Baseball With All The Frills

By Jim Hersh, Intelligencer Journal Sports Editor

It used to be you'd go to a ballpark to see a baseball game. Period. No Chicken. No Phillies Phanatic. No fireworks.

But the rules have changed. Go to a ballpark now and you can be sure that you'll be entertained by more than just nine innings of baseball.

Bill Giles has been plotting ways to get the fans to the park this season. The Phillies' executive vice president has been in baseball for a quarter of a century.  He ran the Houston Astrodome for eight years, keeping the Astros' attendance above 1 million every year. Since 0ctober 1969 he's been the brains behind the Phillies' The Phillies marketing effort.

The Phillies Phanatic. That was Giles' idea.

The fireworks display on the Fourth of July. That was Giles' idea.

Many people believe Giles can be given as much credit for the Phillies' box office success as the team itself.

What Giles and his staff produce are some of the zaniest promotions imaginable: Kiteman, money scrambles, Farrah Fawcett look-alike contests. Most of the attractions make people laugh, even if the Phillies do lose the game. Everyone has a good time at the park.

"The promotions are geared to the fringe fan who follows the Phillies and has some interest but is not a dyed-in-the-wool fan," Giles said.

Baseball marketing has changed dramatically in the past 10 or 15 years.

"More and more clubs are getting into marketing and promoting," Giles said. Twenty-five years ago, when I started out in baseball. there was the public relations man, and he just took care of the newsmen. Now a lot of teams have a promotion staff of 15 or 20."

A team that used to draw 1 million fans was assured a financially successful season. That was before the free-agent age, before the spare catcher made $200,000 a year. Now it's different. A million fans nowadays probably wouldn't be enough to pay the electric bill. It's almost scary what a team has to do just to break even, especially a team with a payroll the size of the Phillies'.

"If we don't get into the playoffs, we figure we have to draw 2.8 million to break even," Giles said.

3 Million Mark

We keep shooting for the 3 million mark." Giles said. "I think we can make it if we stay in the pennant race."

Last year the Phillies drew 2,775,000. With a little luck, they have topped the 3 million mark.

"We were right on target on Aug. 10, but then we lost five straight to the Pirates," Giles said. "Everybody just gave up then."

Sales for opening day are down slightly from last year, but season ticket sales are about the same. The Phillies, sold 19,400 season tickets last year and hope to reach 19,000 this year.

Every Tuesday morning Giles and his staff get together and kick around ideas.

"About 95 per cent (of the promotions) have been successful." Giles said. "We've had some failures. Sometimes the failures have gotten us more publicity."

Kiteman was one failure that earned the Phillies' a ton of publicity, as did the reputed highest-jumping Easter bunny who hilariously collapsed at his moment in the spotlight.

Like the Astrodome, Veterans Stadium has been noted for its home run display. The Phillies have done away with their old home run spectacular of Philadelphia Phil and Phyllis, but a replacement will be unveiled on opening day.

"It's a new creation," Giles said. "It has a decorative skyline of Philadelphia, with strobe lights and sound."

It will, of course, swing into action after every Phillies home run.

But before all that, before the first home run of the season, even before the first pitch of the season, Phillies' fans will get another chance to see if Kiteman really can fly.

In Philadelphia, the mere mention of Kiteman brings chuckles.

"In 1972 he crashed into the seats in right-centerfield." Giles recalled. -Then in 1973 he semi-crashed in centerfield."

Now, seven years later he will make his third appearance at the Vet. Will he finally get airborne this year and make his ascent to the pitchers' mound with the first ball?

"He has promised," Giles laughed.