White Sox expanded ‘Pope Hat’ giveaway due to demand: ‘This is going a little bit too crazy’

For a Major League Baseball team, the best way to draw big crowds on a consistent basis is to either play in an iconic ballpark like Wrigley Field or have a consistently successful team. If you can do both, even better.

For the Chicago White Sox, the former isn’t an option and the latter has been an annual problem.

Instead, the White Sox often excel off the field with giveaways, promotional nights and, lately, a viral milkshake.

This season, they might’ve outdone themselves.

On April 8, the White Sox announced they are honoring their most-famous fan, Pope Leo XIV — no offense, former President Barack Obama — with a “Pope Hat” giveaway on Aug. 11 against the Cincinnati Reds.

The toboggan-style hat resembles a mitre, a tall, pointed ceremonial hat often worn by religious leaders, including the first American-born Pope. But this one has a White Sox logo amid the ornamentation. It’s unique, to say the least.

Initially, it was supposed to be a theme-night giveaway, capped at around 1,500 people who bought tickets in specific sections.

The promo quickly went viral, and two days later the Sox decided to upgrade and make it a gate giveaway for everyone who comes through the park.

“It basically got to the level that we thought it was going to within minutes,” White Sox chief revenue and marketing officer Brooks Boyer said.

Initially, the Sox figured they’d just order more hats to fill the uptick in demand, but the next morning, Gareth Breunlin, the VP of marketing and advertising, and Mike Downey, the senior director of marketing and promotions, came into Boyer’s office to suggest a change of plans.

“They were like, all right, this is going a little bit too crazy,” Boyer said. “Now we’re a little worried about how we’re going to be able to redeem this because we haven’t shut it off and said it was sold out. Their recommendation was let’s go to a full gate giveaway.”

For the fans who bought tickets for the promotion, the team is giving them a second Pope-themed item.

The “Pope hats for the masses” decree fits with the charitable spirit of Pope Leo, who was born Robert Prevost and grew up in the south suburbs, where he learned to root for the South Side team.

His surprise election to the papacy last year turned into a White Sox moment once everyone figured out he was a fan. The ballpark held a mass in his honor and the team put up a mural honoring Pope Leo near where the future leader of the Catholic Church watched a World Series game in 2005. Chicagoans of all faiths have gone nutty for the “Chicago Pope.” Bulls broadcaster Chuck Swirsky delivered a jersey to him in November and future White Sox majority owner Justin Ishbia invited him to throw out a first pitch at a future ballpark. The Pope has joined Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and President Obama as famous White Sox hat endorsers.

Bootleg merch quickly popped up in Chicago, as did Pope Leo jerseys and Halloween-style vestments.

So when the Sox’s marketing department started the promotion planning process at the end of last year, Downey, a graduate of Fenwick, a Catholic high school in Oak Park, was sure this one would connect with the fanbase.

“Mike Downey leads our promotions committee and they literally throw everything against the wall,” Boyer said. “Any oddity, they research it, and he was convicted on this one.”

The team has tried to be respectful in terms of celebrating their ties to the Pope. They haven’t tried to sell anything with his likeness and they have an open dialogue with the local archdiocese. (Boyer is Catholic and played basketball at Notre Dame.)

“We had that conversation before we decided to do it,” Boyer said. “We said, ‘Is this going to ruffle any feathers? Is this something that we should consider?’ And obviously, overwhelmingly, it was received positively.”

Boyer said local churches and Catholic groups have already rented suites and purchased group tickets for the game.

The giveaway comes just three days after the team will retire former World Series-winning manager, shortstop and current broadcaster Ozzie Guillén’s jersey. While that is expected to draw a packed house, “Pope Hat Night” is looking like it will attract a bigger crowd.

“Ozzie believes he’s the Pope of the 400 level, because that’s where his studio is,” Boyer said. “But yes, the real Pope is outselling him.”

If you look on the team’s ticket page for the Aug. 11 game, the outfield is almost completely sold out and there isn’t much inventory left on the 100 level. On the secondary market, the get-in price is around $50 for upper-deck seats.

Typically, a Tuesday night game in August on the South Side will draw around 20,000 fans, a little more if it’s a marquee opponent like the New York Yankees. Because the team can track who comes into the park, Boyer said he’ll be interested to see how many first-time ticket buyers will be on hand.

“For the four days after we announced it, we sold like 12,000 tickets for the game,” Boyer said. “It’s a Tuesday night game in August against Cincinnati. So the reaction has been incredible and people seem to like the item. And we’re gonna have a lot of fun on a Tuesday night in August.”

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