"Boston Strong Night” Named MiLB Promo of the Month

Minor League Baseball has announced “Boston Strong Night” as the winner of its May Promotion of the Month in an announcement made on Thursday, June 6.  The night, hosted by the Gwinnett Braves at Coolray Field on May 7, raised over $15,000 for OneFundBoston.org, benefitting the victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy.

For the Tuesday night game against the Pawtucket Red Sox, the G-Braves welcomed four Boston sports celebrities to throw out first pitches and help the fundraising efforts.  Atlanta Falcons and former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, former Boston Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek, former New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison and former Boston Celtics guard Dee Brown were all on hand for the successful night.

For every ticket sold online at gwinnettbraves.com/boston using the promo code STRONG, $5 was donated to OneFundBoston.org.  In addition to the proceeds from online ticket sales, the Gwinnett Braves were also able to raise funds from a silent auction.  Each of the 60 retro Boston Braves hats worn by both the G-Braves and PawSox during the game were autographed and auctioned off.  Autographed items from all four Boston sports celebrities and other notable Braves players were also auctioned off.

“Boston Strong Night” drew media attention on both a local and national level.  MLB Network’s Intentional Talk conducted live interviews with both Ryan and Varitek, and the night made #10 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays on ESPN the next day.

The Gwinnett Braves edged worthy competitors in the Omaha Storm Chasers, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Toledo Mud Hens and Wilmington Blue Rocks for the May Promotional Award.  “Boston Strong Night” will be included among other monthly award winners in consideration for a Golden Bobblehead Award in the Charity category, to be awarded at this year’s Minor League Baseball Promo Seminar.  The seminar takes place from September 24-26 in Louisville, KY.