Missoula Osprey asking for fans’ suggestions to rename the team in 2020

We’re still over two weeks out from pitchers and catchers reporting but on Monday in western Montana, minor league baseball was making headlines. That was thanks to a big announcement from the Missoula Osprey, with the announcement being that the Osprey’s days are actually numbered. The team isn’t going anywhere but they will be changing their name following the 2019 season. Osprey Executive Vice President Matt Ellis says the new name for the team will be largely up to the fans, as people can make suggestions starting now through February on the Missoula Osprey website for what the new team name should be. Professional baseball has a long-standing history in Missoula with the Highlanders from 1911-1913, the Timberjacks from 1956-1960 and the Missoula Osprey since 1999. However now it’s time for the Missoula community to have a say in what the next chapter will be at Ogren Park. “We want this to be a collaborative effort,” said Ellis. “After 20 great seasons of Osprey baseball we want our fans to help us define what our next 20 years are. So it’s all about the fan, this is your town, it’s your team and we want you to have a turn in naming the franchise. Now that doesn’t mean the Osprey are going away by any means. It’s actually going to become a secondary mark for us. We’re still going to have Ollie Osprey, we’re still going to have the nest in centerfield, we’re still going to do some fun stuff around the Osprey as well. It’s just going to become a secondary mark, similar to what we did with the Timberjacks when we introduced it this season. We’re going to celebrate all three brands going forward. This will be for the 2020 season so this will be our final season with the Osprey being our primary mark.”