If you thought the ESPYs gift bag sounded pretty cool, take a look at what Major Leaguers at the All Star Game got for free. See, MLB is far too busy to actually make silly little giftbags; instead, they just let the players go buck crazy like soccer moms on Black Friday:
Major League Baseball set up a room full of merchandise from its vendors and allowed each player to take whatever they liked.
"It's the greatest thing I've ever seen," Justin Morneau joked.
The shopping bazaar included electronic equipment, sunglasses, luggage, jerseys, and all sorts of baseball apparel. Even Santana, who also played in the 2005 and 2006 All-Star Games, was impressed.
"It was unbelievable," Santana said. "Last year, people bring you what you ask for. This year, everything's there and you just keep bringing and bringing stuff. My dad went crazy. I don't think we can put all the stuff in the plane."
Morneau picked up an Apple TV. Torii Hunter received a video iPod. All loaded up on clothing, so much that "they were handing out plastic bags to carry it all," Hunter said. "When it's free, you grab three."
Clothes? Video iPods? Luggage? Johan Santana's dad snatching up everything in sight? This sounds like a great deal for the players, especially some of the lowest paid All-Stars such as Brian McCann ($666,667), Russell Martin ($387,500), and JJ Hardy ($400,000). And of course, Johan's dad.
