Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
The Somerset Patriots staged a Dizzy Bat Race during their Aug. 27 game against the Akron RubberDucks, but there was a twist: Contestants wore white bathrobes and stopped to pick up a newspaper on their way to the finish line.
Welcome to Sopranos Night.
The Patriots, like Tony Soprano and his extended family, operate out of New Jersey. This year marked the third season that the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate paid tribute to the beloved HBO show, which ended its run in 2007. Steve Schirripa (Bobby Bacala) was on hand for the team's first two iterations, while this year’s special guests were Vincent Curatola (Johnny Sack) and Federico Castelluccio (Furio). Both are Garden State residents, in "The Sopranos" and in real life.
“The Somerset Patriots, it’s a Jersey thing, right?” said Castelluccio, sitting alongside Curatola prior to a pregame meet and greet. “It just seems natural that the Somerset family and the Sopranos family get together and have some fun.”
Aug. 27’s game, slightly delayed due to late afternoon thunderstorms, also featured a Sopranos bowling shirt giveaway and a variety of between-inning contests playing off the theme.
"[The Sopranos] just lends itself so well to create a whole night around it, between promotions that you could do, video clips you could play, the music from the show, and then the food," said Patriots VP of communications and media relations Marc Russinoff. "How can we make this Minor League Baseball?"
In addition to the "bathrobe and newspaper" edition of the Dizzy Bat Race, the Patriots staged a game in which the contestant had to guess which of three orange juice varieties contained "some pulp" (a reference to Tony Soprano's stated OJ preference, the particularity of which infuriated his wife, Carmela). A ketchup packet eating contest, meanwhile, paid tribute to Christopher and Paulie's misadventure in the Pine Barrens.
"We have Vincent [Curatola] here and he played Johnny Sack. His wife was Ginny Sack on the show, so we decided to do the Ginny Sack potato sack race," said Russinoff. "Three or four women jumping in, like, Ginny Sack wigs."
As gametime approached Curatola and Castelluccio were interviewed by broadcaster Steven Cusumano on the field and threw out ceremonial first pitches (neither has the makings of a varsity athlete). They then headed to the concourse to sign autographs.
"It never ends," said Castelluccio, referring to The Sopranos’ enduring popularity. "It's such a huge part of our lives."
"It's all day," added Curatola. "And these are people who are 17, 18, 16 years old, now they’re discovering it. It's -- boom. It's like a mushroom cloud. It’s all day long, every day."
They both seemed delighted that this was the case, viewing it as something to embrace rather than escape. Throughout the evening the pair were happy to discuss their favorite episodes, listen to fan theories and share behind-the-scenes tidbits.
At one point, Curatola mentioned that show creator David Chase had considered incorporating Johnny Sack into the series' (anti)climactic final scene.
"[Chase] said, 'You know, I had an idea of [Johnny Sack] calling Tony up and saying, 'Meet me tonight. Manhattan, downtown. We're going to have dinner.' And for [Tony Soprano] to drive into the Holland Tunnel alone, then kick it to black and it's over. So [Johnny Sack] had him killed. Thank God [that didn't happen]. My life would be worth nothing. OK, I'd have to go live in the South Pole."
No one can say for sure what happened to Tony, but the Patriots are sure to make Sopranos Night a staple of their promotional calendar for years to come. (Perhaps they can incorporate the show's final scene into their Jersey Diners alternate identity.) Russinoff mentioned that getting New Jersey icon Stevie Van Zandt (Silvio) to the ballpark would be the dream, while also holding out hope for Michael Imperioli (Christopher) and Edie Falco (Carmela).
Don't stop believing.
"Our wish list is to make this the place for people to come and celebrate The Sopranos," he said.
Don’t stop --
(Cut to black)