In an announcement Saturday night, the club says the new team name honors one of Oklahoma’s most famous ballplayers, Mickey Mantle, nicknamed the “Commerce Comet.”
“We wanted our new name and brand to be something that reflects Oklahoma’s rich baseball history and our affiliation with the Dodgers but is also uniquely ours and embraces the future of our city and state,” said Oklahoma City Comets President/General Manager Michael Byrnes. “Mickey Mantle—the Commerce Comet—is an iconic baseball figure for our state, our city, our team and our ballpark.”
The team had recently dropped the Dodgers’ name of their parent club. However, OKC will still be affiliated with the Los Angeles team. Players had spent a year without a team name, simply playing as the Oklahoma City Baseball Club.
In its announcement of the move at the time, the franchise explained, ”the Los Angeles Dodgers were part of our team ownership group until 2021, and although we are so proud of our ongoing affiliation with the Dodgers, we also feel the time is right to celebrate what professional baseball means to our hometown.”
The squad has been in Oklahoma City since 1962 and has gone by various names, from the Dodgers to the Red Hawks to the Eighty-Niners. According to a press release, it has agreed to maintain its association with the Dodgers through 2030.
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