Tagged: Loek Van Mil

Seriously?

Let me preface this by saying that I fondly remember Harry Chappas of the White Sox, 5’5″ cover boy of Sports Illustrated (who was told to claim he was only 5’3″), and the day that the legitimately 5’4″ Freddie Patek slammed three homers and a double at Fenway. Baseball is still the sport where height matters least; Patek was on four division winners and two All-Star teams and was as tough as they come.


So, when I see the Twins put their 5’3″ outfield infield prospect out of the University of Louisville, Chris Cates, into tonight’s exhibition against the Red Sox in Fort Myers, I’m delighted.

But they had to give him the Test Batting Helmet? 

IMG_2072.JPG

FROM FOX SPORTS NORTH AND MLB NETWORK

Okay, so the name of Rick Moranis’s character in “Spaceballs” was what?

IMG_2071.JPG

“Dark Helmet” – that’s right. Or you prefer the Great Gazoo?

IMG_2074.JPG

How much guts does this guy have to show you, Twins? 

You give him uniform number 90, you pose him for a publicity photo alongside 7’1″ Dutch pitcher Loek Van Mil? And then you give him the helmet?

IMG_2073.JPG

To say nothing of the apparent Squish Danger:

IMG_2070.JPG

Oh, man. Mr. Cates should be admitted to Cooperstown just for acquitting himself professionally and not taking this thing off and hitting the equipment manager over the head with it.
FROM A RESEARCHER’S NOTEBOOK:

The late,
great Mets’ broadcaster Bob Murphy reported this anecdote during the 1967
season. On July 25th at Candlestick Park, the Mets and Giants were
scoreless in the bottom of the third. Jesus Alou and Bobby Etheridge singled,
then Willie Mays lined a sure two-base hit, scoring Alou. But as Etheridge
chugged in to third, Mays stopped at first. He explained later that he’d done
so deliberately, so that the Mets wouldn’t walk clean-up man Jim Ray Hart to
pitch instead to first baseman Jack Hiatt. Hart promptly hit a three-run homer
off Jack Fisher. The Giants won, 5-4.