[The Big Lead] The Evansville Ballet put on a production of the “The Nutcracker” this past Saturday night and, as any fan of the timeless two-act ballet might expect, Yankee legend and current Dodgers manager Don Mattingly played the role of Mother Ginger. Here’s Mattingly:
“Was kinda cool, kinda getting out on that limb a little bit, getting out of your comfort zone … I’d seen Mother Ginger at an Aces (Evansville Aces) game a couple years, so I thought that was pretty funny. So I thought, why not.”
[Watch Video of Donnie's Performance]
Look at Donnie Baseball, just dominating anything he touches. He’s so smooth. Graceful. Elegant. I obviously don’t have a vote on the HoF ballot, but I think it’s pretty safe to assume that this puts him over the top. Yeah, ok, so he doesn’t have a ring… but his baseball career was exactly like this ballet, he’s a superstar with bupkiss for a supporting cast. That kid in the Dodgers uniform might as well be Alvaro Espinoza. You call that a pirouette? Get the fuck off my stage. The trio of clowns is Hensley Meulens, Mel Hall and Kevin Maas. Embarrassing all of us with that sorry attempt of a pas de basque. Even with his sick moves, how’s Donnie supposed to carry the rest of that dead weight to the promised land? The guy’s probably going to dance his dick off and not get a single nod for the ballet hall of fame. Meanwhile, Kirby Puckett’s corpse is going to do the exact same routine to take home the trophy from Dancing with the Stars. One thing’s for sure… I’m positive Keith Hernandez couldn’t move like that.
