If there was any doubt Joe Mikulik isn’t one of the most entertaining figures in minor league baseball, he certainly garnered some additional endorsements Sunday afternoon at Salem Memorial Ballpark.
Mikulik, manager of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, was in the dugout Sunday as his first-place Pelicans were hoping to salvage the final game of a 3-game set against the Salem Sox.
Things suddenly took a turn for the worse in the middle of the fifth inning with Mikulik in the third base coaching box as the top of the inning came to an end.
Mikulik is no stranger to managerial tirades. As the skipper of the Class-A Ashville Tourists of the Colorado Rockies organization, he went on rampages in 2006 and 2012 that quickly became infamous hits on the internet with his over-the-top animated protests of calls by the men in blue.
In 2006, Mikulik had his initial blockbuster during a game against Lexington, KY when he threw about everything in sight, from the team’s equipment to the second base bag, all over the field. He used a water bottle to douse home plate and clean it before mimicking the umpire’s strike call. Ironically, that explosion resulted from a play involving former Salem Avalanche player Koby Clemens, son of major league standout pitcher Roger Clemens,.
Mikulik came back with a sequel in 2012 after a disputed missed tag at third base in the first inning of a game against the Charleston River Dogs. The highlight of that meltdown came when Mikulik rips third base from the ground and hands it to a fan.
Sunday evening at Salem, Mikulik completed the trifecta of blowups. It gets a 5-Star review from this reporter after Mikulik offered an animated replay of what he thought was a botched call, along with….well…. a partial striptease.
It all came down in the middle of the fifth after Mikulik didn’t agree with a call by home plate umpire Adam Beck.
Mikulik approached Beck and verbally cut loose with a couple finer points of the game. After Beck takes all he cares to listen to, he gets in the act by offering a roundhouse motion of his right arm to eject Mikulik, who in turn kicks dirt on the umpire and slams his helmet to the ground. Beck then turns his back and immediately retreats to the grass behind home.
Mikulik pursues Beck like a mongoose on its cobra prey.
Not to be outdone, Mikulik goes 18 feet up the third base line and takes off toward home before sliding across the plate. Then he repeats the impressive hook slide a second time. Mikulik wasn’t finished.
He took off his shoes and placed them on the plate. Then, he strips off his jersey and carefully lays it near home. Finally, he gives the safe sign before exiting to the Pelican dugout.
Myrtle Beach pitching coach Steve Mintz, sizably larger than Mikulik, looks like Mikulik’s personal valet by gathering up all the garb and following the fiery manager off the field.
Salem fans ate it up, cheering and egging on Mikulik all the way. Joe didn’t disappoint and gave everyone their money’s worth.
The great thing is that Salem will again take on Myrtle Beach in the Southern Division playoffs if the Sox can hold on to the final playoff spot as the regular season winds down.
If that occurs, the only unknown will be the time and date of Mikulik’s curtain call.
The whole escapade can be viewed on the internet with the call from Salem announcer Evan Lepler by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYeXpjECDoo
– Bill Turner
