Fresno Tacos spur Golden Bobblehead Award

FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno Grizzlies beat out over 300 submissions from 240 Minor League Baseball teams to receive the "Best Theme Night" Golden Bobblehead Award for their August 6th Taco Truck Throwdown 5 promotion. The award, which is voted on by representatives from across Minor League Baseball, was announced today at the MiLB Promotional Seminar in Columbus, Ohio.

"Tacos are the signature of the Central Valley and we're extremely honored to have received the Golden Bobblehead Award for Taco Truck Throwdown 5," stated Grizzlies GM Derek Franks. "We house a lot of gifted minds in our front office and they were able to take an existing event and turn it into something that was nearly a festival in and of itself at a Triple-A Baseball game.

A Chukchansi Park record 16,916 fans attended the August 6th Triple-A Baseball game and devoured 37,954 total tacos from 23 local food trucks. The game became the go-to summer event in the Central Valley, with fans flocking to Downtown Fresno from as far away as San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area to experience the best tacos in the country. 

The build up to the night was unlike any other for a minor league baseball game, thanks in large part to the Grizzlies changing their name to the Fresno Tacos for one night. The news was announced two weeks prior to the game on Taco Tuesday, complete with a local taco truck serving as a backdrop to General Manager Derek Franks, who delivered the news and showed off renderings of the Taco uniforms.

Shortly after the announcement, social media erupted and images of the Fresno Tacos were everywhere from Bleacher Report to Good Morning America. On the night of August 6th, the Grizzlies passed along video from Taco Truck Throwdown 5 to ESPN, which ran nearly a three-minute segment on their 11 PM SportsCenter with Robert Flores and Chris Hassel.

Fresno Tacos merchandise has been purchased in every U.S. state, with 2,000 hats alone being sold within the first three weeks of being put up online. 

The Grizzlies now look towards the Winter Meetings in December for one last piece of hardware given their nomination for the Larry MacPhail Award. The MacPhail Award is given to one club per season that demonstrates outstanding and creative marketing and promotional efforts within its community, its ballpark (including non-game day events), in media and other promotional materials.

ABOUT THE FRESNO GRIZZLIES

The 2015 Triple-A National Champion Fresno Grizzlies, Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, are a member of the 16-team Pacific Coast League and are one of 30 teams in the world playing the highest level of Minor League Baseball. The 2015 season was one of historic proportions for the team and city of Fresno, as the Grizzlies secured their first-ever Pacific Coast League Championship and went on to win the Triple-A National Championship hosted in the city of El Paso. Learn about 2016 ticket plans by calling the front office at 559.320.TIXS between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Visit FresnoGrizzlies.com for more information.