Sisters test wits in return of 'Bucks' to Arizona
The 54th overall episode of the hit MLB.com game show "Bucks on the Pond" powered by Ford marked a return on Thursday to Chase Field in Arizona, after a combined $18,630 has been doled out previously to fans at 24 of the 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.
What would sisters Elise Bell and Caitlyn Cooley of Phoenix do if they happened to add to that tally as the willing contestants in our latest show?
"Come to another Diamondbacks game," Cooley said on a concourse down the first-base side. "I've never won anything -- ever. ... What else would you do with the money?"
Indeed, there is a pennant chase underway, and you'll have to watch the full video to see if the sisters might have won at least enough to cover a couple of box seats right behind the Arizona dugout for what could be a showdown series against the Dodgers next month. After all, it was just 14 episodes earlier that MLB.com handed $250 to a pair of D-backs fans, and that would cover those tickets and concessions.
"Bucks" is hosted by Jeremy Brisiel, and you might be a part of it this season when you least expect it. Fans at the ballpark interact with MLB.com's studio through the magic of technology in conjunction with game action inside. Shows are posted each Tuesday and Thursday. In creating a new experience for fans, MLB.com is giving people a chance to earn bucks while they spend bucks at the ballpark.
Contestants are asked a trivia question -- general knowledge and baseball -- on each pitch during a half-inning of baseball. Get the question correct and win money. Get the question wrong and it's a strike. Three strikes and you're out.
The questions' difficulty and value increase with the number of outs in the on-field action: $5 easy questions to start, $10 medium-difficulty questions after one out, $20 hard questions after two outs. If the contestant lasts longer than the team's at-bat, they win the bucks in their bank.
Cross the $100 mark during the show and it's time for "Say The Word" powered by Ford SYNC. You can wager any part of your bank on the next question, which is asked each episode by 2014 Hall of Fame candidate Frank Thomas. Answer correctly and you win; answer incorrectly and you lose that amount ... and it's another strike.
"One down," Bell said after they got the first question right.
"We're on a roll," Cooley told her. "Call me butter."
Topics covered in this episode include movie titles, shopping places, D-backs postseason history, singers, NBA centers, cartoons, Chase Field music, rock bands, sewing, baseball terms, D-backs legends, "Little Miss Sunshine," The Beatles and Egyptian architecture.
The sisters said they "almost always come to games together." During this episode, one question involves the D-backs moment they remember most: Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Bell said there was something special on the line for her when Luis Gonzalez singled off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera to clinch that title.
"I almost lost my hair for that game," she said. "I had a friend, a bet with a friend, and whoever lost had to shave their head. It was almost really bad."
"Thank you, Gonzo," Cooley added. "That was just fantastic. Now in every game -- semipro games, whatever -- it's always known as 'The Gonzo Hit.' He's forever going to be in history, memorialized for that."
In addition to the D-backs, teams visited by the "Bucks" crew include the Angels, Astros, Athletics, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Mets, Orioles, Phillies, Red Sox, Reds, Royals, Padres, Pirates, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, White Sox and Yankees. Bookmark MLB.com/bucks and be on the lookout for the "Bucks" crew at your ballpark.