Like every general manager in baseball, Tyler Parsons of the Class A Lansing Lugnuts wants to create an exciting product.
According to MILB.com, the Lugnuts will temporarily become The Mighty Wombats on August 18— and if that wasn’t enough, there are plenty of goodies to be had. Backyard Baseball Night will feature free admission to all fans who share names with characters from the original Backyard Baseball; a Wiffle Ball field in the front plaza; drink specials in honor of the legendary Pablo Sanchez’s. Jul 25, 2018 The Lansing Lugnuts' 'Backyard Baseball' night is the promo idea to end all promo ideas. The Wombats won the fan vote over other generic gems like. Backyard Baseball 2001 Download Best Of Backyard Baseball 10 Usa via linkcross.info Home Run Pablo By Raidpirate52 On DeviantArt via raidpirate52.deviantart.com Backyard Baseball 2001 Angels Vs Wombats Commentary Over via youtube.com Backyard Baseball League PC Tournament Game 20 Vinny The Pooh via youtube.com.
Unlike major league general managers, though, Parsons has no roster control to maximize his on-field product.
Instead, the 31-year-old general manager of Toronto Blue Jays’ Class-A affiliate has to be creative to attract fans – especially younger and diverse fans – to Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing, Mich.
“In the offseason, as a staff, we brainstorm ideas,” Parsons said.
Half-priced tickets or concessions are usual hits. Guest appearances are popular, too. But if there’s one thing that really attracts people, it’s giveaways.
Parsons wanted to have a big giveaway that could attract Millennials.
Parsons remembered his childhood, playing the popular computer video game Backyard Baseball, a video game that used fictional children characters from all backgrounds.
For example, Kenny Kawaguchi, who used a wheelchair, was an ace pitcher; Pete Wheeler, a lightning quick runner, had freckles and orange hair; Dante Robinson was an African-American character with solid overall skills.
One character gained near fabled status among Millennials and anyone who played the game. It was the game’s star player, Pablo Sánchez. “The Secret Weapon”, as he was known, could hit like Rod Carew, field like Roberto Clemente and pitch like Pedro Martínez.
He was a fictional Latino star for kids before Dora the Explorer. In the game, Pablo Sánchez spoke only Spanish, unless you clicked on his picture while holding down the shift key. Parsons said there was a “mythological feel” about him.
“When people think of Backyard Baseball, they think of Pablo Sánchez,” Parsons said. “People consider him the greatest digital athlete of all time.”
A Perfect Giveaway
Parsons and his staff did some more digging on Pablo Sánchez and discovered his birthday was listed as August 18. The game was released in 1997, making Aug. 18, 2018, his unofficial 21st birthday. As scheduling fate would have it, the Lugnuts had a home game scheduled that day against the Fort Wayne Tincaps.
Commemorating that day was a no-brainer for Parsons and his staff.
“We were going to do the damn thing,” Parsons said with a laugh. “We ran with it.”
As the Lugnuts began to announce their promotional schedule across social media, Parsons’ excitement began to rise. When they tweeted out a “Backyard Baseball Night” coupled with a Pablo Sánchez bobblehead giveaway, the Lugnuts immediately saw the popularity.
“We teased it, and that initial tweet had more impressions than we’ve ever had,” Parsons said. “We knew we had a winner.”
But, they aren’t just giving away a one-of-a-kind bobblehead. The Lugnuts are becoming the “Mighty Wombats” for the day, one of the team names available in the video game. They’ll wear Mighty Wombats jerseys.
In addition, the Lugnuts will have an equipment drive to donate baseball gear to local baseball teams, a wiffle ball field in the front plaza of the stadium, drink specials to honor Pablo Sánchez’ “21st birthday” and free admission to fans who share names with characters from the video game.
The excitement has carried over as the game approaches. As people have snatched up tickets for the Aug. 18 game, Parsons noticed one thing: there’s a countrywide buzz for this Class-A minor league game.
“It has a national appeal,” Parsons said. “We’ve seen an uptick in tickets, and I’ve seen some zip codes that aren’t the normal ones we’re used to seeing.”
There was so much of a buzz, that the Lugnuts created a special bobblehead package. For $50, fans can guarantee themselves a Pablo Sánchez bobblehead, along with a Lugnuts baseball and two box seat “flex” tickets.
Building off success
Now that the Lugnuts have successfully hit the Millennial demographic, there’s one demographic Parsons and the Lugnuts really want to have success with: Lansing’s Latino community. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Latinos made up 12.5 percent of Lansing’s 110,000 population.
Backyard Baseball Wombats Pictures
“We don’t have enough diversity [at the ballpark],” Parsons said. “We need to do a better job to include and not stay at the status quo.”
And they hope 2019 is the year Latinos in the Lansing area flock to Cooley Law School Stadium to catch a Lugnuts game.
The Lugnuts are introducing bilingual ticket box offices in 2019 and they are joining MiLB’s marketing promotion of “Copa de la Diversión.”
Copa de la Diversión was launched this year by MiLB as a marketing effort to embrace the “culture and values that resonate most with participating teams’ local U.S. Hispanic/Latino communities.”
“We believe in [Copa de la Diversión],” Parsons said. “We want fans to feel comfortable coming to our ballpark. Lansing is very diverse.”
The marketing effort will return in 2019 with the number of teams expected to grow from the current 33.
The Lugnuts have had many future MLB players make a stop in Central Michigan, including Latino players like Carlos Beltrán, Carlos Zambrano and Yan Gomes. Top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. played with the Lugnuts in 2017.
Parsons hopes Latino players can help build a relationship with Lansing’s Latino community.
“Baseball is an international language,” Parsons said. “It’s important to make a connection with them.”
Featured Image: Stadium Journey
Related
21 years ago, the original Backyard Baseball game was released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh. The game was wildly popular and probably delivers nostalgia for a lot of people that played it a couple decades ago—you might remember popping in the CD-ROM to play. In honor of the 21-year anniversary, these are my picks for the best ten players in the original Backyard Baseball.
Honorable Mention
Ricky Johnson, Dimitri Petrovich
10. Angela Delvecchio
Strictly a pitcher that could swing the bat, Angela “Sugar Pop” Delvecchio couldn’t run and couldn’t field. But when she was on her game with enough juice in her juice box on the mound, there might not have been a pitcher more frustrating to hit against. Delvecchio didn’t blow hitters away with gas, but she used her pitchers and hit her spots.
9. Vicki Kawaguchi
Vicki Kawaguchi couldn’t hit, but she’s good at everything else. She isn’t quite the pitcher her brother Kenny is, but she’s well above average there. In the field, Vicki could cover a ton of ground and make plays like a vacuum in the outfield or at one of the two middle infield spots. And while she wasn’t going to threaten for a home run, “Swan” could get on base with bunt attempts.
8. Ernie Steele
The baseball card for Ernie Steele (A.K.A. “Funnybones”) says “everyone loves Ernie because he is so silly.” You don’t want a bunch of jokers on your team, but a well-liked player like Ernie could help bring a group together. Steele is just adequate at hitting and running, but he’s an elite fielder that can step in and do a good job on the mound as a reliever.
7. Mikey Thomas
Mikey Thomas was extremely slow—perhaps the slowest in the game—which made him a potential liability on defense. Ideally, you would hide him at right field and hope not many balls head in that direction—he does have a great arm, so he could throw people out on the basepaths, and a good centerfielder could track down balls in the gap that Mikey can’t get to in time. As a hitter is where Thomas shines, as he could hit moon shots without needing an aluminum bat.
6. Achmed Khan
Achmed Khan wore headphones and listened to music while he played, but it didn’t matter—he arguably had the biggest power swing of any Backyard Baseball character. “Axeman” would just go to work when it was his turn to bat, and the nickname indicates he preferred a down-on-the-baseball approach instead of using a launch angle to hit his bombs.
5. Jocinda Smith
If you have the nickname “MVP”, you better be good at sports—and Jocinda Smith is certainly good at baseball. Smith is said to have the “best swing in town,” but she didn’t seem to have as much pop as some of the other maxed-out hitters in the neighborhood. Basically, Smith was a technically-sound, all-around player that’ll do her job.
4. Kiesha Phillips
Kiesha Phillips is described as “the neighborhood clown,” which probably leads to more swing-and-misses than you’d like to see from someone with so much skill. However, Phillips has a ton of power—only matched by only a few other players—and her ability to cover ground in the outfield (she’s nicknamed “Flash”) makes her one of the best players to build a lineup card around.
3. Kenny Kawaguchi
Do not overlook Kenny Kawaguchi just because he’s in a wheelchair. “K-Man” is an all-around baseball player and probably the best pitcher of anyone, as the nickname indicates. Kawaguchi might not have as much pop at the plate as others, but he is a very good option in the bottom half of batting lineups.
2. Pete Wheeler
Nicknamed “Wheelie”, the name fits for Pete Wheeler, who is a little slow in the mind but not slow in athletic ability. Wheeler’s Backyard Baseball card calls his swing “legendary” if he makes contact, as his power rivals anyone in the game. The fastest of the characters probably has the most natural ability of anyone; he’s not in love with baseball like the top player on the list, but he makes amazing things happen for his team without even realizing it.
1. Pablo Sanchez
Pablo Sanchez doesn’t speak a lick of English, but that doesn’t affect his ability on the diamond. He’s an elite five-tool player that’s arguably the best contact hitter, power hitter, fielder, and baserunner of all the kids. In a pinch, the “Secret Weapon” can get on the bump and dominate there, too. The multi-sport athlete has small shoulders, but he can legit carry his team to victory, and his legendary presence makes his squad the favorite no matter who the other eight players are. His theme song is even the best. Pablo Sanchez is the greatest sports video game character of all-time.
Bonus: The best team names in Backyard Baseball
1. Melonheads (Mighty Melonheads is the classic)
2. Bombers
3. Socks
4. Rockets
5. Giants
6. All Stars
7. Monsters
8. Hornets
9. Wombats
10. Fishes