But You Have to Like His OBP
Is Adam Greenberg the Moonlight Graham of the 21st century?
Fans of the movie Field of Dreams will remember Archibald "Moonlight" Graham as the character played, as a young man, by Frank Whaley and also, as a genial family physician, by Burt Lancaster. In the movie, Moonlight hits a sacrifice fly in what turns out to be his only big league at-bat. Soon thereafter, he leaves the ghostly confines of the Field of Dreams to tend to Kevin Costner's daughter, who has fallen and is choking on a hot dog. As he steps from the field, he changes from Frank Whaley the youthful ballplayer to Burt Lancaster the older doctor. Dr. Moonlight saves the girl, and all is well -- until everyone realizes that he cannot go back to his youthful self. It's off to Cornfield Heaven for Burt/Moonlight.
The real-life Moonlight Graham also played in just one major league game, on June 29, 1905, for the New York Giants. He entered the game as a late-inning replacement, but, unlike his fictional counterpart, he did not get a chance to bat. When the game ended, his major league career was over. Thanks to the W.P. Kinsella novel Shoeless Joe as well as Field of Dreams, however, one hundred years later Moonlight Graham is better known than any of his Giant teammates, with the possible exceptions of Christy Mathewson and John McGraw.
So back to Adam Greenberg. Here are his career numbers to date. Greenberg, a 24-year-old outfielder for the Cubs, made his major league debut on July 9 of this year. On the first pitch of his first at-bat, he got hit in the head. He left the game and did not return to the Cubs lineup the rest of the year. This week, the Cubs sent Greenberg back to the minor leagues.
Wait a minute. The Cubs' AAA team is in Iowa. The Field of Dreams is in Iowa. Coincidence???
Fans of the movie Field of Dreams will remember Archibald "Moonlight" Graham as the character played, as a young man, by Frank Whaley and also, as a genial family physician, by Burt Lancaster. In the movie, Moonlight hits a sacrifice fly in what turns out to be his only big league at-bat. Soon thereafter, he leaves the ghostly confines of the Field of Dreams to tend to Kevin Costner's daughter, who has fallen and is choking on a hot dog. As he steps from the field, he changes from Frank Whaley the youthful ballplayer to Burt Lancaster the older doctor. Dr. Moonlight saves the girl, and all is well -- until everyone realizes that he cannot go back to his youthful self. It's off to Cornfield Heaven for Burt/Moonlight.
The real-life Moonlight Graham also played in just one major league game, on June 29, 1905, for the New York Giants. He entered the game as a late-inning replacement, but, unlike his fictional counterpart, he did not get a chance to bat. When the game ended, his major league career was over. Thanks to the W.P. Kinsella novel Shoeless Joe as well as Field of Dreams, however, one hundred years later Moonlight Graham is better known than any of his Giant teammates, with the possible exceptions of Christy Mathewson and John McGraw.
So back to Adam Greenberg. Here are his career numbers to date. Greenberg, a 24-year-old outfielder for the Cubs, made his major league debut on July 9 of this year. On the first pitch of his first at-bat, he got hit in the head. He left the game and did not return to the Cubs lineup the rest of the year. This week, the Cubs sent Greenberg back to the minor leagues.
Wait a minute. The Cubs' AAA team is in Iowa. The Field of Dreams is in Iowa. Coincidence???
posted by FCB at 4:58 PM
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