Taco ‘steal’ seems to be catching on

When Angel Pagan gets around to signing his huge free-agent contract during the offseason, my hope is that he holds out for an additional $9.65. Plus tax.

That's what I figure he owes me, for having had the bright idea to steal second base during the eighth inning of Game 2 of the World Series.

When Pagan got his hand in ahead of the throw Thursday night, it set in motion a Taco Bell promotion in which everybody in America received a Doritos Locos Taco, just for asking, from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday.

A Doritos Locos Taco costs $1.29.

The players to be named later - Crunchwrap Supreme, Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Beef Meximelt - cost $2.59, $2.29 and $1.89, respectively.

I never should have skipped lunch.

My wife skipped lunch, too. She ordered three Taco Supremes to go, which were another $4.17.

So that's $10.94. Minus the $1.29 for the complimentary Pagan taco, it comes out to $9.65. Plus tax.

So I hope Alan Nero, who is Angel Pagan's agent, keeps that in mind when he sits down at the bargaining table in Palm Springs, Calif., or wherever these free-agent deals get hashed out.

This "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion literally is a poor man's idea of the "I'm Goin' to Disneyland/World" marketing campaign at the Super Bowl.

(Given 11 grams of fat are in a Doritos taco, with a cholesterol content higher than Jose Valverde's ERA, it also could be a chubby man's idea.)

The first free baseball tacos were awarded five years ago, when Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury swiped a base in the Series.

Unlike Scott Rolen at third base, it's an idea that appears to be catching.

On most Tuesdays from 2 to 6 p.m., nobody is warming up in the bullpen at the Taco Bell in the Henderson hinterlands where I live, probably because everybody is standing in line for the 99-cent special at Popeye's chicken.

When I pulled in, all nine parking spots were spoken for, five people were standing in line, five were waiting on their orders and 12 were eating free Doritos Locos Tacos, courtesy of the San Francisco Giants' fleet-footed and larcenous center fielder.

But of the 22 people on my side of the counter, plus Dawn the manager and Darin K., the kid behind the cash register, only one knew the identity of the ballplayer who would be responsible for giving them a mild case of indigestion.

(Not really. The free Doritos Locos Taco actually was pretty tasty, though there's no way a guy like Prince Fielder could eat just one.)

"Angel Pagan!" exclaimed 11-year-old Gabriel Geronimo, who was wearing a Tim Lincecum T-shirt and scarfing down free tacos with his uncle Leo and a couple of other Geronimos (none of whom were related to Cesar Geronimo, center fielder for the Big Red Machine of the 1970s).

Kids of Little League age always know who the big league ballplayers are. But 1 in 24 (.042) is not a good percentage, unless you happen to play for the Tigers, in which case you can bat cleanup and play first base.

Almost everybody in the Taco Bell in the Henderson hinterlands ordered something in addition to the free Angel Pagan taco, including an older man from Germany, who might have asked if Sami Khedira's game-winning goal against Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup third-place game was worth at least a small Frutista Freeze. But he didn't, because it appeared Dawn the manager ran a tight ship.

Donald Wolf, 15, and Corey Oliphant, 16, students at Foothill High just around the corner, were the only ones munching on Doritos tacos a la carte.

"We don't have any money," Oliphant said.

Dinner would be on the table when they got home. But when they hastily got up to leave, a bit of hot sauce still was on their chins.

It was closing in on 6 p.m., and if they hurried, they had just enough time to make it to the Taco Bell up Horizon Ridge Parkway for another free taco.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.