Oil Can Boyd Wants to Make a Comeback

by Charlie Wilmoth on Feb 16, 2009 5:13 PM EST

I think this would be awesome. Oil Can is 49, he's been retired from the majors since 1991, and he's a tremendously entertaining player:

When a Red Sox game was postponed due to fog – in Cleveland – it was the Can who said, "That's what you get for building a ballpark on the ocean." It was the Can who was not allowed to leave spring training in Winter Haven until he returned some overdue adult movies, which he eventually did, but not before one member of the Red Sox family, in the greatest line ever, called the incident The Can Film Festival.

I'm pretty sure Boyd was the first player I ever saw throw an eephus pitch, too, which I thought was awesome because it was probably the one thing that happened on a baseball field that I could have actually done. If I had played baseball, the eephus pitch and the hidden ball trick would have been my entire game. I wish more pitchers would throw the eephus, if only because it generates extremely entertaining results. I can't find video of Boyd throwing one, but here's Kaz Tadano (who, incidentally, might have entered the Can Film Festival if it'd happened a couple decades later) throwing one:

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He may not have pitched in the majors since '91...

…but he did sign as a replacement player during the strike in ’95 (Link).

He’s a funny guy, and I’d love to see him get a look in camp.

by Vlad on Feb 16, 2009 7:03 PM EST reply actions

Also...

…Tadano is totally my favorite Ham Fighter.

by Vlad on Feb 16, 2009 7:08 PM EST reply actions

It was really interesting to see how Kazuhito Tadano was welcomed

back to Japan/NPB with open arms after doing his penance in the U.S. following an appearance or two in some gay porn vids. Even though he was a top college pitcher in Japan, not one team pursued him in their amateur draft several years ago, so he ended up signing with the Indians.

As far as Hideki Matsui’s porn collection goes, he supposedly had one helluva collection a few years back, but I don’t know if his new wifey allows him to use it anymore. I heard that the Yomiuri Giants wouldn’t allow Matsui to date in his early years with the team because they wanted him to concentrate solely on baseball.

It was said that Matsui had a big interest in what are called “no pan shabu-shabu” places. “No pan” means no panty as in the waitresses not wearing any, and “shabu-shabu” is a dish of thinly sliced beef that you swish through the water in a big hot plate in front of you at your table before eating.(Shabu-shabu is supposed to be the sound the meat makes in the water-according to Japanese ears.)

So when the waitresses bring the food to your table and bend over to put stuff in its proper place, you can get quite an eyeful. I don’t want to say much more because this is Charlie’s baseball site, but I will finish by saying that Tokyo can be entertainment heaven for Japanese men, and it can be a helluva a good time for gaijin-especially if you stay long enough to learn some communication skills.

Matsui always struck me as a rather strange character when he was in Japan, but I have to say I like him somewhat more since he moved to the U.S. I think getting out of Japan and living his own life has been good for him.

by patthatt on Feb 16, 2009 10:05 PM EST up reply actions

I like shabu-shabu a lot, but I’ve never had the no pan variety. It’s just one of those things about other cultures I suppose I’ll never understand, although I guess it’s no weirder than, say, Hooters.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Feb 16, 2009 10:25 PM EST up reply actions

Is everyone in Japan

named Kaz, or just the baseball players? I used to work with a guy we called that, but his last name was Casazza.

by bucdaddy on Feb 17, 2009 10:43 AM EST up reply actions

Not everybody, but it's pretty common.

Part of the reason is that one of the more typical ways of writing Kazuo means “first son”, which is a situation that comes up a lot. Just like there are a lot of Swedes named “Johansson”, since there are a lot of Johans there, and most of them have kids.

by Vlad on Feb 17, 2009 11:35 AM EST up reply actions

Vlad

You never cease to amaze me with your baseball knowledge.

It is a lot of fun to study about baseball in Japan. I’m not sure where the game is going there, though, what with the low birthrate, the increasing popularity of soccer and other “faster” sports etc., but you know that one way or the other the Japanese will always do their best to be among the world’s best at baseball.

Just watch how seriously they will take the WBC once again. (Reportedly, some 40,000 people showed up to watch the team’s first day of practice in Japan the other day.)

I won’t be commenting very much on baseball in Japan because I don’t live there anymore.

As a matter of fact, I will be moving to Germany in a couple of days, so I won’t be checking in here for a while, but I look forward to following the regular season with almost everyone at BucsDugout.

by patthatt on Feb 17, 2009 6:42 PM EST up reply actions

Have a safe trip.

I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.

by Chester J Lampwick on Feb 17, 2009 7:02 PM EST up reply actions

Where in Germany are you moving?

by Charlie Wilmoth on Feb 17, 2009 7:30 PM EST up reply actions

Karlsruhe

I’m planning to stay at least a year.

If you go over for another music festival, tell me.

by patthatt on Feb 17, 2009 8:45 PM EST up reply actions

That’s cool. I’ve not stopped there, but I believe I’ve been through there on the train (to Stuttgart), and several friends have studied at the school there. I’ve also spent several weeks in Darmstadt, which is nearby. Is it still called Swabia that far east? I like the rolled up meat-pierogie things they eat there. Which is probably the only thing I like eating there when I’m not having Turkish food.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Feb 17, 2009 11:04 PM EST up reply actions