'A League of Their Own' a hit around Minors

The time has come for one and all. It's happening in cities near and far.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of A League of Their Own, and Minor League teams from coast to coast are in commemoration mode. The beloved film takes place during the first season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943, features a bevy of unforgettable moments and tells the story of fictional sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty), who begin the campaign as batterymates but end it as rivals.

None of those elements alone explains why the movie remains such a hit, especially among baseball fans and maybe even more so among those familiar with the Minor Leagues.
"The whole movie is kind of about the grit and grind of the game, and the long bus trips and playing hurt," Sacramento River Cats director of marketing Erin O'Donnell said.
"I think a lot of that still resonates with the Minors -- especially from the front office angle. It's about how to sell this game, and getting attention with the uniforms, and they need personalities. I think that especially is still true with the Minor Leagues."

O'Donnell's club, which is hosting Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend Night on Sept. 2, got national media attention when they announced pink Rockford Peaches-inspired jerseys back in February. At least a half-dozen other teams are paying or have already paid homage to the film with their own creative spin.
Among them are the Akron RubberDucks (June 3), Potomac Nationals (June 23), Tampa Yankees (June 24), Staten Island Yankees (July 1, as part of Women in Sports Night), Portland Sea Dogs (July 6) and El Paso Chihuahuas (Aug. 17, with a networking event for women). Back on May 8, the home of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Arvest Ballpark, was the site of a reunion game put on by the Bentonville Film Festival and featuring six women who played as Peaches in the movie and a first-pitch by real-life AAGPBL player Gina Casey.
Appearances from real stars of the women's league are also a hallmark of several of the Minors promos. Sacramento, Portland and Staten Island have all announced a former player's attendance, and Potomac was thrilled to get former Rockford first basewoman Virginia (Ventura) Manina. Unfortunately, an illness kept her from making the trip from Georgia.
"It would have been great to have her there signing autographs, but it was the thought that counted," P-Nats general manager of sales Bryan Holland said.
Before Holland would discuss other aspects of his club's promo, he said, "Disclaimer, [Akron] wins, for having Marla Hooch come out and the Marla Hooch bobblehead. That's the way to go about it. Our attempt was to hold a candle to actually having an actor from the movie there."

Amara Avalos scored a Marla Hooch "What a Hitter!" bobblehead. (Akron RubberDucks)
The RubberDucks did indeed land Megan Cavanagh, the actress who played the slugging infielder whom scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) wants to ignore because she bears "too strong a resemblance" to General Omar Bradley. The Akron front office worked with an L.A. booking agency and began pursuing Cavanagh in January.
"We asked [the booking agency] what characters they thought would be available, but here in Akron we pick out the wacky characters," said RubberDucks manager of promotions Christina Urycki. "We're drawn to that one person who was not necessarily the main character but who stands out, the character who made an impact and was the most memorable. That's definitely Marla Hooch."

Beyond the actress' appearance, "We had different theme contests. There's the part in the movie where [Hooch] has to go to [beauty and charm] school, so we had a contest where the kids had to walk with books on their head. We are the only team that did a bobblehead. It says, 'What a hitter!' and it has her in the traditional pink Peaches jersey, but with RubberDucks logos."
Cavanagh told Akron personnel it was the first time a bobblehead had been made in her likeness, and she appeared to enjoy signing for fans.
"Honestly, she really played a huge role in making the night successful and bringing the fans together," Urycki said. "The line to meet her was a mile long, and we actually had to cut it off in order to make sure she could get through it in the night and not have her there until midnight, but she was amazing with the fans. She would talk to them, take pictures with them, sign autographs. She was really fun, and humble, and just great with the whole night."

"We feed them to the cows when they're constipated." (Potomac Nationals)
And while the P-Nats didn't have any star appearance, their creative approach to the promotion delivered lots of fun moments. They not only had a book-balancing contest, but -- among other items -- a 'Betty Spaghetti' eating contest, vintage-themed programs and a Harvey bar giveaway. In a play on the famous "No crying in baseball" diatribe from Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), Potomac fans were challenged to eat as much of an onion as they could in a 60-second window without shedding a tear.
"I just love that darn movie," Holland said. "I think seeing adults and maybe one 19-year-old chomp down on an onion like an apple, that was one of those moments when I said, 'This is why I love this business.'"
Of course, A League of Their Own has also had a lasting social impact. Holland believes celebrating the women of the AAGPBL is "the right thing to do," and he pointed out that to not tell their story is "to not tell the whole story of baseball."

The P-Nats had replica AAGPBL programs made for their event. (Potomac Nationals)
In April, Geena Davis told Entertainment Weekly, "Its legacy is that it's performing the same task that it did back when it first came out, which is that women and girls in droves take up sports because of that movie."
Urycki acknowledged that the film holds special meaning to her as a woman working in baseball.
"It's one of the movies little girls grow up watching -- a lot of people grow up watching it -- but it shows strong women empowering other women," she said. "That's never a bad thing."
And that will also be an aspect of the River Cats' theme night in September.
"When we designed the theme night itself, we knew it would have a strong connection with women's empowerment," O'Donnell said. 
With the event, Sacramento will also celebrate native son Hanks, for whom a hot dog is named at Raley Field. 
"We did invite Tom Hanks as well as Geena Davis to the game," O'Donnell said. "We haven't heard anything, but you never know."