Baseball season is a go! Time to dust off your liver and empty out that belly to make way for some good ol’ American beer, brats, and big sloppy burgers. As far as the latter goes, Whitecaps Stadium (in Grand Rapids, MI) definitely rules them all with their meaty monster. It’s called The Fifth Third Burger (appropriately named after the park).
The line-up includes 5 beef patties, 5 slices of cheddar, chili, 10 dollops of sour cream, liquid cheese, crumbled nacho chips, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard – all between two huge-ass buns (kosher pickle is optional). Apparently if you finish this beefy beast within 7 or 9 innings the stadium will give you a t-shirt and a photo on the wall of fame. Play ball!
Witness what goes into The Fifth Third Burger.
by The Angry Cube (NWM Staff Writer)
I got something to say to all the haters that say the Yankees buy World Series trophies. Most of this year’s players were either drafted or came up through the minors. Granted the Yankees are in a larger market than most. Which means they have more coin to grab up the big players over other teams, though not all. Other MLB teams have the money. They just choose to keep it in there own pockets, out of greed. Or they invest in poorly researched financial firms with the promise of high returns – again out of greed. But this just goes to prove it takes more than money to win a World Series. It takes a good GM, good scouts, coaches and ownership.
I would love to see how many Mets players on the team have been drafted and or developed compared to the free agent signings. Mets fans can keep hating the Yankees for winning, but that hate should really be more focused on their terrible GM, owners and front office.
PLAYERS DRAFTED BY THE YANKEES:
PLAYERS NOT DRAFTED BUT CAME UP THROUGH THE MINORS:
Mariano Rivera - amateur free agent in 1990
*Andy Pettitte - amateur free agent in 1991
#Chien-Ming Wang - amateur free agent in 2000
Melky Cabrera - amateur free agent in 2001
Robinson Cano - amateur free agent in 2001
Francisco Cervelli - amateur free agent in 2003
**Ramiro Pena - amateur free agent in 2005
#Juan Miranda - amateur free agent in 2006
*-Pettitte left the team and was re-acquired as a free agent for $16 million dollars in December of 2006.
** Pena replaced Cabrera on the WS roster but did not play.
#-players on the 2009 regular season roster, but not on the post season roster.
FREE ANGENT SIGNINGS AND TRADES:
2009 season:
by Biz-Boy (NWM Staff Writer)
In a handful of days the Phillies and the Yankees will go head to head in the century old battle of the bats – The World Series. And though the times may have changed, one still things holds true with anyone who is lucky enough to make it to this fall classic. AVOID BAD LUCK. Going against these Gods of Superstition could result in a grave error…just ask Boston. So if you do have a 120” HD Plasma, here are some Minor League superstitions you might catch these Major Leaguers obeying.
NO stepping on the foul line when taking the field.
NO shaving after the first post season win.
NO chewing more than 1 pack of gum per game. 
MUST tap bat once on home plate before batting.
by Biz-Boy (NWM Staff Writer)
Seems like the Yanks are once again on the road to destiny. KNOCK ON WOOD. As a fan all we can do is sit back watch, hope and pray. Or can we do more? Well if you have the The Sports Fan Voodoo Kit you know the answer to that question. For $16.44 (on Amazon) here’s what you get…
His name is Charlie, but everyone who knows him best calls him CJ. During the off-season he works construction. However come April, CJ works the dawg route at a major league NY ballpark. He’s been a hot dog vendor for 3 seasons. Here are his six questions.
So do you get a commission or is it just a straight salary? Actually it’s a bit of both. We’re on the books as a salaried employee, but we also make 13-16% commission on each dog we deal out.
How much can a top dog seller make per season? The good ones could bring in as much as 30K, but they gotta hustle.
What’s the most hot dogs you’ve ever sold in one game? I’d probably say about 161. My average is more like in the 140s.
So do you get good exercise lugging that hot dog case around? It weighs about 40lbs, I’m climbing stadium stairs – so yeah I’m getting my cardio and strength training in each and every gameday.
Did you ever catch a foul ball? No, but I got knocked over by a guy who did. Lost about 6 hot dogs that day.
What’s the most best and worst part of the job? Seeing the games for free and bun splitting.
This one was sent in by Robert Dullis of Maple Grove, Minnesota. Discovered it after coming out of the local Piggly Wiggly. Assumes it was caused by a stray foul ball from the nearby park, but found no evidence.
