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THE TWITCH
Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as David Ortiz hates dugout phones.
Via MLB.com
Let’s dive in.
Today’s story is about a crippling medical condition and a miraculous big league comeback.
The Minnesota Twins picked up Jim Eisenreich in the 16th round of the 1980 MLB Draft.
Pretty much out of the gate, he was tearing shit up.
Over the course of his first two seasons in the minors, Jim hit .307 and .311 while playing in Rookie and Class A ball.
Unfortunately, Jim had a big challenge on his hands.
He’d been struggling with Tourette’s Syndrome since he was a kid, and the condition would cause his face to tic, jerk, or make him clear his throat uncontrollably.
At the time, no one could tell him what was.
Fast forward to ‘82, Jim gets called up to the big leagues with the Twins, and early on he was hitting a solid .324; it looked like he was on the fast track to stardom.
But by the end of April, things started spiraling as the Tourette’s got worse.
Eisenreich began a string of five consecutive games in which he pulled himself out of the lineup early due to “twitches and facial grimaces.”
Despite his struggles, he managed to keep performing at the plate.
Until this game at Fenway.
A newspaper had run a story about Jim's struggles, and the Boston fans decided to shower him in a symphony of boos to get him rattled - which only worsened his anxiety.
Eventually, it all got to be too much, and Jim decided to take a break from baseball to figure out what was going on with his condition.
Between ‘83-’87, Jim worked as a part-time painter, in an archery shop, and played semipro ball with the St. Paul Saints.
Then, out of the blue, a former teammate from St. Cloud State gave the Royals a nudge and told them about Jim.
The Royals invited him to their camp in '87 as a non-roster player after buying his rights from the Twins for less than extra guac at Chipotle.
Literally. They acquired Jim for the waiver price of $1.
Finally, in ‘87, Jim made his big comeback to affiliated baseball and got the real diagnosis – it was Tourette's Syndrome all along.
Despite the media (and his own doctor) disagreeing with the new diagnosis, Jim felt confident for the first time and was ready to show out.
He started the season with Memphis and batted .382 with 11 home runs and a league-leading 10 triples.
Then on June 22nd, more than three years since his last MLB appearance - Jim debuted with the Royals.
From ‘87 to ‘92, he played well for Kansas City.
In ‘93, Jim joined the Phillies and became a major player on their pennant-winning squad.
He batted a cool .318 for the '93 Phils and stuck around with them for another 3 seasons, even though the team wasn't exactly setting the world on fire.
In 1997, at the ripe old age of 37, Jim signed with the Florida Marlins and helped them win a World Series.
Via the New York Times
He was actually on second base when Renteria hit that Game 7 walk-off single.
Jim wrapped up his MLB career in L.A. with the Dodger and he hung ‘em up after the ‘98 season.
In retirement, he and his wife started the Jim Eisenreich Foundation for Children with Tourette Syndrome with a goal of helping every child dealing with Tourette's achieve their dreams - just like Jim did.
ONE QUICK QUESTION
This one might get some people riled up.
Who would you rather have on the mound in their prime?
— Shit Bsb Players Say (@ShitBsbPlyrsSay)
10:49 PM • Sep 27, 2023
STRANGE NAMES
If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.
Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.
If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.
Today's winner is:
I’ve never heard of someone shortening Simon to “Si”, but hey, there’s a first time for everything.
Dude looks like he went to the coal mines in his baseball uniform.
All jokes aside, Si was a terrible baseball player, but he had other talents.
Pauxtis was also a college football coach and a member of the Electoral College for the 1916 Presidential Election.
THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE
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