Macon Music will be makin' fun of Spitzer

On June 13th the independent South Coast League's Macon Music intends to poke fun at former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's bad behavior.

By Chuck King

The Macon Music have, at least temporarily, won the minor league baseball race to be the first club to have a little fun with the plight of disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

The independent South Coast League’s Music will use June’s Friday the 13th as Eliot Spitzer Night.

Earlier this week the story broke that Spitzer was embroiled in a sex scandal involving a high-priced prostitute. Spitzer, who the New York Times called “a fierce enforcer of ethics,” resigned as governor on Wednesday.

“Let’s be honest, it’s all about selling tickets,” said Steven Tricarico, vice president of sales and marketing for the SCL, which operates the Music. “We feel this is a promotion that’s certainly outside the box and will draw a lot of attention to this team.”

Special deals on that night include:

• Reduced admission for any fan named Eliot, Spitzer or Kristen (the alleged prostitute), along with any fan from New York.
• The ninth fan to enter the ballpark (Spitzer was referred to as Client No. 9 in the FBI report) will receive a free Music prize pack.
• Wire taps will placed throughout the ballpark.

For the best  – and most controversial – prize, the Music is promising to give away a vacation to New York and a stay at the upscale Washington D.C. hotel allegedly used by Spitzer for his rendezvous.

Considering the South Coast League’s financial status, that giveaway may be over-reaching.

The four-team SCL played its inaugural season in 2007 as a six-team league. South Georgia, Anderson and Aiken will join Macon this season in professional baseball’s smallest league.

Published reports in several southeast newspapers detail public and private entities upset with lack of payment from the South Coast League for services - non more so that the La Quinta Inn in Anderson.

The Anderson Independent-Mail reported earlier this week that the League owes the Anderson La Quinta $37,524.35. Visiting teams stayed at that hotel when playing the Anderson Joes.

“I’ve called over and over again and e-mailed them over and over again, and they just ignore it,” hotel manager Tina Anderson told the Independent-Mail. “I’ve had it. The last correspondence of any kind I had from them was last November, and it just crawls all over me when they say they’re trying to pay off debts but won’t even respond to us.”

Anderson added that other hotels used by the SCL have complained to her about the same problem.

“I’ve already made it perfectly clear that (SCL teams) can’t come back here,” Anderson continued. “They just have a blatant disregard for their business responsibilities.”

Tricarico said the hotel giveaway shouldn’t be viewed in relation to the money the league owes La Quinta.

“Obviously, we want to make right,” Tricarico said. “You tell me a single team out there that doesn’t owe somebody money.”

The announcement of the promotion spread quickly across the sports world, earning the Music national publicity on talk shows and blogs.

Tricarico said reaction in the Macon area has been 60 percent positive, with detractors claiming the promotion lacks decency.

“They think we are celebrating this,” Tricarico said. “It is up to a parent or an individual to explain to their children the situation that happened and tell them, look, this is what happens when you get yourself into trouble doing things you shouldn’t be doing.

“If this is something that offends anybody, we apologize, but certainly we do plan on having this event,”

Tricarico said he hasn’t heard from Spitzer, who has been publicly invited to throw out the first pitch.

Check out my blog for more on wild minor league promotions and minor league baseball.