Managers of Nick’s, Yogi’s make baseball wager

When a college student wagers on a sporting event, it’s usually not a bet of substantial value. But two Bloomington bars made a bigger wager on the Cleveland Indians-New York Yankees American League Division Series playoff series Thursday night.\nIf the Yankees win, Yogi’s Grill and Bar will host a party for 20 Nick’s English Hut employees. If the Indians win, Nick’s will host the party for 20 Yogi’s employees and foot the bill. \nThe Yankees and Indians are competing to move on to the American League Championship Series.\nThe reason for the rivalry is history. \nMike “Mugs” Hall began watching and following the Yankees in the glory days of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris of the late 1950s. Yogi’s owner and manager Chris Karl grew up watching Indians games via satellite in his Northern Ohio hometown. He saw 155 of 162 Indians games this year. \n“Only missed seven games,” Karl said. “Four games because they weren’t televised, two because I was out of town and the last game of the season that didn’t matter.”\nStuck in the middle of the wager is Yogi’s bartender and WGCL AM 1370 sports talk radio show host Mike Glasscott. A bartender who regularly engages his patrons with in-depth sports analysis, Glasscott is one of the few Yankees fans in Yogi’s Indians’ country. \n“I feel like I’m in that Tom Hanks’ movie ‘Castaway,’” Glasscott said. \nThe wager began tipping in Yogi’s favor after Friday’s game, when the Indians took a 2-0 lead in the best of five series. But with a Yankees win Sunday night they only need two more wins to advance, and the next game will be played in New York.\nGlasscott said he is glad the Yankees made the series competitive and avoided the sweep. As a Yankees fan and a Yogi’s employee, he doesn’t care who hosts the party.\n“Both bars are great,” Glasscott said. “It’s great to see the staffs interested in baseball games that aren’t the Cubs.”