In S.F., John Shea notes the Giants will honor President Emeritus Peter Magowan by "adding him on their Wall of Fame, which he created" in '08 in the team's 50th anniversary year. A ceremony is scheduled for 10:00am PT on Feb. 9, the "morning of the team's FanFest, at recently named Oracle Park." Magowan will be the 53rd person and "first non-player on the wall." Magowan, 76, has been "dealing with health issues in recent years," and was the team's Managing General Partner for 16 years after leading the "investment group that bought the team" from former Owner Bob Lurie in '92. Magowan also "spearheaded the ballpark plan in China Basin," where the team has played since '00 (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/24).
NO QUARTER: In Pittsburgh, John Perrotto cited research as saying that on the heels of season attendance "dropping by 454,000, the Pirates are in line to have the second-lowest payroll among the 30 major league clubs" at $71.3M, if they "do not make any significant roster moves between now and the season opener March 28." Only the Rays "would be lower," as they are "on course" to spend $60M. Each of the other four teams in the NL Central are "projected to outspend the Pirates by at least" $45M (DKPITTSBURGHSPORTS.com, 1/21).
HEY, HEY, WHAT CAN I DO: In Tampa, Marc Topkin notes interactive events at the Rays' Fan Fest on Feb. 9 "come with an interesting option this year, the opportunity to play video games" with P Blake Snell. For $500, fans can "play alongside Snell for an hour, get a personalized Rays jersey with your gamertag and four lower-level tickets" to the Rockies-Rays game on April 2. Only a "limited number of these experiences will be sold," and the $500 price "goes to the Rays Baseball Foundation." The Fan Fest is "free again this year," and will run from 11:00am-3:00pm ET (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/24).
THAT'S THE WAY: In Minnesota, La Velle Neal III noted the Twins "unveiled new alternate home jerseys" in order to "ramp up the fever for TwinsFest," which begins tomorrow at Target Field. The new jerseys have a "red on blue theme" (STARTRIBUNE.com, 1/23).
