Ever wonder how teams pull that off? I did, and I did some digging and figured it out.
Really, what are the chances of a player, on a specific night, hitting for the cycle. The odds must be insane but if someone just happens to have a lucky day… well the team needs to cough up the cash. Sounds like a bad idea right? Not really.
Now I remember several games where the Ironpigs had Inside the Park Home Run contests or Hit a Home Run through the Bullseye contests but haven’t seen the feat accomplished on those days yet.
For those keeping record, there have been two inside the park homeruns in Ironpigs history. Rich Thompson hit the first in an away game in 2008 followed by Javon Moran legging out the round tripper in front of 10,000 screaming school children on an early day education game. Only once has the bullseye been hit since the Park opened and that was when Charlotte’s Josh Fields hit the bottom of it in a 2008 game. (Ask me the story of that game, you will like it) Although Fields shot did hit the bullseye, it did not go in the bullseye net to record the score.
Back to my point. On February 12, 2010 the International League announced a partnership with Odds On Promotions. Odds On Promotions is an insurance company for contests, games, etc. The random chance happens, they pay the tab. I’m sure they get a reasonable premium to open and maintain these insurance policies where we the fan are the benefactors.
Good stuff!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Interesting to see Sluggggrrr the Lion, the Kansas City Royals mascot, is being sued for, among other things, not being properly trained to throw hot dogs into the stands.
Considering how much stuff the IronPigs throw into the crowd, this should catch somebody’s attention somewhere.
Google it.
It’s no joke.
I know the guy who actually made the bullseye sign.
He has a few other signs at CCP, too, but that is another story.
He is not a baseball fan, but does go out to the stadium for business purposes semi-regularly.
I showed him this article stating the sign has been hit once.
He says there are dents on the sign; he has seen them many times first hand. He figures there are about five, at least.
That is probably from batting practice, right?
I am personally very curious to know exactly how many times the Honda Home Run Sign has been hit with a ball during the course of an International League game in the history of the IronPigs.
I’ve seen it once in a game actually being hit where I heard a bang and it bounced back. I’ve seen many home runs go into that concrete area. I would imagine some found their way during batting practice, but that’s just practice.
Hmmm, where does one go for training on how to properly throw hot dogs into the stands? Isn’t there something on the back of the tickets that says the ticketholder assumes all liability for anything incidental to the game? Sounds like someone is trying to make a quick buck.
On another note, according to Todd Zolecki, Brad Wilkerson was signed to a minor league contract by the Phillies. I’ve been praying for a power hitting lefty who can pull the ball and maybe he’ll be the answer. He’s 32, had 20 homers in 338 big league at bats in 2007 and has hit as many as 32 homeruns (2004 Expos) in a season. He had just 9 at bats for Pawtucket in 2009 before he decided to retire. I guess the retirement didn’t take.
The standard ticket disclaimer is iron clad. There is too much behind to establish precedent where it doesn’t look like they would win. A win to the person would most likely be a settlement which would lead to less bad press.
I like the Wilkerson idea. A former Expo, left handed power hitter.. hmmm?
I was thinking the same as Decal.
Still, I bet the goofus collects something from the Royals.
Do not underestimate the legal teams of MLB. As a whole they are right up there with big tobacco. If they let one person collect, they would have class actions everywhere and teams would play behind plexiglass walls. I agree the person is out for a buck, but MLB won’t give them so much as a free hot dog.
That old saying, if you do it for one – you do it for all, will keep their collective wallets sealed.
and speaking of an Expo left handed power hitter, Wilkerson & Tracy were teammates in 1999 at Harrisburg, 2000 with Ottawa and 2001 with Ottawa and Montreal.
I found this great article about a memorable game from that 1999 season in Harrisburg involving Andy Tracy, Brad Wilkerson, Brian Schneider and Milton Bradley:
http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2009/09/stories_of_the_slam_10-year_an.html
I agree in theory with everything you say, NN.
I also believe MLB will want to avoid legal battles that could potentially given them black eyes, specifically with respect to not being seen as “fan friendly”.
Especially given what MLB teams charge for tickets nowadays.
(We are probably rather spoiled with the IronPigs in terms of ticket affordability, in my opinion)
Decal raises a good question — is there an Academy of Hot Dog Tossing?
What certifications does Ferrous hold?
“is there an Academy of Hot Dog Tossing?
What certifications does Ferrous hold?”
I could probably come up with several good R-rated punchlines to those 2 questions but let’s keep FeFe out of this. 🙂