Culture shift: Fun at the ballpark, on the field becoming more the norm

Jun. 9—TRAVERSE CITY — Pit Spitters fans aren't likely to see Aaron Forrest, Camden Traficante and Dane Smitz do expertly choreographed dances to Earth, Wind and Fire's "Let's Groove" before Forrest fires a fastball from the mound.

And both General Manager Mickey Graham and Field Manager Josh Rebandt nixed the idea of Trey Truitt stepping into the batter's box dressed in an inflatable T-Rex costume to celebrate the team's Jurassic Night theme.

There won't be any flaming bats or pitchers on stilts or players wearing kilts. But that doesn't mean the Pit Spitters don't know how to have fun and don't want to. They just have to turn the volume down from what the social media darling Savannah Bananas are doing to garner millions of views on TikTok and Instagram.

However, as the Nanners' popularity continues to grow, the culture of baseball shifts further away from the stiff unwritten rules of manners and decorum to embracing the kid-at-heart mentality and playing for the child inside with bat flips, home run celebrations, inside jokes that make it to the field and just pure love-of-the-game fun.

Forrest, who is in his first year with the Pit Spitters, said the game has to grow. And growing means finding the joy in the competitiveness that has driven the game's success for well more than a century.

"As fun as you can make it, I'm all for it," Forrest said. "Whether that's on the field or the things you do around the field, it's a really positive thing for the game."

As some people push back on bringing emotion into the game and discourage excited outbursts on the mound or bat flips at home plate, that is becoming fewer and further between. Many fans want exactly that and more.

"If you try to keep the game from evolving while society and life around it is evolving, then you're doing the game a disservice," Forrest said. "To some degree, you've got to let the game grow with society and grow with its fans.

"The fans are changing, right? The players are changing, right?" Forrest continued. "Everything around it is changing, so naturally the sport has to change and evolve so it can keep up."

The response to the wild and outlandish antics of teams like the Bananas has many others welcoming the trend of turning semi-professional baseball into a venue for sports entertainment.

Graham said that's what the Pit Spitters are all about.

"We are a family entertainment venue," Graham said. "I like to jokingly say that we're four hours of entertainment interrupted by baseball. Now the players don't always like that, but that's the mindset we have here."

Gates at Turtle Creek Stadium open an hour before the game, and Graham knows there needs to be music pumping through the ballpark, food at the ready and attractions for both children and adults from the moment a fan walks in to the moment they leave.

"Every break in the game, we're doing something fun on the field or in the stands," Graham said. "Whether they win 10-1 or lose 10-1, we have to make sure that every time a fan leaves this place that they have a great memory and a smile on their face."

Sometimes that includes hot air balloon rides or Corgi races or on-field contests for fans.

"It's fun, and that's what we strive to do — have fun every single night," Graham said. "Whatever silly ideas we can come up with and plan and implement, we'll do it."

The interactions fans have on the field and in the stands with the players is part of a long-term plan for Graham, who is already looking 10-15 years down the road and thinking about the next generation that will come to Pit Spitters games because of what they experienced as children.

"That's why we're doing this," Graham said. "To build a better community, someplace northern Michigan can be proud of."

During his two-decade-plus run in MLB-affiliated baseball with the West Michigan Whitecaps, Graham said you would find some players who were interested in participating in promotions or some of the "funky things" he and others would think up. With the Pit Spitters, Graham said players often come to them asking to be a part of whatever promotions are going on that night. Some come with their own ideas.

"We look at things that are fun and somewhat unusual," Graham said. "But we want to be able to implement them and implement them well."

The goal is to make it fun and make it noteworthy.

"It's all about making memories," Graham said.

Graham and the promotions staff with the Spitters are hopeful the organization's many theme nights will help do just that.

Sundays will continue to be Family Days when the first 250 children 12 and under eat free at the park. Fans can also play catch on the field before the game and kids can run the bases after action is completed. June 20 and July 11 are Dime Dog Nights when hot dogs are just 10 cents. Tuesdays are also Barks and Brews Nights, so fans can bring their dogs to the game with half-price draught craft beers available.

Wednesdays are Salute to Service games. Half-price box seat tickets will be available for all veterans, first responders, health care workers, teachers and snowplow drivers. They will also have 10 fireworks nights, and every Saturday home game will have a theme night that includes Princess Night (June 11), Paw Patrol/Nickelodeon Night (July 2), Star Wars Night (July 23) and Ted Lasso Night (Aug. 6). The rest of the promotional schedule can be seen at www.PitSpitters.com

Graham said the theme night he is most looking forward to is Aug. 5 — Alternate Identity Night when they change from the Traverse City Pit Spitters to the Up North Cork Dorks to celebrate this season's partnership with Bonobo Winery.

The night will feature new uniforms and caps, and Cork Dork merch is already for sale.

"It's a fun name, a fun brand," Graham said. "We're looking forward to it and having a different atmosphere in the park."

When it comes to the ideas that Graham has, he does consult with Field Manager Josh Rebandt to make sure it won't mess with the product on the field. Last season, a few lucky fans got to watch the game from the field — literally. A table was set up in left field with orange snow fencing around it.

"I come up with ideas and the players and league will say, 'Eh, you can't really do that because it interferes with the game,'" Graham joked, adding that because of staffing shortages he pitched the idea of putting a grill on the field and having players serve hot dogs in between innings.

Rebandt said the front office promotions staff have done a fantastic job of creating fun in the ballpark. While he's never been one for over-the-top spectacles at the ballpark, Rebandt loves what the Pit Spitters do, and he appreciates the communication he receives about the promotions and events as well as the ability to provide feedback.

"I love creating fun," Rebandt said. "Most people who come to a game have no idea who I am, have no idea who some of the players are. So I love knowing that the fans have entertainment outside of the game, especially between innings where there could be a lull in the ballpark."

The fun on the field bleeds over into the dugout, and Rebandt encourages his players and coaching staff to be themselves.

"We try to create a culture within our team where the fun stays on our side. Anything directed toward another team or opponent, we don't want that," he said. "If we can have as much fun as possible with the 30-32 players and four coaches in our dugout, I'm all about that."

But the Spitters no doubt take the game seriously and want to compete at a high level, which they've done with two league championships in three seasons.

"Playing loose and having fun is a part of that and having that opportunity," Rebandt said. "The looser you are, the more likely you are to be successful because your mind isn't getting in the way of your ability to perform."

Truitt said Rebandt and the rest of the coaching staff do a great job of letting them have fun.

"Sometimes we have a little too much fun and they have to pull the reins back. But they're really good about keeping everyone in a happy mindset," he said. "Even when the game gets really big, you don't change how you play. You still have fun out there, no matter what."

And that fun should include bat flips, Truitt said.

"I'm all for it," Truitt said. "Pitchers get to yell when they come off the bump and get a strikeout to end the inning. If you make mistake and somebody hits a ball 400 feet off you, they should be able to show their excitement, too."

Truitt, who is known for doing a little dancing in the field when an opposing player's walkup music strikes him just right, buys into Rebandt's method of making sure his players play loose.

"From a young age, my dad always told me that if you love the game, don't let it become a job," Truitt said. "You have to love it, no matter what level you're at — whether it's middle school, high school, college or even professional."