Hens Say No To Another 'Lefty'
PGA Star Phil Mickelson gets Triple-A tryout.

Jonathan Roybal
MinorLeagueNews.com

09.01.03 -- Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Jim Thorpe, and Phil Mickelson?

In the hopes of joining the elite 2-sport athlete fraternity, pro golfer Phil Mickelson got a try-out with the Toledo Mud Hens pitching staff, on Friday, August 29.

"This is a lifetime dream of mine and I'm extremely grateful to the Toledo and Detroit organizations for giving me the chance to live it," said Mickelson, who has 21 PGA Tour victories and is ranked No. 10 in the world of professional golf. "I know which sport is mine, but I just could not pass on this opportunity. I've got nothing but the utmost respect for the players at this level and I'm humbled to be a part of it even for a day or two."

Unfortunately for 'Lefty', who ironically is a right-handed pitcher, his dream to land a one-time-only spot with the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tiger will have to wait until next season.

The Detroit Tigers have decided not to offer a minor league contract to Mickelson. (I can already hear "Apparently he's as good in the minors as he is in the majors" coming out of Jay Leno's mouth...)

"He did have a very good curveball and had a very good split," admitted Mud Hens pitching coach Jeff Jones. "The velocity was not what you would see at this level, but I think if he would locate his pitches he would get some people out."

Mickelson concedes that he needs to add some mustard to his fastball in order to compete at this level.

"I am certainly disappointed but I completely understand and respect the decision," Mickelson said, adding that he routinely throws a baseball as part of his workout program. "If I can get my speed to 85 mph or above consistently, I wouldn't rule out trying this again in the future. That would be the benchmark."

"For him to even come out and try what he did today shows supreme confidence in himself as an athlete," said Toledo manager Larry Parrish. "He really put himself in a tough situation, and I thought he handled it well - and handled it with a lot of class."

Even the bigwigs in the Tiger's front office sat up and took notice of Lefty's tryout.

"We appreciate his competitive efforts and also appreciate the first class manner in which he has handled himself," Detroit Assistant General Manager Al Avila said.

Despite not making the club, Mickelson did get to contribute to one game, the golf game of manager Larry Parrish.

"The first thing he did [when we met in the office] was pull out an iron," Mickelson said.

The manager was unapologetic, though. "Hey, when you've got him here you've got to use him," Parrish replied.