Fly away, Silver Hawks: To celebrate a new affiliation with the Chicago Cubs, it’s now the South Bend Cubs (Low Class A; Midwest League) playing out of Four Winds Field.
“We are now The South Bend Cubs,” team owner Andrew Berlin (shown above) announced at a press conference today at the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce. “Affection for and loyalty to the Chicago Cubs goes back generations in this community. We’ve listened to fans throughout the region, and this is a name that we know they are thrilled about.”
He also unveiled a new logo based on the familiar Cubs logo. “We’re moving fast,” Berlin added. “Officials gave South Bend a special waiver so that we could show you this today, but something as important as a logo needs to be approved by the league and by the Chicago Cubs. So, I can’t call it official yet, but it is what you’re likely to see on all our uniforms, apparel, advertising and merchandise from now on.”
The Cubs affiliation is new for the 2015 season. The Cubs formerly were affiliated with the Kane County Cougars (Low Class A; Midwest League), while the former Silver Hawks were affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“We’re thrilled to begin this partnership with Sound Bend and we’re looking forward to working with everyone here,” said Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs. “It is important to have first-class facilities not only at the big league level, but also throughout our farm system. South Bend provides exactly what we were looking for both as a community and as a farm club.”
“This is a great day for the community, for the region,” added team president Joe Hart. “The vote of confidence that the Chicago Cubs have given this team, is really a vote of confidence for this whole region. I am especially proud to live and work here. And I encourage everyone to come out for opening day next April at Four Winds Field. We’re going to do our part to help the Chicago Cubs win a World Series someday soon.”
RELATED: South Bend, Cubs announce affiliation
Image courtesy South Bend Cubs.
Here’s a look at the current affiliate status in Minor League Baseball.
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