What's a TinCap?

It's the new nickname of the Padres' affiliate in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The club, formerly known as the Fort Wayne Wizards, adopted a new nickname Thursday to coincide with their 2009 move into a new downtown ballpark.

The name comes from Johnny Appleseed, a real pioneer who spent his later years in Fort Wayne. Appleseed earned his moniker by growing apple trees throughout the Midwest, touting the fruit's ability to be stored long-term and provide food to isolated pioneers throughout the year.

He was said to wear a tin cooking pot as a hat -- practical for a traveler, Friar John supposes -- thus the nickname. The team's primary logo is an apple wearing the tin cap.

The TinCaps are in the low Single-A Midwest League.

FJ