So Oil Can Boyd wants to make a comeback. It’s quite shocking that he’s only 45, I really do think of him as belonging to another era completely, forgetting that he retired at the tender age of 31. Clearly he loves Massachusetts: last team he pitched for was Lynn, pitched in an exhibition game in Cambridge last summer, and now he’s trying out for Brockton.
Here’s a good report on his exhibition game:
When [a] fan politely asked Oil Can to add his John Hancock to the [old Fenway Park] seats, the Can replied, “Brother, let me get three up and three down and I’ll come right back and sign your chair.” What a fabulous response. Sure enough, the Can (who still throws pretty well for his age) sat down the opposing team, came back to the dugout, and signed the chairs.
Incidentally, “Oil Can” is a great nickname, and the Can’s Film Festival (when Boyd racked up hundreds of dollars of late fees for porn movies during spring training) is one of my favourite bits of baseball lore.