| Grant Balfour has a terrible name for a
pitcher. About the only good thing about his last name is that it
only features one L. He definitely has the worst name for a pitcher
since Bob
Walk retired in 1993. Only time will tell if Balfour can harness
his control and change his nickname from "Hopefully an Oxymoron" to
"Definitely an Oxymoron". I'll be cheering for him all the way.
As the youngest member of the bullpen, Balfour is forced to drag
out the "goodies" for the rest of the pitchers. He stores the
sunflower seeds, bubble gum and pumpkin seeds in a Barbie backpack.
Earlier this year, he was allowed to use a red wagon but it was
deemed bad luck. At first, he kept the backpack hidden, but it
was eventually spotted by cameras. Now, he has no shame about
walking out to the bullpen lugging the backpack. The picture
in the top left was taken in Baltimore where he was caught in the
middle of centerfield with the backpack when they sang the National
Anthem.
Besides being the subject of a funny prank, Balfour has some
serious gas on his pitches. He is averaging 10.3 strikeouts
per inning this season. In his past thirteen innings, he has
struck out 18 batters and has a 1.38 ERA. He is quickly
becoming a third reliable right-handed arm in the bullpen for Ron
Gardenhire.
Balfour's name has been mentioned in trade rumors frequently.
He is developing into a very valuable player and the Twins should
hold onto him. I think that next year he can be a viable fifth
starter, but I am more than willing to let him continue to dominate
in the bullpen for now.
Finally, Balfour is the lone Australian currently on the Twins
roster despite their big influence in the country. His
favorite movie, believe it or not, is "Crocodile Dundee". His
father works as an agent and represents several other players within
the Twins organization.
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