March Madness will determine the winner of the college basketball world. Well, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) will be choosing the wiener – the best hot dog in Major League Baseball. In March Madness style, the NHDSC even has a bracket to determine the champ in the classic and unique hot dog categories.
Voting will be conducted online via polls on the NHDSC Facebook page and will continue throughout the month with a winner announced on April 6th, coinciding with baseball’s opening day, the NCAA Tournament final, and the release of the annual NHDSC baseball hot dog survey, which chronicles the number of hot dogs served at major league ballparks. Last year fans ate 21.4 million hot dogs during the season.
“The variety of hot dogs at different baseball stadiums inspire as much passion as the teams themselves,” said Eric Mittenthal, NHDSC vice president of public affairs. “We’re giving fans the opportunity to decide which hot dog is truly a grand slam and should be crowned baseball hot dog champion.”
The bracket features a classics side and unique hot dog side. The classic hot dogs include many of the icons of the game including the Dodger Dog, Fenway Frank, Wrigley Field Chicago Dog, Yankees Nathans Dog, Brewers Bratwurst, Cincinnati Skyline Chili Dog, Cleveland’s Sugardale dog and the Tigers Coney Dog.
The unique hot dogs in the bracket include more recent favorites such as the Rangers Boomstick, Diamondbacks D-Bat Corn Dog, Orioles Crab Mac and Cheese Dog, Tigers Poutine Dog, Pirates Polish Hill Dog, Braves Dixie Dog, Phillies Cheesesteak Dog and Nationals DMV dog.
Hot dog fans will have a chance to win some prizes of their own, including t-shirts and their favorite franks or sausages. Check out the voting here.