The Reason Baseball Players Chew Sunflower Seeds

If you're sitting in the stands at a baseball game, you'll have no shortage of options for food: not just peanuts and Cracker Jacks, but hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, and pizza, among others. (Depending on the stadium, some places might offer better grub, but wherever you go, it'll probably cost more than you'd like it to.) But, if you're a baseball player yourself, you'll probably have one specific snack you favor over all the others — namely, sunflower seeds. If they're not chewing bubblegum, players are almost certainly chewing on these salty little seeds (which can also be added to ramen noodle salad) and maybe even doing tricks with them. When did this trend come about? Well, it started in the 1950s, but it didn't really pick up for another 20 or 30 years, when a legendary Yankee advocated for them in the press.

In the early days of baseball, the most popular chewing option for players was tobacco, as it kept their mouths moist on hot, dry days and allowed pitchers to doctor the ball so it would fly across the plate in an unpredictable way. A pair of St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter (future Hall of Famers both), took to chewing on the seeds as they hung about in the outfield, but it wasn't necessarily the most popular option until Reggie Jackson, Mr. October himself, extolled their virtues to Sports Illustrated, describing the seeds' nutritional value. And, if there's any way you can be more like the guy who won the World Series for the Yankees, why not take it?

If you think chewing on sunflower seeds might get old after a while, don't worry — there are a whole bunch of different flavors for players to enjoy. There's original flavor, of course, but there are also seeds with dill pickle flavor, barbeque seasoning, and even a sweeter option with cinnamon. If a baseball player really has a sweet tooth, though, they can always enjoy the copious amounts of bubblegum available (whether Dubble Bubble, with its dubious origin story, or the shredded Big League Chew), or even try some Hi-Chew (which the 2014 Yankees were reportedly obsessed with).

All this raises the question: Why are baseball players such inveterate snackers? You don't usually see basketball players having a little nosh on the bench, and while food is an important part of sports like tennis and cycling, this is usually just for replenishing energy, not merely for pleasure. Well, the thing about baseball is that it is a sport of shenanigans. There is a lot of downtime, whether you're sitting in the dugout waiting for your turn to bat or standing in the outfield waiting for someone to hit a ball your way — and that's saying nothing of pitchers, who either have four days of rest after every start or have to wait to be called up in relief later in the game. You have to find some way to keep yourself busy, and there are only so many times you can set your teammates' shoelaces on fire before they catch on. Whether you need to be focused or relaxed, chewing can help, and players routinely turn to sunflower seeds to occupy themselves.