ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Wanted: Plantain recipes.
The Tampa Bay Rays have a request. Plantains are the craze in their clubhouse these days — joining an eclectic list that includes a DJ and a magician, a cockatoo, penguins and a Latin band — and it appears the fruit will find residence at Tropicana Field for a while following a debut Tuesday.
So the Rays want to get creative with the idea, in a way only they can. After a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon made a plea for plantain help.
“The plantains are on a roll,” Maddon said. “We need some really good plantain recipes rolling in, please. … We’re looking for some recipes via Twitter, email, whatever. Just send your recipes in. I’m looking forward to that.”
So have at it. The fruit fascination started, of course, with closer Fernando Rodney, who received a plantain in March from a fan in the stands at AT&T Park during the World Baseball Classic championship round. He deemed it “magical,” and his Dominican Republic team later claimed the title.
Another plantain made an appearance with Rodney last Saturday at Tropicana Field. Then on Tuesday, nine groups of three plantains each were strung together and hung above some Latin players’ stalls.
On Wednesday, before the second game of a three-game series between the Rays and Red Sox, all but six plantains above Rodney’s locker were taken down. Still, at least one Rays player had plans for a plantain heist.
“I think there’s some more, some box out there,” reliever Joel Peralta said. “So I’m probably going to steal it. I’m going to try.”
Popular plantain dishes include platanos fritos (fried) and mangu (mashed). Peralta recommends both.
Others are less adventurous.
“I’ve never even tried that,” right-hander Alex Cobb said, smiling. “I’m not big on new food.”
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
