Fact Check: Did the Colorado Rockies' Triple-A team derive their name from an episode of 'The Simpsons'?

One of the more intriguingly named Triple-A teams is the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Colorado Rockies' affiliate. Just like the rest of the sporting world, baseball has its fair share of stories that transcend the believable, seem too good to be true or are crazy coincidences. On the surface, that looks like the case with the Albuquerque Isotopes and "The Simpsons."

Put simply, isotopes are distinctly different types of the same element; they have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. These are terms you would associate with chemistry and may recall from school, but more often than not, the word isotope is associated with nuclear reactions and power.

What makes the Albuquerque Isotopes such an unusual name is the lack of nuclear power plants in New Mexico. New Mexico does, however, have a nuclear history, including the first-ever test of a nuclear bomb (code name Trinity) on July 16, 1945. This occurred 200 miles from Los Alamos Laboratory, where the bomb had been built.

It is possible that this association with the Manhattan Project was part of what made the name Isotopes popular, but that isn't the whole story. Curiously, it dates back to 2001 after Albuquerque's baseball team, the Dukes, was sold and moved to Oregon.

In need of a new team, a business group purchased the Calgary Cannons looking to move it to Albuquerque. What's interesting is that the story mirrors an episode of "The Simpsons" from 2001, where Springfield loses its team, the Isotopes, to Albuquerque.

Not only does it mirror the story but the Albuquerque Isotopes got their name from the episode. While "The Simpsons" has a reputation for predicting the future, this was more of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Fans voted online with the Albuquerque Tribune for a new name and the Isotopes got 67% of around 120,000 votes. The other four team names proposed to the Tribune's online readers were the Dukes, Roadrunners, 66ers and Atoms.

More about the Albuquerque Isotopes, Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies & 'The Simpsons' connection

While there was no Homer Simpson on a hunger strike to try and prevent the move, there were some issues that needed ironing out. A stadium renovation was required, which then turned into a newly constructed Isotopes Park (now called Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park, capacity of 13,500).

An interesting phenomenon occurred whenever "The Simpsons" aired an episode referencing the Isotopes, namely an increase in merchandise sold to viewing areas. In 2014, Isotopes general manager John Traub discussed the connection with MLB.com:

"It's funny... The cultural significance of The Simpsons is what put us on the map. To this day, people from all over the world want hats and T-shirts with our name on it."

As such, the Rockies' affiliate has something of a cult following and has had celebrities such as "Breaking Bad" stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul attend games.

The Isotopes haven't always been an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Until 2008, they were affiliated with the Florida Marlins, then the LA Dodgers until 2014 and the Colorado Rockies from 2015 onwards.

The Rockies' affiliate joined the Triple-A West in 2021 (now called the Pacific Coast League) and have three division titles to their name (2003, 2009, 2012).