At the top of March, Spring Training kicked off in a way that could best be described as “humdrum.” With unsung players taking the field, fans of the game let it be known that without the stars, the sport wasn’t worth their time. On March 2nd, a total of five spring training games took place in Florida. Of those five contests, none of them drew 700 fans, which, for reference, meant that only about one-tenth of the usual spring crowd around this time opted to attend the exhibition games. One of those five ballgames was a showdown in Bradenton, FL, between the Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates. About 685 fans were in attendance to watch a blend of no-name minor leaguers and replacement players. During the action, 35-year-old Pirates reliever Jimmy Boudreau, son of Hall of Fame shortstop Lou Boudreau, participated in the practice event and, sadly, epitomized the “spring training with makeshifts” experience in one particular action. While heading over to third to back up the base on a play, Boudreau, who, from 1982-86, attempted to reach the Majors but never made it beyond AA, ran over Minnesota’s third base coach, Ron Gardenhire. Gardenhire, who, unlike Boudreau, played in the Majors, appearing in 285 games, left the ballpark that day with a torn Achilles tendon from the collision. “It was a real sad day in the history of baseball,” said Pittsburgh’s coach, Jim Leyland, after the embarrassing game. “It was awkward…it was a tough day.”
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