MINNEAPOLIS—One of the greatest baseball promotions in recent years was “Prince Night” at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. The event was on June 8, a day after the fallen rock star’s 60^th birthday. The first 10,000 fans received inflatable purple guitars that replicated the custom made Prince symbol guitar he played at the rainy Bears-Colts Super Bowl in Miami.

A special ticket package included commemorative purple baseball caps with the Prince symbol. A post-game fireworks show was themed with Prince hits like “Raspberry Beret.” The Twins struck up an exclusive merchandising deal with the Prince estate, so yes there were commemorative baseballs with the Prince symbol.

Of course I made the road trip to be part of this royal celebration.

The hybrid of baseball and popular music can never be understated.

I had a lot of time to think during the seven plus hour drive from Chicago to the Upper Midwest.  I pondered how the Midwest League could serve up a “Hometown Tunes” weekend. Lots of coffee and Mountain Dew can do this to you. So here’s some ideas.

* Great Lakes Loons–”Lefty Frizzell is not our Southpaw Pitcher Day” –Country star Lefty Frizzell’s scored a 1964 number one hit with the gritty ballad “Saginaw, Michigan.” Frizzell was a major influence on Merle Haggard and they shared a strong working class ethic. “Saginaw, Michigan” is about the working class son of a Saginaw fisherman who falls in love with the daughter of a much richer man, sort of when Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp was dating Rihanna. (Kemp is from Midwest City, Ok.)

* Dayton Dragons–”Hang on Sloopy Day.”  The McCoys had a number one hit in the summer of 1965 with “Hang On Sloopy.” Front man Rick Derringer was born in Celina, Ohio, about an hour north of Dayton.

This song (and find the extended version) already has a strong sports tie-in with the Ohio State University marching band. Discounts on the Slurpee concession.

* Kane County Cougars–”Beach Boys Baseballs!”  In 1997 and 1998 Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson lived with his family in a spacious St. Charles estate overlooking a nice pond. I visited him once and toured his in-house studio. He did a private recital at the Norris Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles. Wilson told me, “Sometimes it (St. Charles) reminds me of California in the early 1960s.” Wilson said his favorite restaurant was the Mill Race Inn, along the Fox River in Geneva. The restaurant is gone and so is Wilson.

* Quad Cities River Bandits—”Bix Night.” Trad jazz cornetist-pianist Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke was born in 1903 in Davenport, Ia  and lived there until he was 18 when he attended Lake Forest Academy. In 2004 the Bandits were named Swing of the Quad Cities as a nod to Bix. They actually had a Bix Bobblehead Night that season. Yup, I made the drive from Chicago to snag one.

* Fort Wayne Tin Caps—”Fort Wayne’s World.” Schwwing!  Need I say more?

* Beloit Snappers –“Dream Police Night.”  Local cops get in free. Affordable magicians perform tricks in the concourse, all because In 1953 Cheap Trick lead singer-guitarist Robin Zander was born in Beloit.

* Bowling Green Hot Rods–”Bush Leagues & Big Hits Night.”  Forget the cars, Bowling Green is arguably the most music rich city in the Midwest League. Progressive bluegrass mandolin player Sam Bush was born in Bowling Green and the late Neil Young-J.J. Cale sideman Ben Keith grew up in Bowling Green. The popular rock-funk band Cage the Elephant comes from Bowling Green and the rap group Nappy Roots met while attending Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. Bonus points for the Everly Brothers 1967 pop hit “Bowling Green,” also covered by the mighty Neko Case. No need for any promotion, just have this great American music playing between innings.

* Peoria Chiefs–”Longer Night.” As a tribute to the late Peoria native son Dan Fogelberg and his 1979 hit ballad “Longer,” the Midwest League dumps its fast paced baseball games for a night to incorporate the slow drip of major league baseball. Video replays! Step out of the batters box over and over. Lots of visits to the pitching mound. Walk around the pitcher’s mound. The fun never stops. Literally.

* Lake County Captains–“Moonglows Night.” Obviously a late night game, best played under a full moon. This one is tricky-easy because the Captains play in Eastlake, a suburb about 25 miles northeast of Cleveland. And Cleveland is the home of the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Great acts like Tracy Chapman, Nine Inch Nails and the James Gang with Joe Walsh hail from Cleveland. (Walsh was born in Wichita, Ks. but the band formed at Kent State University).

But I’ll go with the beautiful doo-wop group The Moonglows who were from Cleveland. The quartet was known as the Crazy Sounds in 1951 when they were discovered by legendary Cleveland rock n’ roll disc jockey Alan Freed. He renamed them as a nod to  his own “Moondog” nickname. I’d also invite John “Blue Moon” Odom and Greg “Mad Dog” Maddux to throw out the first pitches.

* West Michigan Whitecaps–“All Green Night.” Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer Al Green is associated with Memphis, Tn., but he actually was raised in Grand Rapids, Mi. in the late 1950s. The Whitecaps wear green uniforms and the Rev. Green hits like “Let’s Stay Together” and “Tired of Being Alone” play between innings. A Sunday game could include a church service officiated by Rev. Green, minister at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis. Bonus points for “Take Me To The River” as the Whitecaps’ Fifth Third Ballpark  field is near the Grand River, just north of Grand Rapids.

* South Bend Cubs–“California Sun Night.” Outside of the Indiana-Michigan region, few people know that the hit 1964 surf song “California Sun” was recorded by The Rivieras from South Bend. “California Sun” was actually recorded in Chicago. In 1965 the band was hired to play a dance at Notre Dame University. As they arrived a couple people from the dance hall told the band, “You must have had a long drive to get here.” In 2000 keyboardist Otto Nuss told me he wisecracked, “Yeah, about eight blocks.” The South Bend Cubs were Hawaiian shirt jerseys, sunglasses and make full use of the tiki hut in the outfield. Good opportunity for sunscreen sponsors.

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