When Mayors Bet On Baseball, Does The Food Tell The Tale?

Cole Hamels Takes A Bite Out Of The Series: "I hold my cheesesteak in this hand, and then I pitch like this." Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

 

by Todd Kliman

Mayoral wagers are as time-honored a sports tradition as talking trash, celebrating at City Hall, and stealing signs.

This year's World Series, which began last night, pits the Philadelphia Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays -- a team with a long history of futility (the Phils have one title to show for their 125 years of existence) versus a team with a short history of futility (the ten-year-old Rays posted nine consecutive losing seasons).

On Tuesday, on the eve of the Series, the mayors of St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa -- respectively, Rick Baker, Frank Hibbard and Pam Iorio -- engaged their Philly counterpart, mayor Michael Nutter, in the familiar foodie challenge.

More details and what they might mean, after the jump...

No one would argue that these wagers are anything more than cutesy human-interest stories, entirely irrelevant to the action on the field, which baseball experts say is likely to come down to a battle between the Rays' defense versus the Phils' power hitting. But that's not to say there's nothing that can be learned from the mayors' bet.

Historically, one of the keys of October baseball is power pitching -- "to bring the heat," in diamond parlance. In foodie terms, the Florida mayors have taken the lead of the Rays' staff of young hurlers. They have brought the heat.

Nutter offered Philly cheesesteaks, Tastykakes, soft pretzels, mac-n-cheese from Delilah's Southern Café and a Rocky statue. Cheesesteaks and soft pretzels are among the glories of American street food, but Nutter's proposed rotation looks pitifully thin beyond those treats. (And come on, Mr. Mayor -- a Rocky statue?)

Meanwhile, the Florida mayors countered with: stone crab claws from Frenchy's, in Clearwater; a definitive version of the Cubano from the famed Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City; Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Cortez Cigars from J.C. Newman's (outside of Havana, Tampa is the place to go for handrolled Cubans, and Newman's is the finest in Tampa), and real key lime pie, from the Fourth Street Shrimp Store, in St. Pete.

The lineup is studded with powerhouses and, unlike Nutter's, heavy on specifics. It bespeaks a strong, civic confidence.

On Philly.com the day of the announcement, Phils fans immediately recognized the disparity. "You may wanna step it up mayor," one wrote. "This is a little uneven." Another ventured to suggest that Nutter's bet would haunt him: "They're going to use this against you in the next election Mr. Mayor."

USA Today forecast a Tampa Bay sweep. That seemed a bit of a stretch even before the Phils' opening victory, considering the team's relative youth, but to judge by the marvelous foodie feast the trio of mayors has assembled, there's no shortage of confidence in Florida these days that the Rays are on the verge of putting an end to nearly a decade of futility.

Todd Kliman is a James Beard Award-winning restaurant critic and the food and wine editor of Washingtonian magazine. The Wild Vine, his book about the Rosetta stone of American wine, is due in 2009.

10:58 AM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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