Erickson didn’t drive. And he didn’t like taking the bus. He would bike, but his preferred mode of travel was getting a ride from somebody.
“Anybody in here who gave Roger a ride raise their hand” was a request made Sunday, and there were universal laughs before raised hands.
Joe Mauer was in attendance Sunday — not as a celebrity but in gratitude for Roger’s help.
“I came to Cretin a year after Roger left; I knew about him, but I didn’t work with him until after I had all those injuries [in 2011],” Mauer said. “I was in that workout room all winter. I came to spring training feeling great and had one of my best years.”
Perhaps Roger’s most miraculous work came in 2012. Birk was with the Baltimore Ravens in what would be his last of 14 NFL seasons. John Harbaugh, the Ravens coach, complimented Birk on his fine physical condition at age 36.
“I told him about Roger — that he was about 275 [pounds] and looked out of shape, but he could do the splits, he could lift a leg to the top of his head; he was a flexibility genius,” Birk said. “I said, ‘Fly him out, give him an hour.’ Harbaugh did that, came out of his office after an hour of stretching with Rog, and said, ‘I haven’t felt this good in 20 years.’ “