Johan Santana trade

December 4, 2007

[Johan Santana poses with a wiffleball] Looks like another Minnesota Twins star will be leaving town. Two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, Johan Santana may soon be a member of the Boston Red Sox, where he will strengthen what many already consider to be baseball’s best starting rotation.

MLW was fortunate enough to meet with Santana on several occasions, and we quickly learned that he was the biggest fan of wiffleball on the Twins, by far. In an MLW photo with former Twins shortstop Juan Castro, Santana wouldn’t even allow Castro to hold the wiffleball. Instead, he let Castro touch the wiffleball with his index finger while Santana held it. Santana asked to keep the wiffleball after the photo was taken. Of course we said, “Yes.”

A photograph of Santana playing wiffleball with his daughter (using the official MLW ball) in the Metrodome was published in the 2006 Twins official team yearbook.

MLW was so ecstatic by Santana’s interest in wiffleball, that in 2006, Commissioner Shaun Breen renamed the MLW “Cy Young Award” to the “Johan Santana Award”.

Both the Twins and Red Sox spring train in Fort Myers, Florida, so if the trade does go through, Santana’s MLB spring training destination will be the same in mid-February when pitchers and catchers report.

We wish Johan the best of luck, wherever he ends up.

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Good Luck Torii Hunter

November 24, 2007

It’s no secret that the founders of Major League Wiffleball are fans of the Minnesota Twins. So we were all saddened to hear that Torii Hunter will not be back with the Twins next year, and instead will be playing center field for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Torii was one of the reasons many of the core MLW players started following the Twins back in 1999. Former Gold Glove first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who left the Twins several years ago, was the other.

Oddly enough, Hunter will be patrolling center field in the Metrodome at the Twins’ home opener this year. The Twins begin the 2008 season at home against Hunter’s new team, the Angels.

We’d like to thank Torii for having a great, friendly attitude when he met with us, and for posing for a photo for this site. We at Major League Wiffleball wish Torii the best of luck in the future.

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The Last Goodnight and Josh Hoge

November 23, 2007

MLW Staff caught-up with musicians “The Last Goodnight” (left) and Josh Hoge (below) at Revolution Hall in Troy, NY on Black Friday. It was one of the last stops on their tour, which ends in Washington, D.C. on November 26th. They were all kind enough to pose for photos holding a wiffleball after the concert.

“The Last Goodnight” is most recently known for their hit song “Pictures of You”.
Download “Pictures of You” on iTunes.

We discovered that Josh Hoge is a huge wiffleball fan. When he was younger, he built his own wiffleball field at his home in Tennessee. He even offered to autograph this wiffleball after the photo was taken.
Josh’s hit song “360″ is available for download on iTunes.

“The Last Goodnight” and Josh Hoge were the opening acts for former “American Idol” contestant Elliott Yamin. Yamin finished in third-place in season five of the hit show.

For more about “The Last Goodnight”, visit www.thelastgoodnight.net, and for more information on Josh Hoge, please visit www.joshhoge.com.

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Gabe Saporta and Sherwood

November 3, 2007

MLW met with Gabe Saporta (left), lead singer of “Cobra Starship”, after a concert in Poughkeepsie, NY. “Cobra Starship” is probably best known for their song “Bring It”, which was included on the soundtrack of the 2006 action film “Snakes on a Plane”.
Download the “Snakes on a Plane” soundtrack from iTunes.

Gabe even signed the wiffleball before the photo was taken. He was able to take advantage of the holes in the wiffleball by signing his name around them using all lowercase letters (gabe). We definitely appreciate his creativity, and the wiffleball has quickly become one of our favorite items of MLW memorabilia.

For more information on Gabe Saporta, and “Cobra Starship”, visit www.cobrastarship.com, or check them out on iTunes.

We also met with the band “Sherwood” (right) after the concert. They were also kind enough to pose for a photo holding a wiffleball.