OPINION |
Baseball can at times be perceived as a stuffy game because of the traditionalists who are slow to accept change, not only for new on-field rules but for off-field promotions.
The St. Louis Cardinals probably are one of the most buttoned-down organizations in the sport. It’s no shocker that Springfield Cardinals vice-president and general manager Dan Reiter didn’t immediately sense unanimous support from the big-league brass about a recent promotion changing the Springfield Cardinals’ name for three days.
“There were some people who thought it was one of the more clever things we’ve done and some people who you could see their jaws clench,” Reiter said of the idea of the alter-ego Springfield Cashew Chickens.
“Ultimately, they trusted us to say if we thought it was going to be fun for our fans, they would leave it up to us.”
A fun — and profitable — promotion
The Cashew Chickens went 2-1 from May 25-27 at Hammons Field and were winners off the field as well in terms of ticket and merchandise sales. The team averaged 4,660 fans — well above its season average of 3,754 in 2022 — and has been busy re-stocking T-shirts, jerseys and hats adorned with the Cashew Chickens logo.
“We could not have been any happier,” Reiter said. “It was more fun than we expected. It was received better than we expected. And honestly, it was more profitable than we expected — and the thing is we had pretty high expectations. The merchandise sales were something that we haven’t seen since the inaugural season of 2005.
“It was just so much fun. For us always being a traditional team, it was great to get outside of our comfort zone and outside of our box. I think our fans showed us there is definitely an appetite for it.”
The Cashew Chickens will return this summer and next
The successful run of the Cashew Chickens isn’t over. Reiter said on Thursday that the alter-ego birds will appear seven more times at Hammons Field this season, with the first three dates June 8, July 6 and Aug. 3. Those are all Thursdays to coincide with the “Thirsty Thursday” promotion.
In fact, the Cashew Chickens might roost a few times in 2024 as well. Asked about future alter-identities for the team, Reiter said it’s a well-detailed process that has to be thought out months in advance. Merchandising is a key element.
“You go through a process with Minor League Baseball to make it an approved jersey that you are able to wear,” Reiter said. “I think we’ll be the Springfield Cashew Chickens for one to two years as an alternate identity and then we’ll see how it’s going over with fans and if it’s time to come up with a new one, or if we want to stick with that one a little longer.
“Ultimately, we had to put our toes in the water and see how it went. Now that we have, it’s going to be up to the fan reception on how long this one sticks around or how long we look for something else.”
Reiter loved seeing the players have fun with the promotion
Reiter added that one of the most fun aspects for him was seeing the players have fun with the promotion, from wearing the hats and jerseys to seeing the family of the late restaurateur David Leong — who is credited with creating Springfield-style chicken dish in 1963 — throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“I think for them it was something different and fun,” Reiter said of the players. “Some of them had never had cashew chicken so we made sure we had it available for them to try. It was just neat to teach our players something about our community.
“For myself, going to high school here in town and knowing how important cashew chicken is to our identity, I thought it was absolutely worth it.”
Jordan Walker headed back to big leagues
It was a year ago when Springfield fans enjoyed Jordan Walker’s sensational season at Double-A. Walker opened the 2023 season on the big-league Cardinals as a starting outfielder before being sent to Triple-A Memphis to work on a swing to get the ball airborne more often.
Now Walker has been called back to St. Louis, hopefully to stay. After a slow start at Memphis, Walker hit a 430-foot home run on Wednesday for his second homer to go with 10 RBIs in the last eight games. With St. Louis' outfield in disarray because of injuries and inconsistent play, this is Walker’s time.
Interestingly enough, Walker seems to have gone back to his old swing to regain his stroke, owing only to small changes suggested by the team’s coaches. He was hitting .274 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 20 games — numbers that were among the team’s best — when demoted to Memphis late May.
“There’s no point if I’m trying to hit the ball in the air if I’m not hitting the ball at all,” Walker told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier this week. “I might as well hit the ball hard. If it’s on the ground, it’s on the ground. Trying to find the hole. Maybe drive a run in.
“I feel like as I go through the season, it’s going to get more in the air just like I did last year. So I just have to trust myself and trust how my swing has been in the past three years within the organization. That’s just what I have faith in.”
Classy college farewell from Ziegenbein
On the subject of baseball at Hammons Field, this time on the college level, Missouri State graduate relief pitcher Trey Ziegenbein had one of the best farewells of any player I’ve seen, no matter the sport. After the Bears’ season ended last week at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the school’s career leader with 103 pitching appearances, wrote on Twitter:
It’s over.
How do you sum up something that gave you everything? I am a product of being cut, walking on at Johnson County, 103 appearances, Tommy John, bus rides and countless other things that this game has provided.
I leave Missouri State with nothing but content with the past and hope for the future. I get to go home to my family and attempt life as a ‘normal’ human being. I no longer get to look forward to coming out of the Bear Bullpen, but I now get to look forward to someday becoming a husband, becoming a father and building the life after baseball that I’ve always wanted.
You never have as much time as you think, but man was my time sweet.
— Ziggy
