MiLB honors Golden Bobblehead Award winners

LAS VEGAS -- Minor League Baseball announced the winners of the 2023 Golden Bobblehead Awards for top promotional activities and events in six categories.

BEST PROMOTION OR EVENT -- Eugene Emeralds, Exploding Whales

In 1970, a 45-foot, eight-ton sperm whale washed ashore on a popular beach in Florence, Oregon. In a famously ill-conceived effort to remove the dead whale from the shore, the Oregon Department of Transportation thought it best to blow up the carcass with dynamite, hoping much of the debris would be washed back to sea.

On Nov. 12, 1970, the city of Florence placed 1,000 pounds of dynamite under the whale and blasted it to pieces -- nearly all of which failed to make it back into the ocean.

More than half a century later, the Eugene Emeralds worked with the city of Florence, its mayor, Rob Ward, city council and other business leaders to carefully create an alternate identity that simply, "blew up."

While a popular YouTube video tells the story, the Emeralds took it upon themselves to educate fans about the explosive debacle of generations past, celebrating the legend of the Exploding Whale. When the club announced the identity, local and national news outlets produced features on the new team name. The social media response and the nights where the team wore Exploding Whales jerseys were overwhelmingly positive.

The Emeralds saw a drastic increase in their website traffic when the new identity was announced. The club made more than $100,000 in online merchandise sales in March. Exploding Whales caps sold out quickly and eventually required an extensive waiting list for purchase.

The new identity also helped grow the Emeralds’ digital marketing efforts, as nearly 3,000 fans signed up for the Emeralds’ marketing emails following the launch. The club sold nearly 5,000 group tickets for the six Exploding Whales games. Those six nights accounted for 13 percent of Eugene’s total attendance in 2023.

The club also welcomed the Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute to PK Park, and had researchers and professors provide information to fans about the whale population and the impact of climate change on whales and their migration patterns. The Emeralds worked with the MMI to create a “Whale Wednesday" feature on the team’s Facebook page and included fun facts about marine mammals and the work being done by the MMI.

On game days, the Emeralds brought in Florence elected officials and some fans with ties to the incident to throw out first pitches. Among the participants was Paul Linnman, the reporter who covered the incident for the local TV station in 1950. Another first pitch was thrown by the grandson of Walter Umenhofer, whose brand-new Oldsmobile 88 was crushed by a 300-pound chunk of dead whale following the explosion.

“We’re truly thankful for this recognition as the Exploding Whales identity was a labor of love that took years to develop,” said Emeralds General Manager Allan Benavides.

“We owe a big thanks to our creative and merchandise team, as well as our friends in Florence and the Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. Hopefully, this will continue to expand the lore of the Exploding Whale and how not to discard a beached whale.”

BEST COMMUNITY EVENT -- Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Starry Night

On August 19th, the Cannon Ballers hosted the third annual “Starry Night” game and day-long fundraiser benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The event raised more than $35,000 in direct support for children across the nation.

The activities began with the Cannon Ballers’ “Shooting Star 5K,” which goes through downtown Kannapolis and finishes at home plate of Atrium Health Ballpark. The 500 runners generated more than $8,000 before events continued in the ballpark, where more than 150 children and families impacted by brain tumors came out to enjoy a Cannon Ballers game.

The evening was highlighted by a postgame lantern lighting ceremony. Three different colors of lanterns were lit and spread around the playing field by children and families. The blue lanterns were placed on the pitcher’s mound by family members of children that tragically lost their battle to a brain tumor. Yellow lanterns representing all children currently fighting brain tumors were placed around the infield and white lanterns, which were purchased by supporting community members, were placed on the field by Cannon Ballers players and staff.

Once the lanterns are set, the stadium lights are turned off, creating a beautiful, glowing ballpark that sends a message to the children and families battling brain tumors that they are not alone in their fight.

In addition to the lantern ceremony, the Cannon Ballers wore special Starry Night themed jerseys. The team also hosted a fundraising auction, which included items donated by the Chicago White Sox. In three years since its inception, the Starry Night event has raised more than $85,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

“We are honored to be recognized with a Golden Bobblehead saluting our community efforts,” said Cannon Ballers General Manager Matt Millward. “The Starry Night program started as a vision three years ago and we now hope this recognition allows us to join hands with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and bring this special event to other ballparks across our country.”

BEST IN-GAME PROMOTION OR EVENT -- Corpus Christi Hooks, “Mutton Bustin'”

The Hooks took a Texas staple, the rodeo, and mixed it with baseball for the top in-game promotion of 2023. Between-innings "Mutton Bustin’" -- a smaller version of bull-riding in which children attempt to hang on to a bucking sheep -- was added to the club's Rodeo Weekend promotion in May. The resulting promotion engaged fans and the local community with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for kids during the city's Buc Days festival.

The Hooks wore specialty jerseys for the theme night as Whataburger Field took on a rodeo atmosphere. The registration for children to participate in the "Mutton Bustin'" found its 10 contestants in less than five minutes. And the 2-foot tall trophy was as big as the majority of the contestants, who will have a Whataburger Field memory to last a lifetime.

“We are honored that our Mutton Bustin’ promotion was recognized among our industry peers as a standout event,” said Hooks General Manager Brady Ballard. "Our partnership with BUC Days and Texas Bridge Credit Union helped make this an awesome community event that highlights our alignment with the BUC Days Festival.”

BEST NON-GAMEDAY EVENT -- Fresno Grizzlies, Tequila Fest

The Fresno Grizzlies host more than 100 non-gameday events each season but few have garnered more attention than the inaugural Tequila Fest at Chukchansi Park. This year's event was headlined by rap music superstars T.I., Rick Ross and Lil Jon.

The May 20 event set the template for Tequila Fest’s nationwide tour, utilizing various parts of the ballpark to highlight tequila vendors and other local artists and vendors with product sampling available. Tequila Fest garnered more than 450,000 impressions across all media, including 15 local TV news spots, and saw more than 6,500 people visit the event website within the first week of the festival's announcement.

The event was attended by 7,147 people and 36 vendors.

“I would like to extend my sincerest thank you to our staff for their commitment to making Chukchansi Park a year-around venue,” said Grizzlies President Derek Franks. “This event was successful thanks to our community buying into a new concept, and we look forward to continuously bringing new and exciting events to downtown Fresno.”

BEST THEME NIGHT COLLECTION OR SPECIALTY JERSEY -- Hartford Yard Goats, Bouncing Pickles

In 1948 in Connecticut, Sidney Sparer and Moses Dexler were arrested for selling rotten pickles "unfit for human consumption." After the men's arrest, Connecticut's food and drug commissioner shared a tip with reporters for weeding out good pickles from the bad: Drop them from a height of 1 foot, and if they bounce, they're safe to eat. The pickles in question did not bounce, and Sparer and Dexler were fined $500 and their pickles were destroyed.

Soon after, Connecticut's bouncing-pickle regulation went into effect. Seventy-five years later, the Yard Goats celebrated this controversial “blue law” by becoming the Bouncing Pickles for one game. The announcement and ensuing coverage of the promotion surpassed even the Yard Goats’ wildest dreams, garnering more than 1 million social media impressions.

The club has sold more than 3,000 pieces of Bouncing Pickles merchandise and generated more $80,000 in revenue. On the night that the team wore the Bouncing Pickles uniforms, the club produced the largest revenue in team history, trailing only the first game in Dunkin' Donuts Park history in 2017.

The night was such a hit, the club created a Bouncing Pickles bobblehead that was given to fans in attendance for Home Run Derby X in Hartford. The Yard Goats have plans for another Bouncing Pickles night in 2024.

“Once again, our fans embraced a fun new identity and allowed us to flex our creative muscle and we love their passion and commitment to the team,” said Yard Goats General Manager Mike Abramson.

BEST DIGITAL CAMPAIGN OR ACTIVATION -- Buffalo Bisons, Bisons Mark Bobblehead

While most sports teams have a “superfan”, Buffalo Bisons superfan Mark Aichinger is truly one of a kind. If you’ve ever been to a game at Sahlen Field, you certainly know Mark, a passionate 59-year-old season ticket holder from North Buffalo with physical and mental disabilities. But it was the Bisons’ digital campaign surrounding Mark’s night at the ballpark that made for such a special night.

Much like the videos showing players receiving their first big league call-up, the Bisons started the campaign with a video showing Bisons general manager Anthony Sprague inviting Mark into his office to tell him that he was going to have a bobblehead night in his honor. The video drew comments from former Bisons players and fans around the world and garnered nearly 2 million impressions across social media.

Mark’s dance moves, cheers and cat-calls to opposing players like “Hey, you stink!” have been a staple of the Buffalo Bisons experience for nearly 30 years. Following the announcement, Sept. 2 quickly became a must-attend game for fans in Buffalo.

Mark starred in several promotional videos, including a teaser the night before the announcement. The club also produced a 25-second video of Mark appearing through a cloud of smoke to scream, "Hey, You Stink!" The post made more than 200,000 impressions combined on social media platforms. The team also introduced the hashtag #YouStink, that was used throughout the promotion and released the image of what the bobblehead would look like on their social platforms.

Lastly, the team launched a seven-minute video which chronicled Mark’s day, which turned out to be far more than just a bobblehead promotion at the ballpark, both for Mark, the Bisons front office and their fans. Mark took batting practice, sold tickets in the box office and worked on the grounds crew and gameday production crew before the gates even opened.

“Mark is not only a part of the Bisons baseball family but is also an integral piece to the ballpark experience at Sahlen Field,” said Sprague. “The passion that he brings to every Bisons game is unmatched, and if you don't see him or hear him yell at the visiting team you missed out on part of our experience. This is truly an unbelievable honor for our team to share with him.”