Bertman Original Ball Park Mustard is a tangy brown mustard closely linked to Cleveland baseball culture for more than a century. Joseph “Joe” Bertman, a Polish immigrant, began in food at age 19 with pickles and later ran a wholesale business supplying stores, institutions, and ballparks. His key innovation was a homemade mustard made from a secret formula. The mustard uses distilled vinegar, #1 mustard seed, sugar, salt, and spices, producing a mellower, sweeter, more Bavarian-style flavor than standard yellow mustard. League Park is said to have requested a specialty product, leading to “ballpark mustard,” which remains the official mustard of the Cleveland Guardians. In 2025, the Guardians introduced a mascot, “Spicy Mustard,” honoring the tradition.
"The ingredients for his Ball Park mustard are deceptively simple: distilled vinegar, #1 mustard seed, sugar, salt, and spices. Compared to the standard yellow mustard, it's more Bavarian-style, with mellower and sweeter flavors. The legend goes that League Park, once home to the now-named Cleveland Guardians, approached Bertman for a specialty food product. Growing up, he noticed at baseball games that only yellow mustard was offered, so he knew just what to make."
"The story of this beloved mustard begins with Joseph “Joe” Bertman, a Polish immigrant who landed in Cleveland in the early 20th century. Bertman's first foray into the food business wasn't mustard, but pickles, establishing a business at the tender age of 19. Known locally as the “Pickle King” or “Pickle Man,” he followed that up with a wholesale food business, supplying stores, institutions, and, yes, ballparks, with products he sourced from around the world."
"But Bertman's most important innovation was his homemade mustard, created from his own secret formula. Even today, “ballpark mustard,” as locals call it, is the official mustard of the Cleveland Guardians. In 2025, the team debuted its newest mascot, “Spicy Mustard,” as an homage."
"Nothing goes better with baseball than a stadium hot dog, and for the citizens of Cleveland, it's gotta have one very particular topping: Bertman Original Ball Park Mustard. The condiment has long been intertwined with the Forest City's baseball culture for more than a century. Tangy, bold, and brown, the sauce is considered as essential to the ballpark experience as hot dogs and beer by many locals."
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