But as he goes on, it actually starts to make sense - at least as much as that thing about Billy Penn's hat.
"The Phillies, and Aramark, made a huge leap," Geiger insisted, "and had the foresight to see what it would mean to the fans and the team to have this kind of positive publicity."
Let's look at the record: Readers may remember the first veggie offering, a Gardenburger, in 2005, which yours truly traveled to the park to sample in a previous YO! Food story. But the burger by itself was not enough to goose the Phillies' fortunes: They ended the season a little over .500 and went home.
Next year, CB Park introduced the quintessential ballpark food - hot dogs - in a vegan version in addition to the burgers. The 2006 Phillies, consequently, went right down to the wire, missing the playoffs by just one game.
2007 saw the addition of a vegetarian cheesesteak (or as Geiger calls it, a vegan steak sandwich, if you get it without cheese), and the Phillies went just over the wire, getting swept out of the National League Division Series by the Rockies.
This year, CB Park pulled out all the stops, piling on both a mock-chicken cheesesteak and crabless crab cakes - and yes, now the Fightin' Phils are playing for the National League pennant, on their way to becoming World Series champions!
Kevin Tedesco, the director of concessions at the park, played along: "Oh sure. History proves that if you win this [Most Veg-Friendly Ballpark] award, you get into the playoffs."
More seriously, he explained that "we try to have something for everybody. People come out to the game, they bring their girlfriends, boyfriends, parents, kids, grandparents, you name it. All kinds of people."
He confirmed that all the veggie options will be available throughout the division series, and, if it happens, the World Series.
