"baseball" news and stories

The New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys are teaming up to improve your ballpark experience with better food!

The two teams have become partners in a new company: Legends Concessions. According to the chairman, Mike Rawlings (a former Pizza Hut president), baseball fans want quality products more than they want low prices. So get out your credit card.

Still, according to the New York Times:
"'It's the nonsuite holders where we hope to see the biggest jump in satisfaction,' said Mike Rawlings, the Legends chairman, and a former Pizza Hut president, who cited research saying only 31 percent of fans are satisfied with ballpark customer service. He promised faster service, shorter lines and hot food that will stay hot."

Legends Concessions is going to bring us beer, hot dogs, and margaritas, and we have a feeling that it's going to be really, really good. I can't wait to try it at the new Yankees' Stadium!

Oh, and Mike Rawlings? Prepare for a heckuva rant if the food's not worth it. Your friend, Annie

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I was born in Hollywood and living in Los Angeles until I was nine years old. The Dodgers were the first major league baseball team I ever saw and I remained devoted to them until I moved to Philadelphia in 2002. Over the last six years, in the face of the ferocious loyalty that Philadelphians demonstrate towards their sports teams, my allegiance to the Dodgers has slipped. I'm now watching this series between the Phillies and the Dodgers, hoping with all my might that the Phils pull it out tonight and win a fourth game tonight.

This cake was baked by Isgro Bakery in South Philadelphia (the bakery has been there since 1904) and the picture was taken by Scott.

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This week, the Times is a little less pretentious and a little more...well, all-American.

Check out the interactive map of baseball stadiums across the country, and click on those featured for what to order and what to avoid at each.

The map is fun, as are the color photos of dishes at each stadium. But the quality of stadium food is highly debatable, especially if the food carries with it an air of nostalgia and tradition (ie: cheesesteaks in Philly or pizza in Chicago) or, y'know, if you've imbibed a bit too much (because let's be honest: after four beers, you won't care if the nachos are a little stale).

Although, I'll give it to the Times: the Philly cheesesteak shown in the photo was not a home run. Although I'll bet that somewhere out there, there's a diehard Phillies cheesesteak fan.

No more smuggling outside food into the stadium, because at the new Nationals baseball park, they're letting you bring your own food to the game, no questions asked.

Unlike neighboring RFK Stadium, the current home of the Nats, fans can tote in their own sandwiches and sodas instead of paying an arm and a leg for them at the stadium.

Nationals spokeswoman Chartese Burnett was quoted in a WTOPNews piece as saying, "I don't know who's going to want to bring in food with all the great offerings at Nationals park."

Gee, I dunno, Chartese - maybe people who don't want to shell out their life's savings for lunch at the ballgame. But if you get hungry after eating your meals from home, a full list of the stadium's vendors - including Ben's Chili Bowl, Boardwalk Fries, and La Piccola Gelateria - is available here. The new stadium is slated to open March 30.

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Starting this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are giving fans a reason to come to games other than to see baseball. Tickets for seats in the right field bleachers will be raised to $35 each ($40 on game day) and will include all-you-can-eat food. The deal includes Dodger dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos, sodas and more, but excludes ice cream, beer and candy. The way it will work is that fans in that section can simply walk up to the food booths and ask for whatever they want, whether it is just one hot dog and garlic fries or two dozen dogs for their whole group of friends. The Dodgers executive vice president and chief operating officer said that some foods may be set up in a buffet section to expedite service.

It isn't that hard to eat two Dodger dogs, despite the fact that they are quite large, but they run only $4.75 (or $5.25 for all-beef) each. A soft pretzel is $3.50 and peanuts are $5. It seems like the average fan may not eat $35 worth of food, excluding beer, during a game.

The ticket prices this season for right field were $10 each and the left field bleachers will still be available at that price.

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