MLB teams boost attendance with quirky giveaways and themed promotions

Major League Baseball clubs are turning to inventive giveaways to fill seats, with the Chicago White Sox distributing papal mitre hats and the Texas Rangers offering a Nolan Ryan blood-splatter jersey. Such promotions have helped lift the league’s average attendance to 29,618, the strongest full-season figure since 2017. Other examples include the New York Mets providing fake glasses for a Bobby Valentine disguise night and the Milwaukee Brewers giving away 25,000 bar-dice sets to adults.

Executives like Brooks Boyer and Meagan Hermosillo stress that unique, collectible items are now a ticket-sale driver, complementing rule changes such as the pitch clock. The White Sox’s pope-hat night also featured Vatican-sensitive design considerations and additional giveaways like wooden dominoes and magic wands. Fans are eager to obtain limited-edition items, often reselling them on secondary markets.