Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton hit so many home runs on his way to winning the Home Run Derby on Monday night that he caused at least a temporary marketing nightmare for his team.
Earlier in the day, the Marlins sent an email to their fans advertising that "when Giancarlo homers, you score!"
The offer said that "each time G launches a home run out of Petco Park, we'll knock a percentage point off future Marlins tickets."
Stanton proceeded to launch 61 home runs, besting Bobby Abreu's 2005 record in the contest by 20 homers. His final competitor, Todd Frazier, also broke the record by one (42 home runs).
So did that mean that Marlins fans got 61 percent off future games?
Well, not exactly. Fans who clicked on the link, which activated after the contest, discovered they would get just 25 percent off on all seats for 35 specified future Marlins games.
A $26 seat becomes $20.
A $218 seat is $164.
With a 61 percent discount, a $26 seat would be $10.14. The $218 seat would be $85.02.
When reached Monday night, team president David Samson said that, although the terms were not specified in the initial email to fans, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which runs team websites, sets a maximum on these type of offers at 25 percent.
"What Giancarlo did was so cool that we are working on an additional offer," Samson said. "We're thinking about picking a game and offering 61 percent off."
Some fans might argue that's what they thought they were guaranteed when the contest ended.
