Minoring in Twitter: Prospects rally, react to US soccer advancing
By dannywild2013
By Danny Wild / MiLB.com
We here at Minoring in Twitter strive to find some relevant storyline each week, and so you’ll be very impressed by what I managed to get this week. World Cup. USA vs. Germany. Donald Lutz.
Who’s Donald Lutz? He’s a Reds Minor League outfielder — in fact, he’s played in seven Major League games this season — and he grew up in Germany. Lutz was born in upstate New York but moved to Germany when he was 2. He was a member of Germany’s national baseball team and somehow got discovered over there by the Reds, who signed him in 2007. He made his Major League debut in 2013 and hit for the cycle with Double-A Pensacola this April… but who is he rooting for? He’s American, he’s quasi-German, he (I think) still lives in Germany during the offseason. How many other Minor Leaguers are so uniquely connected to this World Cup match-up?
The answer is, I have no clue who he’s rooting for, but on June 21, he was all Team GER:
That was a day after the U.S. government, by way of a local village parking meter, stole $.25 from his pocket. That’s probably enough to make you abandon all loyalty to the flag. In fact, his Twitter profile picture is the German soccer team flag/logo:
Clearly he’s got the yellow, black and red facepaint on behind these tweets. But then?
So, again, who was this guy rooting for in Thursday’s USA-Germany showdown? He predicted a 3–0 Germany win:
And then this?
As we all know, us Americans showed how to lose and still win. Mr. Lutz was thrilled:
Oh, sorry. That was unrelated from all the sudden Minor Leaguer/soccer love.
This is soccer-related, but just appreciate the living room of this Minor Leaguer, Twins shortstop AJ Pettersen. Weights, workout cables, some kind of weight bench, electric bongos, real bongos, a fuzzy Ugg-looking slipper, a Guitar Hero guitar and a huge HDTV atop an empty piece of furniture:
Moving on, Red Sox pitching prospect Anthony Ranaudo hates batting practice:
The Triple-A Louisville Bats continue to deliver with weekly team photos. This one is still wacky but in a professional way:
A walk-off win calls for Chipotle, right? Wrong. Well, maybe a chicken burrito:
Minor Leaguers were Tweeting like crazy about the NBA Draft and largely saying nothing compelling or interesting, so we’ll settle for Taijuan Walker, since he’s cool, and move on:
Actually, I lied, this one is kinda funny:
Bryce Harper is a Minor Leaguer again (he’s been rehabbing with Potomac and Harrisburg this week), so he qualifies for this week’s blog:
Here’s a photo of JP Crawford’s feet:
Oh yeah, life in the Minors, as we know, involves a lot of bus travel. Jeremy Barfield, you’re up:
Trevor Gretzkty, whose dad is the greatest hockey player ever, gives a nod to Derek Jeter, whom he says is the greatest baseball player ever. Hey, who can argue with the Great One’s kid?
Cedar Rapids’ Todd Van Steensel, for unknown reasons, made his Twitter account private for a few weeks. That was sad, since he was becoming a weekly favorite of mine. Maybe he got tired of us featuring him? Maybe he missed being on here? Either way, he’s back, and with a Hot Topic reference:
Hard to imagine there are many non-bandwagon US soccer fans this month, but hey, go team!
Was it ever broken, Cubs first-round pick Kyle Schwarber?
Yes. Except for that guy who screams “goal” for 17 seconds:
Braves prospect Lucas Sims combined on a no-hitter with Lynchburg on Thursday:
Maybe the pinkest jerseys we’ve seen yet:
I can’t tell what body part I’m looking at:
Dinner (and dessert), Minor League style:
Indians prospect Robbie Aviles overcame Tommy John surgery and was a Midwest League All-Star this season (and I met him in high school):
Cubs catcher Chadd Krist was dreaming of who?
Chipotle Tweets of the Week from guys named Jake:
