The Boston Herald’s Gayle Fee and Marie Szanislo ran the following item Thursday, proving yet again that it take far more (?) than mere baseball to fill a park in the New York-Penn League.
Fenway Park™s in-house red-tailed hawk, which had a run-in with a young fan last week and received a standing ovation on Opening Day, has been named the official mascot of the Lowell Spinners™ Yankees Elimination Program.
In the wild hawk™s honor, the Spinners, the Sox™ Class A affiliate, are bringing a red-tailed hawk from naturalist Jonathan Wood and his Raptor Project to the Spinners™ Aug. 4 game.
œThe red-tailed hawk has created quite a name for itself. . .at Fenway Park, said Tim Bawmann, vice president and general manager of the Spinners, which has convinced 75 youth baseball teams in 50 New England communities since 2006 to change their names from Yankees.
œThe fans have accepted the hawk as part of Red Sox Nation, Bawmann said. œI would not recommend Yankee fans wear Yankees apparel that night.
While I’ll still maintain the Spinners have nothing on the Brockton Rox when it comes to creative promotions, presumably the organization took some pride Thursday evening in rehab alumnus Keith Foulke (still shown on the front page of the Spinners’ website) earning his first save since 2005 in Oakland’s 3-2, 12 inning win at Toronto. After starting the season 0-22, A’s right-fielder Travis Buck has been on a tear, going 7 for his next 16 including driving in a pair of runs with a double in the top of the 12th off Brandon League.