Last night when Andruw Jones popped up and struck out in his last two at-bats, Ranger skipper had some nice words to say about him (emphasis mine):
"I saw Kirby Puckett do some great stuff. I saw Dave Engle do some great stuff. Matter fact, I saw Mickey Hatcher get nine hits in a row — nine straight in three straight days,"
LOL, Whut??
Dave Engle?
I’m familiar with Engle, a backup catcher/utility man, who lasted nine years despite not really doing a whole lot. He had a couple 400+ at bat years and actually made the All-Star team in 1984 (here’s an actual scan of Toledo Blade article proving it) but after he left Minnesota in ‘85, he bounced from team to team not even garnering 100 at-bats.
But I wasn’t aware of Engle doing anything newsworthy (other than being the brother-in-law of then fellow Twin Tom Brunansky)… something that we would remember over 20 years later. Nope, doesn’t ring a bell.
He did go on to become a hitting coach in the majors to once again prove that those cannot do, teach. Except that he didn’t do that very well either and got fired.
So if anyone knows the answer to the mystery, speak up. I’m dying to know.