Apparently, there isn’t much difference between an MLB dugout and your local pub.
According to the “two veteran clubhouse insiders” who were interviewed by The Daily News, many MLB players — including members of the prestigious New York Yankees — would knock a few pops back during games.
“Jason Giambi and Roger Clemens would routinely drink beer on the dugout bench when they played for the Yankees, passing back and forth what Giambi called his ‘protein shake’ — code for a cup of beer,” reporters Teri Thompson and Michael O’Keeffe wrote on Thursday.
“Rally beers are big in the clubhouse,” one insider told them. “Guys would drink them all the time, on the bench, in the clubhouse, in the training room. It’s common.”
Another report indicates that a former Red Sox and Yankee, Jose Canseco, reportedly drank a can of light beer before each home run during at least one of his two three-home run games. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Canseco bagged his first three-homer game against the Blue Jays on July 3, 1994. He did the feat again on June 13, 1998 when his Rangers beat the Mariners, 17-9.
One of The Daily News’ sources even calls out the Mets for being boozed up during ballgames.
“Guys would go into the clubhouse, pour beer in Gatorade cups and return to the dugout,” the source said. “In the old days, the beer distributors would leave beer for the players. We’d have three or four cases in the clubhouse at any one time.”
