Saturday, August 23

I spent a lot of time scanning the backs of baseball cards when I was a kid, always on the lookout for players who shared a birthday with me or someone I knew. Thanks to this childhood proclivity, I still remember that 1980s reserve player Mike Stenhouse was born on May 29. He shared a birthday with my dad. Happy 67th birthday to Mike Stenhouse and happy 75th birthday to my dad from this edition of the Baseball Traveler newsletter. Let's talk about Minor League Baseball. 

I am on the road! If you’re reading this missive shortly after it landed (with a resounding thud) in your inbox, then please know that I am currently en route from Columbia, S.C. to Zebulon, N.C. I can only assume that it’s been a pleasant drive thus far. Maybe I’ll have time to stop in Bishopville, S.C., to learn more about the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp.

Follow along with me: @bensbiz (X) and @thebensbiz (Instagram). And, hey, while you’re at it check out my May 22 appearance on MLB Network’s “MLB Central.” It was a lot of fun. 

I’ll have more from the road next week, and the week after, and so on and so forth until approximately the end of time. But let’s take a break from all that. Let’s take a peek at next month’s premier Minor League promos. 

Welcome to Promo Preview, a monthly roundup of Minor League Baseball’s best giveaways and theme nights. June highlights include multiple wet donkeys, behemoth amphibians, beloved canines and, of course, much more.

Repeat Night
Erie SeaWolves (Double-A DET), June 3
John Oliver, newly-minted SeaWolves supporter, should like this one: If you buy a ticket for the June 3 game and the SeaWolves win, then you can redeem that ticket to attend the following game on June 4. If the SeaWolves win on June 4, you can redeem your ticket to attend on June 5. And so on and so forth, to infinity and beyond. John Oliver should like this one. Yes, I’m repeating myself. 

Salute to Cheese
West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A DET), June 4
Speaking of repetition, here’s another promo from the Detroit system. June 4 is National Cheese Day, and the Whitecaps are celebrating via a game-long salute. Details to come, but keep in mind that this is a team that opened a “Queso Castle” concession stand last season. Every item the team sells at this stand can be topped with six different kinds of cheese. Clearly, the Whitecaps are well-equipped to salute cheese. Expect an exemplary effort. 

Snot Otters
Asheville Tourists (High-A HOU), June 6
The eastern hellbender salamander, the only giant salamander species native to North America, resides within Asheville-area rivers. While hellbender is an awesome appellation in and of itself, these gargantuan amphibians also have a colorful (and juvenile) nickname: Snot Otters. The Asheville Tourists are suiting up as such, with proceeds from the resulting jersey auction benefiting the WNC Nature Center. You otter get one, it’s snot every day something like this comes along. 

CSRA River Donkeys
Augusta GreenJackets (Single-A ATL), June 6-7
Last month the Delmarva Shorebirds played as the Wild Ponies, whose logo featured a pony wading in the water. The aquatic equine alternate identity torch has now been passed to the Augusta GreenJackets, who will play as the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area) River Donkeys. This is a tribute to the donkeys of Stallings Island, an archaeological site located near Augusta, Ga. How’d the donkeys get there? Well, goats (nature’s landscapers) were introduced to the island in 2008 to control the vegetation. Coyotes became a threat to the goats, however, so donkeys were brought in to guard them. Let’s hear it for predator deterrence! Jersey proceeds benefit Stallings Island preservation efforts.

Barkansas Dizzys
Arkansas Travelers (Double-A SEA), June 10-15
Greg Johnston, Travelers vice president of stadium operations, is currently in his 50th (!) year working for the team. His dog, Dizzy, is about that old in dog years. Dizzy is a constant ballpark presence as well as its most popular denizen. So much so that this cream-colored canine now has his own alternate identity. The Travelers will play as the Barkansas Dizzys for the entirety of their six-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Dogs will be allowed in the ballpark for every Dizzys game; highlights include a Dizzy bobblehead giveaway (June 12) and Dizzy’s eighth birthday bash (June 14). Make sure to get his pawtograph.

Roger Maris bobblehead
Reading Fightin Phils (Double-A PHI), June 12
Reading has been affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies since 1967, the longest affiliation in Minor League Baseball. There had been plenty of professional baseball chapters prior to this, however, including a 10-season tenure as the Reading Indians (1952-61). Roger Maris was a member of the 1955 Reading squad, playing 113 games in what turned out to be his penultimate Minor League campaign. The Maris bobblehead giveaway is in tandem with Reading’s Baseballtown Hall of Fame Night, which will see the inductions of Dusty Wathan, Trevor May and Darin Ruf. 

Norfolk Tandangs
Norfolk Tides (Triple-A BAL), June 14
Norfolk, Va., is home to a large population of Filipino-Americans. Last season the Tide honored that community by playing as the Lumpia, but this time around they’re transforming to the Tandangs. This identity, designed by a team of local Filipino-American creatives, features a fighting rooster (the Tandang) and includes a plethora of design elements referencing the country’s history and culture. 

Kyle Teel Bobblehead
Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A BOS), June 18
The Sea Dogs, originally a Marlins affiliate, pay tribute to this era of their history by wearing teal jerseys on Wednesday. For the June 18 iteration, they will honor catcher Kyle Teel (a 2024 Sea Dog) with a bobblehead of him wearing a teal jersey. Teel is now in the White Sox organization, but he’s still rocking the teal on a regular basis as a member of the Charlotte Knights.

Strange Albert Night
Altoona Curve (Double-A PIT), June 21
What happens when the parodist gets parodied? In this case, you get the Altoona Curve’s Strange Albert Night. The team promises an “evening packed with zany antics, absurd games and laughs that’ll have you feeling like you’re drinking from the fire hose of comedy!” That fire hose line is a reference to Weird Al Yankovic’s cult classic film “UHF.”  Weird Al … Strange Albert … get it?

Bathtub Donkeys
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A NYM), June 28
Yes, this column now includes two alternate identities featuring the intersection of donkeys and water. Binghamton’s Bathtub Donkeys is a nod to an antiquated (and perhaps apocryphal) New York law that stipulated that one could not have a sleeping donkey in a bathtub on Sundays. The logo features a donkey taking a bath, using the tub for its intended purpose and therefore not breaking the law. 

The Somerset Patriots (Double-A affiliate of the Yankees) are putting on The Show Before The Show Night! Come see us. TICKETS »

Thank you for reading and, hey, if you don’t have plans this weekend then come out and visit me in Myrtle Beach (Friday) or Charleston (Saturday). SC you there? Regardless, get in touch anytime: benjamin.hill@mlb.com.

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