Last Thursday, a Red Sox player Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base in Game 2 at Fenway Park in Boston as the Red Sox took on the Colorado Rockies, and Taco Bell has said every one of its stores will honour the offer between 2pm and 5pm in their local time zones today.
The Boston Red Sox went on to win the World Series on Sunday Night in Denver, at Coors Field, in just four games, beating the Rockies 4-0 to take their second series in four years. Prior to that, the Red Sox had suffered an 86-year hiatus that dated back to 1918.
The promotion with Major League Baseball could in theory cost the chain $233.5m, multiplying the Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco's 77 cent value by the number of people in the US.
However, the value of the TV coverage afforded to the stolen base last Thursday alone was equivalent to $4.1m in free advertising, according to corporate sponsorship monitoring company Joyce Julius & Associates.
Fox Sports, which broadcast the game, featured an in-game conversation between Ellsbury and a fellow player talking about the promotion and also interviewed Rob Savage, Taco Bell chief operating officer, following the stolen base.
Some people in the US are attempting to put a more altruistic slant on the promotion.
Three Massachussets men have set up a petition at for people to sign up to ask Taco Bell to donate the cost of a free taco in their name to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund on behalf of victims of the California wildfires.