A FishTail of 2 Cities?

I remember in 5th or 6th grade I got very sick and ended up missing about two weeks of school.  Because this was the 80s, things were a lot different than now to say the least.  One of my missed homework assignments was to tell a fish tale.  Ok, easy enough.  I ended up WRITING (anyone remember actually writing?) a story of how I went fishing with my grandfather off the Jersey Shore and how we caught a small bass and ended up cooking it that night.

Well, unknown to me due to another part of the assignment was to read a short story similar to the premise of A Boy Cried Wolf but it revolved around how this kid caught a fish and each time the fish grew larger and with each lie told, an actual fish was growing and eventually ate the boy and his family when they went to a lake.  

Weird? Yup

Morbid? Yup

Life lesson story telling for a 5th grader? Probably

Missed homework assignment? Yup

Lost context for my assignment? Absolutely

Encouraging 5th graders in the 80s to tell stories of lying? Priceless!

I bring this up because one of my favorite weeks of the year, Discovery Channel's Shark Week is FINishing up their new programming today.  

Among the programs that tied Into pop culture and unique programming this year we saw the casts of Jackass!, Stranger Things, David Dobrik, Tiffany Haddish, and even the stars of Sharknado appear in programs.  

We have seen clever titles like The Tiger Queen (focusing on all the female tiger sharks) and Ninja Sharks: Mutants Rising (focusing mostly on threshers) bring new shark species to the forefront of shark Week instead of just the Great White Shark overload from the past.  It has been an absolute blast seeing these programs that extend my interest in shark documentary processes other than just "here is a shark. It eats when hungry" that most people generally think that Shark Week is about.  

Sharks are not the man eaters that many people think they are.  

Fewer than 2 dozen fatalities occur each year globally from sharks.  There is a far greater chance to have a fatal car accident than to die from a shark attack. 

Since this is a baseball blog though let's take a look at how Cutch has faired over his career against a former shark.

Cole Hamels pitched for the Clearwater Threshers in 2004.  He was inducted to the Clearwater Wall of Fame in 2017.

In 31 plate appearances, Cutch has hit at a .333/.375/.500 triple slash line.  He has 1HR and 7 RBI.  

It is rumored that the Phillies were one of the teams interested in signing Cole Hamels after his recent workout in Texas.  Should Hamels sign with the Phillies, the former cross state rivals would be on a playoff contending team something that both men are familiar with.  

Do you think Cole Hamels will sign a major league deal before the trade deadline?  If so, what team do you think he ends up with?

Do you know of any other Shark named teams besides the NHL team from San Jose and the pair of minor league teams (Jupiter Hammerheads and Clearwater Threshers)?

A Fresh Faced Former Fish

The Philadelphia Phillies announced today that they are bringing up their top hitting prospect and MLB's #31 overall prospect, Alec Bohm, to make his debut today.

Bohm was the Phillies first round selection in the 2018 MLB Draft, when he was selected 3rd overall.

I only have a trio of Alec Bohm cards which I picked up at a local mall card show last year in a dime box.  

I typically don't look into dime boxes too much because they often require more work in searching than I have interest in.

This seller had his dime boxes grouped by year though and I was searching looking for some Pirates goodness to add to my collection.  

This card stood out because of the pink bat, which I was thinking "Hey that could be cool for an October post"

But when I saw more Bohm cards, "I was like what's the worse that happens? I give them to Brad? It's only a dime."

So I purchased all three

And coincidently, Alec Bohm, a former Clearwater Thresher is getting the call up for his MLB debut in the middle of Shark Week.

Coincidence?

I think not.  

With the Pirates season being a complete joke, I'm really pulling for the Phillies to make a good run into September and make a push for the playoffs.  Let's hope the other former sharks (Threshers) on the team can rally around Bohm.