Marlins Invite Fernando Mendoza To Throw First Pitch, Triggering Canes Fans
As my dad would say, "know your audience."
I'm convinced that no sports franchise understands, or even respects its audience less than the Miami Marlins.
From the myriad fire sales following their elusive successful seasons to building a ballpark no one wanted with taxpayer money, it's no wonder no one shows up to watch the team play.
The Marlins pulled yet another head-scratching move on Wednesday when they invited a familiar face to throw out the first pitch in the middle of a three-game homestand with the St. Louis Cardinals.
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Check it out, guys! It's Miami's very own Fernando Mendoza.
A little weird that he's got time to go to a Marlins game where there will be 5,000 fans in attendance but not the NFL Draft, where he will likely be the first name off the board, but I digress.
It's so nice to have a hometown hero who went on to do great things as a college football player, winning a Heisman Trophy and even leading his team to a national championship right down the road from loanDepot Park at Hard Rock Stadium.
Speaking of college, where did he play football again?
Oh, that's right, Indiana, the same team that denied the hometown Miami Hurricanes from capturing a national title in the friendly confines of their "home" stadium.
Guess which college football team most of the MIAMI Marlins fans cheer for?
Uh oh.
Here's a nickel's worth of free advice for the Marlins' front office (and judging by the payroll for these teams, that's a deal they won't pass up): if you're trying to get fans to come to your games and make that beautiful, expensive ballpark look full on TV, don't advertise that you're bringing in the guy who ripped your fans' hearts out back in January to throw out the first pitch.
As my dad would say, "know your audience."
As a Marlins fan who is also a Florida Gators fan, I find this hysterical, and if I wasn't working, I'd probably go to the game, but Hurricanes fans didn't find the Mendoza announcement as amusing.
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The lack of self awareness is astounding, but not surprising.
Then again, this could be a 5D chess move by Marlins management.
Hear me out. Miami is full of transplants from the northeast and the Midwest, most of whom aren't Hurricanes fans or even Marlins fans for that matter.
There's a good chance more Indiana/Big Ten fans show up to this game, along with the fact that it's against a Midwest team (the Cardinals), than they would if this was just a random series against the Padres.
But that's a little too "big-brained" for this franchise, so I'm going to go with Option A.
Great work, once again, Marlins!