Major League Baseball

Minor league promotion: A man on fire

Published Aug. 6, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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This is one hot minor-league baseball promotion.

The Savannah Sand Gnats of the South Atlantic League are promising quite the attraction for their fans at an Aug. 14 home game — a man running the bases while literally on fire.

The Sand Gnats — the New York Mets' single-A affiliate — will allow one "lucky" fan to light noted burning man Ted Batchelor on fire and then watch him circle the bases after their game against the Kannapolis Intimidators.

Batchelor, 51, owns the Guinness World Record for the "longest full-body burn without supplied oxygen" at 2 minutes, 57 seconds, according to the Sand Gnats. He and his crew also set the world record for the "most people on fire simultaneously" at 17.

"Hopefully, when he slides into home and the flames are extinguished by his safety crew, one of the umpires will officially call him 'out' and ring him up," Sand Gnats president John Katz said.

Outlandish promotions are nothing new at minor-league sporting events, which frequently resort to headline-grabbing events to drum up interest.

Savannah is billing the event as the "first-ever fire promotion" at a minor league game.

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