Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro shared good news with the fans about giveaways at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays often have fan giveaways where they give away promotional items like bobbleheads, T-shirts, and other items to fans who come out and support the team at their home ballpark.
However, these giveaways have often been capped at the first 15,000 fans, which has led to fans lining up hours before the games to make sure they get the giveaways. But even when fans get there hours ahead of time, sometimes they are shut out when the Blue Jays run out of items to give away, which has led to fans being upset about the team capping the number of items available.
Shapiro has heard the complaints, and he said that things could change in 2027.
Blue Jays Could Increase Number of Giveaways
Speaking to reporters at the Blue Jays’ year-end media availability, Shapiro confirmed that the Blue Jays are considering increasing the number of giveaways so that every fan who lines up early to get an item won’t be disappointed if the team runs out, as happened so often in 2026.
“We spend a lot of time thinking about that, and we even quietly increased the number last year without even announcing it at times to try and find the right number where everyone that is in line will ultimately get a promotional item,” Shapiro said.
“I think it speaks to how strong our promotional items are and how much people do appreciate them, which is great. We didn’t need to do that this year to sell tickets. We did it anyway as part of what we viewed, again, as giving back to our fans and demonstrating appreciation. And when we think about next year, yes, we are thinking about increasing the number next year. I think what we are looking for is more the number where every single person who does get in line receives an item. Not necessarily everyone who comes into the ballpark, but no one who waits in line gets disappointed.”
Good News for Blue Jays Fans
This is fantastic news for Blue Jays fans, as the promotional items the team gives away at the ballpark are an additional value-add for those who spend money on tickets to come to Rogers Centre and watch the team play.
Unfortunately for many fans this year, the promotional items were already out of stock by the time they got down to the ballpark, as some fans were camping out hours ahead of time waiting in line to make sure that they got a giveaway.
For fans who were not lucky enough to get a giveaway and who still wanted them, they would have to look on the aftermarket, where people who had extra giveaway items were asking for exorbitant prices on platforms such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace. Thankfully, however, it looks like the fans who really want these promotional items will have a better shot at collecting them in 2027.
Blue Jays CEO Mark Shapiro Shares Good News About Giveaways