Forget baseball, the New York Mets might actually experience more success in the world of competitive eating.
According to Mike Vorkunov of The Star-Ledger, the Mets absolutely demolished the single-day record at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for the number of cheesesteaks eaten in a day.
With the Mets waiting out a rain delay that ultimately forced them to reschedule their game against the Phillies, the team set their sights on securing a win of a different sort on April 30, woofing down a whopping 103 Philly cheesesteaks over a 10-hour span.
Over the years, teams have been battling to sit atop the leaderboard in the visitors’ clubhouse that tracks their cheesesteak consumption — that’s a real thing — and now, the Mets can officially brag about being in first place for something. The previous record was in the 80s.
The Mets had a plan, though. Each player was set to eat two of the cheesesteaks that are free and unlimited to visiting teams, but they had a couple of secret weapons in their bullpen catchers. Eric Langill, who set the individual record in 2003 by eating 17 of them during a three-game series in April, took down more than his fair share, while fellow bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello took down 7 1/2 all by his lonesome.
“It’s torture,” Langill said. “It’s not fun. But at least you’re on (the wall of records).”
The Mets certainly earned bragging rights — disgusting as they might be — but they came with a price. Racaniello woke up the next morning “with a face puffy from all the sodium he had consumed.”
Photo via Twitter/@Stan_Kankels
