Spilt Wine

So, the Visalia Oaks changed their name to the Visalia Rawhide today. I have to say; initially I was extremely disappointed and upset over the change. I felt the name change was insulting; first to the history of the Visalia Oaks and second, to the residents of Visalia and the fans that faithfully supported Oaks. My wrath went as far as me writing a draft to submit to the Visalia Times Delta complaining about the name change. It wasn’t going to be a very nice letter either. I also decided to call the Oaks office to get a contact name and phone number to add to my letter so that people who shared my wrath could also complain and express their disapproval. When I called the Oaks front office, I was connected with Tom Seidler, the team owner and President. Mr. Siedler explained to me the reasoning of the name change and the process the organization went through in picking the name. I was appeased to find out that the players had some say in picking the name as well as the team colors. Mr. Siedler is aware of the history of the team and has kept that in mind as he transitions the team into a new era of Visalia Baseball. Mr. Siedler was very kind, understanding and transparent with his thoughts, ideas and goals. After speaking with him, I am now at peace with the name change and actually look forward to buying a Rawhide hat and attending several games this coming year. Go Rawhides!