Kalamazoo, MI – The Kalamazoo Growlers will again be kicking off every game with a Home Run Derby for the 2021 season.
The Growlers introduced the pre-game Home Run Derby last season as a way to inject more entertainment and value to fans after changing games to 5-inning double-headers. The Growlers are the only team in the country who started every game with a home run derby and they will continue that this season. As the team returns to 9-inning games, now with more fans and more teams visiting Kalamazoo, the Growlers elected to keep the derbies in place to continue providing the most fun possible to the community.
“After the response last year, it was clear that the Home Run Derbies were an overwhelming success,” said Growlers Team President Brian Colopy. “We had to bring it back for this season, especially now with more fans being in the stadium. We are dedicated to bringing more fun to our community and this is a perfect way to do that.”
Each home run derby will start 10 minutes before each first pitch. That would be 6:25pm on evening games and 1:25 on day games, with first pitch following those times by ten minutes. Growlers players will face off against players from visiting teams. Each player will get a specified amount of time to hit as many home runs as they can. There may also be special guest appearances in the derbies throughout the season.
Each year, the MLB Home Run Derby is one of the most watched baseball events of the year. As front offices and fans grow increasingly in love with the long ball, the Growlers hope to stake their claim as the only team in the country to bring this to every fan at every game.
The Kalamazoo Growlers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 26th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 230 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.growlersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Growlers as your favorite team.