Prime 9: Bucs on Deck best Thanksgiving fixings

What's the best Thanksgiving dishes?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope everyone has a great day and gets their fill of food. I am so thankful and blessed for everyone’s support on the site. You guys are amazing. Thank you for your support.

We wanted to do something a little more on the fun side for today, there will be no feature, just this article. I asked each of the writers to send in their top 10 favorite Thanksgiving fixings so that we could make our own rankings list, a lot like our top prospect list.

So, we will start with the list, and then each writer gave a brief writeup on their thought process on putting everything together and then, as an added bonus, four current/past Pirates they’d want to invite to dinner with them.

Due to tiebreakers, we ended up with a top 9 and three that just missed out.

Just Missed Out

Yams with Marshmallows
Cheesecake
Stuffed Clams

Funny story with these, three of us put one of these third on our list, causing them to finish in a tie.

Prime 9: Best Thanksgiving fixings

1. Mashed Potatoes

2. Stuffing

3. Green Bean Casserole

4. Mac N Cheese

5. Deviled Eggs

6. Rolls

7. Corn

8. Turkey

9. Leftover Turkey Sandwich

John Dreker

Stuffing is my 80-grade side order for Thanksgiving. I only have it about 3-4 times a year, but it's the key ingredient for Thanksgiving Day, and we usually have two different types. Green bean casserole is something I didn't have until maybe 10-12 years ago for the first time, and now it's necessary. Stuffed clams are the Honus Wagner of appetizers at my house, and there's always some mind games going on to decide who gets to have to last of them. We have never not run out of them, regardless of how many we make. Everything else on my list, down to the rolls, are items we need for Thanksgiving to feel complete. The two final casseroles are newer items that are good, but I will often skip them to get fat(ter) off everything else. They are things I'll usually eat Friday and Saturday.

My Pirates foursome for dinner starts with Dots Miller, obviously. My hometown hero, plus we have relatives in common, so we are going to have a lot to talk about. Willie Stargell is definitely invited. While I never saw him play due to my age, he was an immediate favorite of mine as a kid when I got some slightly old cards, and he had huge stats on the back. Pie Traynor is my third choice, and not just because of the name. He coached with Honus Wagner, played alongside the Waners and Arky Vaughan, then was around the team for Roberto Clemente, so his stories would be great.

The final one is a deep cut. I'm inviting the center fielder for the Alleghenys on August 11, 1882, because I want to see who shows up. I have quite a few reasons to believe it won't be Ren Wylie, who is listed as playing his only pro game that day. I'm using this one-day secret power to help me do some research!

Ryan Palencer

The top of my list is traditional and nostalgic. These have been my favorites since going to my grandmothers on Thanksgiving years ago. I’m not a huge turkey guy, but it has to make the list. A successful Thanksgiving is made or broken through the sides. Deserts are just extra bonus points.

The four I’d invite to Thanksgiving dinner:

1. Spud Davis

2. Steve Cooke

3. Travis ‘Lunchbox’ Snider

4. Felix Pie

NolaJeffy

Truthfully, this list can be fluid. Sometimes, the same food doesn't hit the spot the same way it did the year prior or might gain a new appreciation. Stuffing, for example, was once an item I wouldn't touch, but now a must-have. Also the fact as a child, I didn't want a single individual food item touching another. Now, it's my own personal KFC Famous Bowl every holiday. Not unlike the story of porridge, the gravy has to be just right. Too thin, it's just watery and is it even gravy at that point? Too thick, and it's just a gelatin on top of potatoes. Either way, I'm going back for seconds, thirds, and maybe a fourth after a nap.

Four Pirates I'd invite to dinner:

Steven Brault, David Bednar, Paul Skenes, and Bryan Reynolds.

The answer is simple that I feel this would be a good group to crush beers with while watching football. Skenes and Reynolds aren't very animated, but I bet they would get into some Thanksgiving football.

Murphy

I am the big reason Turkey took such a hit. Not a fan. It reminds me of a prospect with a wide array of tools, but there is so much variance in how they could turn out. It could come out perfect and rock the dinner, or it can come out dry, and you are quietly scraping it in the trash when no one is looking.

I also worked in the Meat department of Walmart for five years and did nothing but stock Turkeys during the holiday season, which led to a nightmare of a dead, frozen Turkey chasing me through the store.

I’m not as much of a dessert person anymore, but I will punish some cheesecake, which became a tradition for my mom to make one for me to take home on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Mac n Cheese is an 80-grade side dish, no matter the time of year, and deviled eggs are right up there for me. My plate is stacked mainly with sides, with maybe a little ham on the side.

If the Turkey comes out well, I’ll hit up a sandwich the next day, or maybe sneak a piece in after the fact, but it’s never on my original plate.

I’m going to cheat on the four I’d invite over for dinner. Growing up outside of Pittsburgh, I didn’t get to watch much Pirates baseball, so I branched out.

My four right now:

Jack Wilson - Just seems like a cool guy, and ‘the guy’ of the early days of me watching baseball.

Pedro Martinez - One of the most dominant pitchers I’ve ever watched, and did it in the steroid era. Listening to him on the MLB Network, I feel like I could learn so much from him.

Barry Zito - My favorite player growing up. Would try to get him to head outside before dinner and throw a couple of curves for me to see up close too.

My Grandfather - He’s a big part of why I love the game so much. When he was sick, I’d call and we’d go through the box scores just talking about the game. Of course, he’d want to know immediately how Ty Wiggington did, who was his favorite player. I’ve worked super hard to get where I am and I would love for him to see what I’ve been able to accomplish.