The Louisville Bats concluded its auction of game-worn camouflage jerseys last night and raised over $4,600 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation—which provides free college scholarship grants, along with financial aid and educational counseling, to the children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Special Operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident.

The biggest seller was Mark Bellhorn’s jersey, which went for a final bid of $810. Joey Votto’s jersey finished second, pulling in $360.

A big weekend of promotions awaits Triple-A Charlotte, which way back when in its days as an Orioles affiliate, hosted up-and-coming shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. on his way to the big leagues.

The Knights will pay homage to Ripken’s upcoming Hall of Fame induction with several Cal-related giveaways when the team hosts another former Orioles affiliate, Rochester, on Saturday. Most notably, Charlotte plans to give away 2,632 Ripken bobblehead dolls (representing Ripken’s consecutive game streak). Fans will receive a scratch-off ticket when they enter the gates and will have the opportunity to win a Ripken bobblehead, hologram card, magnet or general admission tickets to a future game.

On Sunday, the Knights will be hosting their first cash giveaway. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive envelopes containing cash as they enter the stadium. Inbetween innings fans will have the opportunity to participate in the Knights’ version of the classic game show, Let’s Make a Deal, and trade in their cash for mystery prizes.

After reminiscing with John Manuel about old school rap music this morning—he’s got mad East Coast Family knowledge—you can’t imagine my excitement when an e-mail entitled “I Got The Power” showed up in my inbox.

But alas, the e-mail is not about a Snap reunion tour but something that has the potential to be equally exciting: the West Virginia Power’s new theme song, set to debut tomorrow night. Unfortunately we don’t have an advance copy, but I’ll post it here once it becomes available Friday and will try and gather the BA staff for a review.

“I Got the Power” is written by local West Virginia artist K-kutta, who will be performing before tomorrow night’s game at Appalachian Park. I checked out K-kutta’s website and he’s got a couple of booty-licious videos on there. Should be a good show.

Stories Making Headlines Around Baseball

• What’s a baseball game without beer vendors? Obviously the folks in the independent United League knew the answer to that question as they scrambled to find a new supplier after having their license revoked last week for concealing the identity of the party that profited from liquor sales.

• The Yankees were among the first teams to join MLB officials in exploratory trips to China and, not surprisingly, became the first team to sign players from China. I’ll leave the scouting analysis on the two players, pitcher Kai Liu and catcher Zhenwang Zhang, to the experts, but it would not be surprising if the signings are primarily for marketing purposes. The Yankees seem to have the European market cornered thanks to a partnership with Manchester United—my wife is from Ireland and in our recent trips over I’ve seen more and more lads wearing Yankees gear. [...] Continue Reading »

Following up on an earlier note, low Class A Hagerstown raised $2,288 during a silent auction at yesterday’s game for a fund benefiting the family of Colorado Springs executive Rai Henniger, who was seriously injured earlier this season while setting up a fireworks display before a home game.

Among the featured items in the auction was a Roger Clemens autographed ball—donated by the Roger Clemens Foundation—four Diamond Club seats to a Washington Nationals game (the Suns’ big league affiliate) and autographed items by Whitey Ford, Gaylord Perry and other stars.

Stories Making Headline Around Baseball

• Just call him the Johnny Drama of baseball. Struggling actor Greg Vojtanek—you may remember him as Leap Reader George in the Princess Diaries 2—leaves LA for Savannah two years ago before landing a gig as marketing manager in York.

• Former Phillies spring training home Jack Russell Stadium is set to be demolished. The 52-year-old ballpark had fallen into disrepair even before the team left for a new home—in 2001 a county commissioner broke his ankle when a roped off section of concrete broke off, sending him plummeting nine feet. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around Baseball

• The Toronto Globe and Mail profiles Fort Myers assistant GM Andrew Seymour, the man behind tonight’s promotion “Don’t Be a Bengal, Be a Good Citizen.”

Highlights of the promotion—which mocks the NFL team’s constant run-in with law—include: anyone wearing a Bengals jersey will have to pay “Ocho Cinco” dollars for a ticket—in honor of Bengals star wide receiver Chad Johnson’s self-appointed nickname. Fans wearing anything orange have to visit an on-site lawyer for a mild slap on the wrist. And throwing out the first pitch: Chad Johnson. ” We looked through the phone book and found a Chad Johnson [in Fort Myers] and he’s throwing out the first pitch,” Seymour said.

• The Louisville Courier Journal’s potential lawsuit against the NCAA over blogging at the College World Series has the potential to be a landmark case pertaining to new media. The newspaper is weighing legal action on First Amendment grounds while the NCAA states it is merely enforcing a long-standing policy—either way the situation is not unique to this individual case and could affect future coverage of sports. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around The Minors

• Folks in Reno are getting ready to celebrate, as relocating a Triple-A team to Northern Nevada took a big step forward when SK Baseball announced its plans to purchase Tucson. Toward the bottom of this article is information that stadium development talks in suburban Sparks as part of a major development are breaking down—perhaps jeopardizing a 2009 start date since Sparks was further along in development than any other site. However PCL president Branch Rickey says “You can do anything with enough money.”

Reaction to the Sidewinders likely departure has been mixed in Tucson. While Tucson owner Jay Zucker has offered the Reno ownership group—headed by Jerry and Stuart Katzoff—a $1.5 million discount on the $15 million price tag. AZ Star columnist Greg Hansen says that money is just a drop in the bucket for the shopping mall/resort developers and if local government doesn’t get involved, the White Sox will soon be following the Sidewinders out of town to a more attractive spring training location.

Others in Tucson see the team’s departure as a blessing—the local government can make more money by increasing its concert schedule at Tucson Electric Park. In case you need more information, The Tucson Citizen pens a Q&A on what led up to the deal and what happens now. [...] Continue Reading »

I want to thank reader Brett Zalaski for bringing this to my attention today.

The Fort Myers Miracle plan to take a shot at Billy Donovan’s very brief coaching career with the Orlando Magic by hosting “Billy Donovan Night” on June 20 against Tampa.

The team will allow fans to follow Donovan’s lead (he backed out of a $27.5 million contract with Orlando just days after signing it) by giving them the opportunity to negotiate out of their ticket purchases. [...] Continue Reading »

We’re going to have something on this in the upcoming issue, but I just wanted to get the news on here as well before the magazine hits the newsstands.

We’ve got it from several sources that Minor League Baseball executive Eric Krupa has been selected by the South Atlantic League presidential search committee and will be introduced as John Herny Moss’ replacement at the league all-star game later this month—pending approval by the board of directors. [...] Continue Reading »

There’s no better way to strum up support in New England than take a shot at the Yankees—a marketing method that has proven golden for short-season Lowell and has it back in the national spotlight.

Two years ago the Spinners introduced the “Yankees Elimination Program” in which the club offered to provide equipment to any Lowell-area youth baseball team that changed its name from Yankees to something relevant to the Sox affiliate. The promotion proved so popular that they extended it to all of Massachusetts and bought roughly $40,000 worth of equipment for 70 teams.

Yesterday, the Spinners’ latest anti-Yankee promotion—termed “The Slap Heard Around The World”—was picked up by wire services and made headlines in newspapers across the country. It certainly brought smiles to faces across Red Sox Nation.

In yet another way to celebrate Boston’s 2004 ALCS victory over the Yankees, the Spinners bought the first base used in Game Six played at Yankees Stadium. Why you ask? Well of course to poke fun at Alex Rodriguez (a favorite pastime of Red Sox fans), who tried to chop the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove in the eighth inning of that game. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around The Minors

• Short-season Lowell has made a name for itself the past couple of years by successfully marketing its anti-Yankees philosophy—the club has donated more than $40,000 in equipment to youth baseball teams that will name themselves after the Spinners instead of the Yankees. Lowell has taken it to a new level by purchasing the first base from the Yankees used in the 2004 ALCS—the site of the infamous Alex Rodriguez slap play.

• Former Portland owner and longtime front office executive Jack Cain is staying on with the Beavers under new owner Merritt Paulson–though his title and job description is a tad vague.

• Colorado Springs executive Rai Henniger has been upgraded to fair condition but still has a tough road ahead of him. Henniger was severely injured when a fireworks display he was setting up exploded prior to a game—and details have emerged about two soldiers in attendance likely saved his life.

One year later, John Drennen is still getting comments about his shot heard round the world—a home run off Roger Clemens during his rehab start with Lexington.

• Battle Creek makes its home debut tonight in the Northwoods League.

Triple-A Durham’s game at Ottawa was postponed tonight because, of all things, mechanical failure. No the lights didn’t go out at Lynx Stadium and the sprinklers weren’t mistakenly turned on.

Rather Durham never get off the ground.

The Bulls were set to begin a nine-game road trip when they boarded a flight to Ottawa at Raleigh-Durham International Airport this morning. But moments before taking off passengers were ordered off the plane and the flight was canceled due to a mechanical problem.

Bulls players and personnel scattered onto different flights, arriving in Ottawa anywhere from late afternoon to early evening. International League president Randy Mobley said the game would have begun two hours late at the earliest—and still without many Durham players. So the decision was made to postpone play it as a doubleheader on Wednesday.

Surprisingly, Mobley said incidents like this are infrequent in the International League and that air travel complications rarely cause postponements.

“It is the first time we’ve had anything like this happen this year,” Mobley said. “It happens probably less than once a year.”

“My sincere apologies go out to our fans along with the Ottawa Lynx and their fans,” Durham Bulls General Manager Mike Birling said in a release. “My staff and the airlines worked feverishly to resolve this issue, but we were unable to find a solution that would get us there on time.”

Next year will mark the International League’s 125th anniversary—it’s the oldest minor league in sports and has turned out such players as Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson—and league president Randy Mobley said plans are in the works to mark the occaision.

The first official announcement, which will include the unveiling of an anniversary logo, will come on July 24 in Rochester—the only team to be a part of the International League since it was found in 1883.

“We want to make the announcement in the heart of the league’s history,” said Mobley, noting that Buffalo and Syracuse have also been a part of the league for most of its history. “We thought it would be a fitting location.”

Stories Making Headlines Around The Minors

• The USA Today’s Jack Carey delves into the debate over wood and metal bats and the lawsuit being filed by bat companies and USA Baseball to overturn the recent metal bat ban in New York City.

• Sarasota’s winning ways on the field certainly have not translated accordingly in the stands. The Reds Florida State League affiliate is last in the league in attendance and trying to figure out new ways to put fannies in the seats as it awaits word on a possible ballpark construction project.

• Historic Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Mass.–which opened in 1892, has hosted great players like Lou Gehrig and is on the National Register of Historic Places–is in need of a major facelift. The question remains as to whether it will get those repairs, estimated by some in the millions, and what will happen to the ballpark if it doesn’t. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around The Minors

It’s been a busy stretch here at Baseball America getting out our latest issue—we bid farewell to the draft-and-follow with a feature by editor in chief Will Lingo—but it’s time to get back to the Biz Beat with news from the past few days.

(Once again, send any upcoming promotions and business news to me at businessbeat@baseballamerica.com.)

• Go ahead and call it the Scott Boras Academy. For the past two years, Boras has sent pitchers looking for better value in the draft to independent Fort Worth and both pitchers (Luke Hochevear and Max Scherzer), in addition to Boras and Fort Worth, have come away better for the move.

• Portland announces the Bob L. Head bobblehead winner—and it’s the dude from Iowa who won the internet voting race. Not exactly American Idol, but quite a creative promotion that actually garnered national media attention.

• The future home of the Northwest Arkansas Travelers came in $4.1 million over its estimated cost of $29.3 million. As a result, some party decks and luxury suites in the plans hit the cutting room floor.

• Josh Hamilton’s rehab assignment, which begins tonight in Durham—just a few miles from his hometown of Raleigh—figures to be a media tour as well.

• A reporter for the News Herald (located somewhere in northeast Ohio) takes some shots at Columbus Clippers’ Cooper Stadium—saying among other things, that the Nationals should be ashamed of letting their Triple-A team play there. I guess he hasn’t been to RFK. [...] Continue Reading »