Apr 18 2022 10:44 AM
Seeing the Nats in their City Connect jerseys and identifying themselves by the sort of three-letter abbreviation that you find on an out-of-town scoreboard, it occurred to me, as it occasionally does, that — unlike Olympic three-letter country abbreviations, or three-letter airport abbreviations — we don't have officially standardized codes for all Major League geographic designations appearing on out-of-town scoreboards. (I was lying awake in bed considering this, so please forgive the exhausting emptiness of it all.)
Three-letter team codes are mostly standardized. You know that BOS is Boston and STL is St. Louis. But there are distinctions.
1. If a team is one of two with the same geographic home designation do you use the third letter to designate the team's nicknamed or league?
2. If a team is has a geographic designation that is two words, well that makes it pretty clear what the first two letters should be, but then, do you even need to use a third letter?
3. Then there are teams from geographically designated localities, like Washington, where there simply isn't consensus over which three letters to extract from the city's or state's (or bay's) name.
The short answer is that it mostly doesn't really matter. Standardization doesn't have to be officially sanctioned, but can arise from a meritocracy. Whichever abbreviations are recognized and work for people rise to the top.
At least, it should be the answer, but we are in the age of databases, so my three-letter code ought to match your three letter code, or else things are going to get futzed up when we exchange data. So let's settle this right now.
In the NL EAST, ATL and MIA are pretty universal, but are the Mets NYN or NYM? Are the Phillies PHI or PHA? Are the Nats WAS (most common) or WSH (the breastplate on those new jerseys).
Have I seen WTN as well? Or PHL?
In the NL CENTRAL, STL and MIL are close to set in stone, as is CIN (though I feel like I've seen CNT or something stupid like that somewhere. But are the Cubs CHC or CHN? The Buccos are PIT but are there still stragglers out there using PGH?
In the NL WEST, COL is blessedly unvaried, but there's the Pads (SD or SDP?), the Giants (SF or SFG) the Dodgers (LA or LAD or LAN) all with ambiguities hanging over their heads. The Diamondbacks should easily default to ARI, but there are still scoreboard operators using ARZ, presumably in order to get more Scrabble points.
In the AL EAST, TOR is used everywhere. BAL has 95% saturation but we might still have to hunt and kill the remainders who brandish a BLT out there, as if Johnny Unitas might get offended. The Red Sox were once BSA but there aren't a lot of fans around who will wonder if BOS is the Braves. There could an argument that an original code should not be altered, but that's silly. We're looking for universal usage here, but not universal into perpetuity. Are the Yanks NYY or NYA (or possibly they should universally appear on scoreboards as MFY). Do you use TB or TBR for the Rays?
In the AL CENTRAL is pretty solid. DET, MIN, and CLE are unlikely to go anywhere. If you meet somebody using CLV, you are meeting a crazy person. But are the Royals KC or KCR or even KCA? Are the White Sox CHA or CHW?
Lastly, we have AL WEST where TEX, HOU, OAK, and SEA all pretty much reign supreme. SEA can also distinguish the Mariners from the STP Pilots in a database that includes historical teams. But then we have the Angels and their historic mess of a relationship with what geographic designation they represent. Are they ANA? Are they LAA? (If so, is that last A for "Angels" or "Anaheim" or "American League" and does it matter?) Should they just be forced to carry CAL forever in tribute to Rod Carew.
This is what I thought about as I lay awake last night, and I invite you to reread when yourself have trouble sleeping.