Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd is looking for another opportunity to pitch in the big leagues at age 49. Boyd likens himself to Satchel Paige, who pitched professionally into his 50s.
"Satchel being my idol and knowing he didn't come into the (majors) until he was in his early 40s, that's always been in the back of my mind," Boyd told
The Boston Globe.
"Now, I've been given back the fastball I once had. I want to play."
Boyd told the Globe his fastball is in the low 90s and his offspeed pitches still bite well. Former Sox catcher Mike Stanley recently caught Oil Can during Red Sox fantasy camp, had the following remarks regarding his prowess.
"He looks no different to me now than when I caught him in Texas (with the Rangers). He still has the same passion. I don't know if he was getting to 90 because we didn't have a (radar) gun, but he still had the same stuff. The same tight slider, curve, fastball," the Globe quoted Stanley as saying.
This is not Boyd's first attempted comeback. He pitched in the Northern League from 1994-1997 and then most recently in 2005 with the Brockton Rox of the independent Can-Am League, where he posted a record of 4-5 with an era of 3.83 in 110 innings. Boyd last pitched in the majors in 1991 for the Rangers; he left the game with a 78-77 record over 10 seasons with the Red Sox, Rangers and Montreal Expos.
"I have nothing to lose, and all a major league team has to lose is 15 minutes," said Boyd to the Globe. "Give me 15 minutes and I'll show I can still pitch. That's all I want."
