The p.r. departments of minor league teams have found a new way to make money this offseason: jerseys based on old movies/cartoons.
It’s a way to get fans in the ballpark for the night when the jerseys will be worn and a way to increase merchandise sales all season long.
It started a month ago when the Toledo Mudhens (the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate) answered the question we’d all been wondering: Who you gonna call … for a baseball jersey that resembles the outfit from “Ghostbusters”?
Not to be outdone, the Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A, Giants) broke out these “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” jerseys two weeks ago. Extra points for having different versions: one each for Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo. No word yet on how much the Splinter-themed 24-ounce beer mugs will cost.
But the reason we are writing this today is thanks to the Durham Bulls (Triple-A, Rays), a minor league organization that is no stranger to awesome movies (See: Davis, Crash).
They unveiled R2-D2 “Star Wars” jerseys on Tuesday on their Twitter account that got a hardy thumbs up from the Grizzlies. The droid-chic uniforms will be worn on May 4 (as in, “May the 4th … be with you”).
But before we decide which jersey is the best (worst?), we should wait to see what the Kalamazoo Growlers (collegiate summer league) come up with. They are ditching the retro pop culture theme and instead making a mosaic jersey composed of selfies submitted by fans.
Actually, let’s not wait.