Saints praised for Coleman-Franken bobbleheads

Ballpark Digest has honored the St. Paul Saints for the team’s two-faced Norm Coleman-Al Franken bobblehead doll.

The doll — dressed in a Dracula cape and dubbed the “Re-Count” — was conceived the day after Election Day 2008. Coleman’s legal challenge outlasted the off-season, so the Saints were able to give the prizes to fans before state courts confirmed Franken’s recount win.

It’s the second year in a row that the Saints have earned industry praise for a politically-themed promotion.

Last year the minor-league baseball club nabbed Ballpark Digest’s top “Promotion of the Year” award for its toe-tapping bobblefoot giveaway — a miniature bathroom stall memorializing U.S. Sen. Larry Craig’s antics in a men’s room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Other winning efforts this year included a Mega-Candy Drop, Gluttony Nights and Kids Eat Free. No other team was honored for promotional work in the political sphere. It’s unclear whether that counts towards Minnesota’s top ranking on civic-life indicators.