A Major League Milkshake

Seventy years ago, the 1941 baseball season was drawing to a close, and Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox was trying against the odds to finish with a batting average that hit or surpassed the .400 mark.  The New York Times recalls Williams' quest for baseball immortality. Food is fuel for human beings, but this is especially true for athletes.  For the Boston star, the typical dinner he ate during 1941 was a brief affair — "he was a famously fast eater," reports The Times.

On the final day of the season, Boston played a doubleheader in Philadelphia. Williams managed to collect six hits in his final eight at-bats to conclude the season with a .406 average.  So what did he eat to celebrate his achievement?  A milkshake.  "I think it was chocolate," Williams said years later. "I really can't remember."

Science Swimming Upstream

A Food and Drug Administration panel declined this week to endorse the safety of salmon that are genetically modified to grow twice as fast as regular salmon. Among the historical figures in a hurry to eat salmon were baseball star Ted Williams, a fan of Atlantic salmon, and French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who liked his salmon smoked. When Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura made the first solo climb of Alaska’s Mount McKinley, he lived for eight days on bread, salmon, and salmon eggs.

Rhubarbs, Taters, and Cans of Corn

Baseball slang can make you hungry, especially if there are rhubarbs (arguments), taters (home runs), or cans of corn (easy-to-catch fly balls). In honor of baseball’s upcoming All-Star Game, here are fascinating facts about great players and grub:

• Pitcher Satchel Paige’s dining advice included: “Avoid fried meats, which angry up the blood.” He also advised that “if your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.”
• At a Boston hotel, Ted Williams ordered breakfast from room service and used a stopwatch to track delivery time.
• Joe DiMaggio hustled after fly balls –- and just as aggressively fielded the check while dining with New York Yankees teammates. If they tried to pay their share, DiMaggio slapped their hands away. “When you eat with the Dago,” he said, “the Dago pays.”
• A candy bar was named for Ken Griffey Jr., but he couldn’t eat it. He’s allergic to chocolate.
• During an era when it was common for players to share a bed while on the road, pitcher Rube Waddell’s roommate was Ossie Schreckengost. And Schreckengost wouldn’t sign his contract with the team unless Waddell’s contract forbade the pitcher from eating animal crackers in bed.
• On hot summer days, pitcher Dizzy Dean tried to fry eggs on the dugout roof.
• Wade Boggs believed that eating chicken before a game improved his performance. He and his wife Debbie wrote a chicken cookbook called Fowl Tips.
• During a road trip in San Diego, Roberto Clemente left a restaurant with fried chicken. A car pulled up, and an armed man ordered him into the vehicle. The robbers made him strip to his underwear, and took his wallet and All-Star Game ring. After Clemente told them who he was, they returned his wallet, ring and clothes, then let him out of the car and drove off. But the car returned moments later, and Clemente feared they would kill him after all. Instead, they handed him his box of fried chicken.