The “He” in the sentence above is Lawrence Columbus LaLoosh, and the movie is, of course Bull Durham. Everyone’s see it, after all. In his family it serves like a primer, like a memoir. In his family there’s the story, and there’s the story behind the story—like the fact that Nuke actually did punch Crash, but the reality was that he used his pitching hand, and that Crash tore him a total new one for it—but that when the film was made, Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh wanted to hold onto something, so he and Crash agreed to change the story.
That’s the rumor, anyway. It’s not something Lawrence Columbus wants to talk about today—though he totally ups to the fact that his daddy called him Crash after the record-setting minor leaguer. “The two of ‘em kept together throughout it all,” LaLoosh says. “My daddy and uncle Crash are still pretty much best friends, though they don’t see mucha each other on account of my mom not being real keen on Aunt Annie.” He smiles, then. It’s a big smile like they get on the farms that stretch out over North Carolina.
Of course, it would be hard to deny the story of where that nickname comes from, seeing as we’re holding this interview on the porch at the Davis household, where Lawrence Columbus is visiting, and seeing as Crash is in finishing up a shower after a long day of watching players he's managing at the High School work out, and where Aunt Annie, yes, that Annie, is in making something she calls the Tchaikovsky of lemonades. LaLoosh is sprawled out on the swinging love seat. I’m sitting on a step. It’s chilly here on the porch, but comfortable enough.
By now, you’ve probably got a bit of a bead on LaLoosh.
You probably know that he’s a 6’8” 200 pound physical specimen on the mound with a whip-sharp delivery that heats up a fastball at 101 miles an hour. They say it’s faster, but LaLoosh just raises his eyebrows and says “You don’t say?” when you ask about it.
You know he’s the boy of former former MBBA great Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, and that, as his daddy said, “he got got my arm, and his mom's brain."
By now you know that as an 18 year-old out of high school, LaLoosh was selected third in the 2022 draft behind Montreal’s Jared Gillstrom (who at 22 broke in this year and won the … well … FL Gillstrom award with a 20 HR, 76 RBI, .257/.294/.425 season) and Omaha’s Antonio Correa (who broke in this year at 25, and went 15-12, 3.87).
By now you know that there was no shortage of fun and interest in his selection, as noted in the following pundit’s write-up of that draft.
And, as the 2025 MBWBA’s Media Guide suggested:3. SP Lawrence Columbus LaLoosh (Yellow Springs): LaLoosh will immediately join the major league team and become the team’s best pitcher. Hahaha, just kidding, but, really, Yellow Springs is terrible. The big righty (LaLoosh is 6’7”) has a long way to go on his offspeed stuff and at age 17, just about everything else, but his potential is basically limitless. An absolute fireballer for a teenager, LaLoosh hits 100 on the gun. Might be the rare player you can use as a good starter with two pitches (Terrence Miller), but would be a monster if all three developed. Good pick for Yellow Springs as they are going nowhere fast and can afford to wait.
And by now, if you’re still paying attention, you know that those other pitches did come in, or shall we say the fact that they are still coming in is enough to make JL hitters get to feeling a bit of the fever on the day before he starts.Take a fastball the registers triple digits on the gun, and mix with a changeup that has Bugs Bunny swinging fifteen times before it crosses the plate, and you get something that looks like LaLoosh. We would have included him in the list merely for the ability to type “LaLoosh” in a prospect article, but the fact remains that this is a kid who can go somewhere if he can just get a little mentoring. Calling Crash Davis, calling Crash Davis.
Yes, the kid is just now 22 years old, and he’s got the slider and the curve to go with the blinding four-seamer from Hell. He stepped into the MBBA last year and did nothing short of transform the Yellow Springs Nine from a good team that could beat anyone on a given night into a sensation. His record was “only" 8-6 in 21 starts, but the side car numbers for a young pitcher were boggling: 2.83 ERA. 3.50 K/BB, 87 FIP- (which is ballpark adjusted, by the way), 126 Ks in 136 IP. For this work he was named … uh … only the #5 best rookie in the JL
“It’s all right,” LaLoosh said when interviewed shortly thereafter. “Baseball is a weird game, you know? Some days you win, and some days you lose. Sometimes it’s rain out. All I can do is keep playing hard, and Good Lord willing things will work out.”
Truer words …
Anyway, The average person would say that’s a good start. Fans, however, are not average … and LaLoosh is smarter than the average Nuke. He hears them when they whisper Landis and he smirks when they whisper Nebraska.
“I like it, of course,” he says. “But that’s just silly. I mean, I’m the #3 pitcher on the staff at best. We got Domingo (Castillo) now, and I’m real glad for that. He’s a true veteran, you know? I mean, it’s like he’s been around, you know?” LaLoosh says, mimicking is father’s tone of voice from another scene in THE MOVIE. “And then we’ve got Jose (Chavez), who’s great to have here for me, too, since he’ just now getting through the time when he was a young guy with all the pressure on him—so I can talk with him. It helps. And then we’ve got Alberto (Sanchez). Some folks say he’s the #4 guy, but in all seriousness, he’s got great stuff—it’s just that we’re a little different in make-up. I could see me throwing out of the #4 spot if he has a great spring.”
Imagine that, eh? Lawrence Columbus LaLoosh in the #4 slot.
The door swings open then, and a red-headed Annie Savoy steps through with a tray of lemonade in clear glasses. I take one, and take a pull on it. I admit I’m not a lemonade expert, but I think I can taste a touch of ginger, and a dash of vodka.
“It’s the off-season,” she winks. “And both my Crashes are legal now.”
We take ten minutes and talk baseball, which in this case turns into talking pitching. We’re debating arm slots and Tennessee Williams plays when the door opens again and the legendary Crash Davis steps out onto the porch, lurching now with those knees of his that he gave up so a hundred kids could take their shots at the bigs. His face is lined, and the hair is coarse and gray, but those eyes still dance like he's got a 2-1 count with a struggling pitcher on the mound and a speedster on first base.
“What’re you talkin’ about, C2?” he says to LaLoosh.
“I’m talking about a curve ball,” LaLoosh says, showing a grip around the glass.
Crash Davis eases himself into the seat beside the kid with the golden arm and he looks at me with the wary eye of a guy who understands life is tough and that the media is not always on your side. Then he looks at LaLoosh. The two are tied, you know? It’s more than a name. There’s Ebby Calvin, and there’s Crash, and there’s Annie Savoy, and there’s history and family and loyalty as deep as the universe is long. Crash Davis is here for the boy, that gaze says, and that’s all there is to it.
“That’s good, Meat,” he says. “I like that you ain’t showing your best stuff too early.”
With that, we all smile. The boy nods. “I listen to you C1. You know that right? I’ll always be listening to you.”
Crash Davis gives one of those far off smiles.
The breeze is kicking up colder and it’s time to go in. Annie Savoy asks me for supper, but I’ve got a deadline.
“That’s all right, maybe later,” she says, looking at her partner as he walks back into the living room. “If we get comfortable with you, maybe I’ll teach you how to breathe through your eyelids.”
Now, that’s an offer you don’t turn down, eh?
