CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� It started as a limited promotion for a specialty theme night. Then the Chicago White Sox heard from their fans.
Everyone wanted a pope-themed hat.
鈥淲hen things go bananas … that鈥檚 when it gets really fun,鈥� said Brooks Boyer, Chicago’s chief revenue and marketing officer.
Fun is the overarching theme when it comes to stadium giveaways, and business has been good at major league ballparks this year.
An array of creative promotions 鈥� everything from the New York Mets handing out fake glasses and mustaches for a to the Texas Rangers giving away a 鈥� has played at least a small role in an MLB-wide average attendance of 29,618 through Tuesday’s games, the highest such number for a full season since 2017.
Bobbleheads remain popular 鈥� like the Brandon Nimmo Bull Riding bobblehead in Texas, or the butter-churning Nick Kurtz 鈥淏ig Amish鈥� bobblehead with the Athletics 鈥� but it’s not just those iconic figurines that are drawing big crowds. The Brewers handed out 25,000 bar dice sets to fans 21 and over on Saturday, and they had a crowd of 40,625 at American Family Field.
The pitch clock and other introduced by MLB in 2023 are often credited for spurring fan interest. But it’s clear from the long lines 鈥� and occasionally astronomical resale prices on eBay 鈥� what a clever giveaway can do for ticket sales, too.
鈥淚 definitely think across the league, there鈥檚 been an increase in demand and desire, and even necessity, to do things that are outside of the box,” said Meagan Hermosillo, the director of marketing and promotions for the Arizona Diamondbacks. “For us, we can鈥檛 really do a standard bobblehead or a standard anything. It has to have some kind of unique factor if we want it to move the needle.鈥�
Chicago’s pope hats took creative 鈥� and careful 鈥� planning
The White Sox ended up giving the pope hats 鈥� shaped like the Pope鈥檚 miter, with the team鈥檚 sock logo in the middle 鈥� to everyone in the crowd of 38,113 for Tuesday night’s to the Cincinnati Reds. The tribute to Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and longtime White Sox fan, helped push the club’s season-long attendance to 1,460,383, surpassing its total of 1,445,738 for all of 2025.
The team leaned into the theme. There were signs posted in the ballpark that read 鈥淟EO KNOWS MUNE鈥� and 鈥淟EO KNOWS KONERKO,鈥� referring to current White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami and former slugger Paul Konerko. Sister Mary Jo Sobieck threw out a ceremonial first pitch, and former White Sox pitcher Donn 鈥淭he Pope鈥� Pall kicked off the game with the 鈥減lay ball鈥� announcement.
鈥淚 thought it was a great idea, knowing that the Pope is from Chicago and he’s a Sox fan, which is great,鈥� said Edward Lopez, 58, a truck driver from the south side of the city.
Lopez was supposed to go to the game with his girlfriend, but she wasn’t able to make it. So he went through two different gates to make sure he secured two pope hats.
鈥淚t was worth it,鈥� he said.
Promotions for the White Sox go through a committee led by senior director of marketing and promotions Mike Downey. They throw out ideas and concepts, and they also look at samples from different vendors.
The team also is handing out wooden domino sets to 10,000 fans on Aug. 22 and magic wands to 20,000 fans on Sept. 4, a nod to the viral wand-waving dugout displays of injured reliever Mike Vasil.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always looked to have our giveaways be something that we know people would wear or use or value because it adds value to the ticket,鈥� Boyer said. 鈥淪o it starts with that.鈥�
While planning the pope hat night, religious sensitivities were part of the conversation for the promotions committee.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 done items that would be Pope Leo鈥檚 likeness,鈥� Boyer said. 鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 do that without the permission of the Vatican. … We鈥檝e been very careful. There is a little bit of nuance and finesse that needs to be done. And items, you know a lot of items may not be for everybody.鈥�
Teams are eagerly jumping on larger cultural moments for eye-catching promotions
The Baltimore Orioles handed out a in May. The New York Yankees gave out a 鈥� 鈥� bobblehead on Tuesday night, and they have a George Costanza calzone bobblehead 鈥� paying tribute to a 1996 鈥淪einfeld鈥� episode 鈥� coming up on Aug. 27. Every MLB team except Toronto had a Star Wars Night this season.
Following in the footsteps of the minor leagues in many cases, it’s not enough anymore to just feature a popular player for a giveaway.
鈥淵ou can see that teams are doing a much better job with their understanding (of) who they鈥檙e trying to target,鈥� said Jim Strode, an associate dean and professor at Ohio University鈥檚 College of Business. 鈥淲hen I think of the 鈥楽einfeld鈥� one, I鈥檓 thinking, you know, they鈥檙e targeting Gen X, they are targeting some, you know, younger baby boomers to try to get out to the ballpark.鈥�
There is also what Lauren Anderson, the director of the Warsaw Sports Business Center at the University of Oregon, described as the 鈥渃ollector chase game.鈥� There were multiple fans looking to buy additional pope hats at Tuesday night鈥檚 game, and there were several listings for the giveaway and the 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters鈥� bobblehead on eBay on Wednesday.
鈥淵ou want something that鈥檚 unique and cool and something that you can, you know, I鈥檓 one of 5,000 people to get these, I鈥檓 one of 10,000,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淚 mean, there is also a bit of the game of people want something that鈥檚 limited so they can flip it and sell it, like on an eBay.”
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AP Baseball Writer David Brandt contributed to this report.
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