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Catfish's Stew favorite enemy pitcher?
2007-02-20 17:11
by Bob Timmermann

The AP today has a story about a reliever in Florida's camp named Matt Lindstrom.

Matt Lindstrom must be the hardest-throwing, Swedish-speaking, former Mormon missionary in baseball.

.....

A fastball clocked last fall at 102 mph makes the rookie right-hander a strong candidate, and his missionary background could help, too. A native of Idaho, Lindstrom spent two years in Sweden, where he went door to door trying to spread the Mormon faith -- in Swedish -- with decidedly mixed results. He was once chastised by a 350-pound bus driver who said Mormons try to steal money.

In comparison, nursing a lead in the ninth inning might seem stress-free.

"There were some humbling times, that's for sure," Lindstrom said. "Swedish people aren't really adept at listening to people who want them to listen to a message about religion. They're blockheaded. I know, because I am one."

And as many of us on Baseball Toaster have learned from last year, one of Lindstrom's teammate will be Dan Uggla. And Uggla means "owl" in Swedish.

Comments
2007-02-20 17:24:22
1.   Ken Arneson
I never did finish that list of players whose names are words for animals in Swedish. The list was much longer than I thought it would be, even though I never completed it.
2007-02-20 17:28:48
2.   Juan Pierre
Hooray! strömming och kalops för envar!
2007-02-20 17:34:02
3.   Ken Arneson
Here's the partial list of the All-Time All-Swedish Animal Name Team (name is last name, unless otherwise specified)

P: Dan Haren (The Rabbit)
P: Chet Falk (Falcon)
P: Cy Falkenberg (Falcon Mountain)
P: Brian Falkenborg (Fort Falcon)
P: Herman Fink
P: Felipe Lira (Shearwater)
P: Joe Lake (Burbot)
P: Dick "Hummer" Drott (Hummer=Lobster)

C: Carlton Fisk (Fish)
C: Ray Katt (Cat)
C: Steve Lake

1B/OF: Val Pascucci (Val = Whale)
2B: Dan Uggla (Owl)
SS/2B/3B: Eddie Lake

OF: Val Majewski
OF/Manager: Bibb Falk

Manager: Fred Lake

2007-02-20 18:30:34
4.   Strike4
3 Majewski of Sweden? I wouldn't have guessed that an obvious Slavic name would count as Scandanavian.
2007-02-20 19:17:51
5.   Ken Arneson
4 It's "Val" that's a Swedish word, not Majewski. I didn't repeat it, because I made the point with Val Pascucci above.
2007-02-20 21:00:44
6.   das411
Didn't Matt Lindstrom raise the Cup in Detroit a few years back Ken?
2007-02-20 21:20:13
7.   Ken Arneson
6 You're probably thinking of Niklas Lidström.
2007-02-20 23:31:01
8.   Strike4
5, Oops. Jag har långsamt.
2007-02-21 15:57:33
9.   das411
Aha! Another hockey fan!!!

btw go Marlins...so long as you stop at second place.

Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.