Did you catch the IronPigs games over the weekend? Great couple of games as the ‘Pigs opened the home portion of their season with two wins over the Pawtucket Red Sox.

No, the games weren’t real, but they were as real as you can get. The IronPigs, working with Service Electric and WFMZ-TV 69, put together a pair of virtual Opening Day – technically called #HopeningDay – games against Pawtucket, who would have been their opponent for the first weekend series of the season.

The games used the PlayStation 4 video console system with the MLB The Show game, which allows gamers to “play” games between teams from both Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball. The visuals of the players and team uniforms are stunningly accurate, even down to many of the players mannerisms and of course, their on-field abilities. Service Electric and WFMZ both televised the games with regular Service Electric announcers Mike Zambelli and Steve Degler providing play-by-play.

“When the IronPigs called us with this concept, we immediately saw the value to our viewers,” said WFMZ general manager Barry Fisher, whose station routinely carries the regular Saturday night home games, with Service Electric carrying all other scheduled home games.

The IronPigs used the broadcasts as part of a broader promotion to raise money to help health care workers at both the Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network who are on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The team has also been selling “In This Together” T-shirts with the team logo, the proceeds of which also go to helping health care workers in the Lehigh Valley. Further, the team raised money through a Go Fund Me page, which was promoted during the broadcast and offered an “Eat like a PIG” promotion where fans could have a ballpark style meal of a hot dog, Coca-Cola beverage, popcorn and Philly Pretzel rivets delivered to their home with over a quarter of the $15 cost going into the fundraiser. The food was provided by Valley Prep food preparation.

‘Pigs president and general manager Kurt Landes was happy with how the broadcast went and with how the rest of the #HopeningDay fundraiser is going. “We don’t have the exact numbers, but I expect that we will have raised somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 from our efforts,” he said.

In addition to the games being broadcast on television, fans could watch the game on WFMZ’s Facebook page and leave comments throughout the game. Several fans commented on the realism of the game, which also included a few raindrops falling during Friday night’s broadcast, mimicking the weather in the Lehigh Valley. There was even a rain delay, which lasted for a total of approximately 10-seconds. Some fans even used the opportunity to get on the umpires about their calls.

“We’ve heard from a lot of fans who thought it was a great experience and something different during these difficult times,” said Landes. “We sold over 350 meals and people were making it an event to sit home, watch the game and take in some ballpark food. It was something different from the usual distractions that people have been looking for.”

The team used social media throughout both Friday and Saturday offering fans to post videos of their kids yelling “play ball” and throwing out a “first pitch.” The team also conducted some of the normal in-game promotions via social media. The T-shirt toss had fans replying to comments for a chance to receive a free T-shirt and the team also conducted an online version of their Minute To Win It promotion.

“We pride ourselves on thinking outside the box and doing things that are different for our fans. With this, we were able to give our fans some entertainment, while also raising money for a great cause,” said Landes. “It’s a difficult time and we’re going to keep looking for ways to help.”

Thanks to the success of the campaign, Landes said that the team will work on more broadcasts to help fans through the period of being asked to stay at home because of the pandemic. The sale of “In This Together” T-shirts continues online at shopironpigs.com.