The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 32

-r C8 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER 3 Sunday, May 14, 1995 When Mimbs is on, a twin killing could be in the making IT Statistics for the Phillies pitcher bear an uncanny resemblance to his brother's 2,000 miles away. it By Jayson Stark INQUIRER STAFF WRITER On Saturday night a week ago, 40,000 people sat in amaze- 3t'ment in Atlanta-Fulton County Stall dium, watching a mysterious Phillies 3- pitcher named Michael Mimbs shut lars out of my own checking account to get out of my contract." The Expos had received good reports on both Mimbs brothers, said general manager Kevin Malone. But "it was kind of confusing," Malone said. "You never really knew which one they were talking about. Somebody would say 'Mimbs' and you'd think it was one, but it was the other." Michael Mimbs went 11-4 for dou-ble-A Harrisburg, but the Expos left him off the big-league roster over the winter.

The Phillies had good reports on him plus a pitching coach, Johnny shattered before I was done." As a last resort, he headed for the Northern League, which has sent no one else to the major leagues. He figured "that would be my last stop I'd just pitch till my two months were up and go home." But the following January, Mimbs phoned his Northern League team to say he'd been offered a minor-league deal by Montreal. "They said, 'You owe us some Mimbs recalled. "They said I had an option year and they were going to pick up the option. So I had to pay them a couple thousand dol the Total Baseball encyclopedia lists only six sets of twins who both made it.

The most recent: Jose and Ozzie Canseco. Could the Mimbs brothers be next? They were drafted by the Dodgers in June 1990 out of Mercer University in Georgia Michael in the 24th round, Mark in the 25th. In their first full season, in 1991, pitching for two different single-A teams, they each won 12 games, allowed 42 earned runs and, at one point, after they each had made 17 starts, they had matching 2.25 ERAs. after Michael's painful second start, Mark began throwing with ominous similarities to his brother's performance. The first three batters he faced connected for a homer, a single and a single.

Then he settled down and lasted seven innings, giving up six hits and striking out 10. That kind of. pitching makes Michael hope Mark -will get called up to the majors. "I'd love for him to get a phone call saying he just got called up," Michael said. "I just want him to get the same chance I had.

The National En-; quirer that's no claim to fame. This is a claim to fame." Podres, who had taught both twins the change-up. So they took Michael in the Rule 5 draft. And to even their surprise, he wound up in the rotation. He announced his arrival with those six dazzling innings in Atlanta.

Then he was rocked back to reality Thursday, getting knocked out in the first inning against Montreal. Meanwhile, at Albuquerque, his brother matched that first start, zero for zero, last weekend raising his record to 2-0, with 33 strikeouts and just six walks in 30Va innings. Then, in a game against Las Vegas the night IV out tne worw-tamous Atlanta Braves icson one hit for six innings. Little did they know that the most amazing event involving a 26-year-old lefthander named Mimbs would take place the next night, 2,000 miles JTSaway. 'A I In Scottsdale, Michael's iden-l itical twin, Mark, went to the mound jto start a triple-A game for the Albu- (uerque Dukes against the Phoenix Firebirds.

later, Mark Mimbs Six innings wwrjRriLnm' I headed for the dugout. He had just The next year, they each struck out 87 hitters Michael in 129 innings, Mark in 131. And over their five-year pro careers, they each have given up eight hits per nine innings and racked up eight strikeouts per nine innings. "I pitch just like him," Mark Mimbs said. "We throw the same pitches.

We throw our change-up thrown six shutout innings. And al- i i. (Cue the Twilight loweu one mi. ILkLzone music.) Drivinc To The Future no payment for 90 days NO INTEREST NO ANNUAL FEE L' me," said "That doesn't surprise Michael Mimbs. "We've done stuff like that he The parallels between lefthanders Michael and Mark Mimbs don't end with baseball.

the same way. We throw our curveball the same way. We throw our slider the same way. I was watching him on TV on Saturday, and I could tell you exactly what he was gonna throw before he threw the ball. Every pitch." fore.

Lots of times." He is a fabulous story on his own, this Mi-hfi chael Mimbs. Released by the Dodgers two dyears ago in spring fp training. Spent six 'weeks without a job, firing baseballs at a splintered wooden D6Q-A2 All Season High Performance Rated 1 Consumer Reports ,90 18560NR14 195E0HR14 76 ALL SEASON 40,000 MILE COMPLETE PRICE1 15580R13 2690 16580R13 17580(113 3490 18580R13 18575R14 19575R14 3990 20575R14 20575R1S A 990 21575R14 21575R15 A C90 23575R15 90 19560HR15 20560HM4 79 20565115 jjq 21565HR15 21560HR16 4A0.M 22560HM6 20555HRI5 C90 20550HM5 .90 215C0HR1S 22560HR1S 84 90. 18565HR15 19S65HR1S 89 ALL SEASON 40,000 MILE COMPLETE PRICE 155R12 2990 155R13 -165R13 17570R13 A-90 18570M3 18570R14 VQ90 19570R14 DUNLOP AXIOM All Season 60,000 Mile COMPLETE PRICE 15580R13 4890 16580R13 17580R13 AO90 18580R13 18575R14 19575R14 fifiSO 20575R14 20575R15 ftO90 21575R14 69 2257SR15 7C90 23575R15 DUNLOP AXIOM All Season 60,000 Mile DUNLOP GT QUALIFIER 40,000 MILE WL COMPLETE PRICE oard. From the independent Northern League, where the Oil Can Boyds of the world go to postpone their descent into baseball oblivion, Mimbs worked his way into 'f-the minors, then into the Phillies' ftjt rotation.

More remarkable, though, is the 7iJstory of the Mimbs twins, a story so 41 full of eerie parallels right down 5f to the time they sent their father the Uj; if same birthday card that it even has been told by move over, Madonna and Oprah the National Enquirer. Under the headline Southpaws." fiifo "Pretty wild, huh?" said Mark X1' Mimbs. "I could see them writing wsii about us if we were in the movies or something. But we're only baseball '9W players." Twins have been the source of "a tremendous amount of awe and fascination, dating back to Romulus and Remus," said Ricardo Ainslie, author iof a book titled The Psychology of 'J''Twinship. And though there have been many baseball instances of one twin making it to the major leagues, COMPLETE PRICE OFF ANY WHEEL ALIGNMENT Tin SALE Dtscovae me NffltOEMattllRE! MOST CARS 18570R14 69.90 19570R14 73.90 20570R14 75.90 21570R14 80.90 20570R15 80.90 21570R15 84.90 22570R15 87.90 20565R15 78.90 2156SR15 83.90 20570SH14 77,90 21570SH4 81,90 195G0SR14 71,90 21560SR14 75,90 19560SR15 72.90 20560SR15 74.90 21560SR15 76.90 215 65SR15 79.90 mi3l iWmi iUiUSl: mm VXfc wit VUIIWT A A UPZ'lMIOW E77777TZI TtQl.

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"And that feeling, for twins, is very important. "But you also could say there is something somewhat mystical going on here," he continued. "How is it possible? What forces are at work? The fact that their statistics are so similar that wasn't entirely up to the twins themselves. Their coaches decide whether they keep pitching or they get pulled out. So that's kind of amazing." They began their careers as teammates.

Then, early in their first pro season, the Dodgers abruptly separated them to help them "be their own pitchers," said Dodgers farm1 director Charlie Blaney. But Michael. Mimbs said the Dodgers thought the brothers competed with each other. "We tried telling them it wasn't true," he said. "But they had their minds made up." For most of the next three seasons, the Mimbs brothers went their own ways.

Then, in 1992, Michael went 10-8 in double and Mark went 1-9 in double A and triple A. So people around the Dodgers weren't totally stunned when the Dodgers had what Blaney calls "a numbers problem" and released one of them. The stunner was that it was Michael who got released. "That," Mark said, "was the saddest day in baseball for both of us." Michael went home to Macon, expecting to be signed the next day. Nobody called.

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