Showcasing Al, Then Having A Cow
New York-Penn League games are rarely played in the presence of Hall of Famers, but that was the case in Norwich, CT on Monday. None other than Al Kaline visited Dodd Stadium, and he had good reason to do so.
His grandson, Colin, plays second base for the hometown Connecticut Tigers.
Putting a new twist on the term “Al Kaline Battery,” Al threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch. Colin was on the receiving end.
Prior to this high-arced ceremonial offering (a perfect strike, by all accounts), Al set up shop on the concourse and signed just about everything placed in front of him.
His signature graced the playing field as well, though I don’t think a blue sharpie was the instrument of choice.
In a press release issued yesterday, the C-Tigers reported that the night was a “booming success.” Sez the team:
Al Kaline had the opportunity to watch his grandson reach base twice and score twice as part of the Tigers 10-0 drubbing of the Lowell Spinners. So, by the end of the night, the lucky fans in the building not only had a chance to see a living legend in person, but also got to see a big Tigers win.
That’s all well and good, but I’ve got to take issue with the press release’s use of the word “booming.” When you’re the Tigers, all your successes should be categorized as “roaring.””Booming” successes are better suited to the Lake Elsinore Storm, Trenton Thunder, and, of course, Nashville Sounds.
Al Kaline Night happened two nights ago, but now I’d like to transition to an “udderly” successful event that was held two months ago: The Visalia Rawhide’s annual pre-game Cow Milking Contest.
From the NYPL to nipples, here we go:
(credit for all cow milking photos: Chris Henstra/Visalia Rawhide)
Adam Eaton of the Bovine Bombers executes a squeeze play
The team issued an excellent press release synopsis of the event, packed with photos and descriptive detail. (My apologies for taking so long to get around to it. Better late than never, right?) Sez the team:
The cow milking event started out as a normal tag-team contest among Rawhide players: the “Latin Mafia” team (made up of Christian Beltre, Yonata Ortega, Diogenes Rosario, Victor Capellan, and California League All-Star catcher Rossmel Perez) vs. the “Bovine Bombers” (formed by Ryan LaPensee, Brian Budrow, Kevin Munson, Raul Torrez, and California League All-Star outfielder Adam Eaton).
The Bovine Bombers did their homework, and admitted to researching cow milking techniques to prepare for the competition, but they were still no match for the Latin Mafia.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
Upon the conclusion of the Rawhide team’s competition, two Bakersfield Blaze players (Frank Pfister and Curtis Partch) sauntered out of the dugout in old west chaps, and challenged the Latin Mafia to a milk-off.
Frank Pfister and Curtis Partch, two old chaps
It was a good showdown, but again the Latin Mafia prevailed, forcing their challengers to drink the warm milk only minutes before game time.
Credit for this, and all, cow milking photos: Chris Henstra/Visalia Rawhide
Thus closed another fine milk-off battle in Wild West Visalia.
And thus closes this, the latest and therefore greatest installment of the never-ending Biz Blog saga. Thanks, as always, for reading. And please — tell a friend.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
Ben's Biz Blog 
The Al Kaline thing is great. Considering the NYPL Tigers went from a team without alcohol sales and no website in Oneonta two years ago to having Al Kaline’s signature on the field in Norwich, that’s a pretty major step up.
Now the cow promotion….wow (pow. how?) I’ve seen live cows at the games in Burlington, and was totally OK with the Visalia event….until I saw those Blaze guys drinking fresh milk. Somebody needs to tell them it’s 2011. Gross.
Ben – Did you wait to do the cow milking story until you also featured the New York-Penn League – just so you could use the pun “NYPL to nipple?” Great pun – it was worth the wait . . .
I’d like to take credit for thinking that far ahead, but it was just one of those happy punning coincidences. I was overjoyed when I thought of it, and wanted to use it as the post headline but thought it might come across a little too weird.
Warm Milk that is gross! & right before the game!
My prediction is that warm milk will soon overtake Gatorade. There will be jugs of it in every Minor League clubhouse, with cows kept out back so that the supply never runs out.