It ain't just Bat Day anymore

[Controlled Chaos]

It ain't just Bat Day anymore

Teams are getting more creative with their promotions

By Jim Street / MLB.com

 

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau honors his teammate on Joe Mauer Sideburn Night.

 

When the Seattle Mariners held the first Ichiro Suzuki Bobblehead giveaway night -- midway through the right fielder's remarkable 2001 rookie season -- several hundred fans camped outside Safeco Field overnight, making it the largest slumber party in franchise history.

By the time the gates opened the following day, more than 20,000 fans were in various lines waiting to get their hands on one of the five-inch ceramic Ichiro Bobblehead dolls.

 

Obviously, promotions have come a long way over the past 30 or 40 years. Such staples as Bat Day, T-Shirt Day, Batting Glove Day and Cap Day are still sprinkled around, but it's unlikely anybody ever camped out for those.

 

As attention-grabbing giveaways went, the impromptu campout for Ichiro figurines was a promotion director's dream come true.

 

"I'd do this again, in a heartbeat," said happy camper Tom Orth, who spent that damp June night with his 14-year-old daughter, Desiree. "We set up the pup tent, had a couple of air mattresses and sleeping bags, and just enjoyed the ambiance of the crowd. It was pouring rain most of the night, but the tent kept us dry."

 

In some places, camping out is the promotion, and a popular one at that.

 

Staying dry was not a problem -- or even part of the plan -- just a few days ago when the Arizona Diamondbacks opened the doors into Chase Field for the franchise's first giant slumber party.

 

The inaugural event for the Diamondbacks -- the Giants are among the teams that have done it in previous years -- started at 6:30 p.m. PT on Aug. 19 and ended the following morning at 8. Participants were able to swim in the pool located in right-center field, watch a movie on the JumboTron, play catch in the outfield, run the bases and sleep under the stars on the outfield grass. Dinner, a breakfast provided by McDonald's and snacks from Cold Stone Creamery, were also included.

 

"Thinking back to when I was a kid, having an opportunity to get anywhere close to the field, or the players, was something I just couldn't fathom," said Diamondbacks veteran first baseman Tony Clark. "Having an opportunity to go out to Jack Murphy Stadium [in San Diego] and sit 20 rows from the field was unbelievable to me. I think it'd be fun for dads and sons and daughters to come on down and hang out, pitch a tent, pop some popcorn and hang out on the field. I don't think you can beat it."

 

There are a lot of Los Angeles Dodgers fans that would ditto that statement.

 

It was a little soggy and chilly on the night of July 10 when the Dodgers and Warner Brother Pictures hosted the first "Blue Heaven Sleepover" at Dodger Stadium.

 

Young and older fans alike were given a Dodger pillow, T-shirt, dinner and breakfast following a series wrap-up against the Giants. Owner and chairman Frank McCourt spoke to the crowd during a dinner provided by Outback Steakhouse. Fans were then allowed to play in the bounce houses and games set up in center field.

 

Once darkness settled in and the stars came out, the Dodgers' faithful stretched out their sleeping bags across center field and could watch the movie "Duma" on Dodger Vision.

 

"We got tons of incredible feedback about the event, and although nothing has been set in stone, it's something that we will more than likely do again next year," said media relations director Josh Rawitch. "Fans really loved this rare opportunity and it was really great to see how much fun they were having throughout the evening."

 

The giant sleepover will be especially memorable for one particular couple. A Dodgers fan proposed to his girlfriend during the event -- and she accepted. There has been no further word on wedding plans.

 

The sleepover idea is one of the more recent brainstorms of baseball's promotion folks. While magnet schedules and calendars are presented during the early days of every season in most MLB ballparks, the rest of the schedule is dotted with new, innovative giveaways and events.

 

As usual, there have been some rather unique promotions during the 2006 season.

 

Burns, baby, burns

The Minnesota Twins have long talked about how they wished they could make a carbon copy of their All-Star catcher, Joe Mauer.

 

And from the looks of it, they did just that on Aug. 10.

 

The Twins hosted "Joe Mauer Sideburn Night" at the Metrodome, and with the large number of mutton chops that adorned thousands of faces in the crowd -- and Mauer's teammates, as well -- it's clear that everyone wants to be like Joe.

 

Sideburn Night certainly seemed to play well to the 30,118 fans who were in attendance for the Twins' game against the Blue Jays. Staring out into the crowd, there were plenty of black sideburns on the faces of men and women alike.

 

The first 10,000 fans received the synthetic sideburns in a promotion sponsored by Mall of America to celebrate its 14th anniversary. It didn't take long for all of those sideburns to be gone.

 

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Throughout the season, the Braves have been celebrating the team's 40-year history in Atlanta by honoring the fads of the last four decades. The 1980s were the decade of choice during the month of July, and the month-long celebration was capped off by Mullet Night on July 25.

 

Fans arrived at the park decked out in '80s attire -- tie-dyed clothing, pony tails and extra-large T-shirts, which complemented the array of mullet hairdos in the stands. Mullets and Fu Manchu mustaches were among the variety of traits that were superimposed on the faces of the players as they were introduced on the Jumbotron.

 

In addition to the myriad blast-from-the-past hair styles, '80s tunes and trivia were staples throughout Atlanta's game against the Marlins.

 

The game itself featured two starting pitchers born in the '80s: 24-year-old Chuck James and 22-year-old Anibal Sanchez.

 

Dog days of summer

The Florida Marlins held their fifth Bark at the Park Night on June 15 at Dolphin Stadium. Fans were encouraged to bring their dogs with them for the game against the Braves and there were 479 pooches in the crowd.

 

Several contests were held during the game for owners and their dogs, including an Owner/Doggie Look-A-Like Challenge. An audition for the Stupid Pet Tricks segment of "Late Night with David Letterman" was also held.

 

The ceremonial first pitch of the game was "thrown" by a 3-year old Yellow Lab/Golden Retriever mix named Mr. Charley, who visits elementary schools and health care facilities as a volunteer therapy dog at Pet Therapy of South Florida.

 

The New York Mets doggedly planned two canine-related promotions for this season.

 

The NL East leaders hosted a "Snausages Dog Day in the Park", sponsored by the North Shore Animal League America on May 31 to highlight the benefits of animal shelters.

 

More than 300 humans and 160 dogs enjoyed the game between the Mets and the Diamondbacks and portions of the proceeds from the tickets -- $26 for humans and $5 for animals -- benefited the NSALA. The Mets will host another Dog Day event this season on Sept. 23.

 

Mr. Met began the May 31 festivities with a walk around the park, parading owners and their furry friends around Shea Stadium on the warning track.

 

Mets skipper Willie Randolph, third baseman David Wright and outfielder Cliff Floyd met with some of the NSLA workers and some puppies before the game. During the game, the bleachers were inundated with a host of dogs ranging in size from Beagles and Chihuahuas to St. Bernards and Dobermans.

 

Dogs were able to enjoy snacks at the Snausages Biscuit Bar with a continuous stream of water for refreshment. More than 25 dogs auditioned for Letterman's Stupid Pet Tricks.

 

They left the game in stitches

The Mariners still give away Bobblehead dolls, but a more recent promotion leaves many fans in stitches -- literally.

 

On July 25, fans were invited to bring their stitching, knitting, or quilting projects to the Mariners game for the second annual Stitch 'n Pitch Night. Fans could purchase discount tickets to sit among fellow stitchers and work at their craft while cheering on the home team.

 

"Baseball doesn't require 100 percent attention," said Beryl Hiatt, a devoted fan of the Mariners and knitting. "There are between innings, between pitchers, between batters. You can be with your guy and they're content to watch the game. And then he doesn't resent all the time and money you spend on knitting."

 

Experts were on hand to show novices the ropes and the first 5,000 fans to buy tickets for the special section were given a limited-edition Stitch 'n Pitch tote bag.

 

Bang the drum loudly

The Cleveland Indians decided this season to pay homage to an established veteran with a recent figurine promotion. The veteran, though, does his work in the stands, not the field.

 

On July 9, the Tribe gave out "Bobblearm" figurines of superfan John Adams to fans attending that afternoon's game against the Orioles at Jacobs Field. Adams has been banging away at his drum in the bleacher seats at Indians home games for the past 33 years, a total of more than 2,000 games.

 

The figurine featured Adams and his drum. Fans can move his arm up and down to bang on the drum.

 

"It's quite an honor," Adams said of the promotion. "I don't know if I'm deserving of this, but it's quite an honor. I kind of like thinking about it as celebrating all the fans. It's a first. They've never had anything like that for a fan before, so this is historical."

 

But as any MLB promotions director would say, "Wait 'til next year!"

 

 

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I'm really not one to harp on the media coverage or lack thereof, but how could any article regarding promotions not include the White Sox. I think they've been doing dog day for 10 or 11 years. I'm not sure if they were the first for "fireworks night", but they were the first with exploding scoreboard. The sleepover has been going for I think 5 years and I think they were the first team to do that. Also, I don't know much about him, but wasn't Veeck like a pioneer for promotions? Just seemed weird not to have the Sox mentioned in this article.

[southsider2k5]

I agree totally with the sentiment at the end of the article. Over the last 10 years or so, the Sox have had awesome ideas for promotions, and we got nada a mention in there. They invented the sleepover and Dog Day, not to mention some of their newer things like the Go-Cart races.

[Chisoxfn]

Ya it seems odd considering the Sox pionereed a ton of stuff in the area of promotions.

[Steff]

Dog day isn't that old, and they only did 2 sleepovers. The go-cart races I would not call a promotion sine you have to pay mucho dinero to participate.

[MinnesotaSoxFan]

I agree totally with the sentiment at the end of the article. Over the last 10 years or so, the Sox have had awesome ideas for promotions, and we got nada a mention in there. They invented the sleepover and Dog Day, not to mention some of their newer things like the Go-Cart races.

 

And what no Core of the Core mention either!

 

Seriously the White Sox are probably the only ones to bring team message boards together for 1 game and hang out. Bunch of crap, I tell ya.

[Controlled Chaos]

Dog day isn't that old, and they only did 2 sleepovers. The go-cart races I would not call a promotion sine you have to pay mucho dinero to participate.

Ya had to make me go do some diggin steff.

 

According to this, sleepover started in 2002. Unless they haven't done it every year, but I thought they had. And it actually does say in that article that they were the first MLB team to do it, which I wasn't sure of...so rock on Sox!!

 

Dog Day; Friday, April 21, 7:35 vs. Minnesota

Fans can enjoy the game side-by-side with their four-legged friends on the 11th Annual Dog Day.

 

I found here that the Giants just had their 10th annual dog day, but that doesn't beat the sox 11th. So maybe the Sox were the first to do that too.

[Steff]

Ya had to make me go do some diggin steff.

 

According to this, sleepover started in 2002. Unless they haven't done it every year, but I thought they had. And it actually does say in that article that they were the first MLB team to do it, which I wasn't sure of...so rock on Sox!!

 

Dog Day; Friday, April 21, 7:35 vs. Minnesota

Fans can enjoy the game side-by-side with their four-legged friends on the 11th Annual Dog Day.

 

I found here that the Giants just had their 10th annual dog day, but that doesn't beat the sox 11th. So maybe the Sox were the first to do that too.

 

 

 

They have not done a sleepover the last 2 years. I had no idea dog day was 10 years old, but since I've had Ginger for 6 and she's been to all but this past one I don't know what I was thinking.

[DrunkBomber]

At least they didnt bring up mullett night.

[The Critic]

At least they didnt bring up mullett night.

or Disco Demolition.

or Elvis Night.

or Rat Pack Night.

[Dick Allen]

or Disco Demolition.

or Elvis Night.

or Rat Pack Night.

Rip 'em all, but leave Elvis night alone. Thank you, thank you very much.

[TLAK]

Rip 'em all, but leave Elvis night alone. Thank you, thank you very much.

Agreed, Elvis night rocks.

 

Kelly Wunsch told a joke about it, "You know you're a White Sox fan if you win the Elvis contest and you didn't know it was Elvis night".

[Mplssoxfan]

IIRC, the Sox were first with "Turn Back the Clock" day as well.