09 Nov

scene it

Caught a portion of the classic movie “Field of Dreams” while channel surfing today. Just happened to be what is probably the most spell-binding scene, the one in which Ray takes Terrance Mann to Fenway Park and “Moonlight” Graham’s career stats pop up on the scoreboard while The Voice says, “Go the distance.” What’s the Mississippi connection? The baseball nut can’t help but notice what’s going on in the game during the scene. The Oakland A’s are batting, Boston’s in the field. On the mound for the Red Sox: Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, the Meridian native and former Jackson State star. His delivery and follow-through are unmistakable. Boyd won 78 games in the big leagues, 16 for the pennant-winning 1986 BoSox. He was still pitching in independent ball into his late 40s. His nickname is one of the best of all-time. Still, in a way, his appearance in the background of a scene in “Field of Dreams” could be the neatest part of Boyd’s legacy.

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