The All-Star Game has come and gone, which seems about as good a time as any to revisit one of the more interesting rabbit holes that I have trod during my time at True Blue LA.
For the past few years, when one thinks of the Dodgers as an outsider, one might be surprised that “free fast food*” is one of the first things the fanbase thinks about, apart from that whole pesky winning and losing situation.
Unless one is entirely obvious, the Dodgers have a partnership with the fast-food chain Jack in the Box.
If the Dodgers, collectively, strike out seven or more batters, one can go into any Los Angeles-area Jack in the Box and get a “free” Jumbo Jack with the purchase of a large soda. One can even trigger this promotion with the restaurant’s app using the promo code: GODODGERS25.
Stop by @JackBox and get a free Jumbo Jack® with a large Coca-Cola purchase, available in-store or on the Jack App with promo code GODODGERS25. pic.twitter.com/EocFAExCj9
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 12, 2025
Last year, on July 24, Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser laid down the proverbial gauntlet, which everyone had the good sense to properly ignore, except me:
Davis: I want Bill Plaschke [of the Los Angeles Times] to track down the guy who — I figure there’s a guy out there who every time this happens goes and gets his [Jumbo] Jack the next day.
Hershisher: Ohh...okay. There probably is. I don’t know if Plaschke will really take that as a subject that he wants to dive into. He usually writes about a little more serious things. ... There’s probably a reporter that covers the Dodgers that would try it.
Davis: Or one that covers Jacks. [sic]
I do not live in Los Angeles, nor have I lived there in 25 years. Even if I did, I would have better things to do than track down the person or persons who may have subjected themselves to this promotion.
The Dodgers triggered the Jumbo Jack deal 118 times out of 162 regular-season games in 2024. That’s a lot of burgers. The Dodgers are currently on pace to annihilate that mark in 2025.
When we first looked at this phenomenon in 2024, the Dodgers had triggered the promotion 78 times in 110 games. The 2025 Dodgers have achieved the same mark in 13 fewer games.
I do not claim to have any foresight into the minds of Jack in the Box HQ. Even if the Dodgers are making the burger chain sweat a bit more with each “free” Jumbo Jack, the company can take solace in the fact that it is likely not repeating the McDonald's 1984 Olympics fiasco, which The Simpsons famously parodied.
As we have covered before, it is my view that the Jumbo Jack is a middling, at best, signature burger. Personally, I would normally get the Chicken Fajita Pita with extra salsa had it not been discontinued.
As we have covered, the monetary savings disappear if you take advantage of this promotion and purchase additional items, which is what the burger chain hopes you will do.
Considering that prices for the burger and soda vary by location, one typically spends around $3 for a quarter’s worth of soda and saves about $5-6 per burger, assuming one does not order a side dish like French fries.
A single burger is 520 calories with 33g of total fat (42% of the daily recommended value), 700 mg of sodium (30% of the daily recommended value), and 23 grams of protein, and those stats are without cheese.
Remember, to trigger this promotion, one needs to purchase a large drink, such as 32 ounces of regular Coca-Cola, which contains 267 calories and 65 grams of sugar. Assuming one bought a regular large Coke every time that a “free” Jumbo Jack is obtained, one would have presumably consumed 5,070 grams of sugar, which is over 11 pounds or about 179 ounces.
If I have one piece of advice, it is that one should avoid drinking their calories if possible.
The price of the brick went up
The other major fast food promotion associated with the Dodgers is the two-entree plate meal at participating Panda Express locations.
The first Panda Plate of the season.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 28, 2025
When the Dodgers win, you win! Visit https://t.co/wpBq4jMwLJ to learn more and get your $6 Panda Plate. pic.twitter.com/wEdcW1puYk
Last year, the promotion was for a $5 two-entree plate, hence The Wire reference in the header of this portion of the essay, as the promotion now costs a dollar more. As of the All-Star break, the Dodgers have a 33-17 home record, meaning a potential 33 trips to a participating Panda Express location.
While I have never been the biggest fan of Panda, I have come around to the fact that the house that sugar chicken Orange Chicken built does not have to be the nutritional or caloric wasteland that Jack in the Box typically is.
Load up on greens and opt for Teriyaki Chicken with the sauce on the side. You'll get a filling meal loaded with protein, which resembles a healthy balance of macros. Plus, you know that the folks at Panda HQ are pocketing that extra dollar...
The Dodgers do have other performance-based promotions. For example, if the Dodgers score six or more runs, McDonald’s offers a free six-piece Chicken McNuggets with a $2 purchase in the app at participating locations, or AmPm provides a free hot dog and 12 oz Slim Coca-Cola when the Dodgers steal a base during a home game at participating locations.
These promotions are not widely known because they are rarely, if ever, mentioned on the game broadcast.
The Dodgers have scored six or more runs 43 times at the All-Star break. The Dodgers as a team have stolen 56 bases so far in 2025. However, the Dodgers have stolen bases in 34 unique games. Of those games, only 17 have been qualifying home games.
The final number of “free” Jumbo Jacks and discounted two-entree Panda Express meals that will be earned in 2025 is unknown. That fact said, to the industrious or frugal or a combination thereof, it seems likely that the Dodgers will keep the Los Angeles area fast food train running for the rest of the season.
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- Andrew Toles returns to Triple-A lineup after missing 46 games
- Dodgers 2018 MLB draft tracker
- Caleb Ferguson to join Dodgers for major league debut
- Position players headline Day 2 of the draft for the Dodgers
- Dodgers draft LHP John Rooney in the 3rd round, No. 104 overall
