Jeter Caught Looking

[G-Fafif]

I was at that game, a birthday present to a friend who was born on August 10, fittingly enough. The Mets gave away, besides eleven runs, the strangest of premiums: a Miller Lite can belt, adults only. It fit three cans of beer (beer not included) inside it and you could strap it around your waist, lest you forget where you put 75% of your four-pack. They actually ran out of them and provided rainchecks. My friend was late in showing up, so I picked his up for him on the final day of the season.

I think it was the following year the Mets instituted "first 25,000" and such, as ordering up extra Miller Lite can belts must have struck somebody in promotions as something less than the best use of resources.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I never understood the limited resources angle, unless it's to encourage advance ordering. Aren't the giveaways 100% underwritten by the sponsor, and doesn't the sponsor want 100% of the fans adorned in their crap?

Or is it all about Ralph Kiner saying their name during the broadcast?

[batmagadanleadoff]

="Edgy DC":342gxm8d]I never understood the limited resources angle ....?[/quote:342gxm8d] I'm still trying to figure out this beer-belt thing.

G-Fafif Jan 28 2009 11:33 AM

They used to, I gather, order enough to satisfy what they believed the crowd would be. Then along would come a game where the sale outpaced the forecast and it was raincheck time. The "first 25,000" bit took care of that. I'd have to delve into yearbooks and pocket schedule archives to figure out when these things began to become routinely sponsored. In ye olde days, Batting Helmet Day was just Batting Helmet Day, not Investors Consolidated Batting Helmet Day. I remember reading an article about sponsored giveaways in the WSJ a long time ago that said even something that seemed kinda ritzy (like a transistor radio that the MFYs gave out) was pretty cheap and the sponsor picked up the cost.

seawolf17 Jan 28 2009 11:34 AM

I think it's advance ordering and advance showing up, so you can buy more concessions once you're there.

G-Fafif Jan 28 2009 11:36 AM

="batmagadanleadoff":3h29wbsh]I'm still trying to figure out this beer-belt thing.[/quote:3h29wbsh] It may have been more of a flexible tube than a belt. It was white and canvassy, Lite logo on one side, Mets script on the other. And it had a zipper. I've yet to figure its real world utility. When offered a beer, is it like, "No thanks, brought my own!"? Edgy DC Jan 28 2009 11:40 AM I'm guessing 83-88 as when spornsorship of giveaway days took over. Around that time that every Sunday became a giveaway day. I got a Mets sports bag around 83 that was really a cheap Glad logoed thingie. Tee shirt day around 1985 was a fugly v-neck with "Mets" in script on the left breast and "All-Channel Satellite" in print on the right. Since satellite dishes were prohibitively expensive then, I imagine if the promotion netted three or four sales, they covered their nut. John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 28 2009 11:44 AM Gotta love the SI Vault: July 18, 1977 ] Beer Is Out, Halters In Larry Keith Take me out to the ball game, Take me out to the crowd. Give me some jackets and baseball caps, Free photo albums and sweatbands and bats. Yes, it's step right up for the freebies. If they run out it's a shame. For it's one, two, three giveaways At the new ball game. There was a time when the only pleasures baseball offered were its modest own. Dodgers vs. Reds, Yankees vs. Red Sox. It was all in the game itself. In recent years, though, baseball has decided that the marketplace demands more than hits, runs and errors. Management feels compelled to give you something else. It wants you to leave the stadium with a smile on your face, a song in your heart and a souvenir sweatband on your wrist. Baseball promotions are a means of winning at the gate even if the home team is losing on the field. At times they have all the taste and sophistication of a TV game show. But whether what is offered is a free gift or a cheap thrill, promotions are good business. The payoff comes in increased revenues from attendance, concessions and parking, plus thousands of people walking around town showing off the team logo. "Financially speaking, we just about have to have giveaway days if we're going to make it," says Baltimore Promotions Director Don Shaver. Bill Veeck's Chicago White Sox had 25 promotion or giveaway dates last season. Business Manager Rudie Schaffer says, "The thing you're trying to accomplish is to bring a fresh person into the ball park. Once you get him there, you give him a good show." Most teams enjoy the benefits of giveaway days without having to pay the full cost of the items they are handing out. Because 25,000 bats and jackets at 75? and $1.50 each add up, the expense is often shared by local cosponsors. Businesses also participate by buying up blocks of tickets for their employees. Boeing Aircraft set a major league group-sales record this year by purchasing 65,432 tickets for Seattle's two-game Boeing Weekend. The key to a successful promotion is to turn a profit even while giving something away. Philadelphia was outsmarted a few years ago when cagey Little Leaguers entered Veterans Stadium for the kids' cut-rate 50?, collected a jacket, went outside, returned with another four-bit ticket, collected another jacket, went outside.... "They were starting their own sporting goods store," says the Phillies' executive vice-president. Bill Giles. "Our policy now is that kids have to pay a normal $2.25 for a ticket on special promotion days." But at that price, a ball club better deliver. A team caught short of advertised items usually hands out IOUs. In many ball parks, you have to be 14 or under to get, say, a free jacket. In Kansas City members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes make the age decisions. No team is foolish enough to give sticky chewing gum to the masses, and most take special precautions when handing out bats to kids and beer to adults. Three years ago, a sudsed-up crowd in Cleveland stormed onto the field during a game with Texas, forcing a forfeit, only the eighth in major league history. But it is the Rangers, not the Indians, who have plugged up the keg. Texas discontinued its beer promotions at the request of the Arlington city fathers, who objected to fights in the stands and automobile accidents around the park after the game. The Dodgers do not give away bats because they noticed that constant pounding on the cement stands was creating a potential "structural problem." Montreal discontinued Bat Day after incidents in 1969 and 1974. The first involved empty-handed (and headed) customers who tried to overturn the depleted supply truck. Five years later bat swingers took aim at the windshields of parked cars. Local custom and interest dictate the nature of some promotions. Toronto and Montreal hand out ski caps. Cincinnati schedules a Farmers' Night (farmer/Pitcher Woodie Fryman is favored to win this year's cow-milking contest) and Texas has a combination Farm and Ranch Night. The egg-throwing contest is a messy highlight of both events. Houston attracts thousands for its Louisiana Weekend, which includes a gumbo-cooking contest. On Texas Weekend the featured events are beer-can crushing and cow-chip throwing. Philadelphia and Atlanta lead the majors in all-round originality and sophomoric high jinks. The Phillies set the mood on Opening Day when someone arrives by kite, parachute or cannon to throw out the first ball. Fans cannot wait for Halter Top Night on Aug. 19 when halters will be given away. "If they can fill 'em. they can have 'em." reports SI Correspondent Charlie Frush. Each halter will sport the slogan of the cosponsor Tastykake: ALL THE GOOD THINGS WRAPPED UP IN ONE. Slightly more sophisticated is Music Night, when anyone bringing a musical instrument can join in the playing of Take Me Out to the Ball Game and will receive a certificate authenticating his or her performance in the "world's largest orchestra." Atlanta schedules a promotion of some sort for every game. On Wedlock and Headlock Day 15 couples will be married at home plate before the game, and five professional wrestling matches will take place afterward. The Braves have already held their version of Ladies Night, in which every woman received a cigar (You've come a long way, baby, since the first Ladies Day in 1876). The big winner in the team's $25,000 cash scramble picked up $4,000 in 90 seconds of scurrying after bills scattered all over the field. Which proved once again that in baseball, promotion really does pay. Frayed Knot Jan 28 2009 01:53 PM I remember when Imus used to say that 'Hand-gun Night' was coming up a Yankee Stadium. All those over 15 got a freebie but only if accompanied by their parole officer. Funny how give-away promotions have increased during a time when stadiums are closer to their capacity than ever in many cases, theoretically making the need for a come-on less necessary. Benjamin Grimm Jan 28 2009 01:55 PM It's probably less about filling empty seats than it is about promoting the sponsor. Frayed Knot Jan 28 2009 02:13 PM Egg-zactly In the old days it was about selling tickets so they figured that having them too often would spoil the novelty and fans would no longer plan their ticket buying around them. Now they don't need them to fill seats so it's all about making money via the underwriting. They'd probably have them 81 times a year if they could find enough gizmos and sponsors. Ashie62 Jan 28 2009 02:46 PM I've still got my blond Ron Swoboda model Bat Day Bat from a late sixties promo where they ask everyone to wave their bats at the same time. Quite a sight! batmagadanleadoff Jan 28 2009 03:27 PM ="G-Fafif":s111v9tq] ="batmagadanleadoff":s111v9tq]I'm still trying to figure out this beer-belt thing.[/quote:s111v9tq] It may have been more of a flexible tube than a belt....[/quote:s111v9tq] I was about to question the whole wholesomeness of that promotion, especially given Baseball's traditional connection with children of all ages. But then I remembered the huge Budweiser ads that have been swallowing up Shea's scoreboard for the past 20 years or so. Maybe the Mets'll give one of those away for borscht in 2009.

[G-Fafif]

They used to, I gather, order enough to satisfy what they believed the crowd would be. Then along would come a game where the sale outpaced the forecast and it was raincheck time. The "first 25,000" bit took care of that.

I'd have to delve into yearbooks and pocket schedule archives to figure out when these things began to become routinely sponsored. In ye olde days, Batting Helmet Day was just Batting Helmet Day, not Investors Consolidated Batting Helmet Day. I remember reading an article about sponsored giveaways in the WSJ a long time ago that said even something that seemed kinda ritzy (like a transistor radio that the MFYs gave out) was pretty cheap and the sponsor picked up the cost.

[seawolf17]

I think it's advance ordering and advance showing up, so you can buy more concessions once you're there.

[G-Fafif]

="batmagadanleadoff":3h29wbsh]I'm still trying to figure out this beer-belt thing.[/quote:3h29wbsh] It may have been more of a flexible tube than a belt. It was white and canvassy, Lite logo on one side, Mets script on the other. And it had a zipper. I've yet to figure its real world utility. When offered a beer, is it like, "No thanks, brought my own!"?

Edgy DC Jan 28 2009 11:40 AM

I'm guessing 83-88 as when spornsorship of giveaway days took over. Around that time that every Sunday became a giveaway day. I got a Mets sports bag around 83 that was really a cheap Glad logoed thingie. Tee shirt day around 1985 was a fugly v-neck with "Mets" in script on the left breast and "All-Channel Satellite" in print on the right. Since satellite dishes were prohibitively expensive then, I imagine if the promotion netted three or four sales, they covered their nut.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 28 2009 11:44 AM

Gotta love the SI Vault: July 18, 1977 ] Beer Is Out, Halters In Larry Keith Take me out to the ball game, Take me out to the crowd. Give me some jackets and baseball caps, Free photo albums and sweatbands and bats. Yes, it's step right up for the freebies. If they run out it's a shame. For it's one, two, three giveaways At the new ball game. There was a time when the only pleasures baseball offered were its modest own. Dodgers vs. Reds, Yankees vs. Red Sox. It was all in the game itself. In recent years, though, baseball has decided that the marketplace demands more than hits, runs and errors. Management feels compelled to give you something else. It wants you to leave the stadium with a smile on your face, a song in your heart and a souvenir sweatband on your wrist. Baseball promotions are a means of winning at the gate even if the home team is losing on the field. At times they have all the taste and sophistication of a TV game show. But whether what is offered is a free gift or a cheap thrill, promotions are good business. The payoff comes in increased revenues from attendance, concessions and parking, plus thousands of people walking around town showing off the team logo. "Financially speaking, we just about have to have giveaway days if we're going to make it," says Baltimore Promotions Director Don Shaver. Bill Veeck's Chicago White Sox had 25 promotion or giveaway dates last season. Business Manager Rudie Schaffer says, "The thing you're trying to accomplish is to bring a fresh person into the ball park. Once you get him there, you give him a good show." Most teams enjoy the benefits of giveaway days without having to pay the full cost of the items they are handing out. Because 25,000 bats and jackets at 75? and $1.50 each add up, the expense is often shared by local cosponsors. Businesses also participate by buying up blocks of tickets for their employees. Boeing Aircraft set a major league group-sales record this year by purchasing 65,432 tickets for Seattle's two-game Boeing Weekend. The key to a successful promotion is to turn a profit even while giving something away. Philadelphia was outsmarted a few years ago when cagey Little Leaguers entered Veterans Stadium for the kids' cut-rate 50?, collected a jacket, went outside, returned with another four-bit ticket, collected another jacket, went outside.... "They were starting their own sporting goods store," says the Phillies' executive vice-president. Bill Giles. "Our policy now is that kids have to pay a normal $2.25 for a ticket on special promotion days." But at that price, a ball club better deliver. A team caught short of advertised items usually hands out IOUs. In many ball parks, you have to be 14 or under to get, say, a free jacket. In Kansas City members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes make the age decisions. No team is foolish enough to give sticky chewing gum to the masses, and most take special precautions when handing out bats to kids and beer to adults. Three years ago, a sudsed-up crowd in Cleveland stormed onto the field during a game with Texas, forcing a forfeit, only the eighth in major league history. But it is the Rangers, not the Indians, who have plugged up the keg. Texas discontinued its beer promotions at the request of the Arlington city fathers, who objected to fights in the stands and automobile accidents around the park after the game. The Dodgers do not give away bats because they noticed that constant pounding on the cement stands was creating a potential "structural problem." Montreal discontinued Bat Day after incidents in 1969 and 1974. The first involved empty-handed (and headed) customers who tried to overturn the depleted supply truck. Five years later bat swingers took aim at the windshields of parked cars. Local custom and interest dictate the nature of some promotions. Toronto and Montreal hand out ski caps. Cincinnati schedules a Farmers' Night (farmer/Pitcher Woodie Fryman is favored to win this year's cow-milking contest) and Texas has a combination Farm and Ranch Night. The egg-throwing contest is a messy highlight of both events. Houston attracts thousands for its Louisiana Weekend, which includes a gumbo-cooking contest. On Texas Weekend the featured events are beer-can crushing and cow-chip throwing. Philadelphia and Atlanta lead the majors in all-round originality and sophomoric high jinks. The Phillies set the mood on Opening Day when someone arrives by kite, parachute or cannon to throw out the first ball. Fans cannot wait for Halter Top Night on Aug. 19 when halters will be given away. "If they can fill 'em. they can have 'em." reports SI Correspondent Charlie Frush. Each halter will sport the slogan of the cosponsor Tastykake: ALL THE GOOD THINGS WRAPPED UP IN ONE. Slightly more sophisticated is Music Night, when anyone bringing a musical instrument can join in the playing of Take Me Out to the Ball Game and will receive a certificate authenticating his or her performance in the "world's largest orchestra." Atlanta schedules a promotion of some sort for every game. On Wedlock and Headlock Day 15 couples will be married at home plate before the game, and five professional wrestling matches will take place afterward. The Braves have already held their version of Ladies Night, in which every woman received a cigar (You've come a long way, baby, since the first Ladies Day in 1876). The big winner in the team's $25,000 cash scramble picked up $4,000 in 90 seconds of scurrying after bills scattered all over the field. Which proved once again that in baseball, promotion really does pay.

Frayed Knot Jan 28 2009 01:53 PM

I remember when Imus used to say that 'Hand-gun Night' was coming up a Yankee Stadium. All those over 15 got a freebie but only if accompanied by their parole officer. Funny how give-away promotions have increased during a time when stadiums are closer to their capacity than ever in many cases, theoretically making the need for a come-on less necessary.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 28 2009 01:55 PM

It's probably less about filling empty seats than it is about promoting the sponsor.

Frayed Knot Jan 28 2009 02:13 PM

Egg-zactly In the old days it was about selling tickets so they figured that having them too often would spoil the novelty and fans would no longer plan their ticket buying around them. Now they don't need them to fill seats so it's all about making money via the underwriting. They'd probably have them 81 times a year if they could find enough gizmos and sponsors.

Ashie62 Jan 28 2009 02:46 PM

I've still got my blond Ron Swoboda model Bat Day Bat from a late sixties promo where they ask everyone to wave their bats at the same time. Quite a sight!

batmagadanleadoff Jan 28 2009 03:27 PM

="G-Fafif":s111v9tq] ="batmagadanleadoff":s111v9tq]I'm still trying to figure out this beer-belt thing.[/quote:s111v9tq] It may have been more of a flexible tube than a belt....[/quote:s111v9tq] I was about to question the whole wholesomeness of that promotion, especially given Baseball's traditional connection with children of all ages. But then I remembered the huge Budweiser ads that have been swallowing up Shea's scoreboard for the past 20 years or so. Maybe the Mets'll give one of those away for borscht in 2009.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm guessing 83-88 as when spornsorship of giveaway days took over. Around that time that every Sunday became a giveaway day. I got a Mets sports bag around 83 that was really a cheap Glad logoed thingie. Tee shirt day around 1985 was a fugly v-neck with "Mets" in script on the left breast and "All-Channel Satellite" in print on the right. Since satellite dishes were prohibitively expensive then, I imagine if the promotion netted three or four sales, they covered their nut.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Gotta love the SI Vault: July 18, 1977

] Beer Is Out, Halters In Larry Keith Take me out to the ball game, Take me out to the crowd. Give me some jackets and baseball caps, Free photo albums and sweatbands and bats. Yes, it's step right up for the freebies. If they run out it's a shame. For it's one, two, three giveaways At the new ball game. There was a time when the only pleasures baseball offered were its modest own. Dodgers vs. Reds, Yankees vs. Red Sox. It was all in the game itself. In recent years, though, baseball has decided that the marketplace demands more than hits, runs and errors. Management feels compelled to give you something else. It wants you to leave the stadium with a smile on your face, a song in your heart and a souvenir sweatband on your wrist. Baseball promotions are a means of winning at the gate even if the home team is losing on the field. At times they have all the taste and sophistication of a TV game show. But whether what is offered is a free gift or a cheap thrill, promotions are good business. The payoff comes in increased revenues from attendance, concessions and parking, plus thousands of people walking around town showing off the team logo. "Financially speaking, we just about have to have giveaway days if we're going to make it," says Baltimore Promotions Director Don Shaver. Bill Veeck's Chicago White Sox had 25 promotion or giveaway dates last season. Business Manager Rudie Schaffer says, "The thing you're trying to accomplish is to bring a fresh person into the ball park. Once you get him there, you give him a good show." Most teams enjoy the benefits of giveaway days without having to pay the full cost of the items they are handing out. Because 25,000 bats and jackets at 75? and $1.50 each add up, the expense is often shared by local cosponsors. Businesses also participate by buying up blocks of tickets for their employees. Boeing Aircraft set a major league group-sales record this year by purchasing 65,432 tickets for Seattle's two-game Boeing Weekend. The key to a successful promotion is to turn a profit even while giving something away. Philadelphia was outsmarted a few years ago when cagey Little Leaguers entered Veterans Stadium for the kids' cut-rate 50?, collected a jacket, went outside, returned with another four-bit ticket, collected another jacket, went outside.... "They were starting their own sporting goods store," says the Phillies' executive vice-president. Bill Giles. "Our policy now is that kids have to pay a normal $2.25 for a ticket on special promotion days." But at that price, a ball club better deliver. A team caught short of advertised items usually hands out IOUs. In many ball parks, you have to be 14 or under to get, say, a free jacket. In Kansas City members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes make the age decisions. No team is foolish enough to give sticky chewing gum to the masses, and most take special precautions when handing out bats to kids and beer to adults. Three years ago, a sudsed-up crowd in Cleveland stormed onto the field during a game with Texas, forcing a forfeit, only the eighth in major league history. But it is the Rangers, not the Indians, who have plugged up the keg. Texas discontinued its beer promotions at the request of the Arlington city fathers, who objected to fights in the stands and automobile accidents around the park after the game. The Dodgers do not give away bats because they noticed that constant pounding on the cement stands was creating a potential "structural problem." Montreal discontinued Bat Day after incidents in 1969 and 1974. The first involved empty-handed (and headed) customers who tried to overturn the depleted supply truck. Five years later bat swingers took aim at the windshields of parked cars. Local custom and interest dictate the nature of some promotions. Toronto and Montreal hand out ski caps. Cincinnati schedules a Farmers' Night (farmer/Pitcher Woodie Fryman is favored to win this year's cow-milking contest) and Texas has a combination Farm and Ranch Night. The egg-throwing contest is a messy highlight of both events. Houston attracts thousands for its Louisiana Weekend, which includes a gumbo-cooking contest. On Texas Weekend the featured events are beer-can crushing and cow-chip throwing. Philadelphia and Atlanta lead the majors in all-round originality and sophomoric high jinks. The Phillies set the mood on Opening Day when someone arrives by kite, parachute or cannon to throw out the first ball. Fans cannot wait for Halter Top Night on Aug. 19 when halters will be given away. "If they can fill 'em. they can have 'em." reports SI Correspondent Charlie Frush. Each halter will sport the slogan of the cosponsor Tastykake: ALL THE GOOD THINGS WRAPPED UP IN ONE. Slightly more sophisticated is Music Night, when anyone bringing a musical instrument can join in the playing of Take Me Out to the Ball Game and will receive a certificate authenticating his or her performance in the "world's largest orchestra." Atlanta schedules a promotion of some sort for every game. On Wedlock and Headlock Day 15 couples will be married at home plate before the game, and five professional wrestling matches will take place afterward. The Braves have already held their version of Ladies Night, in which every woman received a cigar (You've come a long way, baby, since the first Ladies Day in 1876). The big winner in the team's $25,000 cash scramble picked up $4,000 in 90 seconds of scurrying after bills scattered all over the field. Which proved once again that in baseball, promotion really does pay.

[Frayed Knot]

I remember when Imus used to say that 'Hand-gun Night' was coming up a Yankee Stadium.
All those over 15 got a freebie but only if accompanied by their parole officer.



Funny how give-away promotions have increased during a time when stadiums are closer to their capacity than ever in many cases, theoretically making the need for a come-on less necessary.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It's probably less about filling empty seats than it is about promoting the sponsor.

[Frayed Knot]

Egg-zactly

In the old days it was about selling tickets so they figured that having them too often would spoil the novelty and fans would no longer plan their ticket buying around them.
Now they don't need them to fill seats so it's all about making money via the underwriting. They'd probably have them 81 times a year if they could find enough gizmos and sponsors.

[ashie62]

I've still got my blond Ron Swoboda model Bat Day Bat from a late sixties promo where they ask everyone to wave their bats at the same time. Quite a sight!

[batmagadanleadoff]

="G-Fafif":s111v9tq] ="batmagadanleadoff":s111v9tq]I'm still trying to figure out this beer-belt thing.[/quote:s111v9tq] It may have been more of a flexible tube than a belt....[/quote:s111v9tq] I was about to question the whole wholesomeness of that promotion, especially given Baseball's traditional connection with children of all ages. But then I remembered the huge Budweiser ads that have been swallowing up Shea's scoreboard for the past 20 years or so. Maybe the Mets'll give one of those away for borscht in 2009.