Bootlegger Night pays tribute to Kentucky’s boozy heritage

The baseball season is rapidly approaching, and fans of wacky minor league promotions are rejoicing as teams unveil their schedules. Never one to disappoint, the Bowling Green Hot Rods, Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, are celebrating their home state’s boozy heritage with Bootlegger Night July 16.

Per the team’s website:

Bootlegger Night will serve as a tribute to the “Hot Rod” aiding the bootlegging industry over a century ago as a way to outrun law enforcement. This rich bourbon heritage has since become synonymous with Kentucky, with over 35 distilleries present throughout the state.

The Hot Rods will customized jerseys designed to represent bourbon barrels, which will be auctioned off for charity after the game.

Also, fans who order custom hats will also receive awesome and thematically appropriate logo’d-up mason jars.

We’ll be seeing a lot of minor league baseball promotions announced in the coming weeks, and we can only hope more of them will be as good as this one. It’s a little bit edgy, pays specific homage to the local community, and like last year’s Fresno Tacos, is a strong enough identity to stand alone as its own minor league team rather than just a promo.