpark that they just can’t get anywhere else. We’re able to create an alternate brand that our fans can get behind and have fun with and engage them and also educate the country about Amarillo, so that’s why we created the Yellow City Pigweeds for this year.”
What do you think of the Sod Poodles new identity? In general, are you a fan of MiLB teams who take on alter egos (as many have done)?
Fire away…
That awkward moment when you realize “Sod Poodles” isn’t the ridiculous temporary team identity…
OK, this is juvenile, but from a distance the pig being chased by the tumbleweed instead looks like he’s releasing a cloud of gas after too much BBQ. Serious crop dusting there.
I saw Smurfette. . .
I do feel differently about teams who have silly alternate identities dependent on whether their actual name is silly or not. Locally, we have the Boise Hawks, who have two alternate identities worn several times per year: the Papas Fritas (which I quite enjoy) and the Baconators (which is just a Wendy’s commercial – Boo!). Perhaps the Sod Poodles alternate should be something like Bulldogs to restore the balance?
That reads as “PIGWEEPS” to me, the “D” needs adjustment
Relevant info for those unfamiliar – “amarillo” (pronounced ah-mah-REE-o) is the Spanish word for “yellow”. So the nickname is less random than it might seem.
Gorgeous logotype that has no business on a jersey.
Um, you say the Brewers. Looks like Tampa to me.
No.
Why is there a seam on the pants just above the knees? It makes it look like they could be zip-off pants that turn into shorts.
As far as this alternate identity goes I think it’s done rather well. Little Piggy doesn’t have a squinty-eyed snarly face like so many other alts. His overalls and checked shirt are cute and I especially love the Texas silhouette on his boots! He’s even wearing work gloves as if he’s about to go fix some barbed wire. The YC logo is, dare I say, on brand for a west Texas team.
Hat logo looks like Pigdiana Jones being chased by a tumbleweed boulder
It’s a good looking uniform. The name ties into the region. What’s not to like?