Mickey “Froot Loops” Tettleton homered twice as part of a 7-1 victory versus the Milwaukee Brewers on this day in Baltimore Orioles history, June 9, 1989. The “Why Not?” Orioles improved to 32-24 with the victory and maintained a four-game lead in the American League East. Tettleton, meanwhile, led the A.L. with his 15th and 16th homers.
Tettleton earned the first of his two career All-Star appearances in 1989 behind a strong first-half showing that included eight homers in the month of May and 20 in the first half of the season. His 26 home runs in 1989 ranks third for most long balls by an Orioles catcher behind Gus Triandos (30 in 1958) and Chris Hoiles (29 in 1993).
Tettleton’s totals dropped off in the second half (see his 1989 splits), but not before a local legend – and the “Froot Loops” moniker – was born. He finished the season tied for eighth in the American League for home runs.
1989 was a fun time for baseball in Baltimore. Froot Loop confetti? Believe it. Here’s an excerpt from a Baltimore Sun article about Tettleton’s efforts that season.
His appetite was legend. Froot Loops were his fancy and when word got out, boxes of the kids’ cereal flew off local supermarket shelves.
“I literally ate Froot Loops every day,” Tettleton, 48, said. “I was superstitious about stuff like that.”
Crowds played along, shouting “Loops” when he batted and celebrating Tettleton’s homers by throwing handfuls of cereal around like confetti. A stuffed toucan – a gift from a fan – sat atop his locker at Memorial Stadium.
“People started sending little boxes of Froot Loops in the mail for me to sign,” he said. Tettleton did and returned the boxes. Unopened, of course.
Here’s an old video telling more of the Tettleton story.
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