York Revolution Invite 3-Foot-2-Inch Player to Camp

The late Bill Veeck was one of the most innovative minds in baseball during his time as an owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox. He routinely came up with new gimmicks to get people coming through the turnstiles at his ballparks, and he even came up with the idea of putting ivy on the walls at Wrigley Field while working there as a groundskeeper.

One of the things Veeck did that still stands out in the memories of baseball fans, though, is when he signed 3-foot-7-inch Eddie Gaedel to pinch-hit for the Browns back in 1951. Gaedel only had one MLB at bat in his career, and predictably, he drew a walk. Well, now it seems that the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League are following in Veeck's footsteps.

The York Revolution have signed nine players with major league experience for the 2009 season and invited one little person to try out.

Dave Flood, a 3-foot-2 radio personality from Florida, will join former major leaguer Danny Sandoval and the rest of the Revolution as a non-roster invitee Tuesday on the first day of camp.

"I had a tremendous amount of hesitation and caution," said [Revolution owner Peter] Kirk, whose ownership group operates four teams in the independent Atlantic League. "If it turns out to be viewed as a gimmick, I'd call the whole thing off."

I have no doubt that it will be viewed as a gimmick by many fans who may now buy tickets to a Revolution game to see Flood, but really, he could end up being useful for the team. There are plenty of times late in a ballgame when a team is down two runs and needs to get somebody on base, and having a three-foot tall pinch-hitter is a great way of getting him on base.

Now, I don't see this ever happening in the major leagues because I don't think any manager is going to keep a spot on his 25-man roster open for a pinch-hitter who will always need a pinch-runner, but in independent leagues like this one it works.

I hope Flood makes the team, and if he does, I hope he gets a chance to swing the bat one day and get himself a base hit.