Out-There Baseball Promos: The Cubs’ ‘I Think You Should Leave’ Shirt and Minor League ‘Rebrands’

Brendan Menapace

The All-Star break hasn’t even happened yet, and we’re confident that the Chicago Cubs are one of the best teams in baseball. Not because of their record. No. They’re two games below .500 and in third place in the NL Central, 3.5 games behind the Reds.

It’s because they have created possibly the best promotional giveaway of this and possibly a few other recent MLB seasons.

If you’re a fan of the Netflix sketch comedy show “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson,” I don’t need to explain any further than telling you that the Cubs made a “Dan Flashes” shirt.

For those who haven’t seen the show, there’s a sketch where Robinson’s character spent all of his company’s per diem money at a store called Dan Flashes, which specializes in exorbitantly expensive shirts with complicated patterns. The more complicated the patterns, the pricier the shirt. And, as Robinson’s character explains, the store is full of guys who look exactly like him all fighting over the shirts. It gets violent.

Anyway, Cubs fans can go to Wrigley Field on July 1 for a shirt that replicates the one Robinson wears in the sketch.

In a world where we’ve all just surrendered to fedora nights at the ballpark, this is a way to go gauche while still being current. It touches on a TV phenomenon that has created endless memes thanks to the show’s absurd qualities, and will 100% get people out to the ballpark to try to get the shirt (hopefully without any fights).

Netflix hasn’t shied away from big branding opportunities for its shows, but somehow, despite the popularity of “I Think You Should Leave,” Netflix hasn’t really tried to do anything on the merchandise side. This might not be an officially licensed event, though. The Cubs might have just created a similarly complicated shirt and called it “I Think You Should Leave” night without using any logos from Netflix or anything.

Either way, it’s a home run of a promo, and if we were anywhere near Wrigley on July 1, we’d go.

But, the Majors aren’t the only source of good baseball promos these days. We’ve mentioned in the past how much we love Minor League Baseball for its creativity, and lately a few teams have “rebranded” temporarily for special theme nights, which come with special new uniforms and apparel.

The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs will rebrand in August as the Lehigh Valley Corgis, complete with a uniform that accentuates the fluffy behinds of the beloved low-rider dog breed.

The Reno Aces have actually done two great rebrands lately. The first was yesterday, when they took the field as the Micheladas de Reno, named after the delicious drink.

And keeping with that tropical theme, they’ll wear special Margaritaville-inspired jerseys on July 8.

After those tropical beverages, you might need to eat something. So, that’s where the Springfield Cardinals’ new identity works nicely.

This one, we don’t fully get, but it’s impossible not to appreciate.

There’s a whole line of Springfield Cashew Chickens gear, including apparel and headwear, available. And it’s all pretty out-there.

It’s times like these that we should remember that it’s OK to go big on a promo from time to time. Especially in something like baseball, which is typically very reserved and beholden to tradition, there’s space for fun and complicated patterns.

Are Dan Flashes shirts suddenly going to end up on the runway, or will end-users want one for a regular apparel giveaway? Probably not. But, things like these are good winks and novelty items that people still value.

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