Old-timey ballparks often had advertising signs in the outfield inviting players to take a shot at them, promising a free something as a reward. "Hit sign, win suit," hanging in right-center field of Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, was a famous one, Dutch Baseball Hangouts reports. There doesn't seem to be a record of a "Hit painting" gimmick, or Harrison Bader would have cashed in Sunday in St. Louis. The Cardinals outfielder launched a home run into the upper deck in left field that traveled 425 feet and slammed into a painting, sitting on an easel, that was placed on the steps there by the team's mascot.
There was no comment from Fredbird, who had stepped away from his work, or word about Bader winning anything; he did help bring the Cardinals a victory and a spot in the playoffs. But Bader later pointed out that a teammate hit a home run last season off the Big Mac Land neon sign just below where the homer landed Sunday, knocking out a letter. "And he got the M," Bader said, per the Belleville News-Democrat, "so I better get something out of it." You can see the homer here. (More home run stories.)
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