Tides smartly go against wave of tacky stunts to attract fans

The stupidity of some people is simply breathtaking.

What was the marketing staff of the Kansas City T-Bones minor league baseball team thinking when it came up with the idiotic promotion ridiculing Michael Vick's imprisonment at Leavenworth?

The team's plan to "welcome" Vick to the neighborhood May 28 was to include prison uniforms, spotlights and escape sirens.

It was a cringe-worthy idea.

The T-Bones, a Northern League club located in Kansas, announced late last week that they were calling off the publicity stunt. Good move.

That still doesn't explain the group brain-lock that allowed the insensitive idea to blossom in the first place.

How did this plan ever get off the drawing board? Wasn't there one person in the T-Bones marketing department willing to point out that it's not cool to stage a promotion that mocks a young man behind bars?

Write this off as just the latest example, one of the worst, of a minor league team pushing the envelope. Minor league clubs are known for zany stunts that often flirt with bad taste in an effort to draw crowds or media attention.

But at Harbor Park, home of the Tides, fans aren't subjected to zany. Or even borderline bad taste.

Don't hold your breath waiting for the Tides to advertise Vasectomy Night - male patrons are eligible for a drawing to win a free snip job - a promotion that was announced, then canceled in Charleston, S.C.

Something else Harbor Park patrons will never see: nuns giving back rubs to fans.

That was one of the many edgy promotions created by Mike Veeck when he was famously running the St. Paul Saints.

"To me, that is horribly offensive," Tides general manager Dave Rosenfield said.

There are a lot of tacky ideas floating around the

minor leagues, stunts intended to appeal to different demographics or to the terminally tacky.

Rosenfield is not a big fan.

"I'm so leery of anything where you are going to offend any group," he said this week. "We try to do everything that we think is in good taste and appeals to the family."

That rules out wet T-shirt contests.

"I guarantee you there are ballparks all over the country doing it," Rosenfield said.

For the most part, Tides promotions reflect Rosenfield's old-school sensibilities. Some teams feature "Bark in the Park." Fans are invited to parade their dogs on the field before the game.

But you know what that leads to, don't you? Little souvenirs behind third base. No thanks. The Tides will stick with the basics.

Fireworks, for example.

Starting May 22, the Tides are going to offer a pyrotechnics show after seven games.

Hat giveaways draw a crowd, too. Everybody loves the lids.

"You could have a hat night five times a year," Rosenfield said.

Once again, the Tides will feature "Roll Back the Price Night," with hot dogs, sodas and popcorn selling for 25 cents. It's a huge promotion. Everybody enjoys cheap food.

But Rosenfield doesn't have anything against ideas that skew younger, as long as they're in good taste. Once again, the Tides will bring in Zooperstars, a troupe of performers dressed as oversized characters that go by names like Shaquille O'Seal and Clammy Sosa.

Less flashy, but promotions that are here to stay, are Military Appreciation Night and Breast Cancer Awareness Night.

"Everything we do is not just to draw more people," Rosenfield said. "Some of the things are to show our appreciation for worthwhile causes and to show we're a part of the community."

Promotions are a necessity, but Rosenfield, old-school guy that he is, believes the Tides' home - part of the community for 16 seasons - is a bigger attraction than giveaways and come-ons.

The comfortable seating, combined with a setting that affords a view of boats on the river beyond rightfield, contributes to the enjoyment of the game.

"Harbor Park is a promotion in itself," he said.

One that makes you smile, not cringe.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com