The Brewers beat the Phillies in 11 innings on Thursday night (MIL 8, PHI 7), giving them a sweep of the four-game series in Philadelphia. Sweeping four games from any MLB club is tough. Nice job, Milwaukee.
While the Brewers were sweeping the Phillies on the field, the team's bullpen catcher was busy setting an important Citizens Bank Park record behind the scenes. Marcus Hanel set a new record by eating 20 cheesesteaks during the four-game series. Twenty!
The Brew Crew recorded the record bite:
Cheesesteak history has been made at Citizens Bank Park by bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel (@Markoos55)! Congrats, Koos! pic.twitter.com/oSvkswc4pV
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 2, 2015
Hanel ate 18 cheesesteaks during the first three games of the series, giving him the three-game record previously held by Mets bullpen catcher Eric Langill. The previous four-game record was 18 by Marlins right-hander Mat Latos. So Hanel beat the record and added another cheesesteak on top of that for good measure. Now that's commitment.
Here's what Hanel said to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy after breaking the record:
"My mom and dad both came from Germany, and they didn't have anything," Hanel said. "So if they put anything on the plate, you ate it. … I remember in high school, as a ballplayer you want to gain weight. I was 6-foot-3, 170 or 175, and I would eat all the time. My mom would make these huge sandwiches. She would make five of them, and during the course of the day at school I would eat them … I would eat three sandwiches, and I would sell two of them for a dollar apiece and order two hot lunches and five chocolate milks."
Clubhouse attendants Mike Chernow, Brian Parks and Mike Garuccio keep cheesesteak records for both players and non-players. Former Brewer Corey Hart owns the single day record with seven cheesesteaks.
Is Hanel worried about his cholesterol after eating 20 cheesesteaks in four days? "Nah, I'm a bad eater, anyways," he said. Okay then.
UPDATE: Hanel put away three more cheesesteaks before leaving the ballpark Thursday night, so he finishes the four-game series with 23 cheesesteaks eaten.
