The Old Ball Game

Next week, spring training begins in earnest. So let's take a day off from the horrors of advertising and focus on something pleasant: a true baseball story.

Last year, a player in the San Francisco Giants organization developed a strange ailment. Three fingers on one of his hands suddenly turned blue because of a circulation problem.

The ailment forced him out of action in June, and he missed the entire rest of the season.

In order to get his circulation back to normal, doctors put him on a regimen of baby aspirin, anti-inflamatories, blood thinners, and Viagra. Viagra, it turns out, was originally developed to treat circulatory problems, until someone noticed its other salutary effect.

This player had to take Viagra every day. He became somewhat of a heroic figure at his local pharmacy, where it was thought he was buying it for the usual reason.

“I’d clean the place out,” he said. “A few times, I took all they had.”

Now here's the fun part. The player's name?

Brian Bocock.

No, my friends, you can't make this shit up.

Shout out to Josh Nichol for this story.