From behind home plate, Jason Klein and Casey White look proudly at the Reading Phillies’ flamethrower Phillippe Aumont. It’s not his high-priced arm they’re admiring, it’s what he’s wearing. “They’re the only team with pink on their uniforms,” White says.
Klein and White, who are each 30 years old, are the owners of Plan B. Branding, an upstart consulting company that has helped more than 30 minor league teams, including the Double-A Reading Phillies, rebrand themselves, creating new uniforms, logos, and in some cases even names. It’s a thriving business, largely because minor league teams, unlike some in the majors, haven’t suffered much in the recession. Attending a Reading Phillies game costs about as much as seeing a movie. “I won’t say we’re recession-proof, but we’re recession-resistant,” says Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner.