What each MLB team has to be thankful for this Thanksgiving
MLB: AL East
Baltimore Orioles—Crab
It’s a Baltimore thing, hon. At Camden Yards, you can get a variety of food with Maryland crab. There are fried chicken tenders topped with crab dip on a potato roll for those who like poultry.
Mac and cheese fans can enjoy the mac and cheese twister topped with crab in a twisted bread cone. They also have a crabmeat pork rind chipper topped with cheese sauce, crabmeat, Old Bay and scallions.
Unfortunately, if you want to wash your crab down with some Natty Boh (National Bohemian beer), you’re out of luck. They stopped selling it at the stadium in 2016. Craft beer aficionados aren’t sad to see it go, though. They prefer beers with flavor.
Boston Red Sox—The Killer B’s
Not to be confused with the Houston Astros Killer B’s in the mid-1990s, the Boston Red Sox Killer B’s refer to outfielders Andre Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, Jr., and Mookie Betts.
The Astros Killer B’s included Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Derek Bell, Sean Berry, Lance Berkman, Chris Burke, and Carlos Beltran, even though they didn’t all play together at any one time. It was kind of a running theme for the Astros that started in 1996.
The best trifecta of B’s for the Astros was the Biggio-Bagwell-Berkman threesome. Benintendi, Bradley, and Betts have a long way to go to equal those guys, but they’re off to a nice start.
Hopefully, none of the Boston Killer B’s ever goes into “Operation Shutdown” as Derek Bell did with the Pirates in 2002.
New York Yankees—The Baby Bombers
For now, the Baby Bombers are 25-year-old Aaron Judge and 24-year-old Gary Sanchez. Greg Bird needs to have a healthy and productive season to make it a trio. Judge and Sanchez combined for 85 home runs this season.
In the long history of the MLB, that’s the most home runs ever hit by two teammates aged 25 or younger. That’s something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Here are the top six dynamic duos:
- 85 HR—2017 Yankees—Aaron Judge (52) and Gary Sanchez (33)
- 80 HR—1987 Athletics—Mark McGwire (49) and Jose Conseco (31)
- 79 HR—1993 Rangers—Juan Gonzalez (46) and Dean Palmer (33)
- 78 HR—1969 Athletics—Reggie Jackson (47) and Sal Bando (31)
- 78 HR—1963 Giants—Willie McCovey (44) and Orlando Cepeda (34)
- 78 HR—2009 Brewers—Prince Fielder (46) and Ryan Braun (32)
Tampa Bay Rays—Canus Manta Whatthefluffalus
According to Tampa Bay legend, Canus Manta Whatthefluffalus is some sort of hybrid combination of a manatee, walrus, and sea lion. Baseball fans know him as Raymond, the Rays’ mascot. He was born in the Gulf of Mexico and made his major league debut on June 21, 1998.
Raymond the Seadog declined to give his height and weight, but it’s well known that he eats pretty much everything, so he’s not exactly svelte.
His favorite movies are “The Rookie” and “Monsters, Inc.” During Tampa Bay home games he can found at Tropicana Field entertaining literally hundreds of people.
Toronto Blue Jays—Jerk Chicken Poutine
With Jose Bautista now an MLB free agent, and Josh Donaldson, an MLB free agent at the end of this MLB season, the Blue Jays may not be recognizable shortly. If they get off to a poor start, Donaldson could be dealt away, and the team would be without two of their biggest bats from the last few years.
No matter what happens, though, Blue Jays fans still have Jerk Chicken Poutine (section 109) to be thankful for. Like ebony and ivory, it’s a satisfying combination of Caribbean jerk chicken and Canadian poutine coming together in perfect harmony.