Tonight I'm going to see the Hillsboro Hops' last regular-season game (unless they make the Northwest League playoffs, which they might). But I'm recording the Mariners game, because I want to see Taijuan Walker's major-league debut. But, hark! There's yet another reason to watch the M's tonight! Take it away, Geoff Baker:
If you’re looking for reasons to watch the Mariners ...
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Not everyday will you see a pitcher-catcher battery like the one we're getting tonight. Henry Blanco turned 42 yeaterday and will catch Taijuan Walker tonight. Walker turned 21 a few weeks ago, making them 20 years and 341 days apart.
I thought that might be tough to beat, so I started plugging around. It didn't take me too long (20 minutes) to find a battery between a young Alex Fernandez and an old Carlton Fisk back in 1992 for the White Sox. By their birthdates, I have them at 21 years and 291 days of age difference. Give or take a day due to my Canadian math.
My favorite is the 32-year battery gap in this game, with 58-year-old Satchel Paige throwing to 26-year-old catcher Billy Bryan. But 21 years ... yeah, that’s pretty good.
Watch the kid pitch. Watch the old man (sort of) run. Mostly, though, just enjoy something we don’t get to see too often: a pitcher throwing to a catcher who could easily be his father.
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