Hello, people.
Welcome back to our adventure!
Day 22 is here, and even though no one will ever confuse yours truly with the late, great Nicolaus Copernicus, that means we’ve got just three weeks and a day left to go! (But hey, just check my math to be sure!!)
Anyway, feels like we joke around a lot on here, and why not? Whatever it takes to get through, right?
That said, how funny is it when those who have earned fame in multiple arenas are somehow recognized for the less prominent one?
What do I mean? Try this one on for size:
How about first-ballot, Hall-of-Fame baseball pitcher Jim Palmer being recognized on the street. Yeah, not for his baseball prowess, but for his decade+ of modeling underwear for Jockey. From 1977-1988, Palmer was the poster boy for the popular product.
I saw a talk show once many years ago when an especially entertaining Palmer recounted being stopped by a woman on the street, who was convinced that she had seen him before.
Before Palmer could tell her that he was a former Major League Baseball player, the woman immediately became star struck, remembering (according to Palmer, much to her own delight) him form the Jockey ads.
He had the show’s host and the entire audience in hysterical laughter when he said in a perfect deadpan delivery, “That makes sense,” he quipped. “Two-hundred and forty-five career wins and a plaque in Cooperstown, and clearly, I’m better remembered for modeling underwear.”
If you’re not much of a baseball fan (or if you’re not especially interested in high-end men’s undergarments!), rest assured that Jim Palmer was one of the greatest players of his generation.
His career pitching statistics include:
- Nineteen (19) full seasons
- A won/loss record of 268-152 (.638 winning percentage, elite for any career pitching line)
- 2.86 ERA (runs scored per nine innings; today, a 4.00 ERA is well above average)
- 2,212 career strikeouts
- Three-time *Cy Young Award (*Awarded to baseball’s top pitcher)
- Six-time All-Star selection
- Four-time Gold Glove winner
FUN ACT: Unrelated to his modeling career, Palmer was known to his teammates as “Cakes” because he made a ritual of eating pancakes on days that he pitched.
Have a great night,
JFish
@Copyright 2025 by John L. Fischer