Meet the man behind the White Sox pope hat and other gameday giveaways
If you've collected a White Sox bobblehead, T-shirt, or hat at the gates in the last couple of decades, you might have a piece of graphic designer Toby Ramos' work without realizing it.
Ramos – who designed the popular black and green Pope Hat given away this summer to honor Pope Leo XIV, a lifelong White Sox fan – said his designs are about more than promoting the team. For him, it's personal.
White Sox players might come to the ballpark to leave it all out on the field, but for fans, sometimes it's also about what they take home with them.
Before thousands of fans can wear them, collect them, or hand them over to the pope himself, someone has to dream up the various memorabilia given away to fans entering Rate Field on game day.
That's where Ramos comes in.
The White Sox senior director of design services, Ramos' office is a treasure trove of branding and memorabilia, especially the game day giveaways.
Ramos has a hand in all of them, from the hat designed for a 4-year-old cancer patient for Childhood Cancer Awareness Day giveaway on Sept. 6 to the project that started the team's Hispanic Heritage collections.
"I mean, it started I think in [2017] with the sugar skull, and I think that kicked things off, right? That was very successful. So, it resonated with the culture, and we're not just talking about Mexicans. We're talking about all Latinos, and Chicago obviously is well-represented with Latinos. So, it took off," he said.
Though these projects connect to culture, Ramos' own relationship with baseball goes back generations.
His grandfather played semi-professional basketball in Mexico.
"My grandfather, a die hard baseball fan. Literally, we would talk baseball all day, and he would talk your ear off about anything, not just Chicago baseball, just in general. Just he loved the sport," Ramos said.
He carries a baseball card that he designed to honor his grandfather.
Growing up in south suburban Blue Island, Ramos said his favorite Latino initiative project is the campaign to get White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"Getting him in was super important," Ramos said. "It was a nice feeling to do something great for his family."
Ramos said the White Sox do 10 to 15 memorabilia giveaways a year, and he is always looking up those items on eBay.
"People are putting those things out there even before they're even here," he said. "So, I mean, when you think of that, it's beautiful to see people being excited about something that you're putting a lot of time and effort into."
This year's Hispanic Heritage Night for the White Sox is on Sept. 25, when they'll give away 15,000 "Los White Sox" ponchos. Each ticket also includes a Los White Sox T-shirt and Lotería experience presented by Mi Costeñita!
"Fans want it and they're lining around the ballpark for it. That is gratifying for a creative, and it just makes you more passionate about what you do," Ramos said.
The White Sox said they are already thinking about what they're going to do for their giveaways next season. They said sometimes the hardest part is trying to top what they have already done.