Bats find the baseball Force on Star Wars Night

A first it was. Watched baseball a long time, Matt Payne has, but brought his sons before, he had not. To bring them for Star Wars Night he decided. From New Albany, Ind., they came. For the occasion in costume they dressed. Red and green light sabers they carried.

To appreciate the extent to which "Star Wars" has permeated our culture, consider that the previous paragraph was converted from English into Yoda-speak with the aid of a British website dedicated to that peculiar syntactical pursuit. Consider that Brian Kemp of Louisville's Mr. Computer Services has spent much of the past nine months building an operational R2-D2 droid just to see the pleasure on people's faces.

Consider that a pair of last-place ballclubs succeeded in drawing an announced crowd of 10,015 Sunday night at Louisville Slugger Field because of a film franchise now older than America's median age but still as formidable as The Force. Hundreds of fans arrived in costumes and "Star Wars"-themed T-shirts. A person dressed as Darth Vader threw out a ceremonial first pitch (and throws, sadly, like Jar Jar Binks).

Many young fans made their first trip to the ballpark because of their affinity for a set of fictional characters who purportedly lived a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

When Disney spent $4 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012, it may have paid a bargain price.

"Every day is 'Star Wars' day at our house," Virginia Carpenter, of St. Matthews, said Sunday afternoon. "We come to (Bats games) twice a month. We really enjoy it. But we don't bring the kids. Now, they're not so bored."

She was wearing a gray T-shirt depicting Darth Vader carrying a boom box, appropriated from the wardrobe of her husband, Thomas. Their young sons, Jacob and Michael, were so conspicuously attired in "Star Wars" stuff that they were picked to make the pregame "Play Ball" invocation.

In the ongoing battle for the attention and discretionary dollars of consumers, and particularly to attract young fans who may find more stimulation in other entertainment options, many sports franchises have found synergies in theme nights like the one the Bats staged on Sunday.

Though minor league baseball does not track the incidence of specific promotions, no fewer than seven minor-league teams held a Star Wars Night on May 4, 2013, in observance of the unofficial "May the Fourth be with you" holiday.

Several teams have turned it into an annual tradition, complete with special uniforms and "roar like a Wookie" contests. The Kane County (Ill.) Cougars, a Class-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, have scheduled two Star Wars Nights this season, just in case some of their customers can't work one or the other into their schedules.

If the Bats have been a little slow to embrace Skywalking, consider the calendar. Since May 4 typically falls close to the date of the Kentucky Derby, the home team is often on the road.

Bats Senior Vice President Greg Galiette said serious discussions about the concept began last fall with a goal of bringing something to the promotion "that people haven't done ... to take it a step further."

Galiette said he spent four months gaining permission from Lucasfilm to outfit the Bats in orange jerseys modeled after the rebel flight suit Luke Skywalker wore in the first film. But his big coup was a coincidence. Leaving a restaurant downtown, Galiette spotted Kemp testing his R2-D2 on Main Street.

"I was walking around a little bit, working out some of the bugs, and I saw Greg," Kemp said. "He said, 'Wait, don't go anywhere.' He hands me his card and says, 'We'd love to have him.' "

Kemp says he was unaware of the Bats' "Star Wars" promotion at that point, but asked only for the day and time. Operating his 43-inch creation by remote control Sunday night, Kemp watched proudly as spectators took turns being photographed with a droid whose dimensions, detail and movements were virtually identical to the movie version.

"There's an estimated 400 to 600 of them worldwide, not counting the 15 that are being built right now for the (next) movie," said Kemp, who is now at work on a C-3P0 costume. "It has the exact same components and makes all the sound effects from the movie."

At some point, Kemp may want to explore the commercial possibilities of his craftsmanship. For now, he is content to keep R2-D2 in his office as a conversation piece.

"The real payoff for me," he said, "is the happiness I see."

Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, by email at tsullivan@courier-journal.com, and on Twitter @TimSullivan714.