On the HBO show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” the titular host provides his take on issues affecting America and the world at large. May 4’s episode featured a lengthy segment on the most important issue of the day: Minor League Baseball promotions.
Over the course of 11 minutes Oliver embarked upon a wide-ranging exploration of Minor League team names, alternate identities and theme nights, ending with an offer to have his show rebrand a Minor League team. It was perhaps the most comprehensive overview of the topic ever provided on network television, and yet still only scratched the surface.
Many of the promos Oliver highlighted drew on work done by this writer for MiLB.com. Here are more details on five of them, in the order in which they appeared in the show.
Roto-Rooter Toilet Row, 2024-present
Lake County Captains (High-A CLE)
At Eastlake Park, home of the Lake County Captains, themed group areas include the Speakeasy, the '70s Bowling Suite and the '80s Arcade Suite. But those who want to feel like true baseball royalty sit on the throne. The Captains' Roto-Rooter Toilet Row, unveiled last season, features eight toilets located behind home plate. Watch the game and read a complimentary magazine, all under the watchful eye of section attendant Horatio (a wisecracking cormorant). The toilet's seats are padded, but please note that the toilets themselves are not functional.
Bark in the Park theme jerseys, 2014
El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A SD)
The El Paso Chihuahuas capped off their 2014 inaugural season by winning a "Promotion of the Year" MiLBY Award, in honor of what may just be the most memorable theme jersey of all time. On Bark in the Park Night, the team donned jerseys featuring the piercing, plaintive stare of a larger-than-life Chihuahua. To stare at this jersey is to stare into the chihuahua's soul. General manager Brad Taylor summed it up well, in a quote also highlighted by Oliver: "I'll never forget the first time I saw it. It's so terrible. It's perfect."
Helen McGuckin Night, 2019
Charleston RiverDogs (High-A TB)
For those who like their Minor League nights obscure and hyper-specific (as Oliver clearly does), then it doesn't get better than Charleston's ode to Helen McGuckin. In May 2018 this hyper-prolific Google reviewer gave the Riverdogs the following two-star review: "Just drove by." This prompted the RiverDogs to invite McGuckin to a game so that they could change her review to five stars. McGuckin backed out of the appearance at the last minute, but the show went on. The team recruited office manager Cynthia Linhart to play the role of Helen McGuckin and then catered to her whims all evening long. That's a five-star effort.
Devices Night, 2018
Syracuse Chiefs (now the Mets, Triple-A NYM)
Syracuse, then a Nationals affiliate, played a game as the Devices in 2018, but specifically it was a tribute to the Brannock Device. You know what this is, even if you don't think you do: an oblong, metallic foot-measuring tool that Uni Watch founder Paul Lukas calls "a powerful combination of ubiquity and anonymity." The team's jerseys featured an anthropomorphic Brannock Device named Chuck, while visiting player headshots featured the player's face inside of a foot. As random as this endeavor may seem, rest assured that it was not. The Brannock Device was invented in Syracuse in 1927 and manufactured there for the next 70 years.
Exploding Whales, 2023-present
Eugene Emeralds (High-A SF)
When the Eugene Emeralds announced their Exploding Whales identity in 2023, the first batch of merchandise sold out in 90 seconds to customers all over the world. To understand the attention that the Emeralds received, one must first understand the exploding whale itself. In short: In 1970 a sperm whale washed ashore in Florence, Ore. and local authorities decided the best way to dispose of the carcass would be to blow it up. They used way too many explosives, and a resulting local news report went on to become what some consider to be the world's first viral video. 55 years later, this bizarre disaster still retains the power to shock, amuse and, yes, sell merchandise.