Lake Elsinore #Winning the Promo Race

Charlie Sheen’s recent turn in the pop culture spotlight made it inevitable that he would soon be the subject of a Minor League promotion.

But who would be the team to pull the trigger on such a satirically rich yet somewhat risky proposition? On Thursday afternoon, the answer to this most pressing of questions finally arrived:

Yes, that’s the Lake Elsinore Storm, the team that previously brought you the Tom Cruise Bobblecouch, Fish Tossing, and Subtle Butt. Now, they’re inviting the highly-quotable sitcom destroyer to “rehab” at the ballpark during an evening-long “Charlie Sheen-co De Mayo” celebration. Not surprisingly, this is all taking place on a “Thirsty Thursday” featuring $1 beer and Coke products (no double entendre intended on that one). Sez the team:

Mr. Sheen, his entourage and “goddesses” are formally invited to attend this night ofbaseball, Charlie and fun. Pregame plans for the Charlie Sheen-co de Mayo Night include a limited edition bobblehead immortalizing the Hollywood icon, a “Wild Thing” glasses giveaway as well as retiring, for the season, his number 99 from his legendary role as closer Ricky Vaughn.

Other promotional elements will include an in-game taco eating contest, a Rehab-style party on the exclusive Tiki Terrace featuring #tigerblood cocktails and a two-for-one Ho Hos special.

“As with any rehab assignment, we’re here to help Charlie embrace that ‘#winning’ feeling,” said Chris Jones, Vice President/General Manager of the Storm. “Also, as a show of support, we welcome all current cast and crew members to the ballpark that night for only two and a half cents.”

I called Jones on Thursday afternoon in order to get more info about the promo. While he did not offer any quotes with a built-in hashtag, he was more than happy to elaborate.

“We didn’t want to force this one, it just came naturally to us,” he said. “We just wanted to have some fun with this, and hopefully Charlie will embrace it since he’s a baseball fan who lives in the area.”

As for the “#tigerblood cocktail”, Jones says that recipes for such a concoction are online and the team will be determining the ingredients shortly. The drink, paired with the two-for-one Ho-Hos special, will no doubt be a #winning combination.