Friday, March 19, 2004
Tyler Green sues over his name
Posted by Matthew NameeI grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and my dad and I had season tickets to the Wichita State Shockers baseball team for most of my childhood. The Shockers have always been a really good team, and Tyler Green was a freshman on the '89 National Champions. He was a strikeout machine (10.21 K/9 for his college career), but struggles with control kept his career ERA at a mediocre 4.24. Still, his incredible raw talent (and a mouthwatering knuckle-curve) led the Phillies to pick Green 10th overall in the 1991 draft.
Considering his spot in the draft, Tyler Green's major-league career was rather disappointing (18-25, 5.16 ERA), and he's currently a pitching coach at a private high school.
Anyway, why am I writing about Tyler Green? Well, over at Baseball Primer, Repoz posted this crazy Clutch Hit, which linked to this article in the Philadelphia Daily News. Apparently some guy in Philly is using Green's name for his shady business, and Tyler's taking the guy to court. I'd try to summarize the whole situation, but I won't do it justice. Check out the links.
Matthew Namee cofounded The Hardball Times in 2004, when he was working as the assistant to baseball author and Red Sox executive Bill James. Matthew still lives in Kansas, where he is currently pursuing a law degree. He can be reached at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com.