Every baseball fan knows there’s nothing better than a ballpark hot dog, except when you drip ketchup or mustard on your jersey. Nobody knew that better than former Detroit Tigers pinch hitter James “Gates” Brown.
A native of small-town Ohio, Brown had a peculiar path to the big leagues, which started with a 22-month stint in the Ohio State Reformatory, starting in 1958, where he was encouraged to join the prison baseball team as a catcher.
Apparently, Tigers scout Frank Skaff thought that it was worth his time to scout a prison for his next big star, and it worked. Skaff got Brown paroled with a year left on his sentence and offered him a $7,000 signing bonus.
That investment turned into 84 home runs, 322 RBIs, and one incredible tale.
Brown went on to win the 1968 World Series with the Tigers and still holds the American League record for the most pinch-hit home runs, with 16, and pinch-hit at-bats, with 414. He amassed 107 total pinch hits during his career, cementing his legacy as one of the best pinch hitters of all-time.
In Brown’s retelling of the story, he describes heading to the clubhouse during a game, since he wasn’t expecting to be put in. He ordered two hotdogs covered in ketchup and mustard on his way out.
Once he got back, Tigers manager Mayo Smith told him he’d be pinch hitting, and he stuffed the hotdogs down his shirt to hide them from his boss.
“I always wanted to get a hit every time I went to the plate,” Brown told a newspaper in 1994, according to MLB.com. “But this was one time I didn’t want to get a hit. I’ll be damned if I didn’t smack one in the gap and I had to slide into second. Headfirst, no less. I was safe with a double. But when I stood up, I had mustard and ketchup and smashed hot dogs and buns all over me.”
Funny story, right? But is it true?
There is no record of Brown playing in the Tigers game against the Cleveland Indians on August 7, 1968. There is record of him hitting a double in the previous matchup against the Indians on August 6, but it was not a pinch hit. It was in his third and final at-bat of the game, and he would’ve been subbed out the next inning.
Other accounts of this story have said that Brown sent a young fan to grab him the hot dogs after agreeing to sign an autograph for him in return. Some have also said that centerfielder Jim Northrup was the one who fetched him his food.
While it’s unclear exactly what the scenario was, Brown’s hitting ability was so great that he smacked a double when he wasn’t even trying to get on base.
After fining Brown $100, Mayo Smith supposedly said, “What the hell were you doing eating on the bench in the first place?”
Brown replied: “I was hungry. Besides, where else can you eat a hot dog and have the best seat in the house?”
Alex Deimel is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer.
