As we get further into the offseason, I continue to hear a familiar question. One that I know has come up on the blog many times. “What do you do when the team’s gone?” So many people think we pack it up on Labor Day and take a huge vacation. As nice as that would be, it’s just a misnomer. Would you believe that it’s just as busy now as it is in July? Well that may not be entirely true, it may actually be a little bit busier right now….
Like everyone else, we’re hustling to get all the holiday shopping done and make family plans to see all the important people in our lives during this time of year. But like many of you, our occupations around this time of year are to make sure you can get that awesome gift for those same important people. If you walked into the office right now, you wouldn’t believe how many staffers are on the phones trying to make sure ticket package holders get the seats they need or sweatshirt gifts or whatever it is they may need. But that’s the great part, baseball lasts a few summer months, but we get to continue this fan/ballpark relationship all year long!
The holiday season brings so many other cool things to the ballpark for us though. Thanks to so many of you, we collected tons of toys and other donations at our annual Breakfast With Buster Holiday Drive. It’s such a great event for everyone and the Salvation Army always comes out on top. Around that same weekend, there was an annual Santa Drop on our field. Sounds painful, but he’s not actually dropped! A helicopter lands in the outfield and out comes Kris Kringle to make his way to downtown Lakewood.
From the office standpoint, it’s a great time of year to see so many of the BlueClaws staff alumni as they make their way back to the Shore to visit with families for the break. Our annual Holiday party is also always a good night out and this year was no different. Just don’t ask a certain General Manager who won in laser tag….
To catch up on the non-holiday happenings real quick…. By now you’ve heard that Steve Roadcap will be back to lead the ‘Claws in ‘08. We’re thrilled to have him back and know that we’re headed for success on the field. You’ve also heard by now that the Phillies Winter Tour is headed back to Lakewood in a few weeks. While you can read all about that in our news section, just know that it’s going to be extra special this year with a half dozen local charities benefitting from the event.
We hope that your Holiday season is filled with as much excitement and joy as ours has been so far. Enjoy this time of year and all that it brings and here’s to the start of a tremendous ‘08!