The End of the Buffaloes
If you’re interested in purchasing an Orix Buffaloes jersey, you might want to get it now.
The Buffaloes’ parent company, Orix, has announced that this will be the last season for the Buffaloes name. No word yet on what the new team name will be, but Orix wants to keep the unfortunate “B’s” abbreviation that has become part of the team’s logo. According to Nikkan Sports there is a low chance of Orix restoring team’s previous name, the Blue Wave.
The Orix Buffaloes name originated with the 2004 merger of the Orix Blue Wave, and the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Orix originally bought into the baseball business in 1989, when the company took over the Hankyu Braves. The Orix team was briefly known as the Orix Braves before adopting the Blue Wave name. The old Kintetsu franchise was known as the Pearls back in the 50’s, and then switched to the Buffalo for a few seasons before correcting their English in 1962, adopting the still-active Buffaloes name. Gary Garland has the full histories of all the NPB team names on his site.
I always liked the Blue Wave name, and was sorry to see it go. Any suggestions on what the new name should be?