Philadelphia Phillies Going Viral For Incredible Ballpark Giveaway This Season
With just over two months until Opening Day, the Philadelphia Phillies are going viral for an incredible ballpark giveaway that is coming this July.
Per Destiny Lugardo of PhilliesNation:
"The Phillies are giving away this toy bullpen cart as part of 80s retro night to kids 14 & under on July 11 vs. the Dodgers."
The responses on social media are calling for the Phillies to give these away to all fans, because fans of all ages seem to want them.
Count me in that group. I'm generally partial to bobbleheads, but this seems pretty awesome, one of the top non-bobblehead giveaways I've ever seen.
For this who don't know, the bullpen cart was a way of transporting in relievers from the bullpen. An ESPN article from 2007 had more information on the history of the bullpen cart:
Historical details are sketchy, but the bullpen vehicle era appears to have begun in 1950, when the Indians introduced a car -- described in a newspaper report as a "little red auto" -- to ferry pitchers to the mound. The phenomenon really hit its stride in the 1970s, thanks to the advent of the giant baseball design, but it went through a slow decline in the 1980s and by 1996 had died out altogether, a victim of changing times and skyrocketing liability insurance rates.
The article also mentions that the Milwaukee Brewers appear to be the last team to use the bullpen cart, which was actually a bullpen motorcycle with a sidecar. They retired it after the 1995 season.
Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media
Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.
Check out more Philadelphia Phillies coverage at Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Inside the Phillies.
