Three Delicious Games in Baseball History

A twitter conversation in the wake of Tuesday's post on Sandy Koufax's Perfect Gingergame led me to wonder: was that the most delicious baseball game in history? Today we examine three other games in contention for the title.

Chili Davis' Chili Cook-off

In 1991, as DH for the Minnesota Twins, Chili Davis was given a rare start in the outfield in a game against the Texas Rangers. However, when he discovered that the scheduled starting pitchers were a couple of extreme ground-ballers, Scott Erickson and Kevin Brown, and he wouldn't likely have any plays to make, Davis took matters into his own hands.

"I wanted to support my team," says Davis. "We were in a pennant race, and we needed to do anything we could to get a leg up. Eat better, groom ourselves more neatly, learn more languages, anything where we can say we're better than the other guys." So, in that spirit, Davis organized an in-game, on-field chili cook-off between him and opposing left fielder Juan Gonzalez.

Davis showed off his 6th tool - culinary skills

Two portable kitchens were installed right in the middle of left field. Experts tasted each man's chili after every inning, assigning points for flavour, "chiliness", and flatulence potential. In the end, Davis won when Gonzalez bowled over his own chili chasing after a fly ball, severely bruising his ribs in the process, and to this day Davis credits the victory as the key to Minnesota's eventual World Series Championship.

Jeffrey Loria Feeds a Bunch of Hoboes

In 1996, Jeffrey Loria, then-owner of the Montreal Expos, decided that the team was spending too much of his hard-earned money, and ordered general management to slash payroll to minuscule levels. So minuscule, it turned out, that the only players the Expos could afford were rail-riding hoboes (as opposed to street bums, which are very different, as explained by Fran's Hobo Page:

A Hobo is a person that travels to work.
A tramp is a person that travels and wont work.
A bum is a person that will neither travel or work.)

At first, the Montreal crowds fell in love with these adorable scamps, the "Exbos" as they were affectionately nicknamed. But after an 0-37 start, the sentiment began to change. The frustration culminated on June 8th, 1996, the 60th game of the season, which also happened to be the night of an annual promotion: Free Poutine Night.

After the top of the first inning saw its third grand slam, all hell broke loose. French fries, cheese curds and gravy started pouring down on the field like a deluge of torrential rain, one third of which is solid and shaped like French fries for some reason, one third of which is melty and shaped like cheese curds, and one third of which is shaped like regular rain. Good simile.

Anyway, the hoboes, not having been paid enough by Loria to eat for the first two months of the year, were in absolute ecstasy. The game was cancelled, but the players stuck around until the next morning, collecting whatever they couldn't possibly fit in their stomach in their batting helmets to store for future sustenance.

Bob Lemon's "Lemon Shortbread Shutout"

In 1954, Bob Lemon was having one of his best seasons - in late May he was 6-0 with a 2.57 ERA. To the great amusement of his teammates, he very publicly attributed this success to his wife's lemon shortbread, which he claimed he ate before every start. Among his teammates, Lemon's wife was known as an absolutely awful cook - the Lemons hosted a pre-season dinner every year for the entire team, and the food was so inedible that Cleveland typically had two or three players out of the opening day line-up due to illness. But the Lemons were such a sweet couple that nobody ever said anything.

So Bob's teammates found his supposedly shortbread-induced success absolutely hilarious - that is, until he brought a team-sized batch to his last start in May. "He wouldn't take the field until we all ate one," remembers center-fielder Larry Doby. "The game was delayed by half an hour."

Third baseman Al Rosen clearly recalls the fear his teammates felt as they considered the prospect of eating a cookie. "We literally thought that was the day we were going to die," says Rosen. "I dunno how, salmonella? I mean, yeah, typically there's no raw chicken in lemon shortbread, but you never knew with Doris (Lemon's wife)."

Finally, veteran pitcher Bob Feller picked up a piece of shortbread, examined it, weighed it, looked his teammates in the eye, and took a bite. His face instantly changed. "Oh my god... this is amazing." One by one, the players were overcome with the same shock, followed by unbridled joy at the unexpected tastiness of the cookies.

The batch of shortbread was demolished, and the teams took the field. Cleveland won the game 12-0, Bob Lemon pitched brilliantly, and to this day the game is remembered as the "Lemon Shortbread Shutout".

Marlins Announce Jeffrey Loria Day

Jeffrey Loria is getting the George Steinbrenner treatment. And more.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Florida Marlins announced that 2011's slate of promotions will include a game dedicated to their beloved owner Jeffrey Loria. It will be held on Wednesday, April 6, fittingly against Loria's former franchise, the Washington Nationals (Loria owned the team when they were the Montreal Expos. Their subsequent move to Washington and Loria's ownership are not believed to be related.)

The game will begin with a video tribute similar to the one delivered in honour of George Steinbrenner earlier this year. Steinbrenner died on July 13 at the age of 80 after owning the New York Yankees for 37 years. But as Marlins Director of Promotions Everett Wells says, Loria's tribute won't simply be a copy of the former Yankee's owner's.

"Steinbrenner's ceremony certainly informed our thought process going into this", said Wells, "but Jeff's legacy is different. George was a controversial figure who was disliked by a lot of people, so when I watched that montage it made me a little squeamish. I mean, it made him out to be this heroic community builder, so I was just thinking, why are we celebrating the life of this guy who was really a jerk?"

None of those uncomfortable discrepancies apply to Loria, said Matthew Chapman, an area scout for the Marlins who has worked with Loria for over a decade. "Jeff is an outstanding man. During his ownership of the Expos and now the Marlins, he's shown nothing but an extraordinary commitment to the team, the fans, and the community. He wants to build a great baseball team, and he puts his money where his mouth is."

So Loria's tribute, according to Wells, won't carry those same unpalatable overtones that Steinbrenner's did. Wells also stressed the importance of holding a tribute while Loria still owns the team. "We want to celebrate his life while he's still here to see it (the tribute), so he knows that people care and appreciate everything he's done."

The video montage won't be the only part of the festivities though. Any fans attending the game will receive a Jeffrey Loria bobblehead, the first in the Marlins' 2011 series which will also include such luminaries as reliever Rob Dibble, Cubs fan Steve Bartman, and actor Mel Gibson.

A mock-up of the Jeffrey Loria bobble-head
that fans will receive on the special day

In the third inning, the traditional "sausage race" - popular in such MLB cities as Milwaukee and Washington (where it's a "president's race") - will be held, with the sausages replaced by Jeffreys Loria, as a nod to Loria's well-known sense of humour. Each of the four caricature-like costumes will depict a different aspect of Loria's personality: the Baseball Fan, the Philanthropist, the Dedicated Father, and the Role Model.

The seventh-inning stretch on the big day will not feature the traditional "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", but instead a special composition commissioned especially for the game and dedicated to Loria, written and conducted by "Star Wars" composer John Williams and performed live in the infield by the Ljubljana Philharmonic of Slovenia accompanied by the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir.

Throughout the game, fans will be given the opportunity to send a text message to the Marlins expressing their gratitude and appreciation towards Mr. Loria. The best and most heartfelt will be chosen to be displayed on the scoreboard.

Finally, the nightly raffle - which is usually a 50/50 draw that rewards the winner with a cash prize - will feature a Jeffrey Loria-centric prize package. The winner will receive a hand-carved bronze bust of Loria, a set of fine bathroom linens embroidered with Mr. Loria's visage, and a special dinner with the man himself, Jeffrey Loria's butler, Mr. Nigel Murdoch.

Everett Wells says he can't believe the idea has never occurred to him until now. "I mean, when you think about sports owners who go above and beyond the call of duty, the list has to start with Jeffrey Loria. This special day is long overdue."