Former Yank Hooks A Big One
Via the Marin Independent Journal:
Rich Bordi of Rohnert Park, who spent eight seasons as a reliever for five major league baseball teams, was pitching bait in Alaska when he hooked up big time.
The veteran angler said he had never hooked a salmon that hit quite as hard as the monster king on the Kenai River.
Fishing not far from where an angler hooked a record 97-pounder in 1985, Bordi’s pals decked salmon weighing 55 and 42 pounds the other day.
Bordi, tossing out a gob of salmon roe rigged with a Spin-n-Glo, was taking lots of ribbing for failing to hook up – until his rod exploded.
“I knew it was a big one right away,” he said. “It took off upstream like the big ones do,” forcing the boat to pursue it through a maze of other skiffs.
After 15 minutes, the frantic fish turned and headed downstream, then surfaced.
“When we got him close to the boat, everybody went, ‘Oh my god, that’s a toad,’” Bordi said.
Sure enough, it was a kahuna, 54 inches long and 34 inches around, with a tail fin that stretched almost 17 inches across. The king weighed in at 75 pounds, providing filets as thick as roast beefs.
The 49-year-old Bordi, who serves as a Northern California scout for the San Diego Padres after a career as a relief pitcher with the Mariners, Orioles, Yankees, Cubs and A’s, said his phone has been ringing off the hook.
“It’s amazing how many friends you have when you come back with a salmon that big,” he noted.
The Yankees got Bordi in December 1984 from the Cubs (along with Porfi Altamirano, Henry Cotto, and Ron Hassey) in exchange for Ray Fontenot and Brian Dayett. That was a great trade for the Yankees. And, Bordi did a good job for New York that season.
But, in December 1985, the Yankees sent Bordi to the Orioles (along with Rex Hudler) in exchange for Gary Roenicke and Leo Hernandez. And, I was sorry to see him go.
The Yankees did pick Bordi back up, in 1987, as a Free Agent after he was released by the O’s. However, he was not the same pitcher – and soon done.
Man, that’s one big fish that Bordi caught. I don’t know much about fishing, but, what’s this one worth, something like 120 meals?
I don’t know much about fishing, but, what’s this one worth, something like 120 meals?
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That’s about right, maybe a little bit more, using 8oz fillets as a standard.
On a semi-related note, I simply loved when Bob Shepherd would announce an AB of one of the principals of that trade: Henry Cotto.
Say his name in your head using Shepherd’s voice. Fun, isn’t it?
That’s a serious fish. I’ve never landed anything that large (I hooked a tarpon once, but never got it to the boat).
Funny thing is…I mentioned this story to my wife and she said “I wouldn’t eat that fish.” When I asked her why, she said “Anything that grows to be THAT BIG, out there, must have been exposed to SOMETHING, somewhere, and I wouldn’t want to mess with that.”
My first thought, when she said that, was of that three-eyed fish on the Simpsons. You know, “Blinky.”
My second thought was of Jason Giambi. Yeah, it’s always about the Yankees…