If there's one thing we've learned beyond a shadow of a doubt, it's that there's no such thing as too much Joe Maddon. The Tampa Bay Rays fearless leader always stays in high demand, whether it be for interviews, appearances, commercials, and of course, as the subject of numerous ballpark giveaways.
Simply put, Maddon's distinctive likeness is a moneymaker for a Rays organization that‘s always in need of more revenue. That’s why they're going back to the well this season after their initial Maddon garden gnome giveaway at Tropicana Field in 2013 was so successful, they had to do it twice.
Of course, the Rays will be changing things up a bit this season. The garden gnome phase has passed now. Bobbleheads are fun, but everybody already has one, including Maddon. This year, the Rays marketing staff had to challenge themselves and travel into the outer reaches of their creative minds to find something unique, and in doing so may have come up with the giveaway of the year in MLB.
Meet, Mr. Joe-tato Head.
I am happy to be lyonnaised as Mr. Potato Head. My grandkids will love it. pic.twitter.com/aFINxKZU5T
— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) February 18, 2014
That can be yours if you're one of the first 20,000 fans through the turnstiles at Tropicana Field on Aug. 2.
Start planning accordingly, because that's one Rays home game that could sellout rather quickly.
In addition to the Maddon Mr. Potato Head, the Rays will have 17 other promotional giveaways during the season. Among the best: David Price and Astros dog tags (May 25), a James Loney grill set (June 8), and Evan Longoria's '80s hair band drummer bobblehead (Sept. 6). Hey, you always need one bobblehead.
None of them come close to Maddon's Potato Head though. That's a fact. It's also a fact that Maddon is very proud of his most recent honor.

"All this stuff here, it's just part of a lot of the crazy stuff that we do that's also highly complimentary at the same time," Maddon said. "I'm happy to be lionized as Mr. Potato Head, and also knowing that my Polish grandmother used to eat potatoes on a daily basis."
Once again, Joe Maddon captures the magnitude of the moment perfectly and then places it into proper perspective.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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