The Magician of the Major Leagues – Mike CuddyerInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Minneapolis Twins fans know Michael Cuddyer as a
power-hitter and right-fielder. But as
you would expect in an article written from Quinlan's Inside Magic, he is much
more than a mere clean-up batter in the big leagues.

He is a lover of magic – magic performance, magic
practice, magic tricks, and just plain
talking about magic.

Using the convenient Magician Measurement System scale, he
comes in at just under a 4.40 (approximately 4.37 to 4.39 depending on his knowledge
of magic history).

Sure, he's not a 7.2 like Dai Vernon much less Mark Wilson's
7.55 (a record in the modern-era of magic).
But for a ball-player, a 4.40 is more than respectable.

A reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune visited with
Mr. Cuddyer during the Twins recent road-trip to Kansas City.
He had a chance to watch Mr. Cuddyer in action both on and off the
field.

Cuddyer is standing a few feet away
in the Twins clubhouse, holding a butter knife. He offers it for inspection,
and it proves long and dull as a World Cup match.

This is late on a weeknight after a
comeback victory, and Cuddyer is feeling a little giddy. He takes the knife and
shoves it through the top of his right shoe, right where the meat of his foot
should be.

He grunts, pushes, grunts again,
and the blade of the knife emerges from the sole of the shoe. A little more
exertion, and he pulls the whole knife through, holding it up in triumph.

Mr. Cuddyer has had his share of setbacks – none so dramatic
as having a dull knife blade shoved through his shoe and foot-meat – but challenging all the same.

In 2003, Mr. Cuddyer was shipped down to the Twins' AAA club
in Rochester to
help recover from injuries. While he recuperated,
he performed magic shows just about every day for the folks in the club's front
office.

As you would expect from a professional athlete, Mr. Cuddyer
is a big believer in training and practice.

He'll study a magician like David
Blaine and try to learn new tricks. "If I have a new one in the works,
I'll spend a couple of hours a day on it," he said.

That's how young, single
ballplayers spend their time on the road? "Umm … well, that's what I
love to do," Cuddyer said.

We've heard of other professional athletes enjoying the
practice and even the occasional performance of magic, but this is the first to
admit he is a freak for the stuff. In a
time of big egos, big salaries, and petite groupies awaiting the visiting team,
Mr. Cuddyer apparently spends his time practicing and performing magic
tricks.

You gotta love that.