Lukas: Padres outfitting Little Leaguers in San Diego
From SABR member Paul Lukas at ESPN.com on March 8, 2012:
As the Little League season got under way in San Diego last weekend, the game on one field featured the Padres playing the Padres. On the next field over, it was another Padres-Padres matchup, and again on the field next to that one. In fact, throughout most of San Diego’s Little League diamonds, it was Padres as far as the eye could see.
But that’s not to say that the kids were all dressed the same. Some of them were wearing uniforms based on the big league Padres’ current home whites. Others were wearing the team’s camouflage jerseys. And others were wearing Padres throwbacks (yes, Little League throwbacks!) from the team’s storied uniform history — the brown-and-golds from the Dave Winfield era, the blue-and-oranges from the Tony Gwynn era, and even a 1948 design from the days when the minor league Padres played in the Pacific Coast League.
This is all part of a clever promotional initiative that makes so much sense, you have to wonder why nobody thought of it sooner. Here’s the deal: All Little League chapters within a 10-mile radius of Petco Park were given the opportunity to choose from 20 past and present Padres jerseys and matching caps, all at no cost. Most of the leagues jumped at the chance. When the dust settled, the Padres had supplied 11,600 jerseys and caps to over 800 local T-ball, baseball and softball teams. Even better, the kids get to keep the gear when the season’s over.
Read the full article here: http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7660579/san-diego-padres-outfitting-little-leaguers-authentic-uniforms
Originally published: March 8, 2012. Last Updated: March 8, 2012.