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The next David Ross? How we'd cast baseball players in reality TV shows

David Ross not only surprised everyone with his second-place finish on ABC’s hit “Dancing with the Stars,” he might have also opened up a new lane for future baseball players. He went on a big-time reality TV show and became a fan favorite. Usually, it’s football players that do that.

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Elsewhere this week, we learned that “Diesel Brothers,” the tricked-out truck show on Discovery Channel, filmed a couple of episodes with Detroit Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera and MLB Network analysts Pedro Martinez and Carlos Pena. (They’ll air June 19 and 22).

It was all enough to make us wonder: What baseball players, past or present, should be on reality TV shows? The Stew’s crew chimed in below with our picks. We think you should do the same in the comments.

Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus on
Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus on

Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus on “The Amazing Race”
While I think it would be fun to see baseball players compete on “Project Runway,” what I’d most love to see is Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre on “The Amazing Race.” We’d get ridiculous visuals like Elvis and Adrain rolling haystacks or running in moon shoes or making chocolate in a German town. They’d be running through landmarks and doing zany tasks, and Elvis Andrus would get to touch Adrian Beltre’s head on at least three different continents.

In fact, there should be a whole baseball player season. Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa can be a team, and so can Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, and Clayton Kershaw and A.J. Ellis. The possibilities are endless. (Liz Roscher)

Every player in the minors on “Top Chef”
Minor-league players are notorious for their awful eating habits. Ask any minor leaguer what their favorite restaurant is, and roughly 90 percent will say Chipotle. There’s even a Tumblr dedicated to minor-league players mentioning the chain. Now look, we’re not here to judge. Chipotle is tasty, and it’s not like minor-league players have many options. Their salaries are so depressed that Chipotle is one of the few places they can get a delicious and filling meal.

For that reason, we would love nothing more than to see a bunch of minor-league players duke it out on “Top Chef.” High comedy would ensue the first few weeks, as we’re guessing we would see a lot of ramen soup cups and mac and cheese. While we know many minor leaguers are familiar with burritos, we have a hard time thinking they could accurately re-create one. We can only imagine Tom Colicchio’s comments after he’s served a reheated Lean Cuisine.

If we’re going to be optimistic, though, perhaps these players could learn something by being on the show. Their food might be laughable and simple at first, but by the finale, it’s possible they would be cooking legitimate meals. There’s a feel-good story to here too. A hopeless player could transform himself into a kitchen casanova. They could learn about nutrition and take active steps to improve their lifestyle. We would watch that.

One caveat, though, Chicago White Sox prospect Lucas Giolito can’t compete. The 22-year-old has already shown a mastery of baked goods, and we don’t want anyone to have an unfair advantage. He’ll have to take his talents to “The Great British Baking Show.”

Bryce Harper and his hair should be on
Bryce Harper and his hair should be on

Bryce Harper on “The Bachelor”
We’re going to have to suspend reality for a second on this one. Bryce Harper is recently married, but since none of these reality-TV ideas are actually going to happen, I’m totally fine with saying Harper should be on “The Bachelor.” Anybody gonna tell me they don’t want to see women trying to woo Bryce? We’d see them running their fingers through his hair, participating in baseball-themed challenges and having to kiss up to BFF Jayson Werth?

Actually, you know what? We can actually skip the romance part of this. Take the women out the equation and just do a “Bachelor”-style courting of Harper for his upcoming free agency. Turn the whole thing into a reality show. We’re sure Mrs. Harper would appreciate that too. (Mike Oz)

Curt Schilling on “Big Brother”
Getting through one Curt Schilling tweet can be a painful enough experience. Now imagine having to share living space with him for up to three months.

That’s the concept behind CBS’ long-running reality/competition show “Big Brother.” There’s no connection to the outside world. You only see, interact with and compete against those with whom you’re sharing the house, with the goal of avoiding the weekly eviction. The producers build the show around big personalities with clashing viewpoints and lifestyles. That always makes for a combustible dynamic, and I can’t imagine there’s a baseball player, past or present, who could bring more awkwardness and combustibility than Schilling.

Chances are Schilling wouldn’t last the whole three months. He’d probably rub enough people the wrong way right away that he’d be a lock to leave early. But if you relish chaos or just want to see Schilling taken to task and highly uncomfortable in a public forum, we’re sure there would be plenty of that happening for as long as he survived. (Mark Townsend)

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!