Nothing says I love you on Valentine’s Day, Opening Day, Christmas Day, heck any day like a pack of Big League Chew® Bubble Gum and an 80 count bucket of delicious gumballs. Yes, it is official, I know I am loved. I mean name a baseball player, coach, parent, fan that has not heard of or used Big League Chew® products. I can’t imagine not having BLC in my baseball lifetime. Many a game, many a doubleheader were saved by the delicious bubble gum inside those buckets and in those pouches. To my wife, who knows me so well, Rachel, thank you for this amazing gift and I love you too.

So, flipping over the packet of BLC, I learned the following information about the product:

• According to the package’s message, BLC is the mastermind of a Pitcher, LHP Rob Nelson, sitting in a bullpen in Portland, Oregon.
• Nelson then joined forces with a batboy (Todd Field) and another pitcher (Jim Bouton) to kickstart his bubble gum idea
• According to the package, the first batch was made on Babe Ruth’s birthday (Feb 6) in the Winter of 1979. The first batch was made in Todd Field’s Moms kitchen. Her name, I am not making this up, was/is Candy Field.
• Big League Chew® hit retail stores when I was only 8 years old (1980) and has amassed sales numbers of well over 1 billion pouches sold since then.
• The gum is Made in the USA, at the Ford Gum and Machine Company, Akron, NY. Which is about 200 miles from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
• And speaking of the HOF, Big League Chew® has been designated as the “Hall of Fame Bubble Gum” by the baseball museum.
• And is the official bubble gum of USA Baseball.
• And is widely considered to be a much healthier alternative for baseball players of all ages vs. chewing tobacco.
• And is gluten and peanut free.

So, I have my Big League Chew® bucket all ready to be cracked open for the 2025 baseball season thanks to my awesome Valentine’s Day gift from Rachel. In 2025, I have a ton of games, experiences, museums, historical places, and ballparks to get to. And I have the opportunity to do all of these things and more because I have a wife who gets me and supports me and knows that baseball is a part of my DNA. So, thank you again Rachel, for your love and support all these years. Thank you for my awesome Valentine’s Day gift!!! And I promise I will always share my gum with you.