And then there are those moments when your career collides with something you personally love. And let me tell you, I love the Phillies.
On Thursday afternoon, the Phillies Organization called - in the midst of Harry Kalas' sudden passing - to ask Tastykake if there was any way that it could possibly deliver a birthday cake for the Phanatic on Sunday. Umm...72 hours for a serious specialty cake. Tantamount to handing over a a bottle of Dasani and asking to return it as a 2005 French Bordeaux, we were on it. And luckily, we were able to turn to an old friend in Bredenbeck's Bakery in Chestnut Hill to design the phenomenal cake for the Phanatic.
Now the highlight for me was the delivery of the cake. We needed to deliver it at 11am at Citizens Bank Park and the instructions were that we would come down the delivery ramp. Yes, well the delivery ramp comes down the first base line to behind Home Plate. Our escort from the Phils Organization had us stop momentarily in the car while he investigated where to put the specialty cake. In the 1 minute he was gone, and as we were insuring the fondant icing was hardening properly, BRAD LIDGE turns the corner - off the field and toward the locker room.
Now, I like to pride myself on not being a choke artist. I mean two weeks ago, I leaned into another suite and handed Tastykakes to Miss America on Opening Night. However in the 10 seconds I had to react, I uttered a weak "HELLO." I totally pulled a "Baby" moment from Dirty Dancing when she tells Patrick Swayze that she "carried a watermelon." Not even a "Thanks for last year." or "I can die in peace because of your slider strike out in Game 5, Part II" Just, "HELLO." If it had been Chase Utley, I can only imagine that I would spontaneously combusted.
Anyway, there I was in the underbelly of Citizens Bank Park with the uber kind Tom Sullivan and Jamie Trout of the Phils' Organization delivering an impressive Tastykake Show Cake for the Phanatic's Birthday. Suffice to say, it received terrific air time today during the telecast and the fans LOVED it. When the Philadelphia Police Officer assigned to dugout duty is photographing the cake on a cell phone, that is a good cake. And of course, "Nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a Tastykake."