Long gone are the days of being confined to the options of a hot dog, pretzel, or Cracker Jack at a baseball game. Stadiums have upped their food service game to feature well-crafted items from local brands and chefs.
But with the increased offering of upscale food at ballparks, also comes the increased availability of bizarre menu items as stadiums attempt to get creative and unique. Safeco Field in Seattle is infamously known for its toasted grasshoppers, Denver’s Coors Field previously rolled out its Rocky Mountain Oyster Po’boy, and Texas has The Dilly Dog, to name a few.
It’s not uncommon for announcers to taste some of the more bizarre stadium offerings while on-air, but no one is pressuring the San Diego Padres’ broadcasters to keep ingesting decades-old gum.
During their Saturday broadcast on Bally Sports San Diego, play-by-play voice Don Orsillo and analyst Mark Grant were discussing baseball cards and later found a pack from 1990 to open on-air. After opening the pack, Grant held up the stick of 32-year-old gum and stated, “I’ve don’t it before, I’m not doing it tonight.” Grant’s refusal to eat the gum instantly deflated all the excitement out of Orsillo’s face.
In 2019, Orsillo and Grant had a baseball card-themed broadcast where they willingly chewed on 29-year-old gum. Both announcers cringed after a few seconds, agreeing that the nearly three-decade-old gum was “gross and disgusting.”
Three years later, Grant wasn’t prepared to make the same mistake with a stick of gum from 1990. But Orsillo remained determined, picked up the discarded gum, and shoved it in Grant’s mouth. “Oh my gosh, it’s disgusting,” Grant said with a look of nausea before the broadcast went to commercial.
HE ATE THE GUM… AGAIN😂
@Mudcat55 | @DonOrsillo pic.twitter.com/uGRppYFr1q— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) June 12, 2022
As bad as it may have tasted, even Grant would have to admit, the pure joy it brought to Orsillo was worth it. The iconic play-by-play voice was giddy as he emphatically told Grant to “eat it up!” amid chants of “chew it!”
The Padres went on to lose the back end of their doubleheader with the Colorado Rockies. But at least the broadcast felt like a win for Orsillo, who appeared more excited about Grant eating old gum than he would have been with a late comeback by the Padres.
