Results tagged ‘ Beloit Snappers ’
Fish Mysteries and Amphibian Ambiguity
To paraphrase a line from Moby Dick, Ben’s Biz Blog is “unbent from the vast corpulence of human dignity.” In other words, I can report on just about anything, no matter how ridiculous, and somehow not feel shame.
It’s a gift and a curse.
So let’s start with a strange and tragic tale out of Beloit. Yesterday evening, at approximately 6 p.m. ET, the Snappers posted the following Facebook update and picture.
Frack and Blaze have to easily be the two biggest fish in Minor League baseball. Little guy on the right is one of the “Wiggles,” there are three total.
That was the team’s last post of the day. And then the first post Thursday morning was this:
Well, we got to the office this morning and found that one of our fish, Blaze somehow made his way out of the tank. R.I.P. Blaze, you had a good run.
Does this seem fishy to anyone else? That Blaze would meet his untimely demise just hours after being highlighted on the Snappers’ Facebook page? Did he have enemies, who might have resented the attention being showered upon him?
Or maybe it was a desperate bid for freedom, an ill-advised leap toward the kind of life that fellow Minor League fish Al Tuna (of the Altoona Curve, natch) has carved out for himself. This globe-trotting aquatic vertebrae has appeared in all sorts of places lately, with the photographic evidence appearing on the team’s Facebook page.
St. Mark’s Basilica
A London Train Station
And even a taping of Conan in New York City.
Moving from fish to amphibians, you may remember that back in September I attended the Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar in Myrtle Beach. At the event’s trade show, the following mascot was available to the highest bidder:
Multiple sources have informed me which team he will be with in 2011, but I’ll hold off from making the reveal (hint: the team’s name is itself aquatic). But if this was YOUR team, what would you name this guy? And how would you use him?
And now for a patented Ben’s Biz Blog tonal shift!
My new “Offseasoning” piece on Toronto Blue Jays prospect Bryan Kervin is now on MiLB.com. He missed the 2010 season after a life-threatening battle with ulcerative colitis, and is now on the comeback trail while also devoting himself to his Rise and Conquer charitable foundation.
A very interesting Minor League tale, and worth checking out.
Thanks, as always, for your time.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
A Blog Post Before the Roof Caves In
Hello from wintry New York City!
I was going to do a post called “Snow-cial Media”, that compiled all of the weather-related Twitter and Facebook postings I have seen throughout the day. But then I thought to myself that that was a stupid idea, and decided to write about something even more stupid instead: mascot videos.
So here goes nothin’…
In Beloit, the Snappers are once again hot on the trail of their elusive turtle mascot. It’s an enjoyable video to watch, even if I can’t quite fathom a mascot-team relationship in which the former is always on the run from the latter:
Meanwhile, out in Visalia, Tipper is spending some time out on the golf course. This is just a little “slice”-of-life video, giving you a glimpse of how mascots behave when they are away from the bright lights of the ballpark.
In closing, let me once again ask the following favor: make me a new blog head shot! Thank you.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
A Clean, Crisp, and Concise Cornucopia
Many apologies for my sporadic posting of late. What it comes down to is that I have no idea how to structure my life. But enough about me!
In order to, how you say, “get up to speed”, I’m going to rip a page out of my “Promotion Preview” playbook and write about a number of topics. But, here’s the catch — each of these topics will receive no less than 75 and no more than 125 words.
Go!
Wear This and You’ll Have a Ball, Girl — Anybody out there need a last-minute Halloween costume? Then head with a quickness to fresnogrizzlies.com, as the team is offering fans the opportunity to dress as the infamous “ballgirl” who was all the rage last season. You know, the one who made a spectacular leaping grab in Chukchansi Park, completely unaided by any sort of stunt cables or special effects. The costume, which costs $60, includes a Grizzlies cap and home jersey. For maximum realism, call up Jake Wald (the hapless left fielder featured in the clip) and ask him to accompany you to your Halloween party.
While We’re On the Topic of All Hallow’s Eve — Who knew? Halloween is indeed
celebrated in Canada. I know this is so because the Vancouver Canadians are staging a pumpkin decorating contest. But hurry, the deadline to submit a tricked-out gourd is today. So don’t delay, and send photographic evidence of your pumpkin prowess to aseymour@canadiansbaseball.com…In other Halloween news, Slugger the Portland Sea Dogs mascot was looking for Trick-or-Treat partners — and he found some. Congratulations to the Wareham family of Goreham, ME, who will be accompanied in their candy-pilfering rounds by Portland’s most beloved costumed character.
The Bands, They Are A Battlin’ — Also occurring over Halloween weekend is the Stockton Ports’ first-ever Battle of the Bands. 18 aspiring music combos will take the stage at Banner Island Ballpark over the two-day extravaganza in order to showcase their kinetic musical chops and electromagnetic stage presence. In addition, each evening features a headling band as well. The Righteous and the Wicked (a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band) is scheduled to play on Friday, while groove rockers Minor Dischord close it out on Saturday. Hey guys, you should be more specific and bill yourselves as “Class A Advanced Dischord.” Anyhoo, the winner of this “Battle of the Bands” will be showered with a vast array of musical industry goods and services.
Hank’s Mobile Home Enjoys Brief Stint as a Mobile Home — Regular readers of this blog (ie those not drawn here by a picture of Lucille Ball) will remember this post, in which I detailed the Mobile BayBears’ plans to bring Hank Aaron’s childhood home to the grounds of Hank Aaron Stadium. Well, the club did just that this past week, subjecting the humble residence to an arduous seven-hour journey. I’d say that the whole thing went off without a hitch, except for the fact that a hitch was used in order to transport the house. Regardless, Hank’s old home is now scheduled to receive a six-month restoration, after which it will serve as a museum.
Pick the Improvement Picked — Oh, regular readers, I must defer to you once again. Because surely you remember this post, in which I detailed the Quad City River Bandits’ “Pick the Improvement” contest. As part of this innovative procedure, fans were given the chance to vote on a new upgrade to the River Bandits’ Modern Woodmen Park. Well, the results are in, and the improvement to be made is…drumroll please…the addition of backs to the bleacher seats. Cue the Sir-Mix-A-Lot!
Snap These Up! — Collectors of Minor League memorabilia will be pleased to know that the
Beloit Snappers are offering up a plethora of game-used jerseys. Of particular note is the fact that items worn by Chris Cates and Loek Van Mil are available. Regular readers (take a bow, you guys!) will remember this post, which highlighted the fact that these teammates were the shortest and tallest players in all of professional baseball last season. My suggestion? Buy each players’ jersey, and use it as the centerpiece of a homemade exhibit that seeks to highlight the vast diversity that exists within the human race.
Wanted: An Affable Toothy Whistlepig — A previous post on this blog (which may or may not have been read by those who visit regularly) detailed the fact that the Gwinnett Braves had unveiled their new mascot. Well, that was all well and good, but now the club needs a brave and talented soul to step up and inhabit this intriguing character on a nightly basis. In order to do this, the G-Braves are holding mascot auditions on Nov. 18 at a local high school. All aspiring costumed groundhogs are invited to
attend.
Clean Sweep, the Sequel — This past March, the Huntsville Stars staged “Operation Clean
Sweep”, in which fans were asked to do volunteer beautification work at Joe Davis Stadium in exchange for free tickets. The event, believe it or not, was a huge success, so the team is doing it again. Clean Sweep 2 will be held on November 1, and will give fans the chance to fullfill their lifelong dreams of doing “light cleaning, light landscaping, and painting” at a Double-A stadium. But that, of course, is not all — from the press release: “Fans will be able to taste-test an assortment of different hotdogs and
vote to decide which one will become the official hotdog of Joe Davis
Stadium for the 2009 season.” But remember — with great power comes great responsibility!
My goodness, this has been one of the longest posts in the history of this esteemed blog. I did it for you, regular readers, I did it for you. As always, get in touch with tips, questions, comments, and criticisms:
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
The Long and the Short of It
One of the strangest and most entertaining coincidences in the Minor Leagues this season is that the tallest and shortest players in all of professional baseball are on the same team.
The players are pitcher Loek Van Mil (7’1″) and shortstop Chris Cates (5’3″) and the team is the Beloit Snappers. Like a snowball gently tumbling down the side of a mountain, the two have garnered an increasing amount of attention as the season has progressed (including the lead in the inaugural edition of my “Beyond the Box Score” column).
Today, in fact, the duo were featured guests on ESPN’s “First Take” morning show. The segment can be viewed here.
Now, no one asked me, but I think the Snappers should commemorate this oddity
by scheduling a Chris Cates/Loek Van Mil dual bobblehead giveaway. If they did, I would be happy to grant it prime desk space next to my recently acquired Drag Kings bobbledoll.
And just because I’m a nice guy, I’m going to end this post by providing a link to another video related to the Minor Leagues. It’s better not to know what’s coming:
Click here.
BensBiz
Leaving It All Out There
Today is going to be one of those days where I throw a lot of stuff against the wall, just to see what sticks. So if you like to stare at walls that have stuff stuck to them (with even more stuff in a pile on the floor below), then keep reading.
We’ll start with — what else? — videos.
Videos such as the most recent edition of Omaha’s “My Offseason Life Is Average“. This is, in a word, funny (extra bonus points for the extreme brevity):
Meanwhile, some intense turtle-tracking is going on in Beloit. Better luck next time, guys.
Recently, the Gameops.com Blog did a post on Improv Everywhere, a group that stages live, public pranks. In the post, Gameops’ Jon Cudo says that he “is interested to see if any team or event operator is using any similar theatrics to amuse and confuse.” I, too, am interested in such a thing. Here’s an example of an Improv Everywhere stunt, one that could certainly be adapted to a Minor League game.
And for something completely different, check out the Lakewood
BlueClaws’ latest podcast. A suspiciously adult-sounding group of
children are treated to a dramatic story, one which explains how the
new mascot’s name came about.
I’ll close with a ridiculous barroom idea, which came courtesy of a friend of mine. He asked me if a team has ever attempted a group rendition of the National Anthem, in which each singer was responsible for a single word of the song. That would take 81 singers and a substantial amount of coordination, but if done well it could be a very memorable publicity stunt.
Please, someone, make this happen. For I am a lowly blogger, destined to comment rather than create.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz