Just when you thought Hardees took things a bit too far with the 107 grams of fat., 1410 calorie, 229 mg of cholesterol "Monster Thickburger" in late 2004, enter the new "undisputed champion of American gluttony – The Donut Burger" courtesy of the Gateway Grizzlies of minor league baseball’s Independent Frontier League.

The centerpiece of the team’s "Baseball Best Burger" campaign sports a hamburger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon — all between a "bun" made of a sliced Krispy Kreme Original Glazed donut.

Now I know there are probably a few health advocates out their that are about to go Morgan Spurlock and McSalad Shaker on the Grizzlies, but the fact of the matter is if you don’t like this idea you were probably not going to go to a minor league baseball game in the Midwest anytime soon.

The Grizzlies’ goals were to get Midwestern families and baseball fans to come out to their ballpark for a cost effective fan-friendly "experience" and give the rest of America something signature to remember them by. This program succeeds on both counts because the Grizzlies know their audience and they are now able to give fans a unique one of a kind memorable, baseball experience.

The Donut Burger is the Grizzlies’ answer to the Green Monster in Boston, Celebrity "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in Chicago, the Philly Phanatic in Philadelphia and a "Dodger Dog" in LA because you know their ballpark is the only place to go to enjoy the Donut Burger experience.

In the spirit of former Chicago White Sox marketing and PR genius, Bill "Disco Demolition Night" Veeck, fans now have a unique reason to go see the Gateway Grizzlies and they didn’t even have to sign a former All-Star, build a three story green wall, create a new mascot or break a record, unless of course fat intake per inning is now an official stat.

Hat tip to Charles Leone for this post.