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The Altoona Curve will take on a new look for selected games as they announced a new Copa de la Diversion identity on Friday.
Altoona will turn into the Peces Dorados, or goldfish in Spanish, for five games throughout the 2024 season.
"We've gotten a lot of requests over the years from our players, especially now that more and more minor league teams are involved and have good identities," Curve general manager Nate Bowen said.
With the new identity, Altoona is now the 12th and final Eastern League team to have a Copa de la Diversion moniker.
"We're looking forward to giving a lot of our players another identity that's closer to home when they're playing in the United States, a lot of them by the time they get here, they've been here for two or three years so they've been here a little bit longer, but gives them an identity to tie back to, to home wherever home is for them," Bowen said.
To get to this point, it was a long process. From deciding to do it to choosing the right name and the development of the new branding and logos, it took about two and a half years.
"We wanted to do a fish from the beginning just because of (mascot) Al Tuna. That's kind of where we started and a lot of people have asked, we're not people from Altoona, but out of town. People that come to games say that Al Tuna looks like a goldfish."
The goldfish features a sugar skull, vibrant colors and the 'A' logo for the Curve.
The jerseys and hats won't be the only changes Altoona will have when the Curve don the Peces Dorados uniforms there will be a multitude of giveaways and different additions to the ballpark that have yet to be released.
"We're also looking at different foods and concessions potentially on those games to honor different cultures from around the world," Bowen said. "Baseball is a world game with players coming from all over the place and we were blessed to have Gift Ngoepe here who was the first player from South Africa to make it to the Major Leagues, but there's several countries that we're trying to honor here and will have specific games will be geared towards specific countries."
The five games will be held on April 12, May 10, June 14, July 5 and Aug. 16.