Consider the Dodgers’ dominance of the last decade. Since 2013, they’ve been the most successful team in baseball, the only club in that stretch to post a winning percentage above .600. They’ve led MLB in attendance in each of those seasons. In just about every metric—wins, payroll, various forms of fan engagement—they have made a habit of sitting atop the league.
And one more: The Dodgers sell more hot dogs than any other team. By a lot.
It helps, of course, to have those league-leading attendance totals in the biggest stadium in baseball. But it’s not just a numbers game. It’s also the legacy of the Dodger Dog—a signature that has been with the team as long as it has played in Dodger Stadium, with a history as entwined with the club as Vin Scully, Sandy Koufax or Clayton Kershaw. There have been a few changes over the years. Some have been twists made to the classic (kosher dogs, veggie dogs, chili-and-jalapeño-laden “Doyer Dogs”) and some have been moves behind the scenes: This is the first season with a new producer, Southern California sausage company Papa Cantella’s, after the Dodgers could not reach a new agreement with their longtime meat partner, Farmer John’s. But the core idea here remains the same. The Dodger Dog is the most iconic hot dog in baseball—which has helped make it the most popular, too, and it’s not close.
