Mascots give your team brand identity, and if your first baseman isn’t making the SportsCenter highlights, you frankly need all the identity you can get.  Why do you think NFL teams have cheerleading squads?   Brand identity keeps people coming to the ballpark, even when the team actively works against it.  As a former mascot wrangler myself, mascots are unsung heroes especially in independent baseball.  Mascots are the hook that get people into the game and keep them returning, until an investment is made in the team   They might look juvenile, but without them, your professional baseball team becomes a glorified NCAA roster.

The New Jersey Jackals of Little Falls, New Jersey, are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. Since they came on the scene in 1998 as a member of the Northeast League, the Jackals have been home to Jack the Jackal – the team’s mascot-in-residence.  Other than providing the team with amazing alliteration, I find the jackal to be an interesting choice to represent a baseball franchise in the Garden State.  Raised in New Jersey, I had no idea the state was an indigenous home to jackals.  Please note I did do several searches. I found jerks indigenous to New Jersey, jug heads indigenous to New Jersey but…no jackals.  I contacted the Jackals Broadcasting and Media Relations representative but received no response by press time.  Even though I find a jackal from Jersey to be as suspect as Snooki doing Shakespeare, I’m seriously down with Jack the Jackal.

Ok.  I will stop now.  I’m starting to sound like a mascot birther.

Unlike other mascots in the league (I’m looking at you, Newark Bears), Jack the Jackal gives the team personality, humor and identity.   Let’s face it. He’s very Jersey. He’s got an orangey tan. All right, it’s more like orange fur.  He’s got buff arms. Has he been hitting the gym with “The Situation”? Most importantly, he always looks sharp.  Look how Jack does laundry (http://vodpod.com/watch/743221-jack-the-jackal-does-the-laundry).

Seriously, the Jackals organization has done everything right with Jack the Jackal.  He gives the brand a look. He actually looks like a ball player.  OK. A really hairy one, but go with this. When kids come to the ballpark, they may not be able to identify the franchise’s outfield but they sure as heck can identify Jack.  The kids actually have a connection to the team.  Jack has also helped the team to create a heavy online presence.  I’ve yet to find another independent team that has as many YouTube videos as the New Jersey Jackals. Where are you without an online identity these days?

Jack the Jackal - Courtesy of www.jackals.com

Although he doesn’t have the gloss and shine of a Phanatic or Mr. Met, Jack the Jackal is a successful mascot.  He keeps people coming to the ballpark and keeps them tied to the franchise and the brand.  Through initiatives like Jack the Jackal, the New Jersey Jackals have managed to remain relevant in a crowded sports market.  Let’s face it.  Does anyone remember the Sussex Skyhawks?

Mascots give your team brand identity, and if your first baseman isn’t making the SportsCenter highlights, you frankly need all the identity you can get.  Why do you think NFL teams have cheerleading squads?   Brand identity keeps people coming to the ballpark, even when the team actively works against it.  As a former mascot wrangler myself, mascots are unsung heroes especially in independent baseball.  Mascots are the hook that get people into the game and keep them returning, until an investment is born in the team   They might look juvenile, but without them, your professional baseball team becomes a glorified NCAA roster.

The Newark Bears of Newark, New Jersey, are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball.  The Newark Bears have made several appearances throughout the history of professional baseball in New Jersey.  Since this current inception of the Bears came on the scene in 1998 as a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a mascot has existed in someway shape or form.

Unlike the Phillie Phanatic, a universally agreed gold standard of brand identity and mascot-ry (Yeah! I know that’s not a word but you get the point), the Newark Bears have always had mascots that at best have fallen flat. The Newark Bears’ current official mascots are odd anthropomorphic bears.  Bears? I know, who saw that coming.

The Newark Bears premiered a female mascot a couple of years back and no one was more excited than me.  Effa, wearing the team’s home jersey, is named after Effa Manley, the first woman to successfully own and operate a professional baseball team.  Oh, and did I mention, this former owner of the Newark Eagles is the only female member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame?  She’s a real member too…plaque and all…none of that “A League of Their Own” jazz.

Feminist tendencies exploding, I was ready for the most amazing representation of Girl Power since Geri Halliwell.  What I got was a bear with Katy Perry lashes and a feathery bow in her hair.  Newsflash to the baseball novice who designed Effa, the real Ms. Manley would have been caught dead in a bow.  She conveys nothing of Newark’s rich baseball past or its winning history.  She’s totally ambiguous, unremarkable and definitely wouldn’t inspire me to get more into the game as a kid.

The Newark Bears get a Mascot with a Feminine Touch - courtesy of the Newark Bears Website

I give the Bears credit for getting into the mascot game.  I also give them props for attempting to appeal to the female baseball fan.  Nonetheless, Effa falls flat and is in desperate need of a makeover.  Bring on the substance and leave the bows to Hello Kitty.

Although I won’t be attending any minor league games this year, there are a several promotions I would like to see happen. I’m far from a promotions expert, so some of these may have actually happened, but if so, then I would like for them to happen again, because I think they are great ideas.

Minor League Movie Day

This is an easy promotion I am surprised I have never seen done yet. There are a lot of movies out there that do with minor league baseball, from the great Bull Durham to the not-so-great Summer Catch. The team could hand out blank forms numbered 1-18 to every attendee and the PA announcer would say a quote from a minor league-based movie between each inning and asks the fans what movie the quote is from. The fan who fills in the most answers on their answer sheet wins free movie tickets to a local theater. The team could even bring in an actor or actress from one of the movies to throw out the first pitch. Seriously, what is Freddie Prinze, Jr doing these days?

Major League 3 Demolition Day

Major League 3 is by far the worst minor league baseball movie ever made. Whereas Major League is a classic in baseball cinema and Major League 2 is passable, Major League 3 is a scar upon our collective cinema consuming culture. Therefore it should be removed from public consciousness forever.

Taking a page from Disco Demolition Day and the Shaq-Fu Liberation Movement, I would like to see one team, or maybe more, promote a Major League 3 demolition day. Fans that bring in a copy of Major League 3 would get in for free and all the copies would be put in a giant garbage pail. During the seventh inning stretch, this garbage pail would be wheeled out to centerfield and all the Major League 3 copies would be smashed by a trash compactor. Of course, all the contents would be brought to the most convenient recycling facility.

Traveling Gnome Day

Like the Travelocity Gnome, gnomes are always popular. And people love taking pictures of them in different places.  I even have one and will be taking it to Afghanistan with me.

From my little bit of research, I think the origin of the traveling gnome lies in a combination of the Swedish folklore of Tomte, a little man who looked over the home and protected the people from misfortune while they were away or asleep, and the Australian-derived practice of “liberating” (aka stealing) garden gnomes and taking them on trips. Perhaps the thieves believe that Tomte needs a vacation from house protecting.

Minor league teams can capitalize on this odd phenomenon by creating traveling (18in or so) gnomes emblazoned with the team’s logo. (They have them for Major League teams.) Teams can then encourage people to take their gnomes with them on trips and email the pictures to the team or post the pictures on Facebook and tag the team. Perhaps the best picture, or the fan who brought his or her gnome to the most or most exotic places can a sponsored trip through a local travel agency. Bonus points for taking pictures of the team’s traveling gnome at other stadiums.

Date a Mascot Day

Although the buzz on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is not as high as they used to be, if they haven’t done so already, I think there is a lot of potential in having “mascot dating” shows. Teams could work with local modeling agencies, local Hooters, or other areas where people are trying to put themselves over and could use the publicity of “dating” a mascot.

First, fans could make videos on why they should date the mascot. Teams could have filming rooms at the ballpark and the fans could “star” in videos similar to those hilarious 1980s personals videos.

Then there could be vote to select the top candidates to”date” the mascot. Which opens a whole other world of possibilites.

Picture this: a romantic beach backdrop, a beautiful woman, a candlelit dinner, and slowly emerging from the dark, a big-nosed, goofy walking representative of your local minor league team. The youtube possibilities are endless. Teams could post the videos on their websites and have fans votes on the best “match”.  It would also be great to see mascots be on their “best” behavior at the ballpark with their “date”.

Foursquare Season

Although the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs had a Foursquare special last season, I think Foursquare is completely undertapped as a promotional tool. Teams can incorporate Foursquare to raise the “buzz” of their games. Fans who “check in” the most in a month, half-season, or through the whole season can win a gift certificate or other exclusive prizes. Teams can post check-ins on their website or on a board at the ballpark. The check-in contest would add an element of competition to attendance.

Here is a list of all the stadiums on foursquare.

Star Wars Day (FSL only)

Although there have been Star Wars-themed days across Minor League and Major League Baseball, there has not yet been a Star Wars Day in the Florida State League. As a huge Star Wars fan, this bothers me greatly. I still get chills when I see Darth Vader and company and I really want to see them throw out the first pitch. I know there is an element of the 501^st Battalion in the Sarasota area and I know they have done museum openings and pro wrestling shows in Florida. They might have even also done the Florida Marlins Star Wars Night last season. So there is no reason why a team of the Florida State League can’t make the call to a galaxy far, far away and host a Star Wars Night.

As fans made their way down to the field for FanFest, I noticed the breezeway of the stadium where the concessions are located was empty. I quickly realized I was by myself. I wandered out of sight from the main entrance down through each numbered section of the stadium. Stopping along the way to take photos, I noticed parts of the stadium I had not seen before. It looked different now with no voices echoing though the area, no distractions. It was completely quiet. Cascading above the seating entrance to Section 123 there is a photo of young kids wearing D-back baseball hats trying to catch a loose ball. At this very moment, I am as excited as the captured look on each of their faces. I started to think about how many fans had filtered through this stadium…families with kids, couples on dates, guys with their friends, girls holding bachelorette parties, older men with historical baseball stories from other stadiums, young boys carrying gloves hoping to catch a fly ball and then my thoughts turned inward. I began to think about why I love this game, a game I have never played, yet I have such a passion for. At that very moment, I am empty of reasons and answers like countless times before. I am exuberant with happiness alone in the hallways of Chase Field forgetting about life outside the stadium. After relishing in this moment, I headed to the field to meet the players and feel the excitement as thousands of fans rushed onto the field. Spring Training has arrived.

Sugar Land’s minor league baseball team has yet to be formed, but planners have begun selling tickets for its 2012 inaugural season Wednesday after unveiling the team’s name, the Skeeters

The Skeeters would become the first of the four to six teams to be created for the independent Atlantic League’s planned Western Division. Planners expect players to be recruited internationally.

Real estate agent Tony Johnson, who submitted “Skeeters” during a naming contest, received a lifetime season ticket.

Houston Chronicle

Granted, we haven’t seen even an artist’s rendering of what the team’s mascot might look like, but there are only so many ways you can go with a blood-sucking insect. We’re really looking forward to the first Malaria Night promotion. Free bed netting for the first 200 kids!

“Ramdy Johnson performs exclusively for the Indianapolis Indians through a special agreement.” http://kyl.co/ul #zooperstars

I filed the link away for later, and I wasn’t disappointed. Ramdy Johnson is one of those fantastic inflatible zooperstrs that shows up at sporting events around the country. I’d seen Clammy Sosa and Harry Canary before, but never Ramdy Johnson. Obviously, that’s because I have yet to make it to an Indianapolis Indians game.

There are some really great ones: Cow Ripken, Jr., Ichiroach Suzuki, Nomar Garciaparrot and Monkey Mantle to name a few. And that’s just the baseball ones. My overall favorite may be Snail Earnhardt, Jr. – it works on so many levels.

I now feel kind of like a kid who wants to collect all of the Star Wars action figures, in a way. Except that I want to be able to say I’ve seen all of these genius inflatibles in action before I die (Kyle, who travels the country following mid-major basketball, will achieve this feat long before I ever could). It could be difficult to pull off: I’m not privy to their schedule, and there are over 35 different costumes roaming the nation as we speak. At least I know where to find one of them…

Throughout this season, the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League have been posting creative “SportsCenter-like” YouTube videos about life off the field for Stone Crabs players.

Bus Leagues Baseball will soon be posting an interview with the media mind behind the videos. Meanwhile, here is the latest look at life as a Stone Crab.

Last Saturday, I made my second trip to Dunedin. Although I was there a few years ago for a spring training game, this past weekend I made it a priority to do some sightseeing first. A few blocks away from Dunedin Stadium, formerly Knology Park, is Dunedin’s quaint downtown area. It is the type of quiet downtown you probably won’t see on generic postcards of Florida with their pink flamingos, palm trees, and Mickey Mouse homages, but it is the type of downtown that is a true welcome respite from the hustle, bustle, glitz, glamor, and fast-paced city life of places like Tampa, Orlando, or Miami. Dunedin is little shops and restaurants, bike paths and parks.

And to be honest, I could definitely see myself ending up in a place like Dunedin, probably owning a bar or a pizza place and working on the next great American novel.

After getting a bite to eat at a slightly overpriced Mexican restaurant, I made my way to the ballpark to see the aforementioned Dunedin Blue Jays take on the Clearwater Threshers. Besides being a battle of two of the top teams in the Florida State League North Division, and a chance to see top prospects such as Blue Jays catcher Travis D’Arnaud and Treshers outfielder Anthony Gose, Saturday was also the fifth (or sixth) birthday of the Dunedin Blue Jays mascot, D-Jay. In the house to celebrate with their fine blue feathered friend was Rocky the Bull of the University of South Florida, Blue of the Tampa Yankees, Phinley of the Clearwater Threshers (awkward!), Lucky Dog of Aaron’s Furniture, Rocket of Jet’s Pizza, and a big green pickle person.

Also at the park to join in the festivities were nearly 200 local area Boy and Girl Scouts. Although friends with D-Jay, the scouts were part of their own promotion – they not only got to interact with the Blue Jay ballplayers and staff, but also were set to camp out in the outfield.

As I arrived at the stadium, many of these scouts were lined up along the first base line and given a rousing round of applause for doing all the things scouts do and being fine young role models and future leaders. While on the field, the scouts also had a chance to mingle with the mascots, which was always good for a few laughs and smiles.

After a few more minutes of mascot shenanigans, hi-jinxs, and tomfoolery, the Dunedin Blue Jays took the field and the game began. By the third inning however, it was obvious the Threshers were going to be in control. With starter Austin Hyatt stymieing the Blue Jays and the Threshers’ hitters hammering Dunedin hurlers Andrew Liebel and Ryan Page, Clearwater cruised to a 9-2 victory.

During the game I had a chance to not only talk to Dunedin Blue Jays Assistant GM Janette Donoghue, who was a kind and very busy host, but also with John Ruckart, Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 64 from Oldsmar, Florida. According to Ruckart, the boys of Scout Troop 64 decided as a group to be a part of the ballpark event instead of going to their already scheduled weekend camp-out.

“We are a boy-led and boy-run organization,” Ruckart said. He also mentioned that because most of the scouts were Tampa Bay Rays fans, they were rooting for Dunedin to beat Clearwater, as the Threshers are a Phillies farmteam and of course, the Phillies defeated the Rays in the 2008 World Series.

(Oddly enough, to make the whole situation weird, at that very moment the Rays were playing the Toronto Blue Jays in St. Petersburg, about an hour south of Dunedin.)

After the Threshers victory, after most of the crowd had left, and as the groundscrew began their nightly yardwork, the 34 scouts of Boy Scout Troop 64 and all the other scouts, parents, brothers, and sisters began their descent on to the field, with Boy Scouts in centerfield and the Girl Scouts in right. Within less than 20 minutes, nearly 2/3 of the outfield was covered in tents and other sleeping shelters. It was as if a little village had sprung up where once ballplayers roamed.

And while John Melloncamp was able to sing his classic “Centerfield” in centerfield at the postgame concert at Tropicana Field, the 198 scouts at Dunedin Stadium could have one-upped the rocker with their own similar tune.

“Look at me, I can sleep, in the outfield.”

(Picture taken shows the Girl Scout tents in front and the Boy Scout tents to the back.)

I just thought “Hey Ya!” had a better vibe for baseball than “Girl Put Your Records On”. By the way, the one player you see in close-up is 3B Conor Gillaspie, who is on the Z-meter this season. He smashed the game’s only home run. Made me feel strangely proud.

The gates opened at 4:30 pm and the game ended at 10:30 pm. That made no difference to Nutzy. He was on, on, ON! all afternoon and evening. I honestly don’t know how we got him to hold still this long.