The Tampa Bay Rays have long had a reputation as one of MLB’s most outside-the-box teams, buying heavily into advanced analytics, using unconventional defensive positioning and having a tank filled with live stingrays in the outfield. So it’s no surprise that their promotional giveaways are, um … let’s go with quirky.
In addition to the standard stuff like schedule magnets, reusable totes and assorted headwear, and the usual slate of bobbleheads, the team’s official 2015 promo schedule lists some interesting items. A soap dispenser? Yep. An inflatable chair? You bet. A Halloween mask modeled after this guy? Of course.
Still, that’s not so weird. A soap dispenser seems a little odd for a baseball giveaway, maybe, but it’s not like the Rays are handing out rubber duckies that look like star third baseman Evan Longoria or Gumby figurines dressed as pitcher Alex Cobb. Wait, that’s exactly what they’re doing? Oh. Well that’s fun—as long as you’re cool with the idea of a human/duck hybrid floating around your bathtub.
The Rays will also give away an Etch A Sketch, an ’80s-style retro headband and a superhero T-shirt with an attached cape, among other items. View the full list here.
