Saturday, June 19, 1999
Beanie Baby available today
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Scorch the magic dragon won't help the Cincinnati Reds torch the Milwaukee Brewers today, but the little brown-and-purple Beanie Baby should fire up the fans.
As a special promotion to lure young fans to the ballpark, the Reds are giving away Scorch Beanie Babies at Gates 3 and 11 to the first 10,000 fans under 15-years-old. A small photo of Reds first baseman Sean Casey with a bunch of Beanie Babies will accompany each Scorch.
The Reds expect the promotion to draw about 10,000 extra fans for the game, said Cal Levy, Reds marketing consultant.
“No other promotion gets kids to the ballpark like this one,” he said.
Only youngsters with the wristbands handed out at Gates 3 and 11 will be given Beanie Babies inside the stadium gates, Mr. Levy said.
Wristbands will be available at those two gates beginning at 4 p.m. today — about an hour before the gates will open.
That way, Mr. Levy said, children and their families can leave the ballpark area and eat dinner without worrying that the Beanie Babies will run out before they enter the stadium for the 7:05 p.m. game.
“A wristband will guarantee that you'll get a Beanie Baby,” he said.
At a game last August, the Reds gave away 15,000 Rover the dog Beanie Babies.
Because Scorch is still available in stores it isn't worth as much on the market as Rover, a retired Beanie, which can be bought only from collectors and dealers.
The Scorch that will be given out today with the Sean Casey photo authenticating it as a Reds promotion could be worth about $40, said Beanie Baby dealer Jana Hart of Oxford.
A regular Scorch without an authentication card can be purchased in stores for $5.99, said Ms. Hart, who operates with her husband, Scott, a catalog and on-line business called Beanies R Us.
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