First it was the Diamondbacks announcing in spring training, and now the Tigers have gone retro; the bullpen car, or cart, is making a comeback in Major League Baseball (and probably MiLB) in some spots as well. The DBacks sponsored, 20th anniversary cart should be a fixture soon, while the Tigers rolled out their sponsored version of their cart their weekend series (and the large amount of eyeballs watching) with the Yankees.
Bullpen walk in’s for relief pitchers have become the stuff of lore in the past 20 years, none more remarkable than every time Yankees soon to be Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera came in to the sound of “Enter The Sandman.” It would not have been the same if he was driving in with the ultimate bullpen ride, a freshly tricked out Datsun (pre Mitsubishi era) that the Yankees drove pitchers like Goose Gossage in during the 1070’s at Yankees Stadium.
However if you are looking for a quick ride, a little novelty (sponsored minibullpen cars will be coming as collectables) and some added sellable inventory for the club, maybe the bullpen car is for your team. Oh and lets not forget many carts will be electric (an entree point for Tesla into MLB?) so during those breaks announcers can talk all about energy efficiency.
Now the stadia dimensions having changed around the country might make bullpen rides ultra short, and the Tigers, with their MotorCity Casino Hotel sponsorship, came up with an alternative to a ride (the pitchers jacket gets the ride if he chooses to hoof it), so a little disruption and entrepreneurialism is certainly in the mix. Also let’s not forget the bullpen car or cart, like a mascot, becomes another piece of activation for fans to experience during a long baseball summer.
Is the bullpen cart back for all? Probably not. However its novelty, its sellability and its place as a part of baseball Americana makes it a great option for clubs who want to find a new ride, and maybe harken back to the past.
Nice play DBacks, solid ride Tigers, whose next to jump on the road?
