On the Road: A blowout in Staten Island
When Kurt Bevacqua gives bubblegum blowing advice, he's speaking from a position of authority. "When I used to blow bubbles I didn't blow into the bubble, and that's why mine were four, five, six inches bigger than everybody else's. You breathe into it, you don't blow air into it. Because then
When Kurt Bevacqua gives bubblegum blowing advice, he's speaking from a position of authority.
"When I used to blow bubbles I didn't blow into the bubble, and that's why mine were four, five, six inches bigger than everybody else's. You breathe into it, you don't blow air into it. Because then the wall becomes thinner and thinner and you'll blow the air right through it."
Bevacqua, a utility infielder who played in the Major League from 1971 through 1985, is best known for his heroics in the 1984 World Series. His three-run fifth-inning dinger in Game 2 lifted the San Diego Padres to a 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers; 34 years later, this remains the only World Series game the franchise has ever won.
But nine years earlier, as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Bevacqua made World Series history of a far different sort. Prior to Game 3 of that year's fabled Fall Classic between the Cincinatti Reds and the Boston Red Sox, he won a Bazooka bubblegum blowing contest that was documented in a special episode of The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola. Bevacqua defeated Johnny Oates of the Philadelphia Phillies in the final round, blowing a 19 1/2 inch bubble that was later immortalized on a 1976 Topps card.
All of this, improbably enough, leads us to Friday evening's Staten Island Yankees game. Or, more accurately, the Pizza Rats game. The Yankees assumed this alter-ego for the final time in 2018, playing in a food-fight game against the Vermont Lake Monsters-turned-Maple Kings.
Bevacqua, still imposing at 71, was the guest of honor, on hand to compete in a postgame bubblegum blowing contest against three opponents: Staten Island Little Leaguer Chris Bedford, Staten Island Yankees backstop Jackson Thoreson and myself, MiLB.com writer Ben Hill. We all owed our participation in this unlikely event to Staten Island Yankees president Will Smith, a man with a self-described "geeky fascination" with baseball cards.
"I discovered this 1976 Topps card, and there's Kurt Bevacqua blowing this bubble measured by a pair of calipers that's signed on it with the Bazooka brand and everything," said Smith. "And I was just kind of like, 'What is this, I've never seen this!' ... So it was really kind of like this big, neat thing. And I thought, 'What is more pure and fun than baseball and bubble gum?'"
Smith got Bazooka on board with his idea, and then, utilizing his mechanical engineering background, constructed a pair of calipers modeled after the one used in the 1975 contest. (These calipers were decorated by Smith's wife, Jada.) Bazooka is owned by Topps, and on Aug. 10 the team staged a bubblegum blowing contest that also featured a baseball card (upon entrance) and gum (upon exit) giveaway. I emerged victorious in the bubblegum blowing contest, setting the stage for the Aug. 31 showdown against reigning champ Bevacqua.
Bevacqua, speaking prior to Friday's game, said he always chewed gum during his playing days but that it wasn't something he gave much thought to one way or the other. But, unbeknownst to him, he was being scouted by those in a position to make him a bubble-blowing star.
"Joe Garagiola came up to me one day, well before the contest was ever started, and he goes, 'Would you be interested in being in a bubble gum blowing championship?'" recalled Bevacqua. "He goes, 'We're gonna have a championship and have a representative from each team, and I'm picking you to win.' He watches me on the bench! You don't realize it. You're on the bench talking, messing around, you're doing this, you're doing that, you're on the field and you're blowing bubbles."
After advancing through the requisite regular season qualifying round, Bevacqua traveled to the World Series for the televised showdown against Oates. Hank Aaron was his personal bubble blowing coach, though Bevacqua said the legendary Hall of Famer was "pretty quiet" and mostly just provided him with towels.
"There was absolutely preparation," said Bevacqua. "Because the rules were, you were allowed to use only up to six pieces of gum. You couldn't use more. So we weren't used to putting six pieces of gum in our mouth. We'd chew a piece or two and then when it was dried out, chewed out, didn't have any more sugar in it we just spit it out put in some fresh. So we never had that much.
"There's a technique, and the guy I thought was gonna win was Rick Rhoden, and he got disqualified," he continued. "You weren't allowed to touch the gum, and Rhoden used to blow his bubbles by grabbing it.... When he used to blow a bubble, right at the beginning, he would grab that part of it. Keep it stronger, and as he was blowing the bubble he'd just pull it out a little bit."
Bevacqua, cognizant of Rhoden's fate, followed the rules to a tee and won it all. The resulting Topps card has become iconic in the collecting community; Bevacqua says he still gets asked about it "all the time."
Friday's competition, conducted on the top of the home team dugout after the game, was anticlimactic. Bevacqua, unable to summon the magic of 1975, blew a bubble that barely exceeded the three-inch mark before it popped. I, meanwhile, was unable to absorb the lessons I'd learned in my interview with Bevacqua, and, well, blew it. The winner was Thoreson, recruited in the immediate wake of his team's 9-0 loss to Vermont.
Despite the lackluster final showdown, Friday's contest set the template for an event that has plenty of room to expand to other markets.
"I think it would be a lot of fun, and I think it would take hold if it was marketed right," said Bevacqua, "where you've got an adult division and a kids division. So what could be better than a father and his kid sitting home watching a baseball game on any given day and then practicing blowing bubbles to get in the contest?"
"It's a story I'll have forever," added Smith. "I'd love to see it grow."
Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MiLB.com and writes Ben's Biz Blog. Follow Ben on Twitter
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.