2023 Double-A Freitas Award: Amarillo Sod Poodles

Image credit: AJ Vukovich (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)

There is something special cooking in Amarillo, and, no, it is not just calf fries. 

For their investment in the West Texas community and innovative new brands, the Amarillo Sod Poodles are the Freitas Award winners at Double-A for 2023.

Or should we say, the Amarillo Calf Fries are the Freitas Award winners.

For six games during the 2023 season, the Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliate would no longer be the Sod Poodles. Rather, the organization would go by an alternate identity, the Calf Fries. 

Amarillo’s alternate identity was a fun way to engage the community as a nod to a local delicacy. If you don’t know what calf fries are, you may know them by another name, such as cowboy caviar, mountain tenders or Rocky Mountain oysters. 

In other words, they are deep-fried bull calf testicles.

Baseball fans not only all over Amarillo, but all over the world loved the brand. In all, the organization sold Calf Fries merchandise to 44 states and 12 counties.  

Tony Ensor, president and general manager of the Sod Poodles, was excited about the alternate identity, but he had no idea how big it would be. The Calf Fries were named best alternate identity by Minor League Baseball. 

“We wanted to do something special that was very local, and that people around here would understand,” Ensor said. “That’s really what it’s all about when you’re doing an alternate brand. It has to tie back into your local community.”

On the Calf Fries’ opening night, the ballpark transformed. Fans rushed to the concession stands to try these local delicacies, and players from both teams tried the localized snack, some having no idea what they were enjoying. 

At the first few games where the team embraced their new identity, more than 600 pounds of Calf Fries were consumed. The teams sold an average of 400 pounds at each of the six games. People were eating up this new brand, pun intended. 

Not only did the fans come out to Hodgetown Stadium for these special theme nights, but they also showed up for Sod Poodles baseball. The organization recorded 31 sellouts and set a franchise single-game attendance record on their way to a second Texas League title in four years. 

Ensor can only hope for the same product on the field as the organization had this season, but that is out of his control. What he will do is make sure fans are able to come to a baseball game, partake in family fun and, of course, enjoy some calf fries.