The Boston Globe Online had a great article today about the crazy day that Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli had on Monday after the Red Sox re-acqired him from the San Diego Padres.
Some background: One of the Red Sox pitchers is Tim Wakefield, and he exclusively throws a knuckleball, which is one of the hardest pitches to catch because the ball does not spin and just floats all over the place. Mirabelli had been the backup catcher for the Sox for the past 4 years and was Wakefield’s personal catcher because he was so adept at catching the knuckleball. That was until he was traded last off season for second baseman Mark Loretta. The intent was for the Sox to have newly acquired catcher Josh Bard be Wakefield’s new catcher. That unfortunately did not work out and in a last minute deal, the Sox re-acquired Mirabelli on Monday so he could catch Wakefield’s start against the Yankees. He was literally flown across country and given a police escort in order to get to the game with about 10 minutes to spare before the first pitch.