July Promos

The dog days of summer are upon us and if you are like me, you'd rather be at the ballpark than the beach...although this never stops the Mrs. from making sure I smear the SPF900 on. July brings us the recognition of our great nation's independence. It's a chance to be with family and friends and honor the brave men and woman who have given us the gift of freedom, allowing us to continue to enjoy the great game of baseball. Here are some of the best promos for the month of July so that you can plan your celebrations. You now have no excuses left to get on out and enjoy some great baseball action and with seven teams now in action in New England, the options are endless.

Connecticut Tigers
July 4th - Sunday Funday (It's the 4th of July, they list "Apple Pie and Baseball" with this promo, you can play catch on the Dodd Stadium field after AND kids get to run the bases...sounds like all the ingredients are in place for a perfect summer day)
July 14th - Wicked "Wild" Wednesday (You can buy a 4 pack of tickets to the game, get 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas and a program for only $40. Now that is Wicked "Wild" if you ask me. You can't get two lower bleacher seats ($28 a pop) at Fenway for that cost!)
July 21st - St. Patrick's Day in July (The description says "Enjoy green beer and Irish entertainment"...and baseball of course!)

Lowell Spinners

July 1st - Johnny Pesky Navy Bobblehead Giveaway (The first 1,000 fans through the gates at LeLaucheur will score a Johnny Pesky Bobblehead, in what I expect will be a Navy uniform, in honor of his service and the fact that it's also "Military Night"...screw the pole, thanks for your service to this country Mr. Pesky.)

July 9th - $1,000 Money Drop/New England Patriots Night (Two great, albeit insane, nights in ONE! After the game a helicopter is going to drop $1,000 on the field so fans can scramble to get some loot...this has disaster potential written all over it! Oh yeah, Steve Grogan will be there throwing passes to fans too. No word on if Grogan will be dashing for cash.)
July 17th - Celebrating 50 Years of Bubble Wrap (Be there as the World Record is broken for most people simultaneously popping Bubble Wrap. Again, no word on if Steve Grogan will be there to assist.)

New Britain Rock Cats

July 7th - Christmas in July (Well if you can have St. Patrick's Day in July, you can have Christmas too! If it were up to me I'd move every holiday to July, we'd all take the month off and enjoy America's pastime...and maybe exchange some gifts? I wear an XL, thanks.)

July 17th - Irish Heritage Night (Sure, it's not "St. Patrick's Day in July", but I'm going to guess that it'll be as close as you can get...look at it as a warmup to the Tigers promo on the 21st. It's also a hat giveaway day for adults, there is a pre-game youth baseball clinic and the usual Saturday block party.)

July 25th - Paint Your Own Bobblehead (Bobbleheads are a hot commodity at the park. Some, over time, can fetch a pretty penny were you to part with it. So imagine how much you could get when you Picasso your own! No word on who the Bobblehead will be, but with your paint job on it, it's sure to be a masterpiece...that you store in a box, in the back of your garage, buried under other boxes, for generations to come.)

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

July 2nd - Hat Giveaway (The first 2,000 fans through the gate will pickup a new Fisher Cats hat for their collection. Who couldn't use a new hat? I think everytime I get a brand new hat, I'm already looking at my next one...it's like a vacation or a car in that sense.)

July 20th - Dustin Pedroia Bobblehead (2,000 of these gems will be available at the gate despite Pedroia's DL status.)

July 27th - Poster Giveaway (This is one of the more inventory-heavy giveaways that I've seen all season, with 5,000 fans getting a free Fisher Cats poster. You can look back on it someday and relive the excitement of the Fisher Cats 2010 season...which will definitely be worthwhile the way they are playing.)

Pawtucket Red Sox

July 8th - PawSox Cap Night (Again, another FREE lid. Pedro DePacas never scored so many lids...and I'll take you to a game if you get that reference!)

July 22nd - PawSox Jersey Night (The first 5,000 fans into McCoy will get a free PawSox replica jersey.)

July 31st - Jacoby Ellsbury Bobblehead (Another town, another Red Sox DLer who is being immortalized as a bobblehead. Who knows, Jacoby could be playing with Pawtucket by this point...orrrrrr maybe not.)

Portland Sea Dogs

July 5th - Mini-Flag Giveaway (The first 1,000 fans will get a free Sea Dogs mini-flag to wave during the game and to fly freely at home afterwards.)

July 7th - Breaking B-Boy McCoy (So some dude who looks like a broke version of DJ Jazzy Jeff, goes around from team-to-team like a modern day Max Patkin and breakdances while serving as a batboy...this is that dude...get ready Portland!)

July 22nd - Adrian Gonzalez Bobblehead Night (Gonzalez put in a full year in Portland back in 2002 when they were still a Marlins affiliate. I guess they found a box of 1,000 leftover bobbleheads...or they're really trying to help Boston in wooing him to the region.)

Vermont Lake Monsters

July 17th - Bill Lee/Oil Can Boyd Appearance (Not sure if any ballpark can hold these two personalities in it at the same time, but historic Centennial Field is gonna give it a whirl. Two of the most eccentric pitchers in Red Sox history should make for a great time.)

July 23rd - Champ Bobblehead Giveaway (Snatch a bobblehead of one the more timeless regional mascots...but only if you're one of the first 750 fans at the park.)

July 29th - Hellfly Sunglasses Giveaway (The first 500 adults age 18 and over get one of the more pricey giveaways of the month...a $90 pair of shades. At that cost they have to look cool, and even if they don't you can just tell everyone you're wearing $90 sunglasses and at least sound cool.)

Firework Nights

Connecticut - 16th & 23rd

Lowell - 3rd

New Britain - 16th

New Hampshire - 1st, 3rd, 4th, 15th, 17th, 19th & 21st

Pawtucket - 1st, 2nd & 3rd

Portland - 5th

Vermont - NONE

And for the 860th straight month, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats offer the most Firework Nights! Have a great July everyone and please be sure to send us your stories, pics and comments at beyondfenway@gmail.com or on Twitter @TheC40.