Properly Punctuating Pelicans, and Other Pertinent Matters
Mondays are generally very hectic for me here at MiLB.com HQ, so the blog nearly always gets neglected. The upside of this neglect is that blog-worthy material accumulates while I am busy tending to other matters. Then, all I have to do is dole out said material over the remainder of the week.
The doling starts NOW.
In last week’s “Promotion Preview” column, I highlighted the Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ “Punctuation Night”. For those who may have missed it, here’s the write-up:
The Pelicans are the middle school English teachers of the Carolina
League, perpetually hung up on the nuances of grammar. Therefore, the
club’s deeply ingrained sense of propriety was offended when the
Winston-Salem franchise changed its name to the “Dash.” This is because
the punctuation separating Winston and Salem is, in actuality, a
hyphen. On Thursday, the Pelicans play against the so-called Dash, and
throughout the game they will take great pains to be grammatically
correct at all times. (They are even considering calling their
opponents the Winston Hyphen Salem Dash). In order to put an
exclamation mark on the proceedings, staff members will sport t-shirts
featuring different types of punctuation. And who knows? Maybe they’ll
play “Comma Chameleon” over the PA.
This afternoon, Pelicans promotions director Maggie Neil sent along a video from this event. So, without further ado, let’s check out “Punctuation Night” in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x__gnX0V52o&w=425&h=344
A few observations…
1. It may be a little unclear in the video, but Maggie’s t-shirt features this logo:
To put it into words: Comma-Comma-Comma-Comma-Comma Chameleon!
2. As I mentioned in the write-up, the Pelicans’ promo was motivated by the misuse of the word “Dash” in the Winston-Salem team name. Therefore, you’ve got to love the subtle maliciousness of that final quiz question — “It’s FALSE! It’s a hyphen!”
Take that, misnamed Class A Advanced Minor League franchise!
3. Finally, to make a more general point — staging quality promotions takes a lot of work, and its easy to overlook this fact. As goofy as “Punctuation Night” may have been, think about what went into to that 90-second video. A script was written, scoreboard graphics were designed, and appropriate background music was located (a great song, right? I found it here). Then consider the fact that each game has 17 inning breaks, and there are 70 home games a year. It’s overwhelming, the amount of entertainment that must be provided over the course of a season.
As much as I enjoy writing about this stuff, one of these days I may have to take the plunge and just work for a Minor League team. It would be a great experience. All I require is a low six-figure salary, a personal pedicurist, and a bobblehead giveaway in my honor at the end of the season. Contact me — benjamin.hill@mlb.com — with job offers for 2010 and beyond.
Now, let’s move on to a segment I like to call DISPATCHES FROM THE MILB.COM WILDERNESS.
A new Promotion Preview column is up on the site today. There’s lot’s of great stuff in there. For example, “Pink Floyd Night” in West Michigan.
And “Star Trek Night” in Binghamton:
And, finally, please make sure to read the latest edition of “Crooked Numbers”, my monthly compendium of oddball on-field occurrences. I spend about 450 hours each month compiling this information, and it is the best (only?) column of its kind.
One of these days, I’m gonna make a legitimate living off of this kind of thing. I’ll be able to buy a house and raise a family and be a pillar of the community and everything. A kid can dream, can’t he?
