The Long Beach Coast revealed the branding for its alternate ‘Regulators’ identity Wednesday night at Legends on 2nd Street during a launch event for invited guests and media. Head coach Troy Percival and several players were on hand as the team unveiled its alternate logos, jerseys and merchandise.
The launch comes after the Coast’s name was announced at Long Beach’s State of the City in January, where fans also learned the team’s alter ego would be the Long Beach Regulators following much anticipation online for the name inspired by rapper Warren G. Warren G, a part-owner of the team, wanted the alternate identity to represent the city’s culture and swag, which the team aimed to capture in its branding.
“Back in the ’90s, it was about more than just the music. It was about art, culture, fashion and a certain attitude,” said team president Ena Patel at the event. “So when we started thinking about an alternate identity for the team, we had so many options. The question was what part of Long Beach’s history deserved to be celebrated in the spotlight, and before we could answer it the fans answered for us with the Regulators.”
The team will play as the Regulators in its alternate uniforms for Friday games for now, with the option to expand their use in the future. The team has 16 total Friday games slated on their 2026 schedule, with eight of those set to be played on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
Players from the team walked around and greeted fans at the event before eventually coming out during the launch of the new identity wearing the team’s Regulators jerseys. Many of the players are also from the local area after being recruited following the hiring of Southern California native and former Anaheim Angels pitcher Troy Percival.
Among the players present was right-handed pitcher JJ Almeda, a local who grew up in Lynwood. Coincidentally, Almeda’s baseball career actually started in Long Beach on an East Long Beach PONY team, and he joined the club following a successful season in the MLB Draft League where he set a league record with 20.1 consecutive innings pitched without allowing a run.
“It’s a full circle moment for me and it’s great to be a part of history, especially for the city of Long Beach and being from the area,” Almeda said. “It’s been especially cool to see how the fans have embraced the new team with all the support and everything like that.”
Regarding the alternate identity, Almeda is all for it. It’s not uncommon for minor league teams to adopt alter egos, and Almeda was part of some during his time last year with the Trenton Thunder, where the team played as the ‘Pork Rolls’ on Fridays and the ‘Goldens’ on Sundays and Wednesdays.
“I know some of the fans aren’t too fond of an alternate identity, but being a baseball guy and experiencing that, I loved it,” Almeda said. “There are plenty of minor league teams with alternate identities so I think it’s great and I think the fans will love it. It brings out more of this team and symbolizes this community and music from the late 90’s which is especially fitting with one of our owners being Warren G.”
Ticket packages are already on sale on the Long Beach Coast’s website, with individual tickets set to be available starting Friday. The Coast will make their season debut in Marysville against the Yuba-Sutter Free Birds on May 19 before kicking things off at Blair Field on June 2.
