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.

Enjoying the Florida State League game between the Bradenton Marauders and Dunedin Blue Jays was the family and friends of Christine Kennedy and Rich Meier, a couple planning on tying the knot the next day. I caught up with Christine and Rich and asked them a few questions about baseball, their guests, and their upcoming wedding.

Bus Leagues Baseball: So what brought you guys to the ballpark tonight?

Christine: We wanted something that was fun and Florida-ish and different than just a plain old dinner and everybody is here from out of town, so we wanted to give them something fun to do.

BLB: Are you guys from the Bradenton area?

Christine: We are from the Bradenton area and we have a good friend who works with the Marauders and she helped to set this up.

BLB: So whose idea was it?

Christine: It was mine. I’m the big baseball fan.

Rich: I love baseball, but she is the bigger fan, for sure.

Christine: We go to a lot of games.

BLB: You come here often then?

Rich: Yeah, we are regulars.

Christine: Yeah, we do. It’s a fun night out and it’s actually a cheap date.

BLB: You did the dizzy bat race, how did that go?

Christine: It was awesome. I won.

Rich: I was robbed.

Christine: I always wanted to do it, too.

(Here is the video of Christine and Rich doing the dizzy bat race.)

BLB: Do your wedding plans involve baseball at all?

Christine: No, no. It is an actual real wedding. We just thought this would be fun and different for everyone.

BLB: Where did everyone come from?

Rich: We have relatives that came in from Chicago, as far as California, Texas …

Christine: Ohio

Rich: Ohio, Washington DC, Indiana, all over the country.

BLB: And everyone is having a good time tonight?

Christine: Looks like it. Nobody is sleeping. Even my dad made it.

Congratulations to Rich and Christine and thanks to both of them for taking the time to talk to Bus Leagues Baseball.

One of the biggest appeals of Scully and his peers – broadcasters such as Harry Kalas, Ernie Harwell, and Jack Buck is that they bring or brought a calm, story-telling aura to the booth. They don’t/didn’t get overly excited and they aren’t/weren’t shills for the team.

Admittedly, I don’t know how many minor league teams broadcast over the air waves or via the Internet. But if they are anything like the major league teams, they probably employ either a middle-aged male or a young male trying to make their way up the announcing ladder. Although it might hinder younger people trying to make it in the broadcast field, I wonder if a bus leagues team could employ a local storyteller to announce the game. Preferably someone who brings that grandfatherly calm to the booth.

In an world where the screaming never stops, it might be a good idea to experiment with someone who could slow the world down, at least for nine innings.

(P.S. Another idea might be to bring in some heavy analytical-minded folks to call the game. It would be totally different than the story-teller, but I think there might be an audience for that niche as well.)

(P.P.P.S. Also, check out this interesting blog post on comparing live blogs to the old radio recreations of baseball games. Yes, it’s where I got the image.)

The event was held on Thursday, with 16-year-old Nick Hagan, a sophomore in high school, wearing the number 1/8 and leading off the bottom of the first.

Veeck said that Gaedel was under strict orders not to swing the bat under any circumstances; the belief was that no pitcher could ever hit such a small strike zone. From the video below, it appears young Hagan also chose to follow this advice, and it led to his ruin.

Watch as Bernard Robert, with 40 walks in 99.1 innings, fires two strikes down the middle, then just misses, then pounds another one into the zone to catch Hagan looking. Also enjoyable: note the youngster’s disagreement with the call. It would’ve made for even greater theater if home plate umpire Mark Winters had run him.

For the record, here are some comparisons between 1951 and 2010:

Hitter – Eddie Gaedel (3’7″, 67 pounds) and Nick Hagan (4’0″, 110 pounds)
Result – Walk and strikeout
Pitcher – Bob Cain and Bernard Robert
Catcher – Bob Swift and Ben Barrone
Leadoff Hitter: Frank Saucier and Josh Lowey

(I know, I missed Round 3. Sorry.)

On Aug. 19, the independent River City Rascals will recreate the famous moment as part of its “Salute to Bill Veeck and St. Louis Baseball History Night.”

In honor of the 59th anniversary of the famous stunt where the St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sent the 3-foot-7 little person to bat against the Detroit Tigers, the team says it has signed a person who is “barely over four feet” to re-enact the moment in the bottom of the first inning.

I had two thoughts immediately after reading this:

1) Where the hell is River City? Can I conceivably go? (It’s in O’Fallon, Missouri, 1200 miles away. No, I cant.)

2) I appreciate the effort by these guys. I really do. As I said, I love Veeck, and this was unquestionably the greatest stunt he ever pulled. But the key to the original Eddie Gaedel stunt was the secrecy. Virtually nobody knew about it. And that’s why it was so awesome, because in a moment, it swung from, “Hey, we’re at the ballpark, enjoying a ballgame,” to, “Hey, why are they sending that little kid up to bat?”

This, in my opinion, is indicative of the way baseball has shifted away from the Veeck style of promotion while embracing the ideas that he once embodied. In one of his books, he wrote about the fact that he would often shoot off fireworks after games – but he would never announce beforehand that he was going to shoot off fireworks. It ruined the element of surprise, which took away from the entertainment value.

Same with Gaedel. This stunt that the Rascals are pulling on August 19 is awesome. I’m 100% on board with it. But there’s something about the need to pre-sell it, to say, “Hey, look what we’re gonna do!” that diminishes it ever so slightly. It’s understandable, I suppose, and certainly acceptable because now it gets people talking about it ahead of time and almost certainly increases attendance, but still – it would’ve been cool to be surprised.

“If you’re so smart,” you might be saying, “How would you have handled it?” Probably the same way, truth be told, if only because that’s the way things are done these days, and I’m no trailblazer. But here’s an idea: what if they had played the rest of it straight, according to the current model of promotion – announced fireworks, giveaways, maybe a couple other well-known Veeck promotions – to gain interest, then pop the Gaedel stunt in the bottom of the first? Don’t show all your cards until the very end.

Maybe it would’ve worked, maybe not. I just think it might’ve been worth the risk.

In the Icicle Reader bracket I got three wrong. I thought number 11 Qualon Millender would upset number 6 Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg. I also didn’t think 4 Chorye Spoone would lose to number 13 Dock Doyle or number 5 Jetsy Extrano would lose to 12 Brett Butts.

In the second round, I like the following:

1 ZeErika McQueen over 8 Gift Ngoepe
12 Brett Butts over 13 Dock Doyle
6 Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg over 3 Yangevris Solarte
7 Diego Seastrunk over 2 Mark Hamburger

In the Farmer Works Bracket I only got two wrong. I thought number 6 Norris Hopper would defeat number 11 C.J. Riefenhauser and number 13 Josh Smoker would score the upset over number 4 Kila Ka’aihue.

In the second round, I like the following:

1 Sequoyah Stonecipher over 8 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
5 Sharlon Shoope over 4 Kila Ka’aihue
3 Stolmy Pimental over 11 C.J. Riefenhauser
2 Rowdy Hardy over 10 Atahualpa Severino

In the Razor Shines Bracket I also fairly mediocre, again missing two picks. I had number 6 Austin Bibens-Dirkx over number 11 Ben Tootle and number 10 Zechry Zinicola over number 7 Maverick Lasker. Neither one of those happened.

In the second round, I like the following:

1 Al Alburquerque over 8 Bubbie Buzachero
5 Tuffy Gosewisch over 4 Callix Crabbe
3 Didi Gregorius over 11 Ben Tootle
7 Maverick Lasker over 2 Shooter Hunt

Finally, in the Natty Nattress Bracket, I again had three wrong. This was a tough bracket with an extraordinary amount of upsets. For example, only two of the eight favorites won. I thought the 1 seed Forrest Snow would beat 16 Gookie Dawkins, the number 2 Skyler Stromsmoe would take number 15 Seth Schwindenhammer, and number 3 Stosh Wawrzasek would defeat number 14 Beamer Weems. That’s right, numbers one, two, and three all lost, as did four and five. The Natty Nattress Bracket sure was wacky.

In the second round, I like the following:

16 Gookie Dawkins over 8 Boomer Potts
13 Zelous Wheeler over 12 Sugar Ray Marimon
6 Hawkins Gebbers over 14 Beemer Weams
10 Petey Paramore over 15 Seth Schwindenhammer

In the first round I got 22 of 32 right. That’s not very good. I am hoping for at least 12 of 16 in the second round.

What do you folks think?

“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…

Our affinity for hearty handles has even made its way into our writing. Over at Eric’s college basketball blog Storming The Floor, for example, he presents an annual God Shammgod Award for the college hoopster with the best name and best stats – silly surnamed scrubs need not apply.

Well, lo and behold, MiLB.com shares our fondness for great names. While surfing the site, I discovered the 4th Annual Minors Moniker Madness, a 64-entry tournament to determine the best name in the Bus Leagues. The winner of the tournament receives the Wonderful Terrific Monds III Award.

Before I break down each bracket, here are a few names I thought should have gotten a shot:

- Tobi Stoner
- Bubba Bell
- Jeff Manship
- Freddie Freeman (needs a great nickname, maybe “Fast”?)
- Jose Costanza (bonus for being in the Yankees organization)
- Brian Friday (just the facts, ma’am)
- Bo Bowman (alliteration always helps)
- Roidany Aguila
- Tim Palinscar (what the ex-Governor drove around Anchorage)
- Benito Beato
- Burt Reynolds
- Jordi Amargos (it’s a name thing)
- Jonny Bravo (hey there, pretty lady …)

Ok, now for who actually made the tournament:

In the Icicle Reader Bracket I like:

1 ZeErika McQueen over 16 Mike Piazza
2 Mark Hamburger over 15 Zach Outman
3 Yangevris Solarte over 14 Clevelan Santeliz
4 Chorye Spoone over 13 Dock Doyle
11 Qualon Millender over 6 Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg (UPSET)
5 Jetsy Extrano over 12 Brett Butts (barely)
7 Diego Seastrunk over 10 Will Rhymes
8 Gift Ngoepe over 9 Cyle Hankerd

In the Farmer Works Bracket, I like:

1 Sequoyah Stonecipher over 16 T.J. Large
2 Rowdy Hardy over 15 Dale Cornstubble
3 Stolmy Pimental over 14 Alden Carrithers
13 Josh Smoker over 4 Kila Ka’aihue (UPSET)
5 Sharlon Shoope over 12 Zachary Petersime
6 Norris Hopper over 11 C.J. Riefenhauser
10 Atahualpa Severino over 7 Porfirio Martinez (UPSET)
8 Jarrod Saltalamacchia over 9 Willian Avinazar

In the Natty Nattress Bracket, I like:

1 Forrest Snow over 16 Gookie Dawkins
2 Skyler Stromsmoe over 15 Seth Schwindenhammer
3 Stosh Wawrzasek over 14 Beamer Weems
13 Zelous Wheeler over 4 Blake Nation (UPSET)
12 Sugar Ray Marimon over 5 Elisaul Pimentel (UPSET)
6 Hawkins Gebbers over 11 Stephen King
10 Petey Paramore over 7 Leighton Pangilinan (UPSET)
8 Boomer Potts over 9 Kleininger Teran

In the Razor Shines Bracket, I like:

1 Al Alburquerque over 16 Barbaro Canizares
2 Shooter Hunt over 15 Stephen Batts
3 Didi Gregorius over 14 Tyson Van Winkle
4 Callix Crabbe over 13 Jordan Flasher
5 Tuffy Gosewisch over 12 Junior Lake
6 Austin Bibens-Dirkx over 11 Ben Tootle
10 Zechry Zinicola over 7 Maverick Lasker (UPSET)
8 Bubbie Buzachero over 9 Buddy Boshers

What do you think? Am I overlooking anyone? Selling anyone short?

There was the “Please Stay LeBron Night“.

There was the offer by the Oklahoma City RedHawks to petition the league for LeBron-hit homers to count as 3 runs if LeBron signed with them. (Offer also extended to Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Brian Scalabrine.)

There was the Lake Erie Crushers, who also offered LeBron a deal, but only for $1600 a month.

Then finally, there was the Bakerston Blaze, who integrated LeBron’s decision into a promotion, promising different deals and giveaways depending on the team LeBron chose. Due to LeBron’s decision, fans received 23% off all merchandise.

And now to the future, where LeBron James will suit up for the Miami Heat. Much will be made of his arrival, and there may even be a coronation of the self-proclaimed “King”. But the legacy of “Jameses” runs deep in Miami.

Way back in 1962, another James represented Miami in sport. Toiling for the Phillies’ Class D Miami Marlins, right hander Jeff James went 8-9 in his one season in Miami before moving up to Class A Magic Valley, Idaho in 1963.

For basketball fans in Miami, let’s hope their latest James stays more than one year.