Renegades' promotion overcomes criticism

WAPPINGER FALLS, NY -- It got more hype than intended, but after the dust settled, Hudson Valley's "Ball-less Ballgame" on Tuesday night didn't stray too far from your average night at a Minor League ballpark.

The Renegades' promotion, which was advertised on the team's Web site as a celebration of femininity and independence and included a ceremonial first pitch thrown out by New York Yankees assistant general manager Jean Afterman, came under some criticism a few weeks prior to the event.

Part of the promotion was permitting only women into the stadium until the game was official in the fifth inning. In response, Dutchess County officials sent notice to the Renegades front office on Thursday, asking the team to "cease and desist" the promotion on the basis that prohibiting men from entering the stadium was gender discrimination.

"We basically just made more information available," Renegades general manager Eben Yager said of the team's response to Dutchess County's letter. "We were never going to stop people from going into the ballpark originally."

The Renegades released a July 4 media advisory on their site, stating "that no person -- male or female -- will be denied access to their seat." In addition, the area designated for men outside the stadium, which featured free haircuts, a PlayStation 3, poker tables and a large telecast of the game, was adorned with a sign that said "Voluntary Men's Lounge."

When the much-hyped event finally arrived at Dutchess Stadium, some male fans did choose to spend time in the lounge area outside the stadium entrance, but the ratio inside the ballpark -- females seemed to claim a slight majority -- wasn't all too different from any other night.

Inside, amenities such as a free massage were made available to fans, while items such as pink beer were sold. And as at any Minor League game, contests were held between innings -- in this case, they included identifying famous women in sports displayed on the videoboard, a dancing contest and a trivia game that focused mostly on baseball-related questions such as, "Who is the Yankees' No. 4 starter?"

The promotion itself may have been in the limelight before it arrived, but Afterman was the highlight and focus of the evening in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. The Yankees executive fielded television interviews around the concourse prior to the game with her "entourage" (a handful of Hudson Valley employees dressed in black suits and hats) trailing behind. After tossing out the first pitch, she addressed the crowd in support of the Renegades' promotion, thanking the team for hosting the event and voicing her approval for "celebrating all women, both women in the stands and women in baseball."

Tyler Tumminia, the vice president of marketing and operations for the Goldklang Group (Hudson Valley's ownership group), came up with the idea for the promotion after attending a women's networking event at the 2008 Baseball Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.

"We wanted to honor women influential in baseball while keeping it fun and consistent with what [the Goldklang Group] does, and that's have fun," Tumminia said. "We didn't intend to force fans out or not allow them to be seated. The vocal minority just took it literally."