Closing Shot
Closing Shot: That’s gold, Jerry, gold!
The Brooklyn Cyclones have turned a magic loogie into the biggest night of the year, leaning into the ‘Seinfeld’ TV series for a yearly Festivus-worthy promotion.
Brooklyn Cyclones
The most anticipated game in minor league baseball this season might involve puffy shirts and chips you can’t double dip, at a ballpark that knows how to take and hold your reservation, where ushers who might have man hands (but definitely aren’t close-talkers) give fans a souvenir they will never regift.
It’s going to be a Festivus like no other.
On Aug. 10, the Brooklyn Cyclones (the New York Mets’ High-A affiliate) will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the premiere of “Seinfeld” with their 10th annual Seinfeld Night.
Attendance for the nine Seinfeld-themed games from 2014 to 2023 averaged 6,615, according to SBJ research, 59% higher than the club’s 398 non-Jerry themed games during that stretch. Last year’s George Costanza Marine Biologist giveaway drew 8,112 to Maimonides Park, the club’s biggest home crowd since June 2014. The item was sponsored by PIX (the New York Mets’ over-the-air broadcast partner since 1999), which also had sponsored the Fusilli Jerry giveaway in 2019. Many of the items are listed for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
A decade of Seinfeld game-day giveaways
2014: Keith Hernandez “Magic Loogie” figurine
2015: Little Jerry Seinfeld rooster bobblehead
2016: Roger McDowell — The Second Spitter figurine
2017: Larry Thomas (Soup Nazi) bobblehead
2018: Keith Hernandez “Nice game, pretty boy” talking alarm clock
2019: Fusilli Jerry figurine
2020: No game
2021: Koko 00 T-shirt jersey
2022: Brooklyn Marble Rye statue
2023: George Costanza — Marine Biologist figurine
2024: George 2.0 (TBD)
The Cyclones pay Warner Brothers for the rights to stage the annual celebration and work with Castle Rock (the show’s producer) and Sony Pictures TV (the distributor) on things like the bobble heads, according to the club’s general manager, Kevin Mahoney, who joined the Mets organization at the same time Kramer’s pet rooster, “Little Jerry,” began his cockfighting career.
This year’s concessions specials are expected to feature Junior Mints, Juju Fruits, chips and dip, Kenny Rogers Roasters chicken and Coney Island nudist hot dogs (no condiments). Mahoney said the Seinfeld games always generate a spike in food and beverage per caps.
Additionally, there are always contests (not that kind of contest!), such as the Junior Mint toss, the run around the bases in which anybody named Jerry can choose not to run, and the annual Elaine Dance Contest when contestants can perform, as George puts it, “a full-body dry-heave set to music.”
Mahoney said the club sold more than $40,000 in merchandise at the ballpark during last year’s Costanza game, including Bubble Boys and Pretty Boys apparel that matched the game’s uniforms. Sales for a typical weekend night are usually $8,000 to $12,000, he said.
He said that their data shows that the nine Seinfeld games have drawn ticket buyers from 47 states, and sales for the August game are outpacing all other games so far this year, even though details, such as sponsorship, are still being worked out.
But there is no doubt that the experience will be real and spectacular.
