'Silent inning' honors 'silent birth' for Tom Cruise's baby

A minor-league baseball team finds inspiration for a theme night from the birth of Tom Cruise's baby.

It was a "silent inning" to honor a "silent birth" as the Lake Elsinore Storm saluted Tom Cruise over the weekend.

The Single-A minor league team played the High Desert Mavericks (remember "Top Gun"?), and for one inning Friday night no music was played and no batters were announced to mark the Church of Scientology-dictated "silent birth" of Suri, Cruise's child with Katie Holmes.

"It was originally going to be a `Top Gun' ... anniversary promotion and it just sort of evolved from there," said Jeff Joseph, a spokesman for the California League team. Cruise played "Maverick" in the 1986 film.

Instead of the more traditional bobblehead, the team handed out a "bobble-couch" depicting Cruise's famous couch-jumping incident on "Oprah." A retrospective of Cruise's career and a couch-jumping contest were also included in the night's events.

An afterhours call to Cruise's publicist was not immediately returned.

It's not the first time the Storm has hosted an unusual theme night.

"One year we had Dr. Seuss night," Joseph said. "All the players wore red- and white-striped socks to dress up like `The Cat in the Hat.'"