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Take a long, careful look at the promotional/giveaway schedule for the Phillies for 2015. Like the 2015 Phillies team, it does not look to be very exciting at first, second, or third blush.
There are three bobblehead giveaways:
- Roy Halladay: March 7 at a Spring Training game
- "Vintage Phillies Bobblehead" on June 2 (a Tuesday night) against the Reds
- "Bobble Figurine" on Tuesday, August 18 against the Blue Jays
The ambiguity on the player bobblehead on August 18 and on the player jersey (see below, for June 7th) is likely the answer to the question of "Who will still be a "front line" Phillie on said date?" My suggestion is to go with Diekman and Giles and be done with it, so that the shirts/bobbling heads can be ordered. With a team in flux like this, promotions have to be difficult to plan. Think back to ye olde days of Hunter Pence.
Other interesting dates:
- Phillies bat pack on Sunday, April 12 against the Nationals (14 and under)
- Phanatic socks on Sunday, April 26 against the Barves (14 and under)
- Autism Awareness Night on Saturday, April 25th against the Barves. Details here. A portion of ticket sales will go to Autism Speaks. If I were attending my first game with my autistic son, I would suggest also turning down the PA system/amplified music to reduce sensory issues for kiddos (at least in a few promotional sections), but that's just me. My son has adjusted at this point, but he wasn't always comfortable with the noise.
- Sunday, May 10th (Mets) brings us Mother's Day and a "Ladies Wristlet" whatever that is for mothers (a.k.a. females 15 and over?)
- Monday, May 11th is a Phillies cap for all fans
- Saturday, May 16th (Diamondbacks) - Dollar Dog night *and* Cornhole night! No giveaways, per se, but this sounds really fun. I'd insert a cheap sodomy joke, but I already did. Another would just be gonzo.
- Sunday June 7th against the Giants: "Player T-Shirt"
- Sunday June 21 (Cardinals) - Father's Day (men 15 and older!) a 1960's Phillies cap (this seems really cool to me, but I also shake my cane at the sky at times, so there you are).
- Saturday, June 27 (Nationals) - W.B. Mason collectible truck! (fans 14 and under)
- Sunday, June 28 (Nationals) - Phanatic Jersey (fans 14 and under)
- Friday, July 31 (Barves) Wall of Fame Night (Who ever will it be?!?!? Maybe it is finally time for Steve Jeltz!)
- Saturday, August 1 (Barves) Alumni Night
- Sunday, August 30 (Padres) Kids Back to School gift (14 and under, of course)
- Sunday, October 4 (Marlins) - Fan Appreciation Day, when all fans will receive sweet, merciful oblivion oblivion, and maybe some other schwag.
There are the usual assortment of "Nights" for professions that people "like" (i.e., not criminal defense lawyers), various ethnicky groups, complete with soft stereotypes like beer and sausages for Germans and Papelbonian dancing for the Irish. There are days for seniors to stroll bases and kids to run them.
It's not an awful lineup, but it seems thin on bobbling heads and Ben Revere Growth charts and 1993 N.L. replica pennants, and really nifty, odd, fun things like that. A little more spice and fun. Lord knows the team and fans could use a little spiking of the punch this year.
I hope that there will be more giveaways announced, like "2 for 1 Day for sections 206-211" or something along those lines. I suspect Stubhub will provide, though. That's just my bias. Less stuff, and more baseball, even bad baseball.