After another painful loss to the Cardinals – and the Cubs’ fourth ugly loss in a row – we could all use a little cheering up this morning.
So, how about remembering the 2003 Chicago Cubs team? No, not the painful ending (geez, everything comes back to pain with this team … ), but the fantastically fun regular season when a young team surprised and made the playoffs. A 27-year-old beast of a reliever named Kyle Farnsworth was a part of that team, posting a 3.30 ERA in critical spots, and accumulating an impressive WAR total for a reliever (1.2).
At 6’4″ and stacked, Farnsworth often looked more like a football player than a baseball player.
You know, like when he executed a perfect tackle on silly, silly Cincinnati Reds pitcher Paul Wilson:
From there, his future as a defensive football player – say, a lineman – was cemented. It just took 12 years to get there.
That’s because, now 39, Farnsworth is a defensive lineman for the Orlando Phantoms in the Florida Football Alliance (Tampa Bay Times, h/t Cut4). That’s just awesome.
The gray in his beard doesn’t make me fear him any less:
Kyle Farnsworth is now an All-Star defensive lineman on a semi-pro football team. Seriously: http://t.co/7etjRbRCJf pic.twitter.com/RbsuZRVUF9
— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 6, 2015