In advance of a milestone season at Whataburger Field, the Corpus Christi Hooks are making a change. The Houston Astros' Double-A affiliate unveiled new logos and uniforms on Friday evening, marking the first time they have significantly altered their look since debuting in 2005.

According to Hooks general manager Brady Ballard, the 2025 campaign will be dedicated ¡°front to back¡± to celebrating the Texas League team¡¯s 20th anniversary and 20th season (the numbers align due to the cancellation of the 2020 season due to COVID). The logo unveiling ¡°is really the launching point for all that we¡¯ve been anxiously sitting on,¡± said Ballard.

The Hooks¡¯ name celebrates Corpus Christi¡¯s bayside location and the plentiful fishing opportunities found therein. Previous logos for the ballclub utilized a light blue-dominant color scheme, with the cap featuring an anthropomorphic hook. The new marks move to a darker shade of blue, while referencing various aspects of their city¡¯s identity. It¡¯s a style that evolved from the Hooks¡¯ ¡°fauxback¡± uniforms, unveiled in 2016.

¡°It is, in a sense, a modernization, but with many nods to our 20-year history and our relationship to the city. We speak to it in our primary logo, shaped from our Corpus Christi bayfront miradors,¡± said Ballard, referring to the eight gazebo-style structures that line the Corpus Christi bayfront.

The "Hooks" wordmark is above a mirador and topped with a half circle of eight stars. This, too, refers to the city¡¯s eight miradors, each one representing a key pillar of the city¡¯s economy: agriculture, commerce, oil, chemical, grain, seafood and fishing, metal (ore refining) and tourism.

An outline of the state of Texas is situated between the stars and the wordmark, with the point of a hook designating Corpus Christi¡¯s starred location. The Hooks¡¯ home and road caps feature different iterations of this logo, with the home version depicted below.

Meanwhile, an alternate cap with a powder blue base depicts ¡°Hooks¡± spelled clockwise between the five points of a star. This references an early iteration of the Texas state flag. This cap is paired with a jersey that reads ¡°Sparkling City,¡± an abbreviation of Corpus Christi¡¯s ¡°Sparkling City by the Sea¡± nickname.

¡°We are very fortunate to say this, that the entirety of this [logo design] is an in-house Corpus Christi Hooks organization project,¡± said Ballard. ¡°Courtney Gatlin, our senior manager of creative services, has been with the organization for 12 seasons. ¡­ With some education, a whole lot self-taught, she has become a stellar graphic designer for us.¡±

The Hooks¡¯ new look was unveiled during a "20th Season Block Party," with live music on the left-field deck, food trucks on the warning track, vendors on the concourse and a fireworks show. It marks the official start of a new era for the Sparkling City¡¯s Minor League Baseball team.

¡°Our city as a whole is finally taking some major steps forward. Economically. Growth-factor-wise,¡± said Ballard. ¡°We have what will be literally the longest cable-stayed bridge going up 100-plus yards from the ballpark. That¡¯s going to be over the left-center-field side, versus the old Harbor Bridge in right-center.

¡°It just speaks to a modern forward progression. And I think what we¡¯re doing with our 20th season encompasses that.¡±