Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
January 05, 2005
Candy Alley

I saw this over at Baseball Primer; Tom Candiotti is bowling with the pros.

Valley resident and flutterball specialist Tom Candiotti, who played 15 major league seasons with Milwaukee, Cleveland, Toronto, Los Angeles and Oakland, has been added to the field of 64 on a special Commissioner's Exemption.

"I'm a two-sport athlete now. Look out, Bo Jackson." said Candiotti, adding that his knuckler won't be in use. "No, this is one of those sports where you have to put spin on the ball rather than taking it off. The thing about bowling is that when I make a bad shot the ball doesn't come flying back at me at 100 mph."

Tom and I worked together on Baseball Tonight On-line for ESPN during the 2001 season and I really enjoyed his commentary. He notes the similarities between bowling and pitching:

He qualified for the Tucson event by obtaining his PBA card (carrying a 200 average in a sanctioned league for a complete season). Candiotti said pitching and bowling are worlds apart, but there are certain concepts that carry over.

"In pitching, in order to throw the ball where you want, inside or outside or where you want to throw it for the majority of time, you have to have solid mechanics and a very repetitive delivery. Bowling is almost the same thing.

My dad's best friend growing up was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher but blew his arm out throwing too many curve balls at a young age. However, he did go on to be a great league bowler. Maybe someone should start a new specialty league; the Major League Pitcher's Pro Bowling Tour (MLPPBT). It'd be a great way for these guys to stay in the public eye after they retire. Who wouldn't want to see Roger Clemens facing Randy Johnson on the lanes?


Posted by David Pinto at 10:53 AM | Pitchers | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I can't imagine watching 2 human beings bowl.

Posted by: Al at January 5, 2005 11:57 AM

David, I was thrilled to attend a number of Senior League (Baseball) games during its brief tenure in Florida. I still think the league was a great idea, just not well run at the time.

Posted by: Ed Zipper at January 5, 2005 01:52 PM

Isn't there an active MLB pitcher who's quite a proficient bowler? I seem to recall a story somewhere about it. It was kind of like those "Jack McDowell plays rock guitar in a band, too!" breathless articles we used to see from sportswriters who have difficulty conceiving of any life outside sports.

Posted by: Linkmeister at January 5, 2005 04:57 PM

I believe you are refering to John Burkett. From what I remember, he has bowled a perfect game.

Posted by: David Pinto at January 5, 2005 05:05 PM

Burkett was actually on the PBA tour for a while.

Posted by: Ryan at January 5, 2005 06:07 PM

Didn't we see Randy Johnson bowl a perfect game on that Nike commercial?

Posted by: Chris Marcil at January 6, 2005 12:50 AM

Yeah, Burkett sounds right. Thanks, y'all.

Posted by: Linkmeister at January 6, 2005 02:49 AM

Earl Anthony, a legit candidate for best bowler ever, was a promising left-handed pitcher before an ankle injury ended his baseball ambitions. The ankle didn't stop him from winning 41 PBA titles, though.

Posted by: Casey Abell at January 6, 2005 09:39 AM

david -

it's interesting that you think bowling is sorta like pitching -

i wrote a blog entry
www.astros.mostvaluablenetwork.com/index.php?p=90

on that very subject

Posted by: lisa gray at January 8, 2005 05:09 PM
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