JFG Nation, I live in DC and the local baseball team is the Washington Nationals. Their star outfielder, Bryce Harper, has had a good career so far – NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, and a 4-time All-Star in just six years. It was rumored that his next contact could approach $400 million – which would be the highest contract ever in the MLB. Many have scoffed at this number because, well, $400 million is an F-load of money. $400 million is higher than the GDP of some African countries. Personally, I’m not a fan or not a fan of Bryce Harper, and I’m not here to debate his production, his slumps, his injuries, or his homeruns. My question is: why ISN’T he worth this much, IF he is the face of baseball? Which necessarily comes with the followup question: IS Bryce Harper the face of baseball?

In other sports, the faces of the game, IMO, are athletes who even people who AREN’T fans of the sport have heard of. Example: People have heard of Lebron James and Steph Curry. A random person in Florida who is not an NBA fan might know who they are, but not know who Kristaps Porzingis is. Same with Hockey and Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin, and football with Tom Brady. But in baseball? As popular as baseball is, I polled several people in my office who had never heard of Mike Trout. They’d heard of Bryce Harper, which I admit is tainted because I am located in DC. But I am thoroughly convinced that, while not to the level of Lebron of Brady, Bryce is still proportionally the current baseball athlete people have heard of.

Who else would it be? Maybe Verlander because he’s with Kate Upton? Maybe Anthony Rizzo because he just won a World Series? Giancarlo Stanton, maybe? The best pitcher in baseball is Clayton Kershaw, so I guess he’s gotta be up there. In years past, the answer would’ve been Jeter, Big Papi, Ichiro…names that crossed over. But now? I dunno. Mike Trout has won the AL MVP twice in six years, and he’s appeared in Subway commercials, so he’d be Bryce’s main competition.

But Bryce, for all of his controversy, has been part of Under Armour, Gatorade, and New Era for a very long time. I think he IS the current national face of baseball – and, let me reiterate, I’m not his biggest fan or anything, so I’m not just trying to slurp here. And if this is true, then from a marketing standpoint, why isn’t he worth the highest current MLB contract?

Thoughts, JFG Nation? On who the national face of baseball is? Is it Trout, Rizzo, Harper, Stanton, Kershaw? And is that person, even if not Bryce, worth the most money if they ARE the face? Let me know in the comments below.

Today’s junk food: Snyder’s of Hanover Brick Oven Style Pizza Flavored Filled Pretzel Sandwiches!!

DUDE. I grew up eating Pizza Combos. Pizza Combos, with the pretzel shell, were one of my favorite snacks, and I’d eat them like any kid would – taking them apart and eating the pretzel shell and the filling separately, or biting them lengthwise, or just popping a bunch in my mouth and crunching them all at once. Pizza Combos, more than any other Combos flavor, were BOLD – which, as a kid, I LOVED. They were zesty, flavorful, and reminded me of pizza, one of my favorite foods!

Since then, I’ve loved processed cheese and carbohydrate combinations. Ritz Sandwiches. Those Club crackers you spread fake cheese on with that red plastic slab. And now this. Oh, this.

DOES THIS TASTE GOOD? HELL. YES.

WHY OR WHY NOT? When I opened the bag, I immediately smelled that heavily herbed fake tomato-ey smell that I recognized from Pizza Combos. It was hinted with a bit of processed cheese. I popped a light sandwich disc into my mouth – HEAVEN. These tasted good, like, REALLY good. They were like Pizza Combos on steroids – much bolder flavor overall. Strong slightly sweet tomato-ey flavor with notes of basil and oregano. The cheese was bright, like a mixture of cheddar and mozz. The pretzel was quality – light and had good snap. The problem with Pizza Combos is sometimes the pretzel comes apart in shards and is dry. The grid circles here were perfectly crispy with very little sawdust. Ratio of filling to pretzel was perfect and well balanced; no flavor drowned out the other. The slightest bit of pretzel bitterness worked perfectly with the sweetness of the tomato flavor.  Processed goodness.

ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW? Look, I’m not a maniac – I know these aren’t as good as an actual pizza. I can read the bag, and I know these are a processed junk food. But as far as a “pizza flavored” snack that I can munch on these were better than Pizza Combos, Pizza Doritos, or any other “pizza flavored” snack I can remember. These were addicting. They sort of tasted like tiny crunchy Red Baron Pizzas. These may be horrible for you – but I’m buying many many bags of these. And I feel like you should too.

PURCHASED AT: Harris Teeter, Park Potomac, MD.

WHERE FOUND I STORE? Straight up smack dab in the chip aisle.

COST? $2.00 on sale.

Sincerely,

The JFG