The Salem Red Sox have been known by that name since 2009, when they joined the Boston Red Sox organization as the High-A affiliate. In 2021, they were moved to become the Single-A affiliate.
Now, in 2026, they are going to go by a new name. Salem will still be a Single-A team and in Boston’s organization, but no longer carrying the same name as its parent team.
On Saturday, November 8, Salem held an event to unveil the new team name — the Salem RidgeYaks. The logo is a blue yak with a baseball impaled on one of its horns in a kayak. The new outdoorsy identity pays homage to the Blue Ridge Mountains, which run through Virginia.
It might not be the most popular opinion, but the Salem Red Sox changing their name away from their major league affiliate is a good thing. Minor league baseball is inherently silly. They have promotions nearly every game: Star Wars nights, wrestling nights, crazy hot dog vendors, and more. Minor league baseball needs to be a bit of an attraction because they don’t have consistent star power. They might get a star like Roman Anthony for a few months, but time is fleeting. Eventually, the stars are promoted.
Boston's Single-A affiliate, formerly Salem Red Sox, rebrands to RidgeYaks to honor Blue Ridge Mountains
Adventure Awaits as Salem RidgeYaks Introduce Outdoors-Themed Identity to Southwest Virginia
— The Salem RidgeYaks (@RidgeYaks) November 8, 2025
More Information: https://t.co/2POZIQhVFS pic.twitter.com/8OGf0hxJUz
MiLB teams need to accomplish a few things to keep the fans invested. First, keep the prices cheaper. The food has sadly gotten expensive, but tickets are still much more affordable than a major league game. Next, they need to have those promotions to bring some fun into the ballpark.
Fun is the name of the game, and being a virtual carbon copy of your major league team isn’t fun. You know what is fun? The RidgeYaks. A logo of a Yak in a canoe is phenomenally hilarious in the best possible way.
Salem has already jumped on the merch, and they have plenty of options for future sales with the colors and logos they went with. Hopefully, this brings some enthusiasm to the park and gives the kids a fun mascot to entertain them.
The Salem Red Sox needed a glow-up. Their longtime identity that matched the big league team was boring. Some fans might not love the new name, but it’s hard for anyone to argue that it’s not interesting. Let’s go, RidgeYaks.