That picture above is the famous Myron Noodleman. I had the opportunity to see him as the Louisville Bats hosted the Toledo Mud Hens at Louisville Slugger field on Saturday, April 9, 2011. This was my first experience with Mr. Noodleman, and I admit I was not sure what to expect.
I had done a little bit of research and I knew that he was "The Hippest Nerd in Da' Biz." I was not quite sure what nerds have to do with Minor League Baseball. I also found out that he was a dancing nerd. This led to more confusion. Dancing Nerd=Good Minor League Baseball promotion? Yes is the answer.
So, he basically does a series of skits between several of the innings and he does quite a bit of crowd interaction during the game. His crowd interaction seemed to involve a lot of teeth rubbing.
I told you.I wish I could have gotten close enough to tell you what the teeth rubbing was all about, but he did not come to my section. Kids really seemed to enjoy the attention he would pay to them, and I saw a lot of smiles near him.
His on-field shtick was remarkably engaging. While not my personal cup of tea, but he is quite talented. His dancing was much better than I had expected (he is a professional after all). And, the crowd really seemed to be digging it.
I'm not going to give away his routine, since he has worked very hard to create a following, but here are some very general descriptions of some of the bits.
* Dueling signals set to the tune of "Dueling Banjos"
* Grounds Crew skit set to the tune of "YMCA"
* Chicken Dance with the "Umpire"
* Leading the crowd in signing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
The "Dueling Signals" bit was quite good. It actually involved a player from the Bats, although I think that can vary depending on who is available to work with him. In this case, it was Kris Negron who was not starting that day, but is on the Reds 40-man roster. Kris was pretty good, and by and large was able to keep up with Myron Noodleman.
Myron Noodleman and Kris NegronOne thing I noticed was that when he encouraged the crowd to cheer or clap they were very responsive. Many of the in-stadium promo guys have a tough time getting the crowd to react, but not Myron Noodleman. He had a good rapport with the crowd.
Overall, Myron Noodleman is a promo that I don't understand, but his popularity with the crowd is undeniable. I think that he is particularly appealing to kids. One thing to note is that he mostly works games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He does some weekdays, but not many.
Click here to go to Myron Noodleman's website. He has a schedule so you can see when he will be in your area.
