If you’re watching the Washington Nationals on TV this season — and really, that’s the only way you can watch them due to the coronavirus pandemic — the team’s newest promotion is attempting to salvage some of that cherished ballpark experience for fans in the D.C. region.
Best Ballpark Bites is a joint effort between the Nationals and local catering group Hungry to come up with a variety of food options you’d normally get at the ballpark this season.
“We started off with three kits; we’re going to have a number of other options going out throughout the season,” said Jonathan Stahl, the team’s vice president of hospitality.
The griller packs include either hot dogs and brats, pizza and wings or one that has tacos and nachos. All of them come with boxes of crackerjacks and sodas, and you can always add on other items with those kits, including beers and desserts.
Since they’re essentially meal kits, you’ll be able to cook anything you order online whenever you want — whether it’s pregame, in time for first pitch or a few innings in.
“We’re going to send you all the ingredients you need,” said Stahl.
For instance, with the pizza kits, “you’re going to put the sauce and the cheese and the toppings on that pizza, we’ll send you the instructions on how to make it and put it in your oven, that way it’s fresh and hot whenever you’re ready to eat.”
These kits can be delivered all across the DMV — from Prince George’s County to Loudoun County, and points in between.
And with enough luck, your package might contain more than just food: The team is collecting foul balls hit at Nationals Park and delivering them with some of their orders.
“As many foul balls as we can collect,” said Stahl.
How may foul balls are available to give out to fans will, of course, depend on how many were hit in the previous game. But each one given out will be authenticated by the MLB before delivery.
“Every authenticated item has a sticker on it,” explained Stahl.
“You can actually go to MLB.com and there’s a portal on the website and you can type in a code on that sticker and you can see what inning that ball was hit, who hit it — sometimes even down to the pitch and the detail of what happened.”
He says the goal is to deliver as many foul balls to fans as possible, but in the end, he says who gets them will be as random as the opportunity to get a ball during a game is.
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