Fla. minor league team renames ‘BP’ to protest oil spill; now takes ‘hitting rehearsal’

Baseball team renames ‘BP’ to protest oil spill

VIERA, Fla. — In a protest over the Gulf oil spill, a minor league baseball team is changing the name of batting practice so the players will no longer have to utter the letters “BP.”

The Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League say they will now take “hitting rehearsal.”

Players commonly refer to batting practice as “BP,” the same name as the petroleum company responsible for the massive oil spill that is fouling beaches along the Gulf Coast.

The Manatees are a Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They play near Florida’s Atlantic coast, away from the Gulf.