Ever wonder who gets to approve the weird and often wonderful promotions at the St. Paul Saints games? That would be general manager Derek Sharrer, who gave the go-ahead for such edgy giveaways as the Larry Craig "bobblefoot" and the spinning bobblehead commemorating the Coleman-Franken recount.
Such headline-grabbing promotions are as much a team effort as what takes place on the field at Midway Stadium, said Sharrer, who's in his eighth year as Saints' GM and executive vice president and 18th in minor league baseball operations with the team's ownership group. "We have 14 people in our front office," Sharrer said. "Everybody from the front desk receptionist to the food and beverage director to the groundskeeper is going to play a role in each promotional idea."
When your job is generating attention -- and ticket sales -- for a minor league team in a major league city, wacky promotions and giveaways are a fact of life, said Sharrer. Some ideas all but write themselves, none more so than what the Saints have planned for the fortuitously timed National Hot Dog Day on July 23. The first 1,501 adults will receive Tweeting Weiner Boxer Shorts, which feature a "hot dog waving a Saints flag while having its picture taken by a Twitter bird," Sharrer said. Any similarity to the downfall of a recently resigned New York congressman is strictly intentional.
The wild card for Sharrer and the Saints is the occasional, usually unplanned, appearance by "the ultimate promotional utility player" -- longtime co-owner and "team psychologist" (and actor) Bill Murray.
Three and out with Derek Sharrer
- How did you get into baseball operations?
I wrote a letter to [Saints president] Mike Veeck, sent along a résumé suggesting I was a kid graduating from school [Indiana University, sports marketing and management] with a dream to work in baseball. For whatever reason, he gave me a call, invited me to interview and offered me a job paying $250 a month. I took it.
- Any failed promotions?
This goes back to the early days [before Sharrer's arrival]. Instead of video board replay, which we didn't have at the time, Mike wanted to have "mime-o-vision" -- mimes doing replays on the dugouts. The mimes did their first replay and there was dead silence. Until a kid threw a hot dog at the mimes, and then about a thousand hot dogs followed.
- Quick Bill Murray story?
We've done a Bill Murray bobblehead. People loved it. We've never asked him to be part of a promotion. The fun is when he shows up and becomes part of the promotion. He threw out the first pitch one night, took his big windup -- and threw it over the press box.
