At Home With the Jammers

Today we speak with Scott Eddy, the director of baseball operations for the Jamestown Jammers. 2008 was a memorable season for the Jammers, who made it to the New York-Penn League finals after setting a franchise record with 47 wins.

MiLB.com: How would characterize your team's fan base? Has it grown or changed in recent years?

SE: Our fan base here in Jamestown is mainly made up of vacationers who come to Western New York for the summer months to stay on Lake Chautauqua. It tends to be middle-aged and up on average, although we've made a strong effort to reach out to a younger market this season. We've really tailored our promotions to be a bit more edgy and further "outside the box" in order to bring in new fans who might not have experienced the Jammers or even Minor League Baseball before.

MiLB.com: What type of marketing strategies do the fans respond to?

SE: Grass-roots marketing works the best in our market, hands down. We had previously made a bigger push through local media to promote, but often the return just wasn't there. I've found through my two years here that the more personal connections you can make, the more people show up through the turnstiles. That's one of the best (and perhaps worst) parts about being in such a small community -- word of mouth really goes a long way. That makes personal appearances at community gatherings so important for us. If our front office can make a connection with someone on a personal basis, that's much bigger in the long run than anything we can do through mass media.

MiLB.com: Has your team staged any notable promotions in recent years? Any that just didn't work?

SE: Last year, we worked together with Jamestown Area Midget Football League's 50th anniversary. We helped run their Punt, Pass and Kick competition. We then had all the kids in the league down for a night at the park as well as the finals of the competition -- there was a parade and big opening ceremonies for about 3,000 kids. It was a great scene with all the kids in their different uniforms. Then we finished up the night with the PPK finals on the field which all the fans and players enjoyed watching as well.

At a Glance: Jamestown Jammers

• First season: 1994 • Affiliation: Florida Marlins (2002-present) • Stadium: Russell Diethrick Park (1994-present) • League Championships: None • City Population: Approximately 31,000 • Notable Jamestown Alumni: Gabe Kapler Brandon Inge Bubba Trammell Jeff Weaver • People who've called Jamestown home: Lucille Ball Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) Robert H. Jackson (Supreme Court justice) Natalie Merchant (musician)

The Night of 42 Promotions from earlier this year has to be my personal favorite. We put a Jamestown spin on it and we really made it uniquely our own by tying it into team history (42 wins had been our all-time record) and our area (Lucille Ball impersonations were of one of the night's promos). The entire staff had bunch of fun with it, and sometimes you need to make sure the staff is having fun when you have 16 home games in 21 days!

As for ones that didn't work, well, fireworks don't work here. I know people with other teams might be shocked at that, but they don't draw too much above our usual crowd. Dollar nights don't seem to work here either. They are sometimes more trouble than they're worth.

MiLB.com: How has the internet affected the way your team is run?

SE: The internet has allowed us to expand what we do promotion-wise. It gives us a chance to put a promotion out there and publicize it for everyone to see well in advance of its actual night and explain it in a way you can't do in a 30-second radio spot or newspaper ad. It was helpful especially being able to put out such a detailed promotional schedule at the beginning of a season, so when people buy our tickets in May or June they can see what nights they're most interested in months in advance.

MiLB.com: Does your concession stand serve any regional specialties or otherwise remarkable items?

SE: Our concession stand sells eggplant parmesan. I think that's a little different from the typical ballpark fare. Or maybe I just have a soft spot for Italian.

MiLB.com: What type of merchandise sells the best at the team store? Are there any unique items available for purchase?

SE: Foam fingers fly off the shelves. We have a hard time keeping them in stock, as kids love them. Or maybe parents would rather just have their kids hitting each other with blobs of foam instead of mini bats.

Our most unique item is our "Bubba visor." It's in honor of our mascot, Bubba Grape the Baseball Ape, and is made in his likeness. Kids seem to have a lot of fun with it, and it's also fun to make the staff model them around the park on game night.

MiLB.com: How large a role does your mascot play, both at the stadium and within the community?

SE: The mascot plays a big role. I think too often the mascot is overlooked in the scheme of things. A good mascot can really be the difference between a lifeless crowd and one with energy, especially when your team is trailing, 8-3. It's all part of that ballpark experience that makes fans want to come back to see another game. We take our mascot everywhere too. If there's a fair or a kids' parade or anything where there might be people gathering on an off day, we try to get the mascot there. It all goes back to that idea of grass-roots marketing and making that connection with your fans that goes way behind what happens inside the lines.

MiLB.com: Minor League stadiums often vary greatly from one another. What are the positives of playing in your facility? Any drawbacks?

SE: We play in one of the older ballparks currently operating in Minor League Baseball. Russell Diethrick Park was built in 1941, and with that comes some unique advantages for us. Obviously, we don't have some of the modern luxuries the new parks do, but we have a wonderful setting here. We're right at the bottom of a hillside which allows us a beautiful view of the sunset at the start of every game, I'm constantly told by visiting team officials that we have one of the best settings for a park in our league.

The past is alive every night here. Some great players and coaches have stepped on this field, as guys like Randy Johnson and Jim Leyland got their starts here. For guys at our level, short-season guys who are typically playing pro for the first time, to be able to say they're playing at the same place some of those guys played, that's pretty special. Would we like to have some of the perks that go with having a new stadium? Sure, but you can't buy history.

MiLB.com: What are some of your favorite on-field moments since you've been with the team?

SE: Every team probably has a few good tarp memories, and we're no exception. Just a few weeks ago, we got caught off guard by a storm that came out of nowhere and just started dumping on us. Rushing to get our crew together, we had our assistant GM and head groundskeeper each fall flat on their face while one of our game day staff went down as well and we started covering them up with the tarp. The wind was blowing the tarp all over and the fans were screaming. It was our Colorado Rockies grounds crew moment, like the crazy storm they had a year or so ago. We were so set on keeping that field in good shape that we were willing to cover three of our staff under the tarp in order to get it done!

Another involves an on-field promotion we do each game in which we pick a kid from the stands to race around the bases against our mascot. One night we picked a little guy who was about 4 or 5 years old, but as it turns out, he was petrified of our big purple ape mascot. So as the game goes, the mascot starts out at third base, the contestant at first base and they each go around the base paths heading for home in their respective directions. Well, the mascot and the kid met up around second base, but our little guy didn't want to be anywhere near our mascot, Bubba. So instead of running past him, the kid hesitates and starts heading for center field. We had to call back Bubba in order to get the kid out of center field so the game could restart. We were all in stitches.