I asked five 2019 River Cats a very stupid question because it was fun
The last of my leftover journalism from 2019
When you think of minor league life, there are probably a few images that jump out at you immediately. Eight hour bus rides, maybe, or six guys living in a 2-bedroom apartment.
One of the most universal minor league experiences is the food. Until you get to the higher levels of the minors, there’s never enough food, and what’s there is pretty much always the same. And if (when) a guy is hungry after the game, well, there’s a common destination that they all go to.
Which is why last year I asked five minor leaguers which is a more minor league food, the PB&J or Chipotle. (This is the second in a two-part series where I use up the last of the quotes that I have sitting around on my computer. Here’s part one, back from The Before Times, when everything hadn’t yet been shut down)
“Those are two of my favorite things ever,” Shaun Anderson said in April. “Whether I was in the minors or have millions of dollars, I think ... oh man. I think the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is probably more minor league because it's in every single clubhouse, but the five star clubhouse is definitely the Chipotle.”
Not everyone equivocated. “Definitely PB&J,” Jaylin Davis told me.
“Probably PB&J because it’s always around, so quantity-wise, PB&J for sure,” Zach Green said, talking himself into it more and more as he went.
“There’s a little stipulation that I’ve eaten a PB&J … I actually had one today,” Austin Slater said. “I’ve eaten a PB&J pretty much before every game of my entire career. Big leagues, minor leagues … I just love PB&Js. It started at school. That was our pregame spread, was peanut butter and jellies and bananas. That, for me, felt like the pregame spread.
“Chipotle hits the spot too,” he added, almost out of pity. “It’s a little heavy for me, but yeah.”
So we have four emphatic votes for the PB&J. Will no one stick up for Chipotle, the minor league food so cliched that Matt Paré once called himself a “basic minor leaguer” upon receiving a Chipotle gift card?
A new challenger approaches! And that challenger started to respond before I even got to the “or PB&J” part of the question.
“I said Chipotle right out of the gate, but peanut butter and jelly’s coming up,” Sam Selman said. “I can tell you for a fact that between rookie ball and high A, I must have had 100 peanut butter and jellies each season. Then Chipotle’s the constant staple of looking for something to fill you up after the game or grab something, a meal, and head to the field.
“It’s crazy though because you eat it so much and you could be exhausted of it. For some reason, I crave it every now and again. You mix it up, you get a bowl, you get a burrito. Side note: the salad vinaigrette is a great option. I don’t know what they do with that, but they got me hooked on it.”
So the decisive winner of the most minor league food is the humble peanut butter and jelly sandwich, yes, but if you find yourself in a Chipotle, hey, try the vinaigrette.