Twins starter Jake Odorizzi is starting the season on the 10-day injured list with a back injury.
He added a bit of a twist to his throwing program today, though, when he decided to try and fire a ball from the field up into the Twins radio booth. That’s where Twins radio analyst Dan Gladden was waiting, standing on the desk and trying to lean out the window to catch throws, all while play-by-play man Cory Provus was doing a pregame hit on the air.
Via engineer Kyle Hammer:
While @CoryProvus was on the air on @TwinsRadio, @JakeOdorizzi playing catch with Danny! pic.twitter.com/HzaUFP1d1M
— Kyle Hammer (@9hammertime) July 26, 2020
That seems unsafe, but the visual is incredible. Gladden apparently has a history of doing things like this, too:
We may be in a new, and temporary, booth here at Target Field for 2020, but this game of long toss from field to booth is nothing new. This is a tradition that goes back a few years, but it was @kgib44 that would chuck ‘em up here. First time it’s ever happened “in-game” though.
— Kyle Hammer (@9hammertime) July 26, 2020
Very few know the story of Danny at Tropicana from a few years ago… THAT was an OSHA violation. This was nothing.
— Kyle Hammer (@9hammertime) July 26, 2020
And, finally, the ball’s resting place:
Where the ball ended up… Nestled into a soft spot in the top drawer of my equipment case. Nice toss @JakeOdorizzi!!! pic.twitter.com/lOtrtqv2xF
— Kyle Hammer (@9hammertime) July 26, 2020
More pregame antics should include firing baseballs up into broadcast booths from the field. And, hey, based on that evidence, Odorizzi’s back injury looks to be on the mend.
