Video (02:51) : Star Tribune features reporter Aimee Blanchette samples some of the new foods that will be served at Target Field this year.
The Major League Baseball season is only a week old, but the Minnesota Twins already are conceding one competition: the battle for league-leading gluttony.
The Chicago White Sox are the early favorites to claim the crown, thanks to the team's introduction of a massive banana split served in a batting helmet — a full-sized batting helmet. Featuring 12 scoops of ice cream and weighing in at a gut-busting, artery-clogging, brain-freeze-headache-inducing 3 pounds, the mega-sundae sells for $17.
The ChiSox are refusing to reveal its calorie count, perhaps out of concern that the number itself could be enough to cause heart palpitations. The ESPN cable network estimated it at "north of 4,000."
With Target Field opening on Monday, don't expect the Twins to get caught up in the supersizing frenzy, said Chris Iles, the team's director of corporate communications. Minnesotans are too health-conscious to relish ravenousness.
"This has always been one of the healthier states," he said.
Two years ago, for National Hot Dog Month — otherwise known as July — the team introduced a 1-pound "Giant Slugger" frankfurter. But it was off the menu by August. "It was always intended to be just for a limited time," Iles said.
Still, the White Sox have some serious competition when it comes to overeaters. Texas Rangers fans can get the "Choomongous," a 2-foot-long Asian beef sub. It costs $26, not to mention the 3,875 calories that accompany it.
And the Arizona Diamondbacks are jumping — waddling? — into the race with an 18-inch corn dog stuffed with cheese and bacon. The "D-bat Dog" will set fans back $25 and 2,766 calories. □
