Meet outfielder Daz Cameron, half of the third father-son combo in Brewers history
Meet outfielder Dazmon Jaroid Cameron, half of the third father-son combo in Brewers history. Cameron was acquired through a trade with Baltimore and spent a short time with Nashville before being called up.
There’s a gift in the crib when Milwaukee Brewers fans arrive at Americana Family Field for May 17 game between the Brewers and the Minnesota Twins.
The club expects a sellout, with the first 25,000 fans receiving a Brewers cribbage board featuring the racing sausages. Like the Giannis Antetokounmpo City Connect jersey of 2023, the board will be in high demand.
If the level of social-media chatter doesn’t convince you, perhaps consult eBay, where the item is already selling on presale for prices much higher than the average game ticket.
Here’s what to know about the giveaway:
Is there any chance the Brewers offer more cribbage boards later?
It’s not lost on the Brewers that some fans will come away disappointed with only 25,000 boards circulated to those walking through the doors, and stadium capacity near 40,000. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean fans should expect more boards to materialize later.
The challenges to requesting a second shipment of boards are multiple. Orders for giveaways have to be sent for production roughly six months in advance — which also explains how a specific giveaway’s popularity can turn into a bit of a surprise, with requests for production before the giveaway has even been announced to fans.
If the Brewers were able to bolster their order to match the number of tickets sold, there’s no obvious offseason distribution mechanism. Fans would simply have to come to the ballpark and claim it, which would quite likely leave the Brewers with thousands of unclaimed boards — unless they ordered a smaller number, which would run the risk of disappointing claimants yet again.
By the way, inspiration for some of the quirkier giveaways comes from a variety of places — the cribbage board resulted from an internal employee giveaway-suggestion contest.
Why did the Brewers only order 25,000 in the first place?
While the Brewers have, in the past, offered a higher volume for individual giveaways and have even offered all-fan giveaways during the height of the bobblehead frenzy, the 25,000 mark is on the high end across Major League Baseball. Most teams offer giveaways to 15,000 fans or less. The Brewers will occasionally go north of the 25,000 number for a smaller giveaway like the commemorative Bob Uecker pin Aug. 24.
The Brewers have expanded their total number of gate-giveaway events from 14 to 17 this year, with the intent of offering as broad a swath of merchandise as possible.
The Brewers average a little more than 26,000 fans per game this year, though weekends (often the dates of giveaways) naturally yield higher turnouts.
Should fans get to the gates extra-early to ensure they get a cribbage board?
There’s bound to be early crowds outside the stadium Saturday — gates open two hours before first pitch — which may not be a practical or comfortable option for most fans. In fact, the more congestion in front of the stadium, the slower it is getting fans into the park.
There are a couple things to keep in mind, including that, yes, it behooves fans to get there a little earlier than normal. But keep in mind that more than 60% of possible tickets that night will still get the cribbage board, and there will be plenty of fans in attendance who don’t care about getting to the doors ASAP for the board.
The Brewers Go-Ahead Entry mechanism offers a faster way into the ballpark, a facial authentication process that’s available at the home plate west gate and at the third-base gate.
Fans should also be aware of express lanes at all gates, which are available to fans who don’t have bags at all (or very small bags, smaller than 9″x5″x2″).
OK, I’ll bite. What … is cribbage?
And you call yourself a Midwesterner.
It’s a card game, played often with two players or two teams of two, in which points are awarded each hand according to a variety of quirky rules. Players discard cards from their initial hand into a “crib” that turns into a second hand of cards, and the opposing factions take turns each hand owning rights to the points in the crib — in addition to each player counting the points in their own initial hand. There’s also a process called “pegging” where you get points before you count your points. Two for his heels! Nobs! 15-2, 15-4, the pair makes six!
OK, yes, if you’ve never played cribbage, this all sounds like a foreign language. The score is typically kept using small pegs in a cribbage board, of which there are many types and varieties. The winner is the first player to get to 121 points (naturally).
It’s maybe not quite the Wisconsin game that sheepshead is, but it’s up there. Cribbage boards are often family heirlooms passed down through generations.