NewzCHICAGO (AP) — It started as a limited promotion for a specialty theme night. Then the Chicago White Sox heard from their fans. “When things go bananas … that’s when it gets really fun,” said Brooks Boyer, Chicago’s chief revenue and marketing officer.
Fun is the overarching theme when it comes to stadium giveaways, and business has been good at major league ballparks this year. An array of creative promotions — everything from the New York Mets handing out fake glasses and mustaches for a Bobby Valentine Disguise Night to the Texas Rangers giving away a Nolan Ryan bloody lip jersey — has played at least a small role in an MLB-wide average attendance of 29,618 through Tuesday’s games, the highest such number for a full season since 2017. Bobbleheads remain popular — like the Brandon Nimmo Bull Riding bobblehead in Texas, or the butter-churning Nick Kurtz “Big Amish” bobblehead with the Athletics — but it’s not just those iconic figurines that are drawing big crowds.
The Brewers handed out 25,000 bar dice sets to fans 21 and over on Saturday, and they had a crowd of 40,625 at American Family Field. The pitch clock and other innovative rules introduced by MLB in 2023 are often credited for spurring fan interest. But it’s clear from the long lines — and occasionally astronomical resale prices on eBay — what a clever giveaway can do for ticket sales, too.
“I definitely think across the league, there’s been an increase in demand and desire, and even necessity, to do things that are outside of the box,” said Meagan Hermosillo, the director of marketing and promotions for the Arizona Diamondbacks. “For us, we can’t really do a standard bobblehead or a standard anything. It has to have some kind of unique factor if we want it to move the needle.” Chicago’s pope hats took creative — and careful — planning The White Sox ended up giving the pope hats — shaped like the Pope’s miter, with the team’s sock logo in the middle — to everyone in the crowd of 38,113 for Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
The tribute to Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and longtime White Sox fan, helped push the club’s season-long attendance to 1,460,383, surpassing its total of 1,445,738 for all of 2025. There were signs posted in the ballpark that read “LEO KNOWS MUNE” and “LEO KNOWS KONERKO,” referring to current … Then the Chicago White Sox heard from their fans.Everyone wanted a pope-themed hat.“When things go bananas ...
that’s when it gets really fun,” said Brooks Boyer, Chicago's chief revenue and marketing officer.Fun is the overarching theme when it comes to stadium giveaways, and business has been good at major league ballparks this year.An array of creative promotions — everything from the New York Mets handing out fake glasses and mustaches for a Bobby Valentine Disguise Night to the Texas Rangers giving away a Nolan Ryan bloody lip jersey — has played at least a small role in an MLB-wide average attendance of 29,618 through Tuesday's games, the highest such number for a full season since 2017.Bobbleheads remain popular — like the Brandon Nimmo Bull Riding bobblehead in Texas, or the butter-churning Nick Kurtz “Big Amish” bobblehead with the Athletics — but it's not just those iconic figurines that are drawing big crowds.
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