Baseball season is just about here, everyone. If you like watching Spring Training ball, then it already is here. But we’re talking about meaningful games that actually matter. Gearing up for Opening Day, MLB.com took a look around the league at each team’s promotional schedule and highlighted the best giveaway from each team. Some were particularly thoughtful and drew influences from pop culture moments or the team’s history, while others were a little more … boilerplate. Here are some of our favorite 2019 MLB giveaways from the upcoming season (and one we’re not fans of).
1. Kansas City Royals Whit Merrifield Oven Mitt
For the uninitiated, Merrifield always wears a big ol’ glove when he’s on the bases so he can protect his hand from injury. The Royals saw a super fun way to build a promotion around that, giving fans an oven mitt to commemorate their second baseman’s quirky equipment setup.
¡Adiós! 👋 ¡@WhitMerrifield! 💨 #LosReales pic.twitter.com/rO94L3aJYr
— Los Royals (@losroyalskc) February 25, 2019
2. Chicago White Sox ‘Los White Sox’ Soccer Jerseys
Soccer jerseys are actually pretty fashionable right now, whether you’re an expert on the game or not. Thanks to their more T-shirt-like cut, these White Sox versions might get fans more interested in wearing them to the park instead of standard baseball jerseys.
3. Oakland A’s Oakland Larks Cap
Baseball has such a rich history, and it’s always cool when teams can tap into their local sports history and use it for a contemporary giveaway. The A’s will commemorate their city’s former Negro League team with a slick hat giveaway when they face off against the Rays in June. The embroidered details on the side of the hat are a neat touch.
4. San Diego Padres Bruce Lee T-shirt Night
There’s not much else to say here other than that Bruce Lee is eternally cool and any excuse to use his likeness for a promotion is fine by us. The more Bruce Lee, the better, and this shirt makes great use of multiple decorations areas for graphics on the front, back and sleeve.
5. Baltimore Orioles ’89 “Why Not?” T-shirt
Though the O’s weren’t anything to write home about in ’89, they made a playoff push after a horrific 107-loss season the year before. The cool thing is, that playoff push came up short, but “Why not?” became mantra for that team, so the Orioles marketing department said, “Why not make it a T-shirt?”
Bad Promotion Designated Hitter Position:
Florida Marlins Fedora Night
As if the Marlins weren’t phoning it in enough as a franchise, they went with a pretty uninspired promotion here. The fedora giveaway craze, if there ever was one, is long behind us. No one in Miami even wants to wear Marlins gear right now (it doesn’t help that they keep changing their logo), let alone a fedora. If anything, the Marlins should commemorate their biggest (read: only) fan with some sort of promotional item:
JUST IN: Marlins sign @Marlins_Man to an honorary one-day contract. pic.twitter.com/N4SbCNd290
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) September 17, 2018
Sign us up for a Marlins Man oven mitt night.
