It looks like the Boston Red Sox have a real life version of Rube Baker.
For those of you who don't know who Rube Baker is, let me explain.
Rube Baker is a fictional character from the hit movie, Major League II. Ok, 'hit movie' may be a bit of a stretch because it'll never be as famous as the original Major League but the sequel was pretty damn good in and of itself.
Rube was a young catcher now under the watchful eye of new Indians assistant coach (and former catcher) Jake Taylor who was trying to help Rube become acclimated to the Major League game.
Part of becoming acclimated to the Major League was a simple task that Rube struggled mightily with throughout the movie -- throwing the ball back to the pitcher.
Jake works with him and eventually figures out that Rube's love of Playboy magazine and his ability to memorize the Playmates' biographies was the key to help Rube "focus" and be able to throw the ball back to the pitcher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDlUis3Ouy0
And although Rube was a fictional character, it appears the Boston Red Sox have their own real life version of Rube Baker.
Potential Red Sox starting catcher Blake Swihart's transition back behind the plate has been a tad bit rough to say the least. The 24-year-old was once a top catching prospect in Boston's system and started last season behind the plate before the club experimented with playing him in left field.
The team has chosen to move him back behind the plate for the 2017 season to compete for the starting job. One slight problem with the transition...
He can't throw the ball back cleanly to the pitcher.
https://twitter.com/CSNNE/status/832666355715313664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
To make matters worse -- that's Swihart airmailing the 2016 Cy Young award winner Rick Porcello.
Awkward.
Swihart doesn't seem to be too concerned about not being able to throw it back to the pitcher yet and claims his time in the outfield is the cause for him over throwing the pitcher.
"In the outfield you have a longer arm swing, a longer arm movement," Swihart told Drellich. "I'm just trying to shorten it back up. They are misfiring, but I'm not too worried about it. … The last time I caught was, what, the first six games of the season last year."Well Blake, seeing that the season starts in a little over a month you may want to try and get this figured out sooner rather than later. The 'yips' strike again.
