ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 4, 1996 TAG: 9603040132
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CLEARWATER, FLA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
IDENTICAL TWINS NEVER HAD PITCHED against each other - until Sunday. Michael and Mark Mimbs changed that.
For the first time in his life, Randall Mimbs did not know which team to root for.
Who could blame him? Pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday was his son, Michael. Pitching for the Texas Rangers was his other son, Mark - Michael's identical twin brother.
``Standing here watching them, I can't even begin to describe it,'' he said. ``I never thought I'd get to see this.''
Never before had baseball seen anything like it, either. Because never before in the game's history had twins pitched against each other.
``We market ourselves as family entertainment,'' said National League president Len Coleman, on hand for the exhibition, ``and I guess this is just about the ultimate.''
Ever since they were kids in Macon, Ga., standing in the backyard throwing shotgun shells at aluminum cans, the Mimbs brothers had hoped something like this might happen. So the fact that Mark wound up the winning pitcher and Michael was the loser in Texas' 6-5 victory really didn't make a difference to them.
``We'll have this day for the rest of our lives. We can always look back and tell our children, and they can tell their children,'' Mark said. ``We were both winners today.''
Strikingly similar in the ways they pitch, walk and talk - they even paw at the rubber with the same motion - the 27-year-old left-handers had somewhat similar results. Each pitched two innings, each gave up two hits and each walked two.
``Watching him, I felt like I was still out there,'' Michael said.
Both began the game with a walk, too.
``I wasn't nervous, I was plum excited,'' Mark said.
Michael's big mistake came in the second inning when he gave up a two-out, three-run homer to Kevin Elster.
``My heart sunk a little when I saw that,'' Mark admitted.
But that home run meant that Mark, who had never faced his brother as a batter or pitcher at any level, got to hit against Michael.
``The first thing I thought was that he might hit me,'' Mark said. ``But I knew he wouldn't hit me. I'm his brother.''
Mark wound up striking out swinging at a changeup.
``I won't say anything about it,'' Michael said later.
``I won't say anything about the three-run homer,'' Mark said.
So close that they start and finish each other's sentences - no surprise, they're next-door neighbors in the off-season - the Mimbses are hoping to become only the ninth set of twins to play in the majors.
Jose and Ozzie Canseco are the last to make it. There have been many sets of brothers to pitch against each other, such as Phil and Joe Niekro, but never twins.
Michael, who gave up three runs, made his big-league debut last year with the Phillies, going 9-7. Mark, who allowed one run, is trying to earn a spot with the Rangers.
Both Mimbses were drafted by Los Angeles in 1990. In 1991, they showed how similar they really were - Michael, at Class A Vero Beach, and Mark, at Class A Bakersfield, each won 12 games, each gave up 42 earned runs and each averaged eight strikeouts and seven hits per nine innings.
About 25 family members and friends saw Sunday's game, with Randall Mimbs sitting in a front-row box behind the screen, wearing a T-shirt that said ``Major League Dad.''
The unique matchup came about when Phillies coach John Vukovich, having heard the idea floated around, recently talked to Texas manager Johnny Oates. The teams agreed to do it and, as part of the promotion, any sets of twins were admitted free to Jack Russell Stadium.
Two sets of twins took up the Phillies on their offer of $8 tickets.
They were among 4,569 fans who saw history in the making. And though his team lost, Phillies manager Jim Fregosi said it had been a good afternoon.
``The one thing that's important is that Mimbs got a win today,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Twins Michael (left) and Mark Mimbs hope to takeby CNBtheir acts to the big leagues.