Bowie Baysox Will Again Honor David Bowie

For the second year in a row, the Double-A Bowie Baysox will host a David Bowie-themed promotional night. On Friday the Orioles’ affiliate will hold a “David Bowie Tribute and 70th Birthday Celebration” at Prince George’s Stadium.

While the town is pronounced Boo-ie, those unfamiliar with the area often pronounce it like the late singer’s last name. The pronunciation mixup made the Baysox a natural fit for a Bowie promotion.

“He obviously is a unique personality and there are a lot of different ways you can go with that,” Baysox promotions manager Chris Rogers said. “We just wanted to try and put something in front of our fans to enjoy, and sit back, relax and let the music kind of take care of itself.”

After Bowie’s death last January, the Baysox decided to pay homage to the musician with a promotional night dedicated to him. The highlight was Bowie-inspired jerseys.

The team combined elements from several of Bowie’s signature wardrobes into the players’ uniforms and will do so again for Friday’s game.

“Bowie was known for his fashion, and his music, and his personality,” Rogers said. “When you think of Bowie, you think of Ziggy Stardust, or you think of the outfits he’d wear in the ‘80s when he was wearing like leisure suits and the costumes in his music video. The palette we had to work with was endless.”

The Bowie-inspired jerseys will once again be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. Bowie died of liver cancer in 2016. Rogers said despite the team’s poor record last season, the event was the team’s second-biggest auction ever. People from around the world were clamoring for a chance at buying one of the jerseys last year.

Bowie’s music will also play a major role in the promotion.

Players will use Bowie tunes as their walk-up songs. Strikeouts and double plays will be punctuated with Bowie lyrics. The Baysox will use the video board to play Bowie clips. In-game promotions will involve replica’s of Bowie’s famous wigs and shiny clothes.

“Hopefully, it’s something popular enough where the demand forces us to do it year after year,” Rogers said.

The David Bowie promotion is part of a British Invasion weekend for the Baysox. Saturday is Harry Potter night, and Sunday the team will hand out Zach Britton (get it, Britain?) bobbleheads.