Back to the Present
Last week satiated my season retrospective tendencies, and hopefully yours as well. So now what? It’s mid-October, and quite honestly there isn’t much to report on save for the odd ballpark haunted house (they’re all pretty odd, really).
But there’s always something, isn’t there? Let’s start with the Grasshoppers of Greensboro, who announced their “Guarantee to Give” pledge last September. The crux of the guarantee was that if the Grasshoppers made the playoffs in 2011, then 20 local charities would receive $5000 each.
Well, not only did the Grasshoppers make the playoffs, but the philanthropic impulses of this over-achieving bunch were so strong that they went ahead and won the South Atlantic League championship. Last week was payoff time:
President and General Manager Donald Moore, with help from Hoppers Field Manager Andy Haines, randomly selected the 20 charities that would get $5,000 apiece at a celebration Tuesday with sponsors and season ticket holders.
Unfortunately, the Benevolent Brotherhood for the Betterment of Ben’s Biz Blog did not make the cut. Maybe next time. In further philanthropic news, 2011 Promo of the Year candidates the Stockton Ports recently released the annual report of their charitable Anchor Fund. Therein one can find a detailed breakdown of $29,000 in charitable donations and another $68,500 of in-kind giving.
Along somewhat similar lines, the Great Lakes Loons recently announced that a new 1000-ft. blood donation center will be located within the confines of the Dow Diamond.
As far as I know, this marks the first time that a permanent blood donation center will be located within a professional sports facility. It’ll be interesting to see the ways in which the Loons incorporate this into their promotions; my suggestion of a “Typo Positive” night with intentional ballpark spelling errors will most likely go unheeded.
After three items with a more philanthropic bent, I’m in the mood for some pure unfiltered narcissism. For that, we turn to Tagg Bozied and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Tagg, who made a memorable filmmaking debut in Reading last season, is now the “Most Interesting Man in Baseball.”
Sorry that I neglected to post this the first time around, but better late than never!
Finally, the Frederick Keys’ Harry Grove Stadium is being taken over by culinary superstars the Volt Brothers tomorrow night. I hope to obtain some pictures, videos, anecdotes and whatnot, but in the meantime check out the concessions menu. I’m pretty sure I could eat my weight in Old Bay popcorn.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
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