According to local newspaper the Journal Star, Cat paid $2 million to the Peoria Chiefs team – in the midst of a debt restructuring – for the renaming, which will be in place for 10 years.

“The company was founded on a bulldozer,” Cat spokesman Jim Baumgartner said.

“We wanted to choose something that represents Caterpillar’s heritage … this is our hometown, and it is the region where we’ve made tractors since the company’s inception.”

Dozer Field was initially called O’Brien Field when it opened in 2002, though the naming rights expired in 2009. It has since been called Peoria Chiefs Stadium.

Mining’s hand in America’s favorite pastime is not unique to Caterpillar. The Washington Wild things minor league team practises and plays at Consol Energy Park in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Originally opened as Falconi Field in 2002, Pennsylvania producer Consol signed a partnership for 10 years of naming rights in April 2007. Financial terms of the deal were never disclosed.