Syracuse Chiefs say Salt Potatoes merchandise sales have “broken” records

SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Chiefs say sales of their Salt Potatoes merchandise have “broken” the team's merchandise sale records.

The Chiefs made that pronouncement June 29, five days after announcing that the club would become the Syracuse Salt Potatoes for one game against the Rochester Red Wings on Aug. 5 for the team’s “What If” night promotion.

The team’s initial order of 2,000 merchandise items sold out in three days, says Jason Smorol, general manager of the Syracuse Chiefs.

“Between hats and t-shirts and they were sold out in three days. That’s never been done before,” he notes. The team has “never shipped this much stuff” in a short period of time.

“We [had previously] rebranded [to wear] red, white, and blue. We didn’t sell this much stuff this fast,” says Smorol, who spoke with CNYBJ in his office at NBT Bank Stadium on July 20.

The team shipped merchandise with the Salt Potatoes logo to more than 40 states and overseas to England and Denmark.

The Salt Potatoes merchandise includes fitted hats, stretch fit hats, adjustable hats, men’s t-shirts, ladies t-shirts, and youth t-shirts.

Buffalo–based New Era Cap Company worked with the Chiefs to design the logo, an angry-looking salt potato sitting in golden butter, with additional, melting butter above its face.

The team designed its own uniforms based on the New Era design. Russell Athletic produces the uniforms. 

“Uniforms for the teams cost north of a couple thousand dollars,” says Smorol.

When asked for a dollar figure on the amount of revenue the Salt Potatoes gear sales are generating, Smorol said it was too early to say.

“We’ll let the dust settle … We’ll see how it comes out at the end of the year, but it’s definitely helped our merchandise sales,” says Smorol. 

The Chiefs also plan to give away a replica Salt Potatoes jersey for the first 1,000 fans at the Aug. 5 baseball game. 

About “What If” night

For the “What If” night promotion, the Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, will wear specialty Salt Potatoes jerseys and hats on the field. 

“It’s a concept that other [minor league teams] did. We said, ‘hey, it worked for them. Let’s do it ourselves,’ “ says Smorol.

For example, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs became the Cheesesteaks for their “Salute to Philadelphia Night” back on June 10.

The Iron Pigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies and play the Chiefs in Minor League Baseball’s International League.

The “What If” night promotion is a “way for the Chiefs to celebrate a piece of Central New York culture,” the Chiefs said in the announcement of the promotion. Salt potatoes are a “regional staple” for Central New York families, especially during the summer months. 

Irish immigrants first ate salt potatoes while working as salt miners in the region in the 1800s, the team said. The miners boiled potatoes in the salty brine to eat for lunch as they worked. They have “evolved over the years to be eaten with lots of butter,” it added.

The Chiefs in March began talking to fans about what name they would assign the Chiefs, given the chance. 

Fans turned in “hundreds” of name suggestions based on what Central New York means to them. 

An internal team from the Chiefs narrowed down the list of names to the “Salt Potatoes” in time to get Minor League Baseball approval and get the merchandise manufactured. 

Besides the Aug. 5 game as the Salt Potatoes, the team will “definitely” play under that moniker again in 2018. 

“It’s coming back. We got the uniforms, so we may as well wear them, and it’s very popular,” says Smorol, noting the team will determine if it will wear them once, weekly, or for a given weekend.

When asked if the team would consider a permanent nickname change to Salt Potatoes, Smorol simply replied, “As far as I’m concerned, I think Chiefs is here to stay.”