Daily Dirt: Do you like pie?

Daily Dirt for Aug. 7, 2021

Under no circumstance, should pumpkin pie be a top 10 choice

Warning: You main gain five pounds just reading today’s Daily Dirt. But, really, is that a bad thing? Welcome to Vol. 30:

1. The recipe.com website has ranked what its editors feel are the top 25 kinds of pie. See what you think … I’ve added some personal comments (of course):

1. Apple: I’m not sure it is No. 1, but it’s definitely worthy of the medal stand.

2. Cherry: I feel many of the fruit pies are highly overrated, including this choice.

3. Pumpkin: Yes, I’m extremely biased here, but pumpkin at No. 3 would be like picking the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Series. Pumpkin pie is disgusting, at least to this palate.

4. Blueberry: Another fruit choice that needs to be eliminated.

5. Lemon meringue: Quality offering here, and much too low in the rankings.

6. Key lime: Same with this venture. I always enjoy that little wince you get from the sour aftermath of that first bite.

7. Strawberry: The only other berry worth the top 10.

8. Peach: Be gone.

9. Pecan: Absolutely no way.

10. Derby: I’m not even sure what this is, so a definitive “no.”

Other notables that deserve top 10 placement

11. Banana cream: A marvelous choice at any meal.

14. Peanut butter: Very underrated, the Chicago White Sox of pastries.

15. Boston cream: I’ve never understood why this offering is not more widely accepted. Very tasty — and filling.

20. Coconut cream: The queen of the creams.

22. Custard: Often overlooked, but worthy of the top 10.

2. According to Statcast, which has monitored such things for Major League Baseball since 2017, here are the starting pitchers with the fastest average four-seam fastball :

1. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets, 99.2 mph

2. Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins, 97.9 mph

3. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees, 97.6 mph

4. Zach Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies, 97.2 mph

5.  Nathan Eovaldi, Boston Red Sox, 97.1 mph

For the record, the slowest average fastball belongs to Jake Arietta of the Chicago Cubs at 91.2 mph.

3. When it comes to collecting, most of my life has been spent valuing baseball cards, so when it comes to dolls — specifically Barbie dolls — I had no clue as to worth. And then I stumbled across a story this week that said an original 1959 Barbie doll that is in mint condition and still inside its box was could command a cool $23,000.  I have three adult daughters, and to be honest, I’m not sure if any ever had a Barbie — or still has one packed away somewhere — but you can be sure by the time you are reading this I will have called each of them.