Philadelphia has plenty of places to debate who makes the city’s best cheesesteak, but some of the most competitive sandwich eating happens somewhere fans can’t see: inside the visitors’ clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.
According to a 2022 MLB feature, visiting MLB players, coaches, and team staff have quietly participated in an unofficial tradition of seeing just how many cheesesteaks they can devour during a Philadelphia series. The sandwiches are made fresh to order by Eric Michaels, the visiting clubhouse attendant, turning a routine clubhouse meal into an underground eating competition that has been going on for decades.
How the cheesesteak challenge started
The tradition traces back to former Detroit Tigers All-Star Dmitri Young, who told MLB he ate 11 cheesesteaks during a three-game series in Philadelphia sometime in the early 2000s. Young reportedly said he wasn’t trying to start a competition—he was simply hungry! But his feat eventually inspired players and staff members to chase increasingly massive totals.
MLB reported that Michaels and his team have been making the sandwiches in the visitors’ clubhouse since 2014. Each one is prepared to order, with players able to request their preferred combination of meat, cheese, and toppings. The sandwiches typically measure between 10 and 12 inches.
There are even a few unofficial rules. According to MLB, everything must be consumed in the clubhouse, no can throw up, some form of meat must be on the roll, and the bun must be filled.
The stats are impressive
MLB’s 2022 reporting documented some seriously impressive numbers. Mets bullpen catcher Dave Racniello ate 14 cheesesteaks over three games in 2011. Then, Mets bullpen catcher Eric Langill ate 17 in 2013. Brewers bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel then reached 18 in 2025.
The biggest total documented in that MLB feature came from Rockies strength coach Mike Jasperson. He reportedly ate 21 1/2 cheesesteaks over three days and then reached 25 during a four-game series.
There are also one-day feats. Former Giants replay analyst Chad Chop reportedly ate 10 cheesesteaks in 12 hours in 2017, while Nationals Minor League Adrián Sánchez topped that with 10 1/2 in 2021.
MLB noted that the Phillies’ official cheesesteak record books were lost during COVID, so these numbers are best treated as historical totals reported by MLB in 2022, rather than verified 2026 records.
Still, there’s something uniquely Philadelphia about turning a baseball road trip into a cheesesteak endurance test. Apparently, visiting teams have been more than happy to play along.
