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Going to baseball games is about watching the game, not getting giveaways, but it'd sure be nice to start getting some creative Blue Jays giveaways down at the Rogers Centre. This year, the Blue Jays will be giving out three bobblehead dolls, but the players featured on them have not been announced yet.
| Giveaway | Quantity | Game |
| Rally Towel and Magnet Schedules | 45,000 | April 4 vs Yankees |
| Mystery bobblehead #1 | 20,000 | April 27 vs Red Sox |
| Replica "Blue" Blue Jays Jersey Giveaway | 20,000 | May 25 vs A's |
| Blue Jays Cowboy Hat | 20,000 | June 1 vs Royals |
| Mystery bobblehead #2 | 20,000 | June 8 vs Cardinals |
| Blue Jays team card set | 25,000 | June 11 vs Twins |
| Fan Vote T-Shirt | 15,000 | June 24 vs Yankees |
| Blue Jays visor | 20,000 | June 29 vs White Sox |
| Red Blue Jays bucket hat | 20,000 | July 1 vs Brewers |
| Blue Jays Tumbler Cup Giveaway | 20,000 | July 20, vs Rangers |
| Downloadable Music Card | 20,000 | July 23 vs Red Sox |
| Fan Vote T-Shirt | 15,000 | August 5 vs Orioles |
| Replica Blue Jays batting practice hat | 20,000 | August 10 vs Tigers |
| Mystery bobblehead #3 | 20,000 | August 24 vs Rays |
| Jr. Jays Poster | All kids 14 and under | August 30 vs Yankees |
| Blue Jays Long Sleeve Baseball Shirt | 20,000 | August 31 vs Yankees |
| Blue Jays Warm Winter Hat | 20,000 | Septmeber 28 vs Orioles |
- In the home opener, the rally towel will be given away upon entrance, and the magnet schedule will be given away at the exit to stop folks from tossing them onto the field.
- The replica jersey giveaway day will be fun: since each jersey will feature a player, fans will run around trading with each other to get one of their favourite player.
- The two "fan vote t-shirts" will be given away on "Connect with the Blue Jays night," a "fun social media night for fans who follow the Blue Jays with in-stadium giveaways all game long." The old Blackberry Tweeting Tuesday events are gone.
- The visor and bucket hat giveaways on the same weekend marks the Canadian holiday of Dorky Headwear Weekend.
- End of an era: no Mr. Sub giveaways this year. For a long time they sponsored a sports bag giveaway, then last year it became a cooler bag, and this year the promo is gone.
Overall, very vanilla and blah giveaways. There's not a lot of creativity, a lot of them seem like bland swag corporations order for tradeshows. For a good list of giveaways, just look at the San Francisco Giants (they've only released their first-half schedule). In the first month they will be giving away a calendar, two bobbleheads (Hunter Pence and Duane Kuiper!), a scarf, a sports bag, a sports sleeve (for kids), a magnet schedule, a 1954 replica World Series ring (!), and a replica bat (for kids). Another contrast is in non-cap headwear giveaways: the Giants are offering hipstery fedoras. And man, the Hello Kitty Giants plush doll on June 8!
Why can't the Blue Jays marketing department think of cool giveaways like: Munenori Kawasaki English phrasebook sponsored by Rosetta Stone, Redbull cans with Brett Lawrie's face on them, statuettes of Steve Delabar's elbow plate sponsored by Home Hardware, Andrew Stoeten beards sponsored by theScore, Colby Rasmus wigs sponsored by Gabi's, a St. John's Ambulance-sponsored Dustin McGowan first-aid kit, a Jeff Samardzija shark fin cap, and so on. So much potential!
But, maybe I'm being too negative. Those bucket hats couldn't be that bad, right?
The first 20K fans on Canada Day will receive this stylish bucket hat! 2014 giveaways: http://t.co/hTDJwg60td pic.twitter.com/S7PYemnDlf
— Blue Jays-Official (@BlueJays) November 27, 2013
I want to become a Giants fan.