Saturday, August 16

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WEST SACRAMENTO -- Before Brent Rooker was crushing home runs as one of baseball’s top sluggers, he was crushing waffles at the dining table every morning growing up in Tennessee.

“I ate a lot of Eggo waffles,” Rooker said. “I loved Eggos. We ate Pop Tarts. … Eggs and waffles were easy for my mom to make for all three kids and get us out the door for school.”

Those childhood waffle experiences birthed Rooker’s passion for breakfast. While in college at Mississippi State, he frequented Waffle House, establishing the All-Star Special with a blueberry waffle as his go-to order.

These days, Rooker is a full-on breakfast enthusiast. The Athletics All-Star designated hitter seeks out the top-rated breakfast spots in each road city during the season, then compiles a list of his favorite places and dishes that he releases to the public via social media at the end of the year.

For Players' Weekend, we caught up with Rooker to discuss all things breakfast.

MLB.com: How do you find all these breakfast places?

Rooker: I use TikTok a lot. I just type in whatever [city] we’re in and then breakfast spots. They’ll pop up, then from there, go look at the map, see what’s close and walkable, and then go with that.

MLB.com: Of the new places you’ve tried so far this year, what are your top three?

Rooker: From this year, Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern in Milwaukee. I had what was called Baja Breakfast Hash, which was super good. The Holy Shishito from Little Collins in New York was awesome. And then the breakfast burrito from Young’s Beach Shack in Dana Point was also really good.

MLB.com: Do you always seek out new spots or are there some repeats?

Rooker: I’ll go to new ones. Some places, there’s only a handful that are walkable, so that kind of limits the options. But yeah, I’ll try to go to new spots if they look good. I have a few that I will go back to like Blue Moon Cafe in Baltimore, which I’ll go to every year, probably. Toast in Birmingham [Michigan], I’ll go to every year. But I’m always looking to get out and find some new ones.

MLB.com: What inspired you to release a list every year?

Rooker: I don’t know. First time I did it was in 2023. It kind of seemed like a fun thing to do, and people enjoyed reading it for whatever reason. So, I decided to do it the next year and I’ll try to keep it rolling for the foreseeable future as long as it gets a good reception.

MLB.com: Why breakfast instead of lunch or dinner?

Rooker: It’s just what we’re able to eat in the season. Lunch and dinner is almost always at the field. So, breakfast is easy. We’re getting out and have some more free time in the mornings to do stuff. It just makes more sense, schedule-wise.

MLB.com: Do you try a lot of new spots here in town when the team is at home?

Rooker: It’s pretty much all at our home. Just with the kids, it’s our time at home to hang out. It’s almost always at home.

MLB.com: What do you think of how the list has grown in popularity over the past couple of years? There are even a few people who have set out to try all the places on your list on their own.

Rooker: It’s cool. Any time you get to engage with fans, especially with something non-baseball related, I think it humanizes you a little bit. It helps you relate to people in a way that is difficult to do when you’re on the field sometimes. The people liked reading it, and some people out there are trying to hit all the spots. I think that’s pretty cool and one of the reasons I continue doing it.

“I think he’s the last of the Mohicans. Our 40-man roster now is complete in that everyone that was on the 40-man this winter has now become a player on this team. For Brett, he’s earned it. He’s played really well. His numbers in Triple-A have been really good. Last year, in the short stint that he had here with us, I compare him a lot to like a Darell Hernaiz. Darell and [Brett] both had their struggles with the speed and physicality of the game. Seeing Brett today, he looks good. We’ll get a look at him here over the next few days. Hopefully, the opportunity is in front of him to take advantage of it.” -- A’s manager Mark Kotsay on Brett Harris, who was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday and is expected to see regular playing time at third base.

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