Daily Dirt: For it’s one, two, three dogs you’re full at the old balllllgame! 

Daily Dirt for Saturday, July 23, 2022

Don’t complain about MLB ballpark prices. Just be glad there’s no pandemic or labor stoppage denying us our addiction to the national pastime … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 345 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Prices go up. It’s a fact of life. MLB concession prices are no different, and there’s no use in getting upset. Either pay what the clubs are asking, or don’t go. Just how much have some those prices increased since you were but a wee lad (or lass)?

Well, let’s examine a few of the costs at today’s MLB games:

• Hot dog (highest): $7.25 (Nationals Park, Washington Nationals).
• Beer (highest): $11.75 (Citi Field, New York Mets).
• Two tickets (at average price): $118.98 (Wrigley Field)

Now, let’s go back to the early 1960s, when many of us were one of the aforementioned wee lads (or lasses):

• Hot dog: 35 cents. 
• Beer: 35 cents.
• Two tickets: $15.40 (average price for two reserved seats).

Here are the highest-ranked stadiums by thrillist.com for what is available to eat at the ballpark:

• Gold medal: Seattle, which is No. 1 across most ratings systems, thanks to such things as the ahi tuna and salmon bowls to the lobster rolls that sit atop a King’s Hawaiian roll.
• Silver medal: Minnesota, where chilled sesame peanut noodles or Korean fried chicken are an excellent way to begin eating your way through nine innings.
• Bronze medal: New York (Mets), where there is reportedly a spicy chicken sandwich to die for.

Here’s where a few of your favorite teams ranked:

• 12. Chicago Cubs.
• 24. St. Louis.
• 26. Chicago White Sox.
• 28. Kansas City.

2. Fun fact I: About 22 million hot dogs are sold each year at the 30 MLB parks. Lined up end to end, those hot dogs would encompass about 3,100 miles — or the distance between Boston and San Francisco.

3. Fun fact II: Beer-wise, MLB parks sell about 14.6 million beers each season, or the equivalent of 1.2 million gallons. That would roughly fill 1.7 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Steve Thought O’ The Day
Concerning Fun Fact No. 1 and the consumption of those hot dogs. What if they were foot-longs? Would they stretch from Boston to … say, Tokyo? (Assuming, of course, there was a bridge or whatever from the west coast to Japan.)

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. His love of baseball is only surpassed by his love of eating a hot dog at a baseball game.