$80M Late-Night Host Reveals ‘Stupid’ Secret That Lets Minor League Outshine MLB

John Oliver, a comedian and anchor of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert when they started talking about one of baseball’s best-kept secrets: the minor leagues. For Oliver, seeing the Brooklyn Cyclones or seeing young prospects—many of whom are fresh-faced teens—bring raw energy to the field is the opposite of corporate polish. “It kind of brings out the best in America,” Oliver claimed.

It’s spontaneous, human, and a little cult-like: “They got a lot of energy, but just not a lot of the mechanics yet… to love minor league baseball is to love something that people aren’t really watching. And isn’t that—that’s a real joy. The stakes are all for the players, not for the corporations. The stakes are incredibly high.” It’s a feeling—fun over perfect, heart over hype.

After that, the conversation took a turn to the absurdly funny. Oliver laughed when he got a call from a minor league team: “We’re calling up one of our top prospects… Are you going to name us something stupid?” And they replied, “No, you’ll be fine.” That back-and-forth summed up Colbert’s short verdict: “Stupid is one of the powers of minor league baseball. I love it.” The secret sauce that makes minor leagues more fun? It’s the silly mascots, crazy marketing, and nicknames.

Do you remember the story from the mid-’90s when Colbert talked about a toilet-dressed mascot performing at Savannah Sand Gnats games? That’s minor league gold right there.

And Minor League Baseball continues to flourish in 2025, too. Two actual ducks waddled onto the field during a Double-A game between the Cardinals’ and Royals’ affiliates in Springfield, Missouri, in May 2025. The DJ started playing the “Duck Tales” theme song without warning.

Then there’s the inflatable silliness of the ZOOperstars! performance, which features pun-filled, silly mascots like Mike Rainbow Trout, Ken Giraffey Jr., and Derek Cheetah. They come onto the field and do slapstick dance movements, synchronized acrobatics, and one-liners that make both kids and adults laugh. It’s so over-the-top that it comes back around to being brilliant.

Well, in the Majors, it’s more about the ERAs, homers, velocity, and the calculations that make the environment more intense. However, in minor leagues, it’s totally the opposite of that! Baseball grounds with 9,500 seats are often sold out by teams like the El Paso Chihuahuas, while nearby MLB teams play to half-empty venues. What’s the secret? Fans leave minor league games talking about the experience, not just the score.

But the best thing? This isn’t just talk. The comedian didn’t just observe minor league games; he really made his point by jumping headfirst into the glorious frenzy himself.

He loves the Minors—So John Oliver gave one a new name and mascot

John Oliver loves the Minor Leagues so much that he didn’t just watch them; he got involved. In May 2025, he said on Last Week Tonight that he would give one MiLB team a new name for free: “We are willing to use all our resources and stupidity to give one Minor League Baseball team a total rebrand. We will give you a new team name. A new mascot. We will even throw you a theme night.”  The catch? Teams don’t get any creative input.

The Erie SeaWolves won out of 47 entrants. Oliver remarked that one of their eleven good reasons was that “The SeaWolves play baseball nowhere near the sea. That’s a problem, Erie. We can help you fix that.” Then came the news: “Congratulations to the SeaWolves, you’re going to be called something else. We are going to look into your neighborhood and come up with a fresh name, mascot, and theme night. “You will take what we have and you will like it. “

In July 2025, the Erie SeaWolves changed their name to the Erie Moon Mammoths for a short time. The name originates from a woolly mammoth fossil that George Moon found in 1991. The new brand includes new logos, a mascot named Fuzz, customized jerseys, and a “Mammoth Fun” night with fireworks and free stuff. The first show brought in more than 7,000 attendees, which was a record, and goods sold out quickly.

For John Oliver, this isn’t a ploy—it’s proof that the minors’ freedom to lean into the silly is exactly why they’re worth loving.