Joe Posnanski
Menu
  • Home
  • Books
  • Passions in America
  • The Athletic
  • Baseball 100
  • JoeWords
  • About Joe
    • Contact
Menu

The Great Debate

Posted on November 21, 2018November 22, 2018 by Joe Posnanski

 

 

Screen Shot 2018-11-21 at 7.49.06 AM.png   Screen Shot 2018-11-21 at 7.50.01 AM.png

We start with the T-shirt link.

Sometimes people ask how Mike Schur and I started the PosCast. OK, not often. But sometimes. And the truth is, the PosCast began as a debate about fruit. Mike and I were at a spring training baseball game in Bradenton, Fla. (or it might have been Lakeland, actually, I can’t remember which — sheesh, this was almost 10 years ago), when for no apparent reason at all we began drafting fruit.

If you want to know what it’s like to hang out with the brilliant creator of Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, well, that’s pretty much what it’s like.

That was the first time that Mike told me about his aversion to pie and hot fruit.

(Cue the T-shirt link)

We have done, well, I haven’t counted, but I guess it’s roughly 17 million PosCasts since then, and we have wildly disagreed about many things from Butterfingers (I say gross, he says great) to pretzels as snacks (I say delicious, he says an abomination) to the correct side to put the jelly in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (he says peanut butter side, I say he’s an insane person). This week, on the bonus PosCast, we draft Thanksgiving things, meaning we just argue about Thanksgiving. I think it’s the best holiday. He’s thinks it’s among the worst.

But the fruit argument remains at the core of our lifelong feud.

This holiday season, we decided to do something about it. At the top of this post, you will see two T-shirts. I should say up front that these are just two of several available styles — you can get these two shirts in light and dark colors. But at the center of them is the crux of things.

My shirt says: Fruit pie is delicious

Mike’s shirt says: Hot fruit is disgusting

And, in the end, you decide who is right and who is Michael Schur.

Actually, you can’t go wrong, because proceeds go to charity. Proceeds for my shirt go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, a very personal charity for us because, as you might know, our daughter Elizabeth has Crohn’s Disease. So close to developing a cure.

Proceeds for Mike’s shirt will go to the International Rescue Committee, an extraordinary organization that rescues lives in some of the world’s most devastating crises. Absolutely incredible.

And, of course, Mike and I have a wager on it as well. We’re counting shirts sold, and the loser will donate a nice sum to the charity of the winner. We have not come up with an official total yet, though Mike has suggested $50 million. We’ll negotiate on that.

Anyway, we’re just trying this merch thing out, seeing if we can do a little good in the world while, much more importantly, finally settling this fruit pie/hot fruit argument once and for all. And they’re really cool shirts. The Cotton Bureau does some great work.

Here again is the link for both shirts. The shirts will only be available until Dec. 4 — this is a special holiday thing. I can’t imagine a greater gift than a Fruit Pie is Delicious T-shirt (or the other one, I guess). Think of the joy you could bring someone this holiday season!

Oh, one more thing. The way this works, when more shirts get sold, we get some free codes to give shirts away. So, after Thanksgiving, we will have some contests going along with this as well. We don’t know what those contests will be, but if you have any ideas on that front, please feel free to add them in the comments.

Remember, fruit pie really is delicious! Or if you happen to be The Grinch, hot fruit is disgusting.

Either way, it’s a message the world needs to hear.

Share this:

  • Share
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Print

20 thoughts on “The Great Debate”

  1. Avatar Jesse says:
    November 21, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    Fresh fruit is my favorite food, so your fruit draft has long been my favorite. I am curious how the official fruit draft compared to your initial spring training argument. I fear the results of that debate may be forever lost.

    Log in to Reply
  2. Avatar SDG says:
    November 21, 2018 at 1:53 pm

    I love cooked fruit. This time of year I can buy strawberries that are about to go bad for really cheap, and I roast them in the oven and then eat them with yogurt. The pie crust is the worst part of the pie, and crisps are way better in part because they maximize the amount of cooked fruit. Muffins taste better than cupcakes because they’re cooked fruit held together by batter. Also roasted bananas and stewed fruit. Best way to use overripe apples. I’ve actually had to cut down on the amount of cooked fruit I eat because of calories. In conclusion, Mike Schur would never like me but I still want to donate to his charity, which I hadn’t heard of before.

    Log in to Reply
    1. Avatar invitro says:
      November 21, 2018 at 8:34 pm

      Roasted strawberries?! I don’t think you could ruin a fresh, raw strawberry (aka the world’s best fruit) any more if you dipped it in mayonnaise.

      Log in to Reply
      1. Avatar SDG says:
        November 22, 2018 at 3:08 am

        Really? It’s basically pie filling.

        Log in to Reply
        1. Avatar invitro says:
          November 22, 2018 at 3:47 am

          They shouldn’t be put in pie, either. Sorry but I’m very protective of my little red berries of straw.

          Log in to Reply
  3. Avatar Brendan says:
    November 21, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    Fruit can be excellent raw or cooked. Both positions are both valid and wrong. I think I need both shirts…

    Also, has Mike ever reconciled his anti-fruit-cooking dogma with the fact that his rightfully heralded PBJ sandwich cannot be produced without jelly (which is cooked fruit)?

    Log in to Reply
  4. Avatar Nickolai says:
    November 21, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    I love fruit pie but I am drawn to the arrogant nonsensicality of wearing “Hot fruit is disgusting” on my chest.

    Joe, I hope you can manually adjust the scoring to account for an artificial tally in Mike’s favor. I do think you are right.

    Log in to Reply
    1. Avatar HP WOOD says:
      November 21, 2018 at 8:53 pm

      This. ☝

      Log in to Reply
  5. Avatar JSG says:
    November 21, 2018 at 4:15 pm

    I don’t know if Cotton Bureau lets you plot sales of each item over time, but I would live a line graph that plotted how close (?) this race was and how it changed over time. Sort of like the “current win probability” thing they do during baseball games, only much more meaningful.

    Log in to Reply
  6. Avatar Mike says:
    November 21, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    What about the Harry Potter diet?
    Haven’t heard about it in quite sometime.
    Have you been able to wear your shirt yet?

    Log in to Reply
  7. Avatar Kat Hazzard says:
    November 21, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    FRUIT PIE IS DELICIOUS AND ANYONE WHO DISAGREES IS THE ENEMY OF JOY.

    Log in to Reply
  8. Avatar invitro says:
    November 21, 2018 at 8:35 pm

    I don’t get the “pretzels as snacks” thing. I mean, what else could pretzels be other than snacks? The main course? Dessert? Pet food?

    Log in to Reply
  9. Avatar Paul Coleman says:
    November 22, 2018 at 1:27 am

    Hmmmm…..don’t mean to nit pick but “hot” and “cooked” aren’t the same thing.

    Consider jam for example: cooked but not hot…and a delicious vehicle for fesh fruit flavour.

    Are we just talking pie? If so Mike’s shirt should specifically reference pie. Yet in the comments we see references to muffins and

    Otherwise you have a theoretic advantage because all sorts of spreads, baked goods, candies, and even beverages were at one point, at least partially, fruit that was hot.

    And those things are quite popular.

    So is pie for that matter. Restaurants and diners haven’t sold pie ubiquitously for decades beacuse it is widely held as disgusting. And so another theory supporting your advantage.

    Now, that having been said, theory is nice but shirt sales is something else altogether.

    Let’s not forget negative messaging seems to garner a lot of votes these days.

    Good luck.

    Log in to Reply
  10. Avatar John says:
    November 23, 2018 at 2:57 am

    Mike Schur is also the guy who picked sweaters (itchy, stifling, constricting, impossible to remove w/out struggle, dorky) over jackets (ease of use, adjustable warmth levels, dashing). The man is smart and funny but his non-sports takes are nearly all terrible.

    Log in to Reply
    1. Avatar Alex says:
      November 25, 2018 at 2:14 am

      Disagree with you on your sweater take. Some of the most comfortable articles of clothing I have worn are sweaters, especially ones made of merino wool (which is typically very soft.) Jackets can be great, but many times they are just overkill and sometimes too bulky to carry around. Sweaters on the other hand are much more versatile, and even typically have a nicer yet more casual look.

      Jackets have a time and place, obviously. But for most times, whether indoors or outdoors, with moderate temperates, sweaters are usually my go-to for my 2nd layer.

      Log in to Reply
  11. Avatar Sean says:
    November 23, 2018 at 10:11 pm

    Sadly, both shirts are incorrect, which is a fun twist in this contest.

    “Fruit Pie is Delicious” – wrong, because standard pie crust is the worst. The only good pie crusts are made out of graham crackers or crushed Oreos, and neither of those would generally be used for fruit pies.

    “Hot Fruit is Disgusting” – also wrong, because with the exception of chocolate cake, apple crisp is the greatest dessert.

    Log in to Reply
  12. Avatar Paul says:
    November 24, 2018 at 2:45 am

    Schur knows to let the pie cool before eating, doesn’t he?

    Log in to Reply
  13. Avatar Col Dax says:
    November 24, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    I love Apple pie and whenever I order it in a restaurant I insist that they do NOT heat it up.

    Log in to Reply
  14. Avatar Yahtzee says:
    November 26, 2018 at 1:45 am

    I’m going with Joe but not for the reason you might think. A friend refers to chocolate cream pie as “fruit pie”so I’m buying based on that.

    Log in to Reply
  15. Avatar Nathaniel Pieper says:
    December 31, 2018 at 1:11 am

    Hi Joe – bought a Fruit Pie is Delicious shirt, and it was a big Xmas hit – thanks! But we all want to know – did we win?

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Become a JoeBlogs Member!

Archives

  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • January 2010
  • April 2009
  • September 2008
  • September 2007
  • April 2003
©2021 Joe Posnanski
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.