A NASCAR driver challenging an MLB legend to a game of baseball ought to make for an entertaining fixture. But those working at New York’s Waldorf Astoria in 1986 might not have agreed, thanks to Jody Davis, who turned a casual conversation into an impromptu battle for bragging rights with two NASCAR icons.
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The suite served as a gathering place for several drivers, including Earnhardt, one of Davis’ closest friends. However, the ‘Intimidator’ and a few others were out riding in taxis when Michael Waltrip began reminding Davis just how good of a baseball player he was.
“Michael Waltrip just kept needling me about ‘yeah you’re a baseball player, I watch that on TV, I know I can hit that, and I played baseball, and I know I can hit that’, and we’re having a couple b***, and he just keeps on. ‘I know I can hit that. I bet I can hit you,’ and I’m, you know, I’m still playing. I can throw with anybody.” Davis recalled on the Dale Jr. Download podcast recently.
Davis, a two-time All-Star and Golden Glove Award winner, then revealed that Waltrip found a broom, which they snapped the handle off of, to use as a bat. A bowl of green apples served as makeshift baseballs. Sterling Marlin, who was also in the suite, volunteered to catch, and the game began.
The first apple sailed past Waltrip’s swing and Marlin’s glove, exploding against the suite’s wall. This happened quite a few times, with Waltrip never making solid contact.
Davis kept firing the apples, splattering them across the walls of a room once occupied by presidents and now by NASCAR royalty.
“He just got out of the way, and now I’m throwing apples up against the wall in the presidential suite at the Waldorf,” Davis continued. “Michael, you still can’t hit me,” the MLB star recalled telling him.
Earnhardt, who would have been in for a surprise after returning to the suite that day, didn’t talk about this later on. But going by Davis’ description, the Presidential suite was a mess.
The hilarious outing ended on a happy note for Davis and his friend Dale Earnhardt. In New York City, Earnhardt was officially crowned the Cup Series champion that year, securing his second title and first with the iconic No. 3 number.
This episode remains a lighthearted memory of the friendship between an MLB star and racing icons. The Waldorf-Astoria’s Presidential Suite became part of Earnhardt’s championship lore. He also stayed right there ahead of his 1994 celebration after tying Richard Petty’s record with a seventh title.
It’s unclear if anyone wrecked the suite that night as well.