Welcome to Minor Enterprise, where we examine pro baseball at the lower levels. If you have info on minor league promotions, events or mascots, send it on over to Rickchand@gmail.com. Thanks!
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It was Iams Adoptable Pet of the Game Night for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals recently, and a beagle mix named Mona either escaped or was let onto the field to try and woo the crowd with her cuddly, charming dog antics. Little did anyone know that Mona is, apparently, from Philadelphia; because what she did on the field was neither charming nor cuddly. Order was quickly restored, however; as it’s always a better result when security uses a pooper scooper instead of a taser.
And, in a heart-warming post script, Mona was indeed adopted.
Meanwhile, S.I.’s Peter King reports that at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats game today, a dog is on the field making less of a mess.
Video of Mona in action, plus a sampling of the week’s best upcoming minor league promotions, following the jump.
Upcoming promotions:
* Date an Intern Night. Thursday, Hickory Crawdads (South Atlantic League). In which eight lovely women will compete for the chance to go on a date with intern Gregor Walz. A night on the town in Hickory, N.C. with a Minor League Baseball intern? Form an orderly line, ladies.
* Salute to Sweatpants. Saturday, West Michigan Whitecaps (Midwest League). Unclear on the specifics, but wear sweatpants and get in free, or something.
* Will Ferrell Appearance. Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Round Rock Express (Pacific Coast League). The inaugural Will Powered Golf Classic charity golf tournament begins on Friday at the nearby Cimarron Hills Country Club in Georgetown, Texas. But Ferrell arrives in town a day early to discuss working with James Caan in Elf.
* Circle of Life Weekend. Fri.-Mon., Quad Cities River Bandits (Midwest League). From MiLB.com’s Benjamin Hill: Friday is “Maternity Night,” featuring Lamaze classes and concession stand “craving stations” for Moms-to-be. On Saturday, a diligent student will be awarded a year of college tuition via the inaugural Keith Lucier Memorial Scholarship, and on Sunday, the team will announce the recipients of an extravagant “Bandit Wedding” (to take place at the ballpark on Aug. 20). It all concludes on Monday, with one lucky (?) fan receiving an all-expenses-paid funeral.
* Mascot of the Week. Pops, Syracuse Chiefs (International League). The Chiefs’ train engineer mascot was entertaining fans on April 22 when Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Jon Weber lost his grip during an at-bat, with the bat sailing into the stands and striking Pops in the head and upper body. Poor Pops. The mascot suffered a bruised shoulder, but should be OK. Pops is now hanging out with pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who was promoted to the Chiefs on Sunday.
