John Oliver Wants to Rename Your Minor League Baseball Team

John Oliver has a pitch for any minor league baseball team that’s willing to play ball.

Last Week Tonight’s main story this week was deportations, but Oliver ended the show with a mini deep-dive into minor league baseball teams, celebrating their often absurd creative choices. In fact, Oliver loves those choices so much that he’s looking to make some of his own for one lucky team.

As the host explained, there are 120 full-season minor league teams with major league affiliates, many of whom have resorted to buzzy PR ideas to increase cashflow. Some choose quirky team names (Hub City Spartan Burgers, Rocket City Trash Pandas). Some choose even wilder temporary names (Eugene Exploding Whales, New Hampshire Space Potatoes). One team, the Lake County Captains, replaced some stadium seats with toilets for a Roto-Rooter sponsorship.

Some hold theme nights built around popping bubble wrap or wearing chihuahua jerseys. Oliver’s favorite? Helen McGuckin Night, in which the Charleston RiverDogs held an entire evening designed to impress a woman who inexplicably left a 2-star Google review for the team.

It all sounds like the kind of fun John Oliver might stage—and indeed the host wants in on the action. Ending his show last night, Oliver announced his intention to sponsor a minor league baseball team and make some creative magic happen. First thoiugh, he needs a team.

“My only real criticism is that some minor league teams just aren’t really pulling their weight,” Oliver told viewers. “Which is pretty disappointing, because in not embracing the glorious eccentricity of the magnificent league they belong to, they’re kind of leaving money on the table. And that is where we come in.”

Oliver’s pitch: “We are willing to use all of our resources and stupidity to give one minor league baseball team a total rebrand,” he announced, offering a “personalized” and “bespoke” team name, mascot, and theme night for the team.

The catch: If the team agrees to work with Oliver, he wants no questions asked, no notes, and their full commitment to go with any of the Last Week Tonight team’s creative choices.

Oliver is asking any team that is game to sign such a contract to reach out to the show at [email protected].

“I promise we will put just as much time, energy, and research into this as we do into exposing the dark underbelly of America’s criminal justice system,” Oliver said. “Arguably more.”