The Picklebacks

Green - Lime

Origins and early years (February 2022 - August 2022)


The Picklebacks are an American amateur co-ed softball team based in Austin, Texas. They compete in Austin Sports & Social Club (ASSC) as a member club of the Michelob Ultra (MU) division. Since 2022, they have played at Havins Fields 1 - 4, which are nooked inside the lovely but overcrowded, Walnut Creek Park in North Austin. The team's spring training facility is at Havins Field #2 in Austin, Texas.

Since the teams establishment as a Fruit-themed franchise in February of 2022, they have won 0 Division titles, 0 Beer League pennants, and 0 ASSC Series championships (we’re a work in progress, goddammit). Debate amongst players at an March 2023 post-game bar hang hinted at a drastic change in the club's branding and identity in the future seasons from fruit-themed puns to beverage-themed names.


The franchise originated in 2022 as the Banana Hammocks, a novel fruit-themed team based in Austin, Texas that played in the Michelob Ultra League. The Bananas held a respectable 5-2 heading into the offseason. The team relocated to Austin in 2022 and regrouped as the Grapes of Wrath. When the team finished their gut-wrenching April 2022 season just shy of a finals appearance, the Grapes decided to turn over a new leaf and rebrand as “Strawberry Fields Forever”, a riff on a song from the legendary English rock band “The Beatles” and, of course, as more fruits...duhh.

The July 2022 season started off with 2 straight losses but fear not, the Strawberries found their footing to reclaim a spot in the playoff finals by winning 4 straight to finish out the regular season. However, an untimely bye-week stunted their momentum and on September 11th, 2022 (Never forget), they fell to the “2 Legit 2 Hit” powerhouse in the championship game 12-4.


The Rough Patch (September 2022 - March 2023)


With their minds and hearts set on keeping the momentum going, the team rebranded once again for the September 2022 season as the Killer Kiwis. Unevenly (and some might say unfairly) stacked against the upper division teams for the first two games, they once again fell 0-2 to start the season, despite a solid performance from the team's offense and defense. Although, they managed another midseason rally, the Kiwis once again fell just short of the finals, losing to the aptly named “Sons of Pitches” in the semi-final on November 6th, 2022.


After a too-long softball hiatus for the 2022 winter break, the team stayed ice cold as the Coconut Crushers for the February 2023 season. This tumultuous season started as the last few had – with two straight losses to teams from the “why are you even playing rec league softball?” league. A painful season ended by missing the playoffs entirely for the first and only time in franchise history.


The Rebuild (April 2023 - Present)

"The Infamous Pickle of 2023"

After the offseason debates on the teams identity, they went into their first game of the season still undecided. With the new color of “Lime Green”, it was a close battle between Lime Drives, Of Mice & Margaritas and the Granny Smith Smackers.

But then, the unthinkable happened -- a pickle!! Nearing the end of their first game of the April 2023 season, the yet to be named team managed to trap a player into the elusive pickle between 1st and 2nd base ultimately, getting the out to end the inning and forever cementing the “Infamous Pickle of 2023”. To commemorate this achievement and in keeping with their plan to use the names of adult beverages instead of fruit themed puns, they unanimously decided to rebrand as the "Picklebacks".

In the first season as the Picklebacks, the team improved on their previous record going 3-3 and clinching a spot in the playoffs. Despite the season ending at 3-4, the Pickles show no signs of fermen–I mean, relenting.

With the stage set for yet another highly anticipated softball showdown, many questions are still in the air. Will the Pickles find a way to smash their way to a finals spot once again? Will they get another chance to claim the ASSC title and celebrate a hard-earned championship by drinking so many Frozen woodies that the machine breaks??? Only time will tell....

As of the end of the season, the franchise's overall record is 23–24–2 (.469).

TL;DR
Banana Hammocks (February 2022)
Grapes of Wrath (April 2022)
Strawberry Fields Forever (July 2022)
Killer Kiwis (September 2022)
Coconut Crushers (February 2023)
Picklebacks (April 2023 - Present)