Leaping Ballgirls and Spam Artisans

I may not be able to post videos on this blog, but I sure can link to them! And I've got a couple of good ones today.

You may have already seen this video of the "amazing ballgirl catch", in which an acrobatic ballgirl makes a spectacular leaping grab of a foul ball hit down the left field line. If you have not yet witnessed this fine display of innate athleticism, check it out immediately:

AMAZING BALL GIRL VIDEO

This video was shot at Chukchansi Park, home of the Ben's Biz Blog-recommended Fresno Grizzlies. It is also, as you may have already guessed, not "real". Rather, it was filmed as part of a nationwide ad campaign which has since been scrapped. This is unfortunate, but at least the video is now getting its 15 minutes of internet fame. Grizzlies Director of Media Relations Paul Kennedy reports that the phone has been ringing off the hook since the video first hit YouTube, and club representatives have been fielding requests from the media to shine some light on the details surrounding the video.

The video features the fine play-by-play calling of Grizzlies radio announcer Doug Greenwald, as well as a cameo from Jake Wald as the left fielder. I was particularly interested in Wald's appearance in the video, as it gives me a chance to mention that he is also 1/2 of "Stache and Hawk". Widely regarded as the World's greatest mock-country duo that sings exclusively about professional baseball, Stache and Hawk were recently featured in a Farm's Almanac feature story on MiLB.com. Check it out, and then pick up the new album on iTunes.

Moving On...This past Friday, the Reading Phillies staged a Spam Carving Competition. Fans were able to purchase a can of Spam for $5, and then were given the opportunity to carve and mold the canned meat product into anything their heart desired. The ace newsteam at WFMZ 69 can fill you in with the rest of the details right here:

READING PHILLIES SPAM CARVING VIDEO

I must admit that this video segment frustrated me, however. Why have a kid explain that his Spam sculpture is "sort of like this kind of cubed thing, like one you would find in an illusion book" if you're not going to show it?

Regardless, congrats to the R-Phils for yet another attention-grabbing promo, and thanks to Director of Communications Rob Hackash for the heads-up.

If anyone among my loyal cadre of readers is aware of any other interesting Minor League videos, then please do not hesitate to get in touch at milbbsuiness@yahoo.com. An example of an interesting Minor League video can be found here.