When one thinks of baseball season, babies don’t normally come to mind. However, pregnancy nights have slowly started to grow throughout Minor League Baseball. Teams that have participated in these types of theme nights include the Brooklyn Cyclones (Short Season A; NY-Penn League, Lowell Spinners (Short Season A; NY-Penn League), Gwinnett Braves (Class AAA; International League), and Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International League).
The latest to join in on the fun is the Visalia Rawhide (High A; California League) who are having a unique Red, White, and Due promotion on July 1st.
Special promos for Red, White, and Due include free tickets for all expectant mothers, discounted peanuts, a pre-game photo on the field for the first 20 expectant moms, and if a mom goes into labor at the game, her child will receive free birthday parties at the ballpark for life.
General Manager Jennifer Pendergraft said the team was looking to do something special after they found out she was pregnant.
“Our owner was coaxing me into doing something since I’m one of the only female GMs in the minors and I’m expecting during baseball season,” Pendergraft said. “We started researching ideas to go with the theme and sat together to brainstorm.”
While researching ideas, Pendergraft found out she wasn’t the only one expecting.
“I worked in the office with our assistant GM (Charlie Saponara) whose wife is pregnant. Then I got an email from the trainer (Chad Moeller) when he was coming back about when his wife would be in town and that she was pregnant,” Pendergraft said. “Then I heard from our catcher’s (Tyler Baker) host family that his wife was expecting.”
The team just started promoting the event and Pendergraft said they are hoping for about 40 to 50 expectant mothers to attend the game, and that onesies (shown above) will also be handed out.
“The hospital sponsor is ordering onesies that are Fourth of July theme that say Future MVP on it,” Pendergraft said. “The onesies we don’t give out are going to the hospital and will be given to babies born in July.”
With plans in place, Pendergraft said the team is looking forward to the future.
“We are definitely getting a picture of all of our Rawhide babies together.”
Image of onesie courtesy of the Visalia Rawhide.