Rays minor-league team cancels A-Rod juice box promo after Yankees complain
Here’s something you don’t see every day: the New York Yankees are defending Alex Rodriguez.
After a Tampa Bay Rays minor-league team planned a promo night poking fun at their infamous slugger, the Yankees objected that it was in poor taste.
And now, the A-Rod “juice box night” that the Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs had planned for Friday has been cancelled. The team was going to give juice boxes to the first 500 fans through the gates. They were to read:
“100% Juiced. Side Affects [sic] include: tainted records, inflated ego, omission from the Hall of Fame, and more!”
The Yankees were not having that, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times shared:
From @StoneCrabs on A-Rod promotion: “We in no way meant any ill-intent or to offend anyone through this promotion” + “sincerely apologize”
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 22, 2015
The Stone Crabs have deleted all mentions of the event from their social media accounts and are now going on like it didn’t exist. They were also offering fans free tickets in exchange for old A-Rod merchandise that would be donated to Goodwill.
The Stone Crabs did a promo last season poking fun at then-Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. It was a “Claw & Order” night. Minor-league teams plan these sorts of topical, headline-grabbing promos all the time. Remember the Manti T’eo Girlfriend Bobblehead night?
But taking aim at an active player within MLB — no matter his recent suspension and villainous image — is a bit different. The Rays are in the same division as the Yankees, they play them multiple times per season, that’s not a great look for the organization.
There are no shortage of people in the baseball universe who will condemn A-Rod. That the Stone Crabs won’t be doing it for one night is probably for the best.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
