The Rays yesterday announced that their annual Pride Night game tomorrow against the Giants is sold out. The game is dedicated to the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando. The Rays put all open seats to the game on sale Tuesday for $5, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Pulse Victims Fund set up for the families of the victims (Rays). The TAMPA BAY TIMES notes the Rays "sold so many tickets that the tarps that cover the upper-deck seats will be rolled back, allowing Tropicana field to surpass its 31,042 capacity" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/16).
ROAD TRIP: In Boston, Emily Sweeney notes the Red Sox yesterday in the city's Faneuil Hall showed off the "Red Sox Showcase Powered by T-Mobile," a customized "15-foot panel truck that allows fans to test their baseball skills through interactive games and activities." The showcase includes a "batting cage, a virtual reality experience, a pitch accuracy station, a Green Monster selfie station, and a steal second base challenge." The Red Sox have scheduled visits to "dozens of cities and towns during the season" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/16).
TWIN BILL: In Minneapolis, Patrick Reusse noted with the Twins' 20-45 record, advance sales for remaining home games and feedback from season-ticket holders show they "will be well short" of the 2 million tickets sold mark and "will fall to under 10,000 season tickets" in '17. The team is projected at 1.85 million "in attendance for this season." Reusse: "Subtract a 4,500-per-game hit in season tickets for 2017 and that lowers the attendance floor by 350,000-plus." For for the "folks pathologically angry" about Twins Owners the Pohlad family "making money operating in Target Field, it has to be good news that ultra-bad baseball has the Twins returning to pauper status by MLB's current standards" (
Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/12).
