For their game on Thursday, the Fresno Grizzlies (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) will take the field wearing the “Fighting Bacon” cap of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Class AAA; International League). This comes after Team Bacon (IronPigs) defeated Team Tacos (Grizzlies) in a fan vote earlier this year.
The loss for the Grizzlies (or Fresno Tacos) came at BaconVsTacos.com. The IronPigs and their “Team Bacon” campaign pulled out a 53% victory over the Grizzlies, #TeamTacos, as the result of a fan vote in Minor League Baseball’s largest “food fight” to date.
The Grizz/Tacos will make good on the bet by wearing the IronPigs’ Fighting Bacon hat on the field for Thursday’s series opener against the Sacramento River Cats at 7:05 p.m. PST at Chukchansi Park. It will mark the first time in Minor League Baseball history that one team wears the cap of a club in another league, as part of a promotion.
As part of the Fresno Tacos brand dating back to last season, fans have chosen their “team” when it comes to tacos they like best (Asada, Al Pastor, Lengua or Carnitas), by buying specific “team meat” merchandise in the team store. On this year’s Fresno Tacos uniforms worn on Taco Tuesday, each player’s “team meat” patch is sewn onto their sleeve, stating their taco preference. Because bacon won, Fresno will acknowledge this pork popularity by adorning the bacon caps with the “Carnitas” patch (pork tacos).
“We ran a good, honest campaign, so of course we’re disappointed in the result of the final vote,” said Fresno Grizzlies/Tacos general manager Derek Franks. “But a deal is a deal, and the winners shall get their due. The only problem is what to do with these Fighting Bacon caps once the game is over. I think the plan is to put them on the bus with the Sacramento River Cats once the series is over, and it’ll be their problem,” Franks continued.
Throughout the Bacon vs. Tacos vote, fans from both sides of the debate clamored for bacon tacos in the spirit of bi-partisanship. While Fresno’s heels were firmly dug-in against such a thing, on Thursday evening the Grizzlies will swallow hard and offer a carnitas taco topped with a slice of bacon at “The Oppo Taco,” the new taquiera/bar and lounge now open on the right field terrace of Chukchansi Park.
“The people have spoken, and here in America we must constructively deal with election results we disagree with,” said Sam Hansen, Fresno Grizzlies marketing director. “The people voted bacon and we’ll give them bacon, but not without the compromise of offering it on an authentic carnitas taco, a staple of the food culture here in Central California.”
Fighting Taco hats are still available online at FresnoGrizzlies.com, and in-store at Chukchansi Park.
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