Tagged: World Records

Pulled Pork and Plenty of It

So, I’m curious — what sort of content do you most like to see on this blog? Throughout the season I’m constantly juggling between road trip material, random promotional highlights from around the Minors, and one-off explorations of various MiLB topics (such as last week’s introduction of the Universal Rain Check).

So, yeah, it would help if I had any sort of idea regarding what to prioritize. Or maybe you just love it all? I hope so. In fact, that’s what I’m going to assume from here on out. That everybody loves everything. I feel much better now.

And falling under the umbrella of “everything” would be this semi-recent Jackson Generals endeavor, as in mid-May the team took it upon themselves to create the “World’s Largest BBQ Sandwich.” I caught wind of this when I visited the team last month, and soon thereafter media relations assistant Bradley Field sent over some pictures. So let’s check them out!

You start with a little bread:

And then add some meat:

And then add some more meat:

And then add some more meat:

And then the piece de resistance — more bread!

Not gluten-free

That heaping mass was then broken into far more reasonable single-serving portions. Bon appetit!

This historic sandwich was created in conjunction with Southern Pride, a company that manufactures BBQ pits and smokers. A press release put out by the company will, hopefully, answer any pressing questions that you may have at this juncture.

The previous [BBQ Sandwich] record, set by Newbern, North Carolina, July 2010, was 1,341 pounds. The pulled pork sandwich produced by Southern Pride and cooked on two SP-1000 smokers, weighed in at 1,566 pounds. Official witnesses from the National Guard and local fire stations were on hand to confirm the totals.

Attendees were allowed to donate at least $5 to the Families of Fallen Soldiers Fund for a piece of the sandwich. Over 400 pounds of the sandwich were served to attendees at Pringles Park. Every ounce of the remaining 1,100 pounds were served to three local outreach ministries (Operation Hope, The Dream Center and The Care Center).

1566 pounds is a bit extreme, but Minor League Baseball-related charitable initiatives come in all sizes, shapes and forms. And, whenever possible, I am happy to highlight them. Today I’ll close with a link to “Autographs 4 Alopecia,” a philanthropically-minded project spearheaded by loyal reader Greg Glass and his two sons Blake and Gavin.

Blake, 11, explains the Autographs 4 Alopecia mission thusly:

My name is Blake and I’m 11 years old. I was diagnosed with alopecia areata at the age of 1 and have been pretty much bald my whole life. My brother Gavin and I love to go to baseball games and get autographs. In 2012 we are expanding beyond baseball and will include other sports as well. We have a total of 2,072 autographed cards going into the 2012 season. This season I will again be donating $.05 and my family will match it for $.10 per card or other item we get autographed to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

So there you have it — to check out the boys’ autographing adventures and/or to make a donation yourself, then simply click HERE.

And, no matter who you are or what you do, please know that my lines of communication are always open.

benjamin.hill@mlb.com

twitter.com/bensbiz

I Blog in the East, I Blog in the West

…And I come to give you more, and I never give you less….Let’s go!

If you “Look At Me Now” you’ll find me in NYC, but at this time tomorrow I’ll be flying the friendly skies, airbound toward the arid. Look for “on location” blog posts, articles, and interviews the rest of this week into next, as I spend time in Tucson, Lancaster, High Desert, Inland Empire, and Lake Elsinore (and maybe more, logistics permitting).

But before all that, a good old-fashioned blog bouillabaisse of relevant Minor League biz-ness news (and, for the record, never have I spelled “bouillabaisse” correctly on the first try).

This week’s “Farm’s Almanac” is on the Minor League response to the Alabama tornadoes, and can be read HERE. Mentioned briefly in the story, and something I’d like to emphasize here, is that the Burlington Bees are raising money for the family of grounds crew intern Cody Wales, whose home was leveled by the tornado.

The team has been raising money at the ballpark, and checks to benefit the Cody Wales Family can be sent to the Bees front office at 2712 Mt. Pleasant Street, P.O. Box 824, Burlington, IA 52601.

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It’s Tuesday, meaning a new “Promotion Preview” column is up on MiLB.com. It was an admittedly slow week for promos, and I am heartened by the fact that next week’s column gives me more than twice as much notable stuff to choose from. I  once again implore you to keep in touch, with info on upcoming promos as well as recaps of those past. I cannot stress this enough! The current soporific state of my inbox leaves much to be desired.

Highlighted in a previous column was the Richmond Flying Squirrels “High Five World Record Attempt,” in which mascot Nutzy attempted to set a new standard for “most high fives by an individual in an hour.” And indeed he did (though yet to be verified by Guinness), slapping palms with 1620 fans.

Featured in last week’s column — and happening TONIGHT — is the Memphis Redbirds’ 30th Anniversary Salute to Charlie Lea’s No-Hitter (Lea now works as a color commentator for the club). The Redbirds are pulling out all the stops with this one, going so far as to tweak an immensely popular viral video.

An event that should have been included, but was instead egregiously overlooked, was the Durham Bulls’ return to iconic Durham Athletic Park yesterday. This video sums up the evening very well:

The Crazy Hot Dog Vendor wasn’t overlooked, but perhaps should have been. As this video points out, the use of the word “vendor” in his job title is blatantly misleading.

But in the end, Minor League Baseball is more about the overall experience than any specific promotion. The Fort Myers Miracle have put together an ad campaign that emphasizes this point very well. My embedding capabilities are lacking in this case, but they can be viewed HERE. And while you’re at it, check out this local newspaper story about the Miracle Bullpen and its trusty Justin Beiber backpack.

And, yes, the story features a photo of Bruce Pugh heading to the bullpen while wearing the backpack — a triumvirate of BPs, and possibly a foursome if he happened to be heading there after batting practice.

I’m now less than 24 hours from saying goodbye to the East Coast.  The next time you’ll hear from me I’ll be writing in an agitated late-night state from some hotel room, binging on Mello Yello and wondering what’s it all for.

benjamin.hill@mlb.com

twitter.com/bensbiz