Virtual “Tom Hanks” Now Sells Hot Dogs at Empty Oakland A’s Stadium
The stadiums may be empty this year around MLB, but that isn’t stopping longtime Oakland A’s fan Tom Hanks from recapturing his youth and “selling” hot dogs, peanuts and scorecards at the Oakland Coliseum. Read more at MLB.com
Due to COVID restrictions, the stands are empty, but the A’s have filled the stadium with cardboard cutouts of their fans and the speakers pump out crowd sounds provided by MLB: The Show video game.
Life is like a box of… popcorn. 🍿
East Bay’s own @tomhanks is reprising one of his first roles as a Coliseum vendor! See if you can hear him mixed in with the crowd noise during tonight’s #OpeningDay broadcast.#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/o84TzuTLiX
— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) July 24, 2020
But the A’s didn’t stop there, if you listen closely to the audio during home games, you might hear actor Tom Hanks yelling at non-existent fans to buy a hot dog. The team got Hanks, a former A’s peanut vendor when he was younger, to virtually hawk hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, scorecards and yearbooks over the loudspeakers at the stadium to add to the atmosphere.
So when you tune in to watch the A’s play at home, listen carefully for Hanks in the background yelling “Hot dogs, heeeeeere!” and “Can’t tell the players without a program!”and “It’s not a ballgame without a peaaaaaaaNUT!” in the perfect cadence of a ballpark concession seller.
