Mark Shapiro acknowledges Blue Jays giveaway days: “Everyone that is in line will ultimately get a promotional item”
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Oct 2, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 2, 2026, 08:57 EDT
You get a bobblehead, you get a bobblehead… everyone gets a bobblehead if you lined up early enough in the day for one.
The Toronto Blue Jays upped their promotional giveaway calendar this past season, including a Trey Yesavage jersey, an Ernie Clement hockey jersey, a back-to-back replica statue, and bobbleheads featuring Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, and Dylan Cease. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.
With so many promotions, everyone from the bottom-dwelling resellers on Facebook to diehard fans of the team were lining up as early as 11:00 am on a 7:00 pm gameday. And with the promotions ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 items (on average), there was a chance that those who showed up two hours before first pitch were going home empty-handed.
The Blue Jays and President & CEO Mark Shapiro took notice.
“We spent a lot of time thinking about that,” Shapiro advised the media earlier this week. “And we even quietly increased the number last year without announcing it at times, to try to find the right number where everyone that is in line will ultimately get a promotional item … and when we think about next year, yes, we are considering increasing the number next year.“I think what we’re looking for is more the number where every single person that does get in line receives an item, so not necessarily every person that comes in the ballpark, but there’s no one that waited in line that gets disappointed.”
Considering the Jays’ home stadium can seat almost 40,000 fans after the recent upgrades caused some seating to disappear for the open area concepts, it makes sense why the organization might not be keen on upping that promotional number to the max, but finding a new minimum for those who are lining up so early to the ballpark won’t leave without their memento.
While the club can’t necessarily control the scalper who grabs a jersey or bobblehead and walks out of the stadium and has it for sale in minutes, the recent comments from Shapiro are at least addressing the issue if they increase the minimum number of giveaway items for those who follow the team.
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