There is a scene from the movie “Field of Dreams” where Ray (Kevin Costner) and author Thomas Mann (James Earl Jones) are at Fenway Park for a baseball game. They stopped for a moment and Ray asks, “What do you want,” and Thomas replies somewhat indignantly, “I just want to be left alone, I’m tired of people coming to me for all the answers.” Ray says, “No, I mean what do you want,” and points to the concession stand they are next to. “Oh…I’ll have a dog and a beer,” Mann replies.

Those have been the culinary mainstays for baseball, and most sports fans, for years and there is one man who makes Fountain Hills a base for his annual Spring Training foray as a ball park vendor, serving up one or the other of those gastronomic delights.

Mark Carlson can be found plying his vendor skills as either “Hot Dog Mark,” or “Mark the Beer Guy” at one of the training ball parks here in the East Valley, mostly Sloan Field with the Cubs in Mesa or Scottsdale Stadium with the Giants. During the season Mark makes his home Target Field in Minneapolis with the Twins.

In 1980, when Mark first started his work as a vendor you could buy a dog for 60-cents. He was only 15 at that time so he wasn’t selling beer for a few more years.

He started coming to Spring Training 25 years ago and began working Cubs games a year later in 1995.

Mark is a towering man, making him easy to spot for people to call out their order. He sees himself as much an entertainer as a ball park vendor. He has perfected a behind-the-back pour for the suds and can pour up to three at a time. He notes that times have changed and beer vendors in the stands don’t pour much anymore, just pass out the aluminum cans or plastic bottles.

The “Hot Dog Mark” persona is what really allows him to have fun these days, Carlson said. The kids love it and he has been known to work some birthday party groups celebrating at Target Field. One of his trading cards has a photo of him standing with a group of kids he has been serving. Don’t look too close, though, as all the kids look strangely like Mark, beard and all. The person printing the cards told him he couldn’t use the photo of the kids without their parents’ permission. Problem solved, they just Photoshopped Mark’s face on each kid.

“Hot Dog Mark” builds his dogs right at the seat of the customer. They are not pre-wrapped. He pulls the bun out of one compartment and the dog out of another, twirling his tongs like a Benihana chef. The real treat comes as he piles on the condiments. Stretching his long arms to full length he will squirt on the mustard or ketchup. He will even hold the dog high and spray the condiments from far below (this works well in rain delays as he can protect the bun from getting soggy). The customer might get a little messy, but there is a lot of fun in the event.

Mark says he loves working for the kids.

“Target Field is very kid friendly compared to some other stadiums,” He said. “They love the trading cards.”

Mark has the trading cards printed up by the thousands and passes them out at the games.

Like anyone who has been around professional sports for a number of years, even the vendors can put together an impressive resume. Mark has worked just one World Series in 1987 between the Twins and the Cardinals. He has worked four Super Bowl games including two in New Orleans (1997, 2002), one in Phoenix (2008) and in 2018 in Minneapolis.

He also worked the 2014 MLB All-Star Game at Target Field and his resume includes the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals that included the Islanders and North Stars. He was just 16.

When he was in high school he also worked concerts selling T-shirts and said he could make some really good money for a teenager.

So how did a Minnesota guy end up in Arizona for Spring Training when the Twins train in Florida?

Mark said he has a brother who lives in the Phoenix area and he started to come and visit in the spring, and got connected with the ball parks as a vendor. He also works as a window washer and discovered that some of his Minnesota clients were spending winter in Arizona. One was a Fountain Hills resident and he connected with her doing windows at both homes.

“[Window washing] gives me flexibility and something to do when there is no game to work,” Mark said.

For a number of years Mark has found a place to stay in Fountain Hills when he comes here in the spring and finds he likes it here.

“I’ve been staying in Fountain Hills since 2005,” he said. “I like it here, it’s clean, and we feel safe.

“I tried Scottsdale, but just didn’t like it. I find Fountain Hills familiar and comfortable, and enjoy walking around the lake.”

Mark is also into off road recreation when he comes to Arizona. He said it is much easier to get out in to the desert in a vehicle than it is in the woods of Minnesota.