New Baseball Team Named the San Rafael Pacifics

Centerfield Partners announced that the new baseball team to play at Albert Field in 2012 will be named the San Rafael Pacifics.

"We wanted something unique, we wanted something that acknowledged our ecology, we wanted the name to be as inoffensive as possible and we wanted it to reflect our cultural values," the team's president Mike Shapiro told the Marin Independent Journal.

Last week, Centerfield posted five team names for readers to vote on: the Spacemen, the Cruisers, the Pacifics, the Redwoods and the Golden Gaters.

In a San Rafael Patch poll,. The Pacifics had the least amount of votes with only 7 percent, or 49 people, in favor.

Shapiro told the Marin IJ that they were going for a "classic-sounding name," akin to the Nationals or the Athletics.

The announcement was supposed to be last week, but Shapiro decided to delay the decision "in order to give full consideration of all the names submitted by fans and to assess some other names that have come to their attention since the deadline passed," Shapiro told Patch.

When the season starts, Albert Park will be “dressed” to reflect the beach culture. The team’s colors will be blue and gold to honor the Marin County Civic Center and many events and promotions will focus on the county’s environmental and cultural legacy, according to the press release.

Chris Tamblyn and Howard Cann, who originally were among those who suggested the name, won a team jersey, two tickets each to opening day and will be recognized during the ceremonies.

Sarah Vurek, Anne Coyne, Drew Berst and Michael Cole were also selected to receivetwo free game tickets.

"The Pacifics want to thank all of you for your interest and support," the team's director of operations Theo Fightmaster said.