Category Archives: Kram’s Korner – From the Club Level

All this talk about “The Yankees Are Coming! The Yankees Are Coming!” has us all thinking about how all this would work. It’s been discussed here on the boards: How would the schedule work? What about the locker rooms? What about the front office? What about the eight games against the IronPigs?

I’ve also been thinking about me: I could go to more games. If it were a nice day, I could go on a whim. If I needed to host a group, tickets would be easier. I might be able to sit in a different spot where I’ve never sat before. I might be able to rent a suite for cheap(er) and have a party with my friends. There would be baseball like, EVERY DAY! I might be able to close the gap with Dan and Jimmy T on games attended.  I could scout the Yankees’ opposing team so that when the IronPigs play that team then…..…nothing, nobody cares, but I could SAY I scouted that team.

But let’s file this column under: From the Owner’s Box. This morning I started thinking about how this would affect the IronPigs. What if I owned the IronPigs? (well, my bar tab would be lower—but I’d have to pay for rehab, so I guess it all cancels out 😉 )  I don’t think I’d be very happy about the Yankees interloping on my sweet deal. I’ve got a beautiful stadium and the best attendance in all of non-MLB baseball. I sell concessions and merchandise like crazy. We work hard, but we’re making money hand over fist. Yes, we have to pay rent, but the payoff is worth it. Plus, everyone loves me at the league meetings because we’re doing it the best. People love me locally because I have the new, quieter fireworks and I’ve promised to try to make more bobble heads next year. The IronPigs are my store, and a very profitable one at that.

Now, someone wants to move into my store. He wants to share rent, sure, and he’ll do his paper work at other offices and stay out of my way. But his product is on the same shelf next to mine. Perhaps it’s not as good, but he also might price it less. And, even though my product is “better,” once we’re in the same store, he can begin to copy me—it’s my customers who are going to be coming through the door most of the time, and he’ll learn what they like. Because I’ve worked hard to create a demand for my product, supplies are low. He has plenty of inventory. Although he’ll share the rent, and the maintenance, my beautiful store is going to take a beating with increased foot traffic, and might not look as nice and clean all the time. I’d like to be a good neighbor, but at the end of the day, I can’t help but feel that I’d rather not have company. No thank you. Go find a stadium in New Jersey.

OK, so there are probably folks here who know more about the inner-workings and economics of this potential time share than I do. I’m sure things can be worked out regarding the rent, parking, prices, ticket revenue, concessions, etc. There’s a way to make this happen so that the IronPigs don’t have to take a ‘hit’. Perhaps that’s what they’re negotiating right now. It can work: There are plenty (too many?) of Yankee fans around who will support the team locally (perhaps more than in the SWB area, really). Besides, the Yankees have unlimited money anyway, right?

What’s that you say? The Yankees want to hire me as a consultant to help with the team while they’re here?

OK, here’s an idea:

The Pinstripe Race. Three Yankees with giant foam heads (think President’s Race at Nats’ Park) race to the finish line. The Bambino, The Mick, and Joltin’ Joe. As they enter the gates in left field the PA announcer yells, “BAMBINO IN THE LEAD” but ultimately, the Bambino always stops to have a hot dog and a beer, and rarely wins. People love him, though, and cheer wildly when he finally does win. You’re welcome. I’ll let you know where to send the check.  🙂

We’re going to get free towels again as we arrive at The Coke on Thursday, courtesy of Service Electric.  We got them earlier in the year as a promotion as well.  Whose idea was this, anyway?

In 1975 Myron Cope, journalist and radio broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers, noticed players on the sidelines encouraging the Three Rivers Stadium crowd by waving their towels over their heads.  In the run up to the 1975 NFL playoffs, Cope urged fans via his radio show to bring yellow hand towels to the playoff games.  During the 1975 playoffs he coined the name, Terrible Towel.

From 1975 to 1978 Steelers fans purchased yellow hand towels at local stores.  Eventually, Cope trademarked the Terrible Towel, and with the help of a local department store had them made and printed.  In 1996, Cope gave the rights to The Terrible Towel to the Allegheny School in Coraopolis, PA.  The Allegheny School cares for over 900 people with mental retardation and physical disabilities, including Cope’s autistic son Danny.  To this day, sales of The Terrible Towel benefit The Allegheny School.

It’s cool though.  I’m all in favor of promotions and anything that gets the crowd involved in the game.  However, every time I see a Rally Towel—or Homer Hanky or the like–I always think of the Allegheny School, and Myron and Danny Cope.

Jason and I had a short back-and-forth on Twitter this evening as he proposed a “free tickets” campaign for the IronPigs to fill the stadium for the remaining playoff games. [edit: or so I thought.  He meant for a viewing party on the big screen.  I was tweeting, watching soccer and listening to a podcast at the same time, so it’s on me].  While free tickets might fill the seats, here are my reasons for disagreeing with free tickets:

1. It cheapens the product.  Other professional sports teams have tried this through the years, and once you lower your ticket prices to “free,” then the perceived value decreases immediately.  It does not create lasting customers, just folks looking for a handout.
2. “But it would sell concessions.”  Maybe.  But not as much as you might think.  The same folks who’ll get in line for the free tickets won’t necessarily spend a lot of cash on other things.
3. It creates hard feelings.  What do you say to all the folks who HAVE paid for playoff tickets?  Many will ask for refunds.  Why should we ever buy tickets again, when we know the price will eventually go down to “free.”

So what should they be doing to fill the stadium on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday?  You know I’m not going to bother typing this if I don’t already have the answers: [edit: my suggestions hold, though.]

1. Try to organize quick groups.  Group tickets are a big way that the ‘Pigs are able to sell as many regular season tickets as they do.  They work very, very hard to cultivate groups and group leaders and provide an experience for them.  They should have a database of all the group leaders and send them an email.  Some may jump at the chance to re-organize their regular season group for the playoffs.  This may help to sell the hospitality areas, as well.  You could put $4 added value on the playoff tickets, instead of the regular $2, to motivate action.
2. Take advantage of your clubs.  Kids club members get one free ticket to any game.  Guess what?  Kids don’t come alone. It’s the same principle of the Clippers “get in free if you wear your Little League uniform” promotion.  It guarantees that you will sell more tickets to go along with the free one.  Plus, it’s a group benefit, not a freebie.  Perhaps Diamond Diva night in the picnic patio for one of the games?  Or in the dugout suites?  Silver Pigs can buy tickets for half price one night?  Too bad they don’t have a club for middle aged guys…
3. Take advantage of your season ticket holders.  I have about 68 unused tickets or vouchers or whatnot.  If they came to me and said, “look, we’ll give you 34 tickets in section 104 if you promise to give them away or return them” then I could go out into the community and create goodwill giving away tickets that I’ve technically paid for.  Or, like Reading, just give $2 off playoff tickets for any unused ticket (rainouts, vouchers, season, whatever).  Again, that would be a benefit of the original ticket and not a freebie.
4. Try to get some free local buzz.  They’re already doing this.  It’s brilliant, really.  I gather from Twitter than anyone who changes their marquee to “Go IronPigs” has a chance to win a dugout suite.  I don’t know all the details of the contest because I was too busy trying to get my marquee changed.
5. Throw together some kind of promo.  They’re doing OK.  Rally towels Thursday, Fireworks Friday and Saturday.  But they could have a potluck giveaway by emptying the promo closet of all the leftovers.  Or, order a bunch of bobbles or other nicer item (hats?)  that could then be saved for next year if need be.  Consider some kind of “all you can eat” buffet ticket or promo.
6. Try to get more local news coverage.  I know minor league teams often have to pay for their press coverage, and I don’t know what the deal entails with The Morning Call, but it seems to me that this should be a bigger deal in the local media.  Pay a little extra if you have to in order to get some big articles and pictures.  Perhaps the Express Times and channel 69 are doing a better job.

So there it is.  I’ll see you at the park Thursday.  I’m hoping for at least a split in Columbus and optimistic that there are no lefties in their rotation right now.

Our good friend Kram revisited a great topic today and found a glorious example of what we could have here as IronPig fans.

In the 9th inning the Attendance for each game at The Coke is announced and often there is a groan heard around the stadium when the number is revealed. I hear it every single time…

“Lot of empty seats to be 9,534”

“Club level looks empty”

“Who buys tickets and doesn’t go to the games?”

“Man there should be something so people can get tickets to sold out games if others aren’t showing up”

Well, there is a way. We just need the IronPigs to lead the way.

While Coca Cola Park leads pretty much the entire minor league system in per game attendance average (9,018 per game) we do see seats that aren’t sat in. There are those who head out to the trough or rough it in the outfield with the Noise Nation but I’d bet there are a fair amount of tickets that fall into the “Not Used” category.

Kram sent me an email today showing me a great way to bridge this gap. The Lowell Spinners (Class A Short Season for the Red Sox) have created a Ticket Posting page.

Details from the Spinner’s website:

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT PROCEDURAL INFORMATION

The intention of this TICKET POSTING option is to bring fans together to post their respective situation of obtaining or unloading tickets. This is done in a simple format.

Fans are directed to go to the proper link to select if they wish to “post a listing to obtain tickets to a sold out game” or to “post a listing to unload tickets to a game you can no longer attend”.

After making your selection you are able to select the options of posting your game selections or view what other fans have posted. Fans are invited to check this section of the site to read how to contact the users looking to obtain or unload their tickets.

Even though Spinners Management oversees the activities of these postings, we inform you that this is NOT a secure transaction. It is strictly between the fans. The Spinners are just trying to bring people together and will not resolve disputes that might arise amongst fans.

(The Lowell Spinners are not responsible for ticket transactions via this Ticket Posting method. The Spinners conduct financial ticket operations through the corporate office at LeLacheur Park and through Choice Ticketing, our secure internet server. This Ticket Posting Guest Book forum is NOT part of our financial ticket operations nor is it a secure method.)

Keeping it simple, the Spinners disclaimer absolves them of any liability and provides fans a means of exchanging tickets legally. Heck there’s even a trade forum for giveaways.

Kram tells us, “They get nothing other than less empty seats and more people willing to buy season ticket packages because they know they won’t get stuck with tickets or M-Th vouchers that they can’t use.” (Unused Season Tickets, like rained out games, can be exchanged for a M-Th game)

Granted, it’s no Stub Hub or Ebay… more like Craigslist, but it affords the opportunity to help each other out.

In my opinion, yes my opinion, this will only work if the IronPigs themselves create it. The Spinners post this link on their website on the Ticket Sales page. That way people know about it and can find it while looking for tickets on the team’s site. Really, if we set something up like that here on the Horn & Bell blog how many people would see it/know about it? Not many.

I encourage you to leave feedback in the comments section.

Food for thought though. Thanks Kram for sending over!

OinK!

So I thought I’d share a few thoughts about the six opening games of Season IV: The Season of Winning. Except, two of the games were rained out. And, I showed up late for one of them. Also, I left early once. But, the winning has been equal to the losing, and here I am to comment on two games plus parts of two others.

I’m happy, as always, with the stadium and the staff. It’s good to see the ushers and the folks from the section. There are some new faces, and some in different seats, but in all it felt comfortable. It felt good. It felt like the opening theme from Cheers.

Things I liked during the opening series:

1. Bypass lane. Worked very well. Twice. And Lefty33, I’ll be happy to pay the $.99 from now on without complaining.

2. Biergarten. This was a wonderful idea. I also like the additional non-beer adult beverages. I’m trying to decide if I want to collect a whole set of those mugs. My wife says ‘no,’ but that never stopped me before.

3. Hats. There’s a nice selection of New Era caps in the store right now. I only bought one so far, but I can’t stop thinking about them.

4. 32 oz beer. The popularity is unmistakable. These need to be more widely available.

5. Philly Pretzels! The kids are hooked. Again. Worth the walk.

6. The iPhone App. I needed a new phone anyway, and when my old Blackberry wouldn’t load the Bypass App, well, it was a logical choice. The ‘Pigs app is great. As Dan pointed out, it has almost everything that I asked for in my technology suggestion box. The next, logical, addition is to incorporate ticketing and/or season ticket account management better. Just scan the code from my phone, right?

7. I told you: Diggity is a cheater.

8. The go-karts are cool. I wonder if they are remote controlled somehow to regulate winning and losing—or if it’s a real race.

9. The Twitter contest. Good idea last night with tweeting your seat location for $10 added ticket value. That’s the kind of thing I was thinking of in my su ggestions.

10. The Blast Burger. Very nicely done. A little messy, but I knew what I was getting into.

Things I didn’t like about the opening series (I’m not complaining, just providing balance):

1. I miss the Roast Beef. I know Arby’s is in trouble financially, so we need to come up with another stadium-wide promotion where folks can chant and I can have the possibility of getting free food. Really. People love it. OK, I love it. I love free food. There. I said it.

2. I don’t have the bartenders trained yet. Now that they serve bar food at the FMO Painting bar, the wait time has increased.

(BTW, here’s a funny exchange from Sunday: Me: “I’d like a Cabernet and a Sprite. Also, could you please put the wine in a larger cup than usual?” Bartender: “Oh, are you going to mix them?” Me: “GOOD GOD NO! Sorry. I mean, I’d like to be able to carry the wine without spilling it.”)

3. The Porking Spaces. It’s just too goofy, and I can’t stop thinking of inappropriate jokes to make. Plus, I have enough trouble parking as it is.

4. The Blue lot. I prefer the LSI lower lot and had my parking and exit strategy perfected. So far, my egress from the blue lot has been less than efficient. I’m still working on it, though.

5. If it’s true that the pretzel burger is gone, then that is too bad. I liked it on the third base side so that I could eat whilst the kids pester the players for autographs.

6. Twitter. OK, be careful what you ask for, right? I don’t need fourteen different people to tell me that the centerfielder just dropped the ball. I saw it myself. What I want is an explanation as to why. Or, a snarky comment. Or, inside information about players who lack depth perception. Or, a free Butterfinger candy bar from Wawa next inning if an opposing player drops the ball. You know, that kind of thing.

7. Can a guy get a beer vendor in the stands periodically? Perhaps he’ll be up when the weather gets nicer. Until then, I’m thinking of ordering beer with my Bypass app so that I don’t have to wait for the bartenders to make drinks which require 5 different steps for people who don’t care about the fact that there’s a baseball game going on outside–or for them to fetch chicken wings from the kitchen. I’m parched over here. I really don’t want to start ordering beer two or three at a time. I might, though. I’ve got a driver this year.

The Team:
The play on the field has been a bit sloppy, but that works two ways. I still like this team, and I love the manager. I also like that the lineup has been in flux a bit for the first few games. It’s a nice change from the static lineup card that Hup would turn in all season long. It might be time to get some of these guys settled in to a spot, though—at least until the roster starts turning over. Here’s my suggested lineup for the Rochester series (three games):

1. Thompson CF
2. Young RF
3. Belliard 3B
4. Larish 1B
5. Moss DH
6. Sullivan LF
7. Barfield 2B
8. Kratz C
9. Frandsen SS

I want Young and Belliard batting in the first inning, regardless. I know Ryno wants multiple guys who can run at the top, but the running doesn’t do any good without the hitting. It won’t happen, as Young and Belliard seem to be the only two who don’t move. Whatever. And I would hope that Delwyn wouldn’t get upset at me for moving him out of cleanup—especially since he’s my wife’s favorite player this year. But I think he and Belliard can hold their own on the bases, based on what I’ve seen so far. The above lineup should be able to run and hit all the way through. Disclaimer: I didn’t take into account Right or Left or Switch batting.

Hat’s off to the pitchers; they’ve certainly done well enough to be undefeated at this juncture. Hope it can continue. We didn’t get to see Feierabend, but he had a nice start for the ML team in the spring, so I’ve got my hopes up.

I’m really looking forward to the Yankees series starting on Monday. I expect to do better with my attendance; I should be at all 5 games in 4 days, weather permitting (or even if not, perhaps).

Kiddos get the bobble vans for Monday’s doubleheader.
I’ll stop over after work on Tuesday, and get a new hat for my trouble.
My wife works late on Wednesday, so it’s Boy’s Night Out.
Thursday I’m hosting a mini-group of friends from Philadelphia. We’ll be tailgating when the lots open, then sitting in section 108.

Here’s to more WINNING!

Kram’s Korner is a guest post to the Horn & Bell blog offering a perspective “From the Club Level”

Still Kramming—part 4 of 7:

Media:

a. I love the game notes, written by Matt Provence I believe, which are posted on the web site prior to each game. I think it says that the notes are available after 4PM for the normal 7:05 start. But, many times, I’m leaving for the park or to pick up the kids by 4:30 or 5PM and the notes aren’t up yet. I know they’re done, because I was able to get them emailed to me by mid-afternoon or so last year. And they are available in the suites, but I would suggest having copies of the game notes available for the asking, at Fan Services field level, or at the bar in the club level. Alternate plan: just get them up on the web sooner, please, or have a mobile link—or, a button on the technology package which would pull them up.

b. More radio coverage. If I’m in the parking lot or on the way in during the last 30 mins, I always have Matt and Jon on. I would suggest a further ‘Gameday’ broadcast (extended pregame) by the local ESPN 1320/1230 guys. Basically, for 90 (or 60, or 30) minutes before they turn it over to Matt and Jon, discuss the Pigs exclusively: the lineups, the opponent, the season, the impact on the Phillies, roster moves, take some calls…. I would listen every home game day, even if I wasn’t attending the game.

c. You know what else might be cool: a way to hear the home broadcast crew while attending an away game. Is this a button the iPhone app? It should be. Otherwise, some kind of third party radio app (like iheartradio) where the home call could be easily found on a smartphone. This should be easier than trying to navigate to the web site via browser and attempt it that way: too slow and difficult.

d. Better Morning Call coverage. With the inherent roster turn-over in MiLB, LHV fans need more coverage of the players on the field. I love the Morning Call feature stuff on Sundays, but would suggest a regular “game day” pre-game summary box. An alternative would be a full featured preview of the team and opponent prior to each home series. Most of this info could come from the game notes (with credit to Matt) so it wouldn’t be that hard. Baseball web sites have criticized the LHV fans for not being more knowledgeable about the game or more into the game on the field amid all the between-inning hoopla. Part of this is because there’s no easy source for this information for the casual IronPigs fan that comes to only a handful or less of games per year. This fan might casually follow along in the paper (or online mcall.com) and then know more when he/she gets to a game. Also, we’ll see if some of this changes this year amidst all of the winning that I’ve been predicting.

Kram’s Korner is a guest post to the Horn & Bell blog offering a perspective “From the Club Level.”