In Which Rose Is A WINner
Last year, Dodger Vice Chair Jamie McCourt (a.k.a. Mrs. Guy Who Owns The Dodgers, but that's kind of like calling Hillary Clinton Mrs. Guy Who Was President) launched a little program called the Women's Initiative & Network, or "WIN". According to the site, it is
... a new program in baseball focused on providing women of all ages and backgrounds with unique opportunities to learn about the sport, participate in the unparalleled Dodger Stadium experience, and contribute to our community and our National Pastime in innovative, meaningful ways.
Additionally,
WIN will offer women special access to the game experience through events and ongoing programs, including baseball clinics, seminars, and forums involving Dodger players, coaches, and staff.
For strictly journalistic purposes, I have signed up with WIN. I am now eligible for the following:
- Women's Win Pack - A 7 Game Plan for only $70: half-price tickets for every Thursday game, in the Women's section, which makes it sound like an orthodox synagogue or something.
- DodgersWIN (tm) Baseball Clinics. The next one is on April 22 and will feature Jeff Kent. It costs $50 to attend. Who wants to sponsor me? Or I could wait until the July 22 one -- it's also $50, but I would be permitted to bring two kids to the clinic. I don't think any of the parents I know will go for it, though. They're variously willing to expose their offspring to showbiz, experimental technology and giant effigies of Cthulhu, but Jeff Kent might be a tough sell.
- Speakers including Kim Ng, VP and Asst. General Manager and de facto GM before they brought in Ned Colletti (May 15, $30) and Tommy Lasorda (October 3, price TBA)
- Promotions including DodgersWIN night presented by Trader Joe's (please tell me that the promised giveaways include cases of Two Buck Chuck) and a Smashbox Cosmetics giveaway night at which "Natalie Coughlin, 2 time Gold Medal Winning Swimmer, will throw out the first pitch". The site does not note what the giveaway will consist of, but it's a fair bet that there will be some leftovers from the previous night's Steve Garvey Bobblehead giveaway.
- August 1's "Learn How to Keep Score while watching a few innings of Reds vs. Dodger game" ($30).
- Various receptions and lunches, which may or may not be the same thing as the WIN Networking Series. ("This will be a series of six independent networking opportunities to meet new friends and mingle with current and past members of the Dodger organization". Sounds like rubber chicken and a chat with a former assistant to an assistant GM.)
The site includes a handy link to a section on "Baseball Basics," which would seem to negate the need for the "Learn How to Keep Score" night. Save your thirty bucks and go right here.
There are a few flaws with this whole scheme. For example, "A 7-Game Plan for only $70"? Rule number one of attending games at Dodger Stadium: Sit in the top deck behind home plate. Seats are only $6 a pop, and you have a great view of what's going on. You won't catch a ball, but that also means you won't get hit in the head by a ball or by the people running after it, so that's a plus in my book.
Also, there's the fact that I signed up three days ago and have yet to receive a confirmation email. The hell?
If and when I do hear anything, I will share the love. In the meantime, I shall sit here and repeatedly remind myself that the Dodgers really do have a strong farm system going, and that at the rate the injuries are piling up, this will come in very handy as the season progresses. And by "progresses," I mean "approaches May".
posted by Rose @ 7:03 PM
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