Thomas Friedman, 23, of Fair Haven, studied sports marketing in college. Now, he and two other Jersey Shore residents are part of the Jersey Shore BlueClaws popular Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese racing trio. He’s the pork roll. COURTESY TAYLOR PIETRANGELO / BlueClaws 
Thomas Friedman moved back home to Fair Haven and secured a job with the BlueClaws in the ticket sales department. This season, he was asked to get involved with the Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese race – and he has taken the new role in stride. COURTESY TAYLOR PIETRANGELO / BlueClaws
By Mary Ann Bourbeau
FAIR HAVEN – When Thomas Friedman decided to study sports marketing in college, he probably didn’t foresee where that would take him. The 23-year-old Fair Haven resident has gained some hometown notoriety as one of the runners in the Manhattan Bagel Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese race at the Jersey Shore BlueClaws stadium in Lakewood.
ShoreTown Ballpark is abuzz at every home game while waiting for Friedman (Pork Roll), Joel Podos of Manalapan (Egg) and Jared Hewitt of Point Pleasant (Cheese) to get into costume and race around the bases.
“It’s definitely not as easy as it sounds, said Friedman.
“Imagine it’s 85 degrees outside and you’re putting on this blocky thing that’s wide as heck and tall, and then you start running and your knees are hitting against the costume,” said Friedman as he described the conditions inside the costume. “Some people have a strategy to hold it up a little bit so their legs can get a full extension.”
The costumes are heavy, making it more difficult to run and stay upright.
“When you’re starting out, it’s pretty easy,” he said. “When you get to second base, you’re feeling pretty good, but then you have to kick it into third gear. By the time you get to third base, you’re getting a little winded. That’s probably the hardest part because you have to turn on the jets. Sometimes it’s a close finish and sometimes someone wipes out. But it’s always a fun time,” Friedman said.
As for sightlines, Friedman says Cheese has a slight advantage.
“Cheese has visors on the sides, so he can kind of see us,” he said. “In the other two costumes, you can only see straight; you can’t actually see your opponents unless you turn sideways.”
Friedman has always had a keen interest in sports, having grown up playing recreation football, basketball, soccer and baseball. After graduating from Rumson-Fair Haven High School, he attended the University of New Hampshire with the goal of coaching, but then switched to marketing after working behind the scenes with several of the school’s sports teams.
“I enjoyed the fan experience side of things,” he said. “My senior year, I got an internship with the Portland Sea Dogs, which is the AA affiliate for the Boston Red Sox. I was doing almost everything around the ballpark from box office to in-game promotions.”
After graduating last year, Friedman moved home and secured a job with the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (a High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies) in the ticket sales department. This season, he was asked to participate in the Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese race. He said that unless the characters are doing an occasional skit with a predetermined winner, the races are run for real.
“Every now and then, Cheese gets an edge on us and takes a couple more wins, and then he’ll do some trash talk,” said Friedman. “He takes it very seriously. It’s a fun time, but you want to win, obviously. You want to be the one crossing the finishing line first to get bragging rights.”
To date, Friedman – as Pork Roll – leads with 29 wins, besting Cheese (19) and Egg (nine).
Walking back to the dugout after the race, Friedman said he’ll often hear fans cheering on their favorite ingredient in the classic New Jersey sandwich.
“Every now and then you’ll hear, ‘Go Taylor Ham!’ and it’s like, ‘Come on man, it’s Pork Roll!’” he said.
The article originally appeared in the July 31 – August 5, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
