Sunflower seeds are a staple part of America’s pastime.
In any game I played in, at least one person on the team had sunflower seeds.
I was not the best at buying seeds for the team, so I often asked, ‘mind if I get some seeds’ LOL.
Why are sunflower seeds such an everyday staple in baseball, and why do baseball players like them so much?
Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons, as well as some of the history of sunflower seeds in baseball.
Contents
1. They taste great
Sunflower seed flavors have grown significantly over the last several years. In fact, there are so many great flavor options on the market that we did our own taste test!
Seeds are picking up in popularity, and it will be exciting to see what types of flavors are launched in the future.
One of the unfortunate parts of sunflower seeds is that they are messy and challenging to eat inside the house.
However, at a baseball field shells are suitable for the grass and biodegradable, so I’m doing my part to be eco-friendly!
2. Calming effect
Baseball can be a high-pressure sport, with each player having the bright lights shine on them at the plate, as a pitcher on the mound, or as a fielder when a ball gets hit to them.
They say baseball is a mental game; for me, sunflower seeds helped calm nerves and lower anxiety.
Many baseball players used to use chewing, tobacco, and dip for the same reasons.
As there has become more awareness about the health of adverse health impact tobacco and dip can have, the desire for alternative chewing options like sunflower make them a popular alternative.
3. Social Pressure
If you are new to a team, bringing seeds and gum is a great way to make friends.
On a typical team of, say, 15 to 20 players, only 2 to 3 guys bring seats to the park in a rotating fashion.
The culture with sunflower seeds on a baseball team is almost as if the seeds become team seeds with players, sometimes grabbing a handful without asking or bumming seeds from the seeds guy threw up again I remember playing with several big seeds guys that would have multiple bags per game and hide them in their baseball bag so teammates couldn’t find them.
Some of the endgame entertainment was always trying to find this person‘s seeds with my teammates and snag some while they were at bat or out in the field without them noticing
4. It’s Embraced
Sunflower seeds and bubble gum are two of the most popular foods in a baseball dugout because they don’t go stale and can be eaten throughout the course of the game in small amounts.
As a young player, sunflower seeds in bubble gum were two staples in the dugout.
Not the HoodRat in me buying a 36 pack of David’s Nacho Cheese Sunflower seeds off Amazon pic.twitter.com/ujVLoOnx8G
— Medino Green 🗽 (@MedinoGreen) March 2, 2023
I can remember different parents buying a bucket of bubble gum or a large pack of sunflower seeds and donating them to us in the dugout before the games.
Once you play baseball for a year or two and start chewing sunflower seeds, they become addicting and tough to quit!
Sunflower Seeds in Baseball History
Baseball players chewed chewing tobacco in the late 1800s and early 1900s until doctors started to realize how bad tobacco was from a health perspective around 1950.
Summary
There’s something about chewing seeds to this day that makes me think about all the times I have played baseball.
I only wish all of the different flavor options that are on the market today we’re available back then if you haven’t tried sunflower seeds,
I recommend starting with the original flavor and branching out, and experimenting with all the other options on the market. Happy chewing!