Now that we have an actual coach who is going to try to win and recruit instead of trying to teach everyone some bizarre baseball morality tale, we need to spruce some things up to take back our spot as the top baseball program in the SEC.
My suggestions:
1. Promote the Dugout Club. This is important because this helps the baseball team buy stuff that they need, like equipment. We should have the largest baseball booster club in the state. It shouldn't be too hard to promote this, especially with a new coach coming in. Like an ad on the website, an ad at football games on the scoreboard, mass e-mail from John Cohen saying that he will kick your *** if you don't join. Allow first time members to join for half price, give out t-shirts, free tickets to games, bumper stcker, rack of lamb (blatant Will Ferrell rip-off) whatever.
2. We need to promote our tradition better. LT counted on our parents, friends and John Grisham to pass this down. That's not how it works if you want to keep your tradition. First of all, we need to put our programs accomplishments and our retired numbers back on the OF wall. I know the retired numbers are on the concourse, but a lot of people miss that. That is a very tangible recruiting tool. As I have mentioned in the past, I would like to see us have a MSU baseball museum attached to the Palmeiro Center. This would also be a great recruiting tool, and it would also be a great way to pass down our tradition to the next generation. We need to use DSU's Boo Ferris Museum as an example.
3. We need to promote the games better. The only time the games are ever promoted is SBW. We really need to get the students involved in midweek games. You do that by letting them sit in the grandstand (more on that later) and LFL and giving away free food and having promotions. Have restaurants give away coupons, have promotions where if the team scores x amount of runs everyone gets free food. Have Greek Day where they get free food if they're wearing a frat t-shirt, have a toga party, and etc. The weekend games could be geared more towards the alumni because those are the games that they are likely to go to. Do whatever it takes to get butts in the seat. There is no excuse for us to draw less than 10,000 on an SEC weekend and we should be able to draw 5,000 for midweek.
4. Incorporate the Diamond Girls into the game more. Give them a freakin' t-shirt cannon and let them fire t-shirts into the stands. They may still throw sunflower seeds into the stands, and they need to do more of that.
5. TICKET EXCHANGE! I understand the people that have had season tickets since Dudy Noble coached, but it's pretty bad when you go to a game and the LFL is full, the bleachers are pretty full, and the grandstand has Candyman Ron, the players parents, and about 20 old farts sitting there. Send season ticket holders an e-mail the day before the game where they say "yes" they are coming or "no" they aren't. Let them know this before the season starts in every method possible. If they don't reply, that is an assumed "no". Those tickets marked "no" six hours prior to the game go on sale, first come first served. If they don't have a computer, they can call in, or they can notify the ticket office in person.
6. Gameday atmosphere. I don't really have a problem with country music, unless it's played every half inning. Just change it up every now and then to different genre's. Also, have games and things in between innings for people to play and make asses out of themselves. A winning team that looks like they are trying would probably help the atmosphere as well.
7. Re-do the ticket window into something that looks nice. Also add a statue of Will Clark in front, or even better Brantley Jones shooting Ole Miss the double bird after striking out Archie Manning to win the SEC Title. Also, renovate the concession stands and bring back Penn's, Lil' Dooey, and Papa John's and bring in an Abner's stand so that the food selection is better. Oh yes, expand the grandstand, add more skyboxes, and terrace the LFL so that another layer of contraptions could be added.
8. Tear down the Jumbotron at Dudy-Noble and bring in an HD scoreboard- as big as the football fields. That way we could tell LSU- "Now THAT is an intimidator, *****."
9. Please do away with those cheap *** "uniforms". We're supposed to be a traditional college baseball power, and we come out there looking like the equipment guy accidentally picked up the titty dogs uniforms. Please. Go back to the home Detroit Tiger style MSU jerseys with the baseball logo on the chest, the Yankee style pinstripe uniforms with the MS on the chest and the maroon tops that say STATE across them. Keep the road gray uniform with "Mississippi State" across the front and then use the maroon tops with STATE across the front and gray pants.
10. Play USM in Jackson and then play either Tulane or New Orleans on the road. Disclaimer- do not play USM the same week as the Governor's Cup. I don't know why we don't play USM in Jackson. Ole Miss does and they draw a pretty good crowd, and USM also plays Bama. Take one of the midweek games off campus and play it in Pearl at Trustmark Park. Play Tulane or New Orleans at Zephyer Field so that I can have an excuse to miss work and go to New Orleans. Keep playing Memphis at Autozone so I can have an excuse to hang out in Memphis.
Hopefully Byrne and Cohen will take note.
My suggestions:
1. Promote the Dugout Club. This is important because this helps the baseball team buy stuff that they need, like equipment. We should have the largest baseball booster club in the state. It shouldn't be too hard to promote this, especially with a new coach coming in. Like an ad on the website, an ad at football games on the scoreboard, mass e-mail from John Cohen saying that he will kick your *** if you don't join. Allow first time members to join for half price, give out t-shirts, free tickets to games, bumper stcker, rack of lamb (blatant Will Ferrell rip-off) whatever.
2. We need to promote our tradition better. LT counted on our parents, friends and John Grisham to pass this down. That's not how it works if you want to keep your tradition. First of all, we need to put our programs accomplishments and our retired numbers back on the OF wall. I know the retired numbers are on the concourse, but a lot of people miss that. That is a very tangible recruiting tool. As I have mentioned in the past, I would like to see us have a MSU baseball museum attached to the Palmeiro Center. This would also be a great recruiting tool, and it would also be a great way to pass down our tradition to the next generation. We need to use DSU's Boo Ferris Museum as an example.
3. We need to promote the games better. The only time the games are ever promoted is SBW. We really need to get the students involved in midweek games. You do that by letting them sit in the grandstand (more on that later) and LFL and giving away free food and having promotions. Have restaurants give away coupons, have promotions where if the team scores x amount of runs everyone gets free food. Have Greek Day where they get free food if they're wearing a frat t-shirt, have a toga party, and etc. The weekend games could be geared more towards the alumni because those are the games that they are likely to go to. Do whatever it takes to get butts in the seat. There is no excuse for us to draw less than 10,000 on an SEC weekend and we should be able to draw 5,000 for midweek.
4. Incorporate the Diamond Girls into the game more. Give them a freakin' t-shirt cannon and let them fire t-shirts into the stands. They may still throw sunflower seeds into the stands, and they need to do more of that.
5. TICKET EXCHANGE! I understand the people that have had season tickets since Dudy Noble coached, but it's pretty bad when you go to a game and the LFL is full, the bleachers are pretty full, and the grandstand has Candyman Ron, the players parents, and about 20 old farts sitting there. Send season ticket holders an e-mail the day before the game where they say "yes" they are coming or "no" they aren't. Let them know this before the season starts in every method possible. If they don't reply, that is an assumed "no". Those tickets marked "no" six hours prior to the game go on sale, first come first served. If they don't have a computer, they can call in, or they can notify the ticket office in person.
6. Gameday atmosphere. I don't really have a problem with country music, unless it's played every half inning. Just change it up every now and then to different genre's. Also, have games and things in between innings for people to play and make asses out of themselves. A winning team that looks like they are trying would probably help the atmosphere as well.
7. Re-do the ticket window into something that looks nice. Also add a statue of Will Clark in front, or even better Brantley Jones shooting Ole Miss the double bird after striking out Archie Manning to win the SEC Title. Also, renovate the concession stands and bring back Penn's, Lil' Dooey, and Papa John's and bring in an Abner's stand so that the food selection is better. Oh yes, expand the grandstand, add more skyboxes, and terrace the LFL so that another layer of contraptions could be added.
8. Tear down the Jumbotron at Dudy-Noble and bring in an HD scoreboard- as big as the football fields. That way we could tell LSU- "Now THAT is an intimidator, *****."
9. Please do away with those cheap *** "uniforms". We're supposed to be a traditional college baseball power, and we come out there looking like the equipment guy accidentally picked up the titty dogs uniforms. Please. Go back to the home Detroit Tiger style MSU jerseys with the baseball logo on the chest, the Yankee style pinstripe uniforms with the MS on the chest and the maroon tops that say STATE across them. Keep the road gray uniform with "Mississippi State" across the front and then use the maroon tops with STATE across the front and gray pants.
10. Play USM in Jackson and then play either Tulane or New Orleans on the road. Disclaimer- do not play USM the same week as the Governor's Cup. I don't know why we don't play USM in Jackson. Ole Miss does and they draw a pretty good crowd, and USM also plays Bama. Take one of the midweek games off campus and play it in Pearl at Trustmark Park. Play Tulane or New Orleans at Zephyer Field so that I can have an excuse to miss work and go to New Orleans. Keep playing Memphis at Autozone so I can have an excuse to hang out in Memphis.
Hopefully Byrne and Cohen will take note.
