Branding was unveiled on Tuesday for the Traverse City Pit Spitters, giving the club an identity ahead of its inaugural season in the summer-collegiate Northwoods League.
The new name was selected from the thousands of entries fans submitted when the team asked for name submissions last fall. “Pit Spitters” was submitted by several people and of that group Ryan Wright of Traverse City was randomly selected as the winning contestant from those winning entries. He will receive a prize package including season tickets to the Pit Spitters 2019 season, team merchandise and he will throw a ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day. Other Pit Spitters entries will receive tickets to a future Pit Spitters game and merchandise.
The name was officially unveiled on Tuesday at the State Theatre in downtown Traverse City where local media and residents were on hand.
“When we started this process, our goal was to find a name that represents both this region and the core values of our organization,” said Pit Spitters CEO Joe Chamberlin. “Pit Spitters hits it out of the park. Not only do we get to recognize Northern Michigan’s, and specifically Traverse City’s, unique agricultural history, we have created a name and a brand that screams FUN which is what we are all about. We hope that the Traverse City Pit Spitters become synonymous with affordable, family-friendly entertainment, strong community connections and a deep appreciation for everything that Traverse City and Northern Michigan have to offer as a region,”
Traverse City is known as “The Cherry Capital of the World.” Cherries were first introduced to the region in 1852 and quickly became a staple in the Grand Traverse region. Today, the five counties around Traverse City make up a region that produces 40 percent of the annual tart cherry crop in the United States and the city is home to the ultimate celebration of cherries, the National Cherry Festival held every year in July.
Pit spitting is an internationally-recognized sport. Although there are no current professional pit spitting leagues there are several amateur competitions including the International Cherry Spitting Championship in Eau Claire, Michigan and the Cherry Pit Spitting competitions held every year at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City. The world record for pit spitting in a competition is 93 ft. 6.5 in. by Brain Krause in 2004.
The Pit Spitters open the 2019 Northwoods League season at home on Tuesday, May 28 against the Green Bay Booyah. Tickets for this game and all other 2019 Pit Spitters games will go on sale later this year.
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