The Asheville Tourists (Low A; Sally League) are donning psychedelic colors this Thursday, taking the field as the Asheville Hippies, complete with unique tie-die uniforms and caps.
We covered this promotion last January, and we’re tickled pink to cover it again.
For one night only, the team will wear custom jerseys with a Tourists colored tie-dye theme and the word “Hippies” across the chest as they take on the Greenville baseball team.
The individual game worn jerseys will be auctioned off to fans with proceeds benefiting the Asheville Tourists Children’s Fund. The Tourists Children’s Fund provides shoes for children in need. Throughout the history of the Children’s Fund, they have raised enough to purchase more than 22,000 pairs of shoes for school children in Buncombe County. Bids on the game worn Hippie Jerseys may be placed at AshevilleHippies.com.
What started as a Twitter troll attack when the Greenville baseball team referred to the Tourists as the “Asheville Hippies” resulted in a friendly challenge offered by the Asheville Tourists and accepted by Greenville. It was determined that whichever team won the majority of the head-to-head contests in 2016; the other would succumb to wearing a specialty jersey for one game in 2017. If the Tourists won the 24-game series Greenville would become the “Rednecks” and if Greenville won the series the Tourists would become the “Hippies.”
The series ended in a 12-12 split. The Tourists considered this a loss and chose to execute their end of the bargain. Greenville respectfully declined.
“If poking a little fun at ourselves will help raise money for those in need, then I’m all for it,” said Asheville Tourists President Brian DeWine.
In addition to the custom Hippie Jerseys, the Tourists will also wear custom New Era Hippie Caps. The caps are purple with a Jade bill. The white Asheville “A” that sits on the front panel of the cap is filled with a tie-dye color scheme.
If you can’t make it to the game, fret not: Asheville Hippies T-Shirts and a limited number of Asheville Hippies New Era Caps are currently available for fans to purchase at The Tourists Trap, located at McCormick Field, and online at TheTouristsTrap.com.