When it comes to friendly wagers and sports, sometimes you are putting your reputation on the line. That’s what happened when a man bet against reliever Joe Blanton after he signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January.
Blanton was coming off a relatively strong season in time spent with the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He went a combined 7-2 with a 2.84 ERA and 1.82 WHIP over 36 games (four starts). He was exclusively used as a reliever by the Pirates.
That’s the role Blanton signed on for with the Dodgers. And it set the foundation for the bet with @TheAmitie doubting Blanton could be so much as average in 2016:
If Joe Blanton pitches 75+ innings of league average ERA next year, I will eat one of everything on the menu at dodger stadium
— Dolphin Pilot (@TheAmitie) January 19, 2016
Blanton lived up to his end of the bargain, posting a 2.48 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 80 innings pitched this season. As Blanton’s success starting catching steam, Twitter users often referred back to the bet.
So the day of reckoning came during Game 3 of the National League Divisional Series. French fries, burgers, Dodger Dogs, and more were consumed:
This is awful. there's so many fries #setheatfood pic.twitter.com/XROQmXdPDr
— Dolphin Pilot (@TheAmitie) October 10, 2016
Chicken sandwich is complete. All chicken food stuffs have been eaten #Seth eat food pic.twitter.com/55MkIxnxyD
— Dolphin Pilot (@TheAmitie) October 10, 2016
@TheAmitie helped pay for game tickets and the food by opening a Kickstarter campaign. After getting through the torturous feast, he announced the remaining money raised would be sent to Painted Brain, which use media and the arts to bridge community barriers and change the discussion about mental illness.
