Minor Enterprise: Whacking Day In Dunedin, Florida

Welcome to Minor Enterprise, where we preview, and occasionally review, the great events of minor league baseball. Each Wednesday we'll take a look at the promotions, players and mascots which populate our minor league ballparks; the unsung heroes of our national pastime. (Minor Enterprise not responsible for items thrown by Joe Mikulik). If you have a good tip about a minor league promotion, or perhaps you're dressed as a large mascot beaver and are hopelessly stuck in the suit, contact us at [email protected].

Baseball bats, once thought appropriate only for baseball and Al Capone staff meetings, are finding new uses. Consider this your introducion to the Florida Professional Wrestling Association (we're sorry it had to be under these circumstances), which asks the simple question, "Why no baseball-themed weapons?"

On Friday, the FPWA will produce a live show at Knology Park following the host Dunedin Blue Jays' game against the Sarasota Reds. There will be four wresting matches during the show, including a 10-man "BaseBrawl Elimination Match," where each wrestler will be utilizing a "baseball-themed weapon." From the Blue Jays' Web site:

The FPWA puts on family oriented shows once a month. Between shows all the wrestlers, who take their jobs very seriously, train 4-6 times a week in order to put on the highest quality performance in the ring come show-time. Their main venue for their shows as the Boys and Girls Club of Pinellas.

Please remain seated for 30 minutes after the conclusion of the show to allow the Boys and Girls Club to clean up the blood. (— Thanks to Benjamin Hill at MiLB.com).

Other upcoming minor league promotions of note:

• Dress Like A Pirate Night (Brevard County Manatees, Florida State League). Tonight. "The relentlessly entertaining Manatees are encouraging all of their fans to attend the game in full pirate garb. Prizes will be awarded to those with the best costumes, and sea shanties will be sung between innings".

• Kitchen Sink Giveaway (Hagerstown Suns, South Atlantic League). Tonight. "If the prospect of winning a kitchen appliance won't get you down to the ballpark, then nothing will."

• Awful Night IV — Beating A Dead Horse (Altoona Curve, Eastern League). Thursday. "The Curve will stage 'awful' competitions all night, including dunking for onions, the dead fish slingshot catch and autograph sessions with non-celebrities. This year, the first 1,000 fans will receive a photo of General Manager Todd Parnell's gall bladder, and one lucky fan will actually win the real thing. That is not a joke."

• Baseball: The Musical (Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Carolina League). Friday through Sunday. "In a bit of inspired brilliance, the Pelicans teamed up with the Theatre Department at Coastal Carolina University to create an original production that, with any luck, should be headed to Broadway in the near future."

• Minor League Mascot of the Week: The Dunedin Blue Jay. Actually, that's only its head. The bird's antics did not amuse the wrestlers, apparently.

BaseBrawl 2006 [Dunedin Blue Jays] Minor League Baseball Promo Preview [MiLB.com]