Bill Murray's baseball team held an Atheist Game and angered the Baseball Gods

Bill Murray's baseball team held an Atheist Game and angered the Baseball Gods
(Image credit: Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

The St. Paul Saints cast off their religious moniker in favor of a more skeptical one Friday when the team held its annual Atheist Game. Begun in 2012, the event turns the team into the Mr. Paul Aints — dropping "St." in favor of "Mr." is a wonderfully subtle touch — for a whimsical night of disbelief sponsored by the Minnesota Atheists and Freedom From Religion Foundation.

As Fast Company noted, the team took to Twitter to have a little fun with critics of the promo.

So how do the Saints get away with staging such a blasphemous night? For one, the team is based in a deeply progressive part of Minnesota. And it's a cherished institution known for quirky promos, so one atheist-themed event isn't so weird alongside nights dedicated to nerds, Prince, and Tinder, among other things.

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It also helps that Bill Murray — yes, that Bill Murray — is a part owner, though the Saints' site amusingly lists him solely as "Team Psychologist."

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.