He's got a little history

I did not link to the Post-Crescent game story in the Midwest League Action post below, because I thought that Ryan Wilson's article deserved a stand alone post -- and this will probably bring up and issue or two with the Prodigal Beat Writer. But, there are neat facts in there that don't deserve getting lost in the mix. Like:

Dee Gordon was playing for the visiting Great Lakes Loons, but he certainly felt as though he was back in familiar territory Thursday.

The Loons' shortstop and leadoff hitter no doubt heard of Appleton growing up. His father, major league relief pitcher Tom Gordon, began his career with the Appleton Foxes.

"He just said (Appleton) was a nice place to play," said Dee Gordon, whose team beat Wisconsin 9-6 at Fox Cities Stadium. "He met a lot of nice people out here, and he just told me it would be a really nice place to play when I came here."

Tom "Flash" Gordon was drafted in the sixth round of the 1986 draft by the Kansas City Royals, who would be the parent club of the Foxes by the next season. Gordon pitched for Appleton in 1988 and had a 7-5 record with a 2.06 ERA before moving up to Double-A Memphis, and eventually, the major league Royals by the end of that same season.

Also, Matt Wallach of the Loons is the son of former major leaguer Tim* Wallach.

I want to say that I had both Tom Gordon and Tim* Wallach on my fantasy baseball team ... it was still called Rotisserie baseball in those days... back in college. I'll need to dig through my records to confirm that fact.

*-I put Eli here originally. Good DiMaggio, once those Chris Berman nicknames are in your head, you just can't get rid of them.