MiLB Promotional Seminar Notebook

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Three dozen vendors have booths at the trade show at this week's Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar. Some of the items on display are what you'd expect -- caps, T-shirts, bobblehead dolls, banners, jerseys, lunch boxes, bumper stickers, magnets and playing cards. One of the more unique vendors, however, is weatherbill.

Based in San Francisco, the company offers teams a form of insurance in case inclement weather forces a postponement or simply keeps down the size of an anticipated big crowd.

The company's brochure states, "Weather is unpredictable, baseball profit doesn't have to be."

For example, a team concerned that temperatures under 45 degrees will keep down attendance on Opening Day can try to protect itself with a payment of less than $600. If the temperature stays below 45, weatherbill will recoup $10,000 to that team. If the team wants to set the threshold higher, say 48 degrees, the "premium" approaches $1,000.

"It's not insurance because he [the team owner] won't have to file a claim or proof of loss," explained Jeff Hamlin, the company's director of business development.

That's because weatherbill gets its data from National Weather Service facilities across the country. Client teams also can protect themselves against rain, snow and, as in the case of the Sacramento River Cats, extreme heat.

So far, the River Cats have been the company's lone baseball client. Weatherbill has contracted with the U.S. Open tennis championships and the Greater Hickory Classic on the PGA's Champions Tour, which "got hammered by rain" earlier this month, Hamlin said.

The risks assumed by the company are based on climatological trends over the past 50 years, he explained.

"The big boys have had some sort of risk management available for years," he said.

WORDS FROM THE WISE: Long-time baseball executive Roland Hemond charmed attendees when he delivered the first seminar Wednesday morning.

His presentation lived up to its title: "Timeless Ideas from a Baseball Legend." In his first year as special assistant to Arizona Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall, Hemond dropped names that included Birdie Tebbetts, Eddie Stanky, comedian Jonathan Winters, Eric Byrnes, Hank Aaron and former Indians, White Sox and St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck.

Quoting Veeck, who he called his "eternal idol," Hemond exhorted attendees to "let your imagination run rampant."

"When Bill started promotions like you are, he was ridiculed. The game was sacred, they said," he recalled. "Put on situations that can be appreciated and enjoyed by everyone who comes to the ballpark. You should see to it that when people leave your ballpark, they had a good time. Major League success is because of the foundations you place in the soul of your ballparks."

Hemond got his start in baseball in 1951. After leaving the U.S. Coast Guard, he made $28 a week while working in the Eastern League for the Hartford Chiefs, where his duties included sweeping out the stadium and, if the janitor did not show up, cleaning the rest rooms. He told his audience that today's marketplace requires as much formal education as possible.

"I'm still of the old school," he said. "If I had a better education, I would have accomplished more in this game."

That's hard to imagine. Hemond spent 23 seasons as general manager of the White Sox (1971-85) and Orioles (1988-95). In 1972 and 1983, he was named Major League Baseball Executive of the Year. And in 2001, he was recognized by Minor League Baseball as "King of Baseball" for his longtime dedication and service to the game.

After giving out his cell phone number to everyone in attendance, Hemond proclaimed, "The good ol' days [of Minor League Baseball] are really now. I thrill at hearing all these things you tell me about."

REDBIRD HONORED: Hemond returned in the afternoon session to honor Memphis Redbirds president and general manager Dave Chase, who was a driving force in launching the inaugural Civil Rights Game last March.

Chase was presented with framed newspaper coverage of the event, which pitted the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals at Memphis' AutoZone Park. An announcement regarding the 2008 game is expected early next month.

"It's part of giving to this game which has given me so much," Chase said. "Everything I do every single day in this business is to say thank you to the game of baseball, for what it's given me.

"The game isn't ours. The Civil Rights Game is probably the ultimate contribution I could make to the game of baseball."

EXPRESS TO THE NEXT SEMINAR: The 2008 Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar will be held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 in Austin, Texas, and hosted by the Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League.

"We are very proud to be the host for the 2008 Promotional Seminar in Round Rock," said Express president Jay Miller. "There are numerous outstanding ideas that come out of this seminar.

"Thanks to Minor League Baseball for choosing our city, and we look forward to showing off our southern hospitality."

It's the third time the event will be held in Texas. El Paso hosted the seminar in 1984 and Dallas in 2004.

"The fact that leaders of sports organizations from all over the country will convene in our great city is a testament to the wonderful job carried out by Round Rock Express president Jay Miller and his organization, as well as reflective of Austin's reputation as one of the nation's premiere destination cities," said Austin Sports Commission executive director Matthew Payne. "We'll be ready to welcome everyone to the Live Music Capital of the World in 2008."