Games just a fraction of the fun at minor league parks

Earlier this month, the Bowie (Md.) Baysox held an event where fans got to camp in the outfield. Mallory Rubin

By Mallory Rubin, Special to SI.com

Driving by the marquee on Crain Highway in Bowie, Md., you won't see anything about the Bowie Baysox players who call nearby Prince George's Stadium home. There's no mention of the evening's pitching matchup or the team's record. Instead, the digital display flashes announcement after announcement -- "FIREWORKS TONIGHT!" "PINK IN THE PARK DAY!" -- letting passers-by know minor league baseball promotional heaven is only a mile away.

On this August night the sign announces the postgame Family Camp Out.

Cathy Dunn, Tracy Mogel and Tracy's 8-year-old daughter, Makayla, are three of the 130 people spreading out sleeping bags and propping up tents on the field. As Dunn (a self-proclaimed seasoned camper) and Tracy (a rookie) set up camping chairs next to their tent in center field, Makayla leaps through the tent's opening onto the thin mattress inside.

"Mom, this is way better than my bed!" she says.

When Dunn spotted an ad for the camp out at an earlier Baysox game, the three decided to have a girls' night out.

"This is just too good to miss," Tracy says. "You get to camp out on a ball field! That's like one of the coolest things in the world."

Like all 160 minor league baseball teams, the Baysox put a heavy emphasis on promotions. They have giveaways (Nick Markakis bobble head, anyone?), camp outs (local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops each have a camp out as well) and wacky and weird theme nights (lucky intern, Harrison, got to smell breath all night and crown a "winner" at this season's inaugural Bad Breath Night). They break records (they're still trying to get Guinness World Records to recognize them for breaking the records for simultaneous whoopee cushion sits and simultaneous 90-second yo-yoing). That's not to mention the between innings mini-promotions and postgame staples such as kids running the bases.

On this night, the Baysox flexed their promotional muscles long before the camp out began. Musical chairs, a T-shirt toss, Beaver Chuckin' (where a fan sees how many stuffed beavers he can throw through a glass-less window pane), a sack race and sumo-wrestling all preceded the end of the game. After the Baysox wrapped up a 7-1 victory, the stadium lights went out and the fans screamed as the fireworks began.

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