The success of Utica's independent baseball league in 2016 has created a new addition for the new year.
United Shore Baseball League is adding a fourth team this summer, the Westside Woolly Mammoths.
"As you may know, there have been lots of Mastodons found in Michigan over the last 100 years," chairman Andy Appleby said in an email to WXYZ. "Including one found close to the new ballpark on M59 and Adams Rd just a few years ago."
Shane McCatty, who was an assistant manager with the Utica Unicorns last year, will be the new team's manager.
"I liked the name Mastodons for a team name, but I really wanted to name a team called the Woolly Mammoths someday. The problem was that I thought we’d never find one here in Michigan. Well they just recently found one (complete with huge tusks) in Chelsea."
The USPBL runs from May through September, with games running Thursday through Sunday. Last season, nine players in the league were picked up by MLB teams.
