Baseball season starts early for Maine’s newest sports team

Photo / Courtesy of The Portland Sea Dogs Slugger the Sea Dog is clearly bowled over by the baseball team's plan to play as the Maine Candlepins on Aug. 2.

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By Renee Cordes

Less than three weeks before the start of baseball season in Portland, the Sea Dogs minor league team has unveiled this summer’s alter ego-for-a-day and started selling merch.

Paying homage to a New England pastime, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox will rebrand on Saturday, Aug. 2, as the Maine Candlepins, the team announced Wednesday as fans snapped up special T-shirts, jerseys and hats.

“Merchandise sales are off to a very strong start today," Chris Cameron, the team's vice president of communications and fan experience, told Mainebiz a few hours after the announcement.

The promotion continues an annual tradition that started in 2019, when the Sea Dogs took the field for a special game as the Maine Whoopie Pies. Since then the team has played as the Maine Red Snappers in 2021, Maine Bean Suppahs in 2022, Maine Clambakes in 2023 and Maine Lobster Bakes in 2024. This year's rebrand is the first non food-themed one.

The Sea Dogs will open the 2025 season on the road in Reading, Pa. on Friday, April 4, against the Fightin Phils; the home opener on Tuesday, April 8, will be the first in Portland since the ballpark was renamed as Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field.

'Beloved throwback game'

This year’s choice of the Maine Candlepins pays homage to a variant of bowling popular with Mainers since the 1880s played with a hand-sized ball and tall, narrow pins that resemble candles. The pins are manufactured by Garland Manufacturing Co. in Saco.

"Candlepin bowling is a beloved throwback game for generations of Mainers," said Geoff Iacuessa, president of the Sea Dogs. "It is as much a Maine staple as lobster, whoopie pies and Moxie."

On the big night in August featuring various bowling-themed promotions, the team will wear specially designed Maine Candlepin jerseys and hats.

The jersey is meant to resemble a retro-style bowling shirt, with a pair of socks on the right sleeve inside bowling shoes in a nod to the Red Sox logo.

The hat logo was created by Sea Dogs staff member Kevyn Tibbott, while the jersey was created by Ted Seavey from Scarborough-based Seaboard Studios.

To get the ball rolling on the rebrand, the Sea Dogs held a launch party at the Big 20 Bowling Center in Scarborough featuring a special appearance by team mascot Slugger.

Asked about Slugger's bowling skills, Cameron told Mainebiz, “The flippers give him a unique grip on the ball, but he is a natural. If baseball doesn’t work out for him, he may have a career in bowling.”