(BENTON, Ky.) — Local historians are already calling today’s proceedings “the second most important thing to ever happen at H.H. Lovett Park,” as a helicopter touched down in Benton this morning. The chopper was carrying restaurateur Aaron Clayton and his ownership group, who announced they are bringing professional baseball to Marshall County in 2027 — just days before the 182nd annual Tater Day celebration, because apparently that wasn’t enough excitement for one week.
Clayton, who reportedly chose to arrive by helicopter rather than just driving in on U.S. 641 like a normal person, descended upon the Joe Creason Community Building for a press conference to announce the Benton Taters, a Class A minor league baseball team that is, at present, still searching for a league and a division to belong to.
Between puffs and coughing while smoking a cigar, Clayton told reporters, “I wanted to bring baseball to the area to give kids something to do,” Clayton told reporters, gesturing broadly in the direction of Marshall County. “Everyone always talks about skating rinks and bowling alleys, but I’d rather them be in the fresh air and near the famous hole of Benton.”
The famous hole, of course, needs no introduction to Marshall County residents. To everyone else: yes, there is a hole. It is famous. It is a gathering spot. For dipping. For cussing. For making out. For fighting. Moving on.
A Name Steeped in Tradition, or At Least in Starch
The team name “Taters” is described by ownership as a dual homage: first to the 182-year-old Tater Day festival, the oldest continuous trade day in the United States, during which the good people of Marshall County have gathered every first Monday of April since 1843 to trade sweet potato slips, ride carnival rides, crown a Miss Tater Day, watch horses and mule teams end a parade, and generally celebrate the potato in all its tuberous glory; and second, to the baseball slang term for home runs.
This makes the Benton Taters the first professional sports franchise in history whose name simultaneously honors agricultural heritage and the act of hitting a ball really hard. Sources close to the team say other considered names included the Benton Slips, the Marshall County Demolition Derbies, and simply “The Holes,” but these were ultimately rejected.
The team will wear orange and brown — colors that evoke either the warm hues of a roasted sweet potato fresh from the oven, or a 1970s kitchen someone forgot to remodel. Either way, you’ll be able to see them from a distance, which is a key feature when your park also hosts an annual enduro race.
The Mascot Question: A Community Divided
In perhaps the boldest management decision since Doc McCrory in 1959 collected $10 from 27 people to save Tater Day from obscurity, ownership has announced they will hold a public contest to name the team’s mascot.
The community is invited to submit suggestions. Early frontrunners from unofficial social media polling include “Rusty the Russet,” “Chip,” “The Slip” (a tribute to the original seed potato trade, sure to confuse visiting fans from Paducah), and “A-Ron” (submitted by one person, possibly Aaron Clayton himself).
A panel of judges will review submissions. No word yet on whether Miss Tater Day will have a vote, though she absolutely should.
Season Tickets: Coming This Fall, League Assignment: TBD
Fans eager to secure their seats for 2027 can purchase season tickets beginning this fall, which gives them the exciting opportunity to commit financially to watching a team play in a league that has not yet been determined, in games scheduled against opponents yet to be identified, officiated under rules that will presumably resemble baseball.
When pressed at the press conference about which league the Taters would join, Clayton smiled in the manner of a man who arrived to town in a helicopter and therefore does not worry about such things.
“We’re working on it,” he reportedly said, or words to that effect.
This is, in fairness, a perfectly reasonable answer. It took Tater Day itself several decades to figure out exactly what it was. Now it has a demolition derby, a pageant, helicopter rides, a couch potato pet contest, and a pancake breakfast. Given enough time, the Benton Taters will figure out their division. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Marshall County didn’t perfect the sweet potato slip trade overnight either.
What This Means for H.H. Lovett Park
The Taters will call H.H. Lovett Park home, a venue that has hosted Tater Day events for years, including the demolition derby, the dog park events, and the enduro race. Local officials have not yet addressed how the baseball schedule will interact with future Tater Days, though we can only assume that the first Monday in April will remain sacred, and that if a Taters home game ever conflicts with the parade, the parade will win. It has been winning since 1843 and does not plan to stop now.
The Broader Vision: Fresh Air, Baseball, and Not a Bowling Alley
Clayton’s stated mission — to give children an alternative to bowling alleys and skating rinks, to put them in the fresh air, and to situate them near the famous hole — is, by any measure, a noble one. Marshall County’s children deserve to watch live baseball, eat overpriced nachos shaped like things they are not, and learn the life lesson that a Class A pitcher’s ERA can trend in the wrong direction very quickly.
Whether the Taters will become a beloved institution like Tater Day itself — whether, 182 years from now, people will drive in from seven miles out in the country in the rain just to sit on the concrete bleachers at H.H. Lovett even though they haven’t watched a Taters game in 20 years — remains to be seen.
But they arrived in a helicopter. The sweet potato traders of 1843 did not arrive in a helicopter. Advantage: Taters.
PHOTO: Benton Taters owner, Aaron Clayton
The Benton Taters begin play in 2027. Season tickets go on sale this fall. The mascot is yet to be named. The league is yet to be determined. The hole remains famous.
