Baseball's Very Own Bubble Gum!

Rummaging through our stash of candies and chocolates from our last Duty Free shopping trip, I found this crammed underneath two huge bags of M&M's - a pack of Big League Chew Bubble Gum in Outta Here Original!

Photo credit: Hickorees

My grandmother, who lives in Florida and came to the the Philippines last year for a quick vacation, brought several 12-packs of these for my siblings and I (and our kids) to share. And just when I thought we've downed the last pack of the Wild Pick Watermelon flavor several months ago, I unearthen this! Today must be my lucky day! What joy!

Invented in the 1980s be major league baseball players Jim Bouton and Rob Nelson, Big League Chew was created as an alternative to tobacco, which baseball players used to chew back in the old days. The very first batch of these shredded chewing gums were actually handmade by Bouton himself - on a frying pan, in his very own kitchen.

Back then, gum companies were quite hesitant with the idea of manufacturing and marketing shredded chewing gum in foil packs, but they surprisingly sold well the first time they came out in the market. And for over thirty years, this brand remains the most popular chewing gum among baseball players and major league die-hards. It's like, part and parcel of baseball itself!