Category Archives: DiPro’s Dish

OFFICIAL IRONPIGS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2013

 IRONPIGS INTRODUCE NEW SUNDAY “RETRO” JERSEYS 

(Allentown, PA) – The IronPigs will don a powder blue and burgundy retro mesh jersey during Sunday home games this season, paying homage to the Phillies’ tradition-rich teams of the 1970s and 1980s and marking the first significant uniform change since the IronPigs debuted in 2008.  The new look replaces the previous Sunday top – a white, sleeveless jersey that wasaccompanied by a separate brick red athletic T-shirt underneath. The official Sunday Game Cap is unchanged and remains the only two-toned cap in the fleet, with a brick red crown and a furnace blue bill.

“This is an iconic color scheme and one that IronPigs fans and Phillies fans collectively adore,” remarked IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes. “We think our fans are going to squeal over this fresh new look!”

This pullover jersey features the primary IronPigs logo emblazed on the left chest to modernize the classic powder blue and burgundy look.  Its mesh composition promotes breathability and provides additional comfort for players and fans alike.

Some of the great figures in Phillies history have worn the “powder blues”, including the likes of Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw and Larry Bowa. This color motif highlighted an era in which the Phillies went to the postseason in six of eight seasons beginning in 1976 and won their first World Championship in 1980.

The IronPigs are slated to wear the new pullover on ten occasions in 2013, including during the club’s first homestand of the year on Sunday, April 7, against the Syracuse Chiefs at Coca-Cola Park.

Pre-orders of the brand-new Sunday jersey replica by Majestic Athletic are now being accepted at the Majestic Clubhouse Store or online at www.ironpigsbaseball.com with an initial shipment scheduled by the end of next week (March 29).

Single-game tickets for the 2013 season presented by Capital BlueCross as well as the Gildan Triple-A National Championship Game are available now by visiting ironpigsbaseball.com, by calling (610) 841-PIGS (7447) or at the Coca-Cola Park ticket window during normal business hours.

 — pig out —

Jon Schaeffer
Director, New Media
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Triple-A Affiliate, Philadelphia Phillies

While each Pig Day usually starts out the same with everyone wishing warmer weather, the ticket lines were long, fans were eager, and the IronPigs are nearly ready.

It seemed there were more in attendance this year than last and the lines were long for the Pork sandwiches which had new Executive Chef Jerry Rogers at the helm.

I was eager to get a look at the new seating in the Hot Corner but alas there were no seats.. installed.. yet.. But the spot looks great and there was a sample seat that was quite comfortable. As you will see in the picture below the seat is mesh – no more butt burns!

While visiting with Ron Rushe (Director of Corporate Partnerships) who was also wishing for warmer weather, General Manager Kurt Landes stopped by to talk about the Hot Corner and the upcoming season. Kurt was keen to mention there were a few more surprises coming up soon. I inquired about one of those surprises being new uniforms. Kurt replied with “There will be a few more surprises coming up soon.”  If I were him I wouldn’t have told me either – ha – but regardless I’m sure, as always it will be good stuff!

The other new seating area is unique with a good view of the field.  Someone mentioned the main reason for adding this section was to hopefully have more seating options available on game day for those who don’t wish to purchase GA tickets. Which brings me back to the “Porking” Deck option…

As always it was another fine event from the IronPigs and it was nice to chat with the returning staff. Just after entering the Park I noticed none other than Uncle Marty walking next to me so I was sure to ask him if he’s ready. He said “Ready for warmer weather”. It’s always great to see Uncle Marty at the park and you just kind of feel he belongs there. Morris, who as always was busy on his walkie took some time to talk about the upcoming season and his and Lindsey’s recent trip to Japan.  I can’t wait to see what Morris has up his sleeve this summer for the on field entertainment. 

Of course no trip would be complete without a stop to the Majestic Clubhouse Store where there are lots of new goodies and lots of new faces with Adam Fondl leading the charge.  Was fortunate to meet  first year intern Kyle. The IronPigs sure can find the good ones as the young man was professional and genuinely happy to meet some of us “regulars”. He asked us to stop by during the season and we certainly will.

Another National Pig Day in the books and as always it serves as a harbinger for Spring time at Coca-Cola Park.

Anticipation Dishing

So – like – ya I recently found this old lamp at an abandoned garage sale which was kind of weird.

Anyway once I got it home and started polishing it POOF to my surprise out popped a genie.

True story…

Further weirdness ensued when the genie revealed himself to be Diggity’s twin brother. However, this dog wore his mustard on the opposite side…

In a shocked tone I yelled “Diggity – you’re moonlighting as a genie? No money cheating at Pork Races?”  The genie replied angrily, “If you want these wishes don’t ever call me by that wiener’s name! My name is Doggity – that knucklehead’s my cousin – twice fried!”

I figured I better start wishin’ before Doggity went missin’.

So I said “Hey Diggity… Doggity… Genie Wienie whatever your name is… How about some really cool seats and concessions and ‘facilities’ and premium seating in the outfield all in a scaled down version of Wrigley Field’s ‘rooftops’?” Twas my first wish…

I muttered… construct it somewhere over or near the “batters eye” and name it Thompson Alley. The Noise Nation Bleachers would also be acceptable. The Genie scoffed…

For the next wish and I even showed him a pic so he wouldn’t muck it up – a fancy new LCD video scoreboard.

To go with that Mr. Doggity genie a “ribbon board” all the way around the concourse.

Since we’re redecorating how ’bout throwing in a couple outfield video walls there genie.

I spoke quickly as the Genie started to fade – “Genie how about some new home uniforms and an Italian food vendor and Yocco’s and a swimming pool and no parking (unintelligible) ……. POOF he was gone…

I Dream of Dishing

(P.S. –  have another lamp – haven’t rubbed it – yet…)

While visiting the “facility” on the night of the Woodchucks (despite not much wood being chucked) a cryptic message appeared on the “magic mirror” just above the sink. It flashed for a moment, flickered off and continued with its normal programming.

Below is what I was able to recover with sophisticated 1980’s technology and my (Secret Decoder) Pig Pen Cipher Ring – get yours here.

I’m close to deciphering the password and should have it in the next few hours providing the hamster keeps running (he powers the decoding generator you see). Once revealed I’ll (hopefully) be able to gain access to the secure location and report back providing I make it out – alive…

T P – SECR  T  PRESS CONF   AUG 13th
CCOA-CLOA PRAK

u            selceted       spceial assingment.  The                   IronPigs will be                       prevoiusly-clasfisied inforamtion.

All        enter            throogh             Ccoa_Cloa Park

To gian acecss    secrue loctaion,   must  geve  passowrd                befroe entreing.  Yoru paswsord is %&*^

This mesasge will slef-detsruct in T-miuns 15 mintues.

For those who may not know the “magic mirror” appears with advertising and even the IronPigs logo. When you walk up to it – it “magically” turns into an actual mirror (as shown below).

Just for the record?!?

It’s actually quite dangerous to take pictures in the men’s room! Please don’t try this as I am a trained professional! (I don’t think that sounded quite right) But you know what I mean – Don’t do it!

Despite the shock of it all, I was able to record the following audio on the way out – please click below.

Later that evening….

I certainly wanted to ascertain what appeared to be top-secret, classified information so I went undercover and asked some people I know would know – ya know?

So what did I find out you may ask?

Well I’ll tell you – nadda – zip – zero – zilch – nothin’.

This must go all the way to the top because as I got closer so did the danger level!

The quote I remember most is “If I tell ya – I’m gonna have to ‘kill’ ya and take your Woodchuck hat away!”

All I have to go on at this point is a previous post from back on July 17th where some things were speculated and stabs in the dark taken. None of them were correct that time…

Below is an excerpt from the above mentioned post. Could it be one of these? Or none? Or even all of them? I guess we’ll have to wait and see if I can secret agent my way into the secure location – they probably won’t see me – won’t be looking way down there!

• A new food vendor
• A major concert coming to Coca-Cola Park
• Coca-Cola Park will be the home of the 2013 Triple-A Championship
• The new IronPigs “Porking” Deck
• A New Scoreboard
• Additional Seating
• New Unis and/or logo redesign for 2013

I’ll report back – maybe….

Dish – DiPro’s Dish

OFFICIAL IRONPIGS NEWS
For Immediate Release
Jon Schaeffer
August 7, 2012

IRONPIGS UNMASK 2013 SCHEDULE

(Allentown, Pa) – A boatload of weekend games during the premier summer months, along with dozens of rivalry games against the Yankees’, Red Sox’ and Mets’ Triple-A affiliates highlight the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 2013 home schedule, the club announced on Tuesday.  The sixth season in club history debuts Thursday, April 4 against the Syracuse Chiefs at Coca-Cola Park, marking the first of seven consecutive home games to commence the campaign.

The 144-game schedule once again features 72 home games at Coca-Cola Park although the calendar is backloaded and includes 61 of those home dates after May 1. Also, nearly half of the games (34 of 72) are slated for weekends.  The longest homestand of the year is a nine-gamer from June 25 to Independence Day Eve on July 3.  Additional holiday home games are set for Father’s Day on June 16 and Labor Day on September 2.

The IronPigs host rival Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the New York Yankees Triple-A affiliate, for a total of eight games beginning with a four-game weekend summer series, June 13-16.  The teams will also square off at Coca-Cola Park with possible playoff implications for a pair of series, August 19-20 and August 30-31.  Either Lehigh Valley or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has reached the postseason each of the last seven seasons.

The Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston’s top farm club and Lehigh Valley’s first round playoff opponent in 2011, also play a total of eight games at Coca-Cola Park with series scheduled for April 8-10, July 8-10 and September 1-2.  The New York Mets Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, also traverse Coca-Cola Park for eight games in 2013.

The 2013 campaign rests from July 15-17 for the annual Triple-A All-Star game between the International League and Pacific Coast League.  The 2013 game will be held in Reno, Nev. on July 17.

Per International League procedure, the IronPigs will play each team in their division, the North Division, 16 times (eight home, eight away); and teams in the South and West Division eight times (four home, four away). Lehigh Valley’s North Division opponents are the Buffalo Bisons (New York-N), Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston), Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (New York-A) and the Syracuse Chiefs (Washington). Teams in the South Division are the Charlotte Knights (Chicago-A), Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay), Norfolk Tides (Baltimore) and Gwinnett Braves (Atlanta). The West Division consists of the Columbus Clippers (Cleveland), Louisville Bats (Cincinnati), Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh) and Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit).

Starting times will be announced at a later date but are expected to remain similar to 2012.

IronPigs ticket plan holders can expect information on renewing their plan(s) for the 2013 season during the week of August 13-17.  Those interested in purchasing a new ticket plan can call (610) 841-PIGS (7447) to place their deposit, starting at just $40 per seat for 18-game plans and $100 per seat for full-season ticket packages.  Seat selection for new plan holders will take place this fall and is based on purchase date, the type of plan purchased and availability.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are dedicated to providing family-friendly entertainment and are the only Minor League team to offer bubbles to fans entering the AT&T Plaza and balloons for all children exiting Coca-Cola Park.

2013 Lehigh Valley IronPigs Schedule

APRIL

4-7 vs. Syracuse

8-10 vs. Pawtucket

12-14 @ Syracuse

15-18 @ Pawtucket

19-22 vs. Buffalo

23-26 @ Indianapolis

27-30 @ Louisville

MAY

2-5 vs. Indianapolis

6-9 vs. Louisville

10-13 @ Durham

14-17 @ Norfolk

18-21 vs. Rochester

23-26 vs. Norfolk

27-30 @ Rochester

31 vs. Gwinnett

June

1-3 vs. Gwinnett

4-7 @ Buffalo

8-11 vs. Charlotte

13-16 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

17-20 @ Toledo

21-24 @ Columbus

25-28 vs. Durham

29-30 vs. Toledo

July

1-2 vs. Toledo

3 vs. Syracuse

4-5 @ Syracuse

6-7 @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

8-10 vs. Pawtucket

11-12 vs. Buffalo

13-14 @ Syracuse

15-17 ALL STAR BREAK in Reno, Nev.

18-21 vs. Columbus

22-25 @ Rochester

26-29 @ Pawtucket

30-31 vs. Rochester

August

1-2 vs. Rochester

3-4 @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

5-8 @ Charlotte

9-12 @ Gwinnett

14-16 vs. Syracuse

17-18 @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

19-20 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

22-25 @ Buffalo

26-27 vs. Buffalo

28-29 @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

30-31 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

September

1-2 vs. Pawtucket