When your team hosts 81 regular-season home games, you need to do something creative to break up the monotony. That's why players always seem to pull pranks and do zany things, and in turn, franchises themselves hold fun themed nights, interesting promotions and coveted giveaways at the ballpark.
Welcome to the Yardbarker roundtable, where we can't help but think about some of the craziest MLB theme nights. We're talking everything from Chicago's Disco Demolition Night in 1979 to the impending "Game of Thrones" nights set to take place across Major League Baseball in 2017. So we asked our panelists:
You’re in charge of promotions for any MLB team for one night. What theme night/promotion/giveaway would you put in place?
Phillip Barnett: The Giants have no problem promoting Metallica throughout the season, but Bay Area native E-40 is a huge Giants fan. There has to be a "Ghost Riding" bobblehead in his honor.
Matt Whitener: My dream theme night would be to be: "Well, you do it then" night. Yes, a role reversal day at the ballpark where fans are brought down to the field and literally put in the box to face MLB pitching, put in the field to take ground balls, and forced to do so in front of thousands of other people cheering for and booing, having to succeed throughout it all. Maybe call it "Cleats on the other feet" night. This would be my variety of entertaining.
Shiloh Carder: Come and pitch for the Padres night? I mean, if the San Diego Padres are seriously having backup catcher Christian Bethancourt pitch for them, then why not just have a promotion where some fan wins the chance to pitch one inning for the team? Hell, why stop there? Have a theme night where you get 25 fans to fill the Padres roster for one night.
David Matthews: Disco Demolition Night 2.0! We're going to do it right this time though. All joking aside, and inspired by this tweet, I'd like to see a team take a blogger who covers the team and throw 'em out on the mound for a few innings. That's helping boost attendance at a Padres-Phillies game, for sure.
Demetrius Bell: Turn Back the Clock Night is always a hit. Both teams get to wear funky uniforms from back in the day, we get to hear old-timey classic tunes from the particular era and concessions are at rock-bottom prices. All the fun of a day at the ballpark for only a fraction of the cost AND you get the possibility of seeing the Pittsburgh Pirates wear those weird all-black uniforms from the '70s? That would be my go-to promotional night.
Jamie Neal: I'm throwing things back to the '80s. Reasonably priced tickets and concessions, awesome unis, enough bobbleheads to give away to everyone at the gate, and it's not going to cost $250 to take the family to a baseball game. Some team should hire me to do promotions — I'm just saying.
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