Ow! My Spine!

Our first edition of Minor Enterprise — a preview of minor league baseball events and promotions — was somewhat incomplete, as it turns out. Our spies did not inform us that the Sioux Falls Canaries were planning on suiting up an 83-year-old player on Wednesday. Jim Eriotes, a Chicago native who is old enough to remember when all of the continents were joined as a single land mass, shocked all in attendance when he swung at three pitches and failed to burst into dust. He struck out in the at-bat against the St. Joe Blacksnakes, fouling off one of the pitches, then returning to the clubhouse on his Hoveround scooter.

We'll abstain from remarking on the wisdom of allowing an 83-year-old man to play professional baseball; we'll all have the chance to debate that when Roger Clemens reaches that age two years from now. Instead, we'll just be here thinking of "old" jokes. That's always fun.

83-Year-Old Sets Record in 5-3 Win [Sioux Falls Canaries] Minor Enterprise: Whacking Day In Dunedin, Fla. [Deadspin]

(UPDATE: The Dugout has a much funnier take on this than we do.)