Time Flies, Like A Potato (ARod haters read)

[BillySmith]

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

On August 31, 1987, in a late-season game between two dead-end teams, Dave Bresnahan, then a 25-year old, .149-hitting, double-A backup catcher in the Indians' system, tried to pick off a runner at third - by throwing a potato into leftfield. When the runner, Reading Phillie Rick Lundblade, ran home on the "overthrow," Bresnahan tagged him out with the actual baseball.

The ruse was quickly sniffed out, and Lundblade was awarded a run. Bresnahan was fined $50 and released the next day.

Last Saturday, the team commemorated the moment by handing out Dave Bresnahan bobbleheads, complete with potato in hand. Bresnahan was in attendance to help recreate the play that got him trouble but made everyone laugh too.

Maybe ARod should have been fined $50. and released, too. :D Is this a great story or what?

[Lee_The_Pea]

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

On August 31, 1987, in a late-season game between two dead-end teams, Dave Bresnahan, then a 25-year old, .149-hitting, double-A backup catcher in the Indians' system, tried to pick off a runner at third - by throwing a potato into leftfield. When the runner, Reading Phillie Rick Lundblade, ran home on the "overthrow," Bresnahan tagged him out with the actual baseball.

The ruse was quickly sniffed out, and Lundblade was awarded a run. Bresnahan was fined $50 and released the next day.

Last Saturday, the team commemorated the moment by handing out Dave Bresnahan bobbleheads, complete with potato in hand. Bresnahan was in attendance to help recreate the play that got him trouble but made everyone laugh too.

Maybe ARod should have been fined $50. and released, too. :D Is this a great story or what?

Fun stuff, sounds more like 1887. What happened to Bresnahan , did that end his career?

[backwardsk]

Fun stuff, sounds more like 1887. What happened to Bresnahan , did that end his career?

Actually, you're not too far off. He is the grandnephew of HOFer Roger Bresnahan, who played at the turn of the century...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowman_Field_%28stadium%29

[backwardsk]

In a similar incident, I remember a college team (I think University of Miami) did a pick of play at first. The pitcher threw over to the first baseman. He fell down as if he was lunging for the throw, and in unison, the whole bench pointed at the rightfield foul line fence. The rightfielder and second baseman raced to the fence, and the first baseman got up and took a few strides as well. As the runner got up and ran to second, the firstbaseman turned around and flipped the ball to the shortstop for the pick off.

This must have been 15-20 years ago.

[Leitch]

This is genius.

That man should have been awarded a huge sum of money for his brilliance, not fined for the baserunner's inability to determine which is a potato and which is a baseball