Now, that’s some mammoth news.

The Erie SeaWolves, the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate, are taking on a new alternate identity starting next month ― when they’ll begin playing occasional games as the Erie Moon Mammoths.

HBO’s John Oliver earlier this year announced that he and his staff at “Last Week Tonight” were choosing one minor-league baseball team to undergo a brand makeover, with the one rule being that the baseball team selected had to accept the new look and mascot, no questions asked. Oliver ultimately picked Erie, based in Pennsylvania, and on Sunday night, Oliver unveiled the new, hilarious mascot. A deal’s a deal.

“We’re excited to partner with ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ to bring baseball fans a new experience that is playful, prehistoric, purposeful, and purple,” Erie president Greg Coleman in a statement Sunday night. “Special thanks to SeaWolves owner Fernando Aguirre, the ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver;’ production team, Major League Baseball, VisitErie, UPMC, the Detroit Tigers, key vendors, and our front-office crew for their creativity, support, flexibility, and discretion.”

There is actual local history behind the so-called moon mammoth. In 1991, a Summit Township resident named George Moon discovered a large bone while diving in Lake Pleasant, 8 miles from Erie. The 3-foot bone, as it turned out, was the shoulder blade of a woolly mammoth; the remains now are housed in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. The discovery became known as the “Moon Mammoth.”

The SeaWolves, founded in 1995, had no input on Oliver’s final decision for the new mascot, and new team colors. Oliver initially said he picked the SeaWolves for the total rebrand out of a pool of dozens of other minor-league baseball candidates because, well, the SeaWolves don’t play anywhere near the seat.

“That’s a problem,” Oliver said. “We can help you fix that.”

The Erie baseball team said that it will play as the Moon Mammoths for the first time on Saturday, July 19, with Oliver, the England-born comedian, expected to be in attendance at UPMC Park. The SeaWolves said they will play as the Moon Mammoths four times during the 2025 season, including Aug. 19, Sept. 12 and Sept. 13.

Oliver unveiled the team’s new alternate mascot ― with big eyes and tusks ― and colors ― primarily, purple ― with a video on Sunday night’s show, narrated by Hall-of-Fame baseball broadcaster Bob Costas.

“Everyone had written him off, said he was too old, too dead, too brittle to even look at it,” Costas said in the minute-and-a-half intro. “But they were wrong. Because as it turns out, you can’t keep a good mammoth down. Erie, are you ready, because this ancient purple beast is all about two things ― eating whatever it is mammoths ate, and playing baseball. And he’s all out of whatever it is mammoths ate. It’s time to see what all the ‘Fuzz’ is about. Let’s play ball.”

Erie Moon Mammoths merchandise already is on sale, on the team’s website.

The team’s primary mascot will remain the SeaWolves, and the primary colors with remain red, black and white.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984