It's usually the most entertaining 30-45 seconds of the night at Blair County Ballpark.
The McDonald's strikeout guy is up. There are two strikes. Pitcher winds up and delivers.
Hey, there's a free Big Mac on the line, and as Curve general manager Rob Egan said, "People love their free food."
It's pretty neat hearing the crowd's reaction to that two-strike pitch, no matter what happens.
There's a collective groan - "Ahhhhhh" - if the hitter puts it in play.
But if he whiffs or gets called out ...
"It always seems to be the loudest cheer of the night," Egan said.
This is the second year for the Curve's McDonald's Strikeout Guy promotion, and lately Altoona's pitchers have been on a tear helping the crowd win free food. Going into Saturday's doubleheader, the Curve had a five-game streak of giving away a Big Mac with a strikeout.
If it happens, fans simply have to take their game ticket to a participating McDonald's to receive their free burger (within three days).
The fun of the promotion, though, is in the crowd's reaction.
"They definitely get locked in on the game at that point when they know the strikeout guy is up there," Egan said. "[Video board operator] John Foreman does a great job with the graphics board getting the fans into it."
Sometimes even the players get into it.
Last year, Erie catcher Max St. Pierre won the fans a Big Mac by striking out, and as the crowd cheered loudly, he tipped his cap walking off the field.
That's classic - and classy.
The SeaWolves also do a McDonald's strikeout promotion at their home ballpark, so they clearly understand the gimmick.
When Erie's Cale Iorg struck out four times during a game at Blair County Ballpark last season, manager Phil Nevin had some fun with it. He told the clubhouse manager to go out to a local McDonald's and buy a bunch of Big Macs for the team's postgame meal.
"Nevin told the team, 'Hey, dinner's on Iorg tonight,'" Egan said.
One of the great things about minor league baseball is that not everything is taken so seriously all the time.
Even strikeouts.
