Hi Everyone —
A few weeks ago, Margo and Katie were at Costco or somewhere, and they brought me a pouch of Slammin’ Strawberry Big League Chew. I honestly didn’t know they still made Big League Chew — and it reminded me all over again that this is one of the funniest and most unlikely foodstuff ever invented.
I mean, think about it: filmmaker Todd Field* and a minor-league lefty named Rob Nelson (with a special assist from the great Jim Bouton, who pitched Wrigley on it), literally invented a pouch of shredded bubble gum that mimics chewing tobacco.
You know! For kids!
*Todd Field, who directed “Tár” and “Little Children” and has acted in a bunch of stuff, was a bat boy on the Portland Mavericks team that Nelson and Bouton played for in 1977.
It took me back to one of my favorite candies as a kid: candy cigarettes (with real, pretend smoke!). We weren’t even trying back then, were we? Every now and then, I’ll be on the road and walk into a gas station that still sells them, and it feels like going back in time to that moment when we all just thought, “Hey, kids should be able to smoke cigarettes and chew tobacco too!”
More than one billion pouches of Big League Chew have been sold.
OK, let’s talk some baseball! As mentioned a few times, I have been utterly consumed with the book deadline — 20 days and counting! — but I am carving out exactly two hours this morning to write every baseball thought that comes to mind. Let’s go!
We start out with our semi-weekly (been a couple of weeks) awards!
American League MVP: Aaron Judge
Previously: Aaron Judge
We probably should be talking a lot more about the fact that Aaron Judge is still hitting .396. I mean, yes, we all know that he’s not going to hit .400, nobody can hit .400 in today’s game, not when mortal baseball players are hitting .240 or so as a group, not when teams march out their droid armies of 100-mph fastball relievers, it’s not possible.
But what if he did? I mean … WHAT IF HE DID?
I mean, we’re 65 games into the season now. That’s not nothing. The weather is warming up. Judge likes warm weather. Last year, he hit .409 in June and .390 in August.
WHAT … IF … HE … DID?
If Aaron Judge hits .400, it will be …
Baseball Bonanza
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