This is a real thing.
Going with Tommy Tutone lineup today: 8-6-7-5-3-0-9.
— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) July 3, 2014
Visual proof.
Jenny, @RaysJoeMaddon's got your number. Tonight's #Rays batting order (by position) starts 867-5309: pic.twitter.com/m87PirbvKM
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 3, 2014
Could be a nod to the lesser known Tutone song, "(867) 530-9241," about a girl from a remote area of northern Canada. It was on his first ep and is way better than the mainstream single. Obscure references like this prove just how cool Maddon is.
How cool is Joe Maddon? His playlist on our show today includes: Rolling Stones,Bruce Springsteen,Jackson Borwne,Jim Stafford,The Animals
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) July 3, 2014
I mean, really, how cool is that? Name me one person around Maddon's age who listens to the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen? Right, besides your dad and my dad and other dads and granddads everywhere. But what about Jim Stafford?
/googles Jim Stafford
His most recent comedy album was "Don't Tell Mama I'm A Guitar Picker, She Thinks I'm Just In Jail".
He co-hosted Those Amazing Animals with Burgess Meredith and Priscilla Presley from 1980 to 1981
He wrote "Cow Patti" for the Clint Eastwood movie Any Which Way You Can and appeared in the movie.
Looks like Bowden's story checks out. Maddon is a hip, hip cat. And he used a one-hit wonder to make his lineup on Thursday. It's as good a strategy as any!