ARLINGTON -- In the summer of 1987, a catcher with the Macon Pirates and a pitcher with the Charleston Rainbows got together as part of a rumble during a Low-A South Atlantic League game.
A generation later, the combatants are together with the Rangers.
Doug Brocail, the Charleston pitcher, heads into his first season as pitching coach for manager Jeff Banister, the Macon catcher. Their relationship is based upon mutual respect, which began on that hot day in the Sally League, and a shared vision of the game.
"I didn't know him personally, but I knew what his fists felt like," Brocail said Wednesday during the club's minicamp at Globe Life Park.