Boliermakings Has Korean News

It has been a while since I have done a Boilermakings, but there were a few big stories that needed a note away from football and basketball:

Josh Lindblom Named Korean Baseball MVP

Josh Linblom is a local Lafayette kid done good. An alum of Harrison HS just north of campus, he pitched at Purdue in 2007 and 2008 before turning pro. He eventually made his Major League debut with the Dodgers in 2011, then bounced around to Philadelphia, Oakland, and Texas before going over to Korea for the 2015 season. He was back in the U.S in 2017 with the Pirates, appearing in four games, before going back over to Korea. He had quite the season this year as he was named the Korean League MVP:

It has been quite a journey, as chronicled by Sung Min Kim of The Athletic. Part of the reason he came back from Korea in 2017 is that his daughter, Monroe, was born with a congenital heart defect. He was able to swing a deal where he pitched most of the 2017 season in Triple-A with the Indianapolis Indians close to his daughter. A multi-year MLB deal at age 32 is huge for him.

Tyler Duncan Wins First PGA Event

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Tyler Duncan had a solid career with Purdue’s Men’s Golf team until turning pro in 2012, and now he is a PGA Event champion. Duncan won the RSM Classic this weekend, netting a $1.18 million pay day for a weekend’s worth of work:

Tyler Duncan made a 12-foot putt on the second hole of a playoff with Webb Simpson on Sunday in the RSM Classic for his first PGA Tour title.

Playing two groups ahead of Simpson in windy conditions on Sea Island’s Seaside Course, Duncan birdied three of the last four holes in regulation for a 5-under 65. He two-putted the par-5 15th for a birdie, made a 6-footer on the par-3 17th and a 25-footer on the par-4 18th.

”I’m just so happy to be here playing, and to come out here and win is just unbelievable,’’ Duncan said.

Men’s Cross Country has best NCAA Finish since 1950

The Big Ten cross country meet did not go well for the Purdue men. They were favored to win the Big Ten title, but finished fourht behind Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. they more than made up for it in the NCAAs, however. Purdue won the Great Lakes Regional for the first time ever, then finished 11th at the NCAAs for the best team finish since 1950:

Leading the Boilermakers were senior Jaret Carpenter and sophomore Curt Eckstein, who not only placed along the top-25, but also received All-America honors for their performances. The pair are the first men’s cross country All-Americans since 1987 and are just the eighth and ninth Boilermakers to earn the honor. Furthermore, it is just the second time in program history two receive the award, joining 1947 honorees Lewis Blanchard and Donald Hurlbert. Carpenter, entering the race with a fifth-place finish as the Great Lakes Regional, secured 10th at nationals, a dramatic improvement since he placed 119th at the meet a year ago. In the senior’s final 2,000-meters, Carpenter emptied the tank to climb two spots and clock in at 30:58.7. His finish was the highest by a Boilermaker in the national championships since 1949.

Dennis Kelly and Raheem Mostert Score Double Touchdowns

We all know Drew Brees is great. He is closing in on a record I’ll touch on in a moment, but yesterday was a big day as former Boilers Raheem Mostert and Dennis Kelly each scored touchdowns. With Mostert that is not unusual. He is a running back. Kelly, however, is a 6’8” 321 pound offensive tackle.

Brees obviously throws a lot of touchdowns, but there are not a ton of skill players in the NFL from Purdue. Aside from Mostert and the occasional rushing TD from Brees (he has 22 rushing and one receiving in his career), there have not been many Boilers scoring touchdowns of late. Akeem Hunt never found the end zone in his brief career. Ryan Kerrigan has returned three interceptions for scores in his career, but none since 2017. Yesterday was likely the first time in quite a while that two Boilers have scored TDs on the same day.

Brees 9 TDs Away From Another Record

When Brees was out for a few weeks after thumb surgery it looked like it was going to cost him another all-time NFL record. He already has NFL record for passing yards and completions. Unfortunately, since he missed five weeks Tom Brady passed him on the touchdown passes list. Since returning, Brees has thrown for nine touchdowns to Brady’s four. They are now neck-and-neck as they try to chase down Peyton Manning on the all-time TD passes list. Manning holds the record with 539 TD passes, but Brady has 532 and Brees has 531. Both have five games left in the season, so they should be able to catch Manning. Who will get him first, who will have more at the end of the year, and who will retire first? This is a record that might be passed back and forth week-by-week or even minute-by-minute.

Whoever finishes ahead will likely have the record for a awhile. The next closest active QB is Philip Rivers at 389 TDs, and he is already 38.