Arizona Diamondbacks are plating runs and feeding fans with a free-food victory table

With one swing of the bat during an early August evening at the ballpark, Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb hit a grand slam that cemented a victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It also altered dinner plans for some fans the next night.

The home run triggered all three food-related promotions put on by the Diamondbacks. It boosted the team’s run total above five (free tacos), it was a home run (free deluxe hamburgers) and it led the team to victory (half-off pizzas).

“What do you do? Order a large drink?” asked Robert Sehnert as he approached the counter at a Taco Bell in Maryvale the next afternoon, just after 4 p.m.

Sehnert had taken part in the promotion before. But it was understandable that he was fuzzy on the rules. Each promotion has its own.

A poster at the counter had a picture of Baxter, the team’s mascot, explaining the deal.

Sehnert’s sister, Joyce, was also there to help him. Yes, she said, order a large drink.

“It’s a taco night tonight,” she said, “instead of chili dogs at home.”

The Sehnerts are fans of both the team and its culinary offerings, rooting for the team to win, and also for it to help subsidize their dinners.

Joyce Sehnert said she typically waits on Papa John’s pizza until football season, when the restaurant offers half-off pizzas the day after Arizona Cardinals victories. She was aware there was a hamburger waiting for her at the Jack in the Box across the intersection, but wasn’t going to double up.

“We trade off back and forth with Jack in the Box,” she said as she filled up her large drink.

Playing the game, on and off the field

The Diamondbacks were not supposed to be playoff contenders this season. No one was expecting many victories, five-run games or home runs.

Las Vegas odds makers expected the team to lose roughly half the games it played. Instead, the team appears poised for a playoff berth.

Their surprising play has meant a bounty of free food for fans. The selection changes based on how the team performed the previous day.

A victory means half-off pizzas ordered online at Papa John’s.

A home run means a free hamburger, with purchase of a large drink, at Jack in the Box. (The burger in question, a Jumbo Jack, is regularly $2.59, which is the same price as a large drink.)

And if the team scores five runs or more, win or lose, it means three free tacos with the purchase of a large drink between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. the next day. Regular tacos sell for $1.39, making the deal worth $4.17. Taco Bell charges $1.99 for a large drink.

Fans listening or watching at home get the details every time the D-Backs trigger the promotion, which has been fairly frequently.

"It's always fun to read them because you know the team is doing well," said Greg Schulte, the radio announcer for the team.

The signs point to tacos and burgers

The TV booth has signs at the ready for the burger and taco promotions.

The taco sign has three smiling tacos affixed to the back with strips of paper, allowing them to appear to dance when wiggled the right way.

The hamburger sign has the sandwich airborne as if it were the home run.

Both were created by a married couple of artists, David Tabor and Sue Lawrence of Phoenix.

The two are season ticket holders and Lawrence received a lot of airtime this year with a double-sided sign she held in the stands. One side had the hopeful message, "We want tacos"; the other side would be displayed after the correct number of runs were scored. It read: "We got tacos."

The sign got a lot of airtime this season, Tabor said. Not only has the team played better, he said, but the taco threshold went from six runs to five,

Tabor said he has his wife take advantage of the taco promotion most of the time it happens, so much so that Tabor said he switched from meat tacos to bean to avoid packing on baseball-induced pounds.

Producers with the television crew asked Lawrence and Tabor to create signs for the announcers to hold up.

Lawrence created the smiling tacos. Tabor created the flying hamburger. That one doesn't get as much play, probably because the moments after home runs are spent on replays of said home run.

The signs sit on a shelf behind broadcasters Steve Bertiahume and Bob Brenly. Typically, after five runs are scored, a producer hands the sign to Brenly and hands to Bertiahume the copy to read with details of the free food. Brenly waves the sign in front of a camera in the booth, making the smiling tacos bounce around.

"It's a real nice side benefit," Brenly said in the booth before a recent game. "It's a really nice treat for some people who maybe would not otherwise have had some happy tacos."

'It's all about the fans'

Brenly said he figured the promotions were not foremost on players' minds. An unscientific survey of the clubhouse showed he was right.

Paul Goldschmidt, the team's star first baseman, wasn't too aware of the free food deals. He said he knew they were triggered "when we do something good ... Other than that, I haven't thought much about it."

Asked if it was OK with him that fans were dining out on his offensive prowess, he smiled and said, "That's fine."

David Peralta, an outfielder responsible for 10 Jumbo Jacks this season, also seemed only vaguely aware of the free food being given out based on the team's performance. "Tacos, pizzas, it's all great," he said. "It's all about the fans. Without the fans, this is nothing."

Taco Bell would not release information about how many tacos it had given out this season; Papa John’s did not return a request for its statistics.

Jack in the Box was more forthcoming. A spokesperson for the franchise said the restaurant had given out 81,319 burgers this season, as of Aug. 8. By that time, according to the team, the Diamondbacks had hit home runs in 111 games.

That figures to an average of 733 Jumbo Jacks given out on each day following a long ball.

A brief survey of Jack in the Box restaurants found no takers following a pair of games in which the Diamondbacks had hit home runs. (Lamb, Goldschmidt)

At one, a couple who had a cardboard sign asking for donations folded up at their table had large drinks, but didn’t know about the promotion. They paid for their hamburgers in cash.

At another, just south of the ballpark, there was a trio of fans wearing Diamondbacks gear having a pre-game meal. Each had a large drink and one was eating a Jumbo Jack. But none was told about the promotion. One bemoaned that it would have been a perfect scenario. A reporter said he agreed.

One Papa John’s employee, who didn't give his name while he furiously turned dough into a crust, said the store did get busier after a victory. But a cashier at another store said an everyday deal on medium pizzas was just as good.

A diamond in a shell

Taco Bell, with its two-hour window, proved a more reliable place to find lovers of both the diamond and the shell.

Clyde Nichols, 66, a retired custodian, rode his bicycle to the Maryvale location for his tacos. “If they don’t win, I don’t come here,” he said.

Rachel Andrade, 70, a retired circulation manager for a California newspaper, said she doesn’t watch or listen to the games, but checks online for the score and comes to Taco Bell if the promotion is on.

“It helps my budget,” she said, “especially since I’m retired.” She splurges an extra $1 and orders the tacos with sour cream and tomatoes, making them “supreme.”

The wait for Joyce Sehnert’s tacos wasn't long. There appeared to be a collection wrapped up and ready to bag in the food prep area.

But Sehnert had ordered more items to go along with her tacos, including some cinnamon spiced deserts.

“Last time, I couldn’t get extra stuff, because I couldn’t afford it,” she said.

Bags in hand, the Sehnerts walked out. This would be dinner for Joyce, her brother and her mother, Marge, 86. All are retired.

“It’s something different,” she said, “A splurge to eat out.

“Plus, you can’t beat the price.”

The Sehnerts were headed home to watch that evening’s Diamondbacks game, hoping for a victory and more free food. That night’s result would be mixed. The team lost and only scored three runs.

But there was a home run. Meaning a free Jumbo Jack was warming up on deck.

Jack in the Box score

According to a Jack in the Box spokesperson, here are the restaurants that have given out the most Jumbo Jacks as part of the Arizona Diamondbacks promotion this season. Fans win a free hamburger when a Diamondback hits a home run. They are ranked in order of promotional transactions:

No. 1566 at 99th Avenue and Thunderbird Road in Sun City: 2,611.

No. 149 at Florence Blvd. and Pueblo Drive in Casa Grande: 2,030.

No. 1519 at Crimson Road and Hampton Avenue in Mesa: 1.927.

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