Bowie Baysox plan to celebrate Daniel Snyder selling the Commanders
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The Bowie Baysox will toast the impending sale of their Prince George’s County neighbors to a group of investors led by Josh Harris with a Washington Commanders ownership change celebration Thursday during their game against the Altoona Curve. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight As part of the festivities, all fans wearing Washington football team gear may purchase box seats for half-price ($10), while supplies last. In addition, all fans with the first or last name Josh or Harris, and anyone wearing a Magic Johnson jersey, will receive a free general admission ticket. Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers great, is a partner in Harris’s group, which on Friday completed a signed agreement to purchase the Commanders from Daniel Snyder — much to the delight of the team’s downtrodden fan base.
Baysox General Manager Brian Shallcross said his front office team had been discussing for several weeks ways to celebrate the sale, which still must be approved by the NFL finance committee and ratified by the league’s franchise owners.
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“We didn’t want to do anything until that type of agreement was in place,” Shallcross said in a phone interview. “We didn’t want to jump the gun.”
Shallcross, the GM of the Baltimore Orioles’ Class AA affiliate since 2004, said his team’s original idea was to throw a Daniel Snyder retirement party.
“Ultimately we decided we just didn’t want to acknowledge Dan that much,” he said of the Commanders’ reviled owner, who bought the team in 1999. “We wanted the promotion to be positive and forward-looking. … It’s hard to find somebody that has positive things to say about the organization and the ownership, so we just thought it was the right time for a celebration.”
The Baysox play their home games at Prince George’s Stadium, which is roughly 10 miles from FedEx Field.
“The Commanders are our next-door neighbor, and I think minor league baseball is about community, first and foremost,” Shallcross said. “Minor league baseball has a long history of not taking itself too seriously.”
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(For one game in 2016, the Baysox changed the pronunciation of their name from Boo-ee to Boh-ee in honor of rock musician David Bowie, who died earlier that year. The previous season, they held a back hair appreciation night.)
IT'S OVER! Celebrate the long-awaited ownership change of the Washington Commanders with us on Thursday, May 18!
Anyone named Josh or Harris receives a free GA ticket. Those in team gear will get discounts with a chance to throw first pitch!
More info: https://t.co/mmMFsWnA8B pic.twitter.com/iMEbk5dWvB — Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) May 15, 2023
In addition to the ticket promotions for Thursday’s game, a fan named Josh, a fan named Harris and a fan wearing a Magic Johnson jersey will throw ceremonial first pitches. Between innings, the Baysox will take a tongue-in-cheek look back at the Commanders’ past 24 years, and Shallcross suggested Snyder’s bizarre “Happy Thanksgiving” greeting at the January 2020 news conference to introduce Ron Rivera might be featured. Cake will be served to bolster the party atmosphere.
Shallcross grew up a Philadelphia Eagles fan, but now he cheers for the Buffalo Bills because they’re coached by his former roommate at William & Mary, Sean McDermott. Still, he sympathizes with Commanders supporters. In 2012, the Baysox appealed to some of those fans by announcing that Snyder’s former right-hand man, Vinny Cerrato, would appear in a dunk tank at the team’s annual football kickoff celebration to raise money for charity. Cerrato ultimately backed out.
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“We talked about having a dunk tank with someone named Dan, and we just thought it was a step too far,” Shallcross said of the various ideas his team considered for this week’s celebration. “There’s so much toxic that you could dive into, but ultimately we wanted to make it more of a celebration for the Commanders fans who have been waiting for this day. … We’re in the business of making people laugh and smile, and hopefully this Thursday people will come laugh and smile.”
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Source: The Washington Post
