Reviews

Who's Going to Replace A-Rod? Brooks Robinson?

7/24/2012

Five Season, Five Rings

The Yankees were in a terrible slump a few months ago.
That is to say, they were not in first place.
My prototypical Yankee fan friend was fretting and saying they would have to bring in some new talent.

I sent a two-word reply: Johnny Hopp.

My pal was mystified, in that Hopp is not the classic insurance acquisition the Yankees have made over the decades. He was a fading first baseman they picked up on Sept. 5, 1950 – too late to be eligible for the annual World Series, but he made his modest contributions until early 1952, when his services were no longer required. My point was, the Yankees usually get what they want and what they need.

Other names come to mind ahead of Hopp: Cecil Fielder in 1996, David Justice in 2000, and Johnny Mize in 1949. The Yankees always have the money to bring in somebody during a pennant race. They paid $40,000 for Mize, an aging first baseman, on Aug. 22, 1949, and he helped win five consecutive World Series. I can still see Duke Snider and Carl Furillo staring at his three blasts in the 1952 Series.

As a young sportswriter, my personal favorite among late-season Yankees was Pistol Pete Ramos, who came over from Cleveland on Sept. 5, 1964 – ineligible for the World Series, to be sure, but he made sure the Yankees got there, pitching 13 times and saved eight victories. Not only that, he jollied up his old friend Mickey Mantle by daring him to stage their long-delayed challenge sprint. By that time, the Mick could hardly walk.

Just guessing that Ichiro Suzuki will not propose an old-guy race with Derek Jeter or compare arms with Yankee outfielders, although the word is that he can trash-talk in English with the best of them. He will be a presence.

Supply your own moral judgment. My Brooklyn heart was long ago broken by the Johnny Mizes – and the Johnny Hopps.

Big Al

7/24/2012 04:29:46 am

I am not old enough to remember Johnny Hopp, but I remember Bob Cerv, Joe DiMastri, Hector Lopez, Johnny Blanchard, Earl Torgenson and Dale Long very well. Pete Ramos was a particular favorite, terrific in late 1964 and I recall The Mick smashing massive homers off Pete and his Cuban compadre, Camilo Pascual, when both were Washington Senators. The Yanks seem to find what they need. A close friend expressed this with typical elegance: "Them that has, gets." Ichiro will not hit .260 in pinstripes unless I miss my guess. When he's done, he will join Mize in the Hall.

George Vecsey

7/24/2012 05:32:05 am

Al, what about Coney going 9-2 in 1995 and nearly getting them past Seattle (and wrecking his circulation)?
Your friend was giving the short version. In Billie Holliday's God Bless the Child, it goes:
"Them that's got shall get; them that's not shall lose."
She stresses "got" and "not" just perfectly.
How apt in NYC at the moment. GV

Big Al

7/24/2012 05:46:23 am

Indeed yes in all respects. I am familiar with the Billy Holiday version, which is superb and the superb cover by the great David Clayton Thomas. Coney pitched until his arm fell off in Game Five in 1995, like Big Newk did in Game Three of the playoff against the Giants in 1951. In 1995, Buck had no idea that some kid named Mariano Rivera was the man to insert in place of the exhausted, brilliant Coney. I seem to recall Coney being summoned in October of 2000 especially to face some guy named Piazza and Coney delivered the goods.

Dave H. link

7/26/2012 08:20:52 am

Don't forget Johnny Sain in 1951 and for several good years thereafter (see http://davehpearlb.hubpages.com/hub/Golden-Age-Baseball-V, fourth entry, Late Season Insurance).

Mike Gesker

7/24/2012 05:15:34 am

Here's to Enos "Country" Slaughter, too!

George Vecsey

7/24/2012 05:35:31 am

How about Bob Kuzava, who came over in 1951 and stayed a year. I bet Big Al has heard of him. He shows up in my Brooklyn nightmares sometimes. GV

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kuzavbo01.shtml

Frank Barning

7/24/2012 05:29:50 am

I knew Johnny Mize. A humble man, he was quite proud of being the only player to hit 50 or more homers in a single season while fanning fewer than 50 times. In 1947 he belted 51 homers for the Giants while striking out 42 times. You could look it up.

Big Al

7/24/2012 05:36:16 am

Mize was a truly great one who hit 50+ HR's twice and was a superb contact hitter as well. I recall a quote from the late great Red Smith regarding Mize during his years with the Yankees: "Your legs are gone, your arm likewise, but not your eyes Mize, not your eyes." The man could flat hit the pill, a pro's pro in every respect and totally worthy of admission to the Hall.

Dave H. link

7/26/2012 08:37:11 am

I'm indebted to you for the Red Smith quote about Mize, who improbably became one of my favorites after joining the Yanks. But he hit 50 or more homers only in 1947. You may be thinking of Kiner, who tied him that year and hit 54 a couple of years later.

George Vecsey

7/24/2012 05:40:22 am

Hey, Frank. You're right. He was a nice, gentle man.
Musial got to play with Mize for two weeks in 1941 and always regretted that Rickey unloaded the big man after that season.
GV

Frank Barning

7/24/2012 05:54:22 am

Johnny told me that he forced the trade because the Cardinals could not afford to pay him what he was worth. As your brilliant Stan Musial book reports, at the time St. Louis was not really a major city and was mostly blue collar. Musial and Mize could have been the original M&M boys.

Big Al

7/24/2012 05:58:09 am

I am not familiar with someone named Bob Kuzava. Manager Stengel called upon someone he referred to as "Ben Gazzara" to save the final game of the 1951 Series versus the Giants and then in Game Seven of 1952, seventh inning, bases full of Brooklyn, to face Jackie Robinson, though Gazzara was a lefty and Ben induced the great Robinson to hit a pop-up some fans remember, that was caught by a young roughneck from Oakland named Billy Martin, rescuing the forces of U.S. Steel. I have reviewed the play on tape several times and Billy catches the pop-up on every occasion. This makes me wonder why a .260 hitter and mediocre fielder hit .333 in the World Series and played in one every single season he wore the pinstripes. Some of us use the term "catching the pop-up" as a metaphor for coming to play in the clutch, tough as nails!

George Vecsey

7/24/2012 06:04:13 am

Right. Sometimes they crushed you with guys on their roster all year. Henrich. Martin. That stumpy catcher. The new Yankees delivered the coup de grace. Oy.

Alan Rubin link

7/24/2012 10:14:15 am

George

For someone who is supposed to be out the door for a vacation, you are giving us a lot of work. I left home for my morning swim and other activities only to return to a new post and ten replies.

I became a Yankee fan in 1940 at the age of five. I was confined to bed with scarlet fever that spring and was not allowed any but the slightest exertion. Since my mother limited her visits for fear of catching it, and I could not reach the radio, I was forced to listen to WINS. When I returned to the street, I was asked by my friends who I was rooting for. I had never heard of either the Giants or Dodgers, but I knew all about the Yankees. Fortunately, I had no ill effects of my illness other than some of my friends believing that I was infected by the Yankees.

Between 1940 and 1957, my youthful years of devotion to the Yankees, it was a given that there would be a season saving trade. On some days it seemed more certain than the sun coming up.

I remember all the trades mentioned in the many posts and then some. However, the power of the Yankees also extended to terrific winter and early season trades. As they often say, its the best that money could buy.

I’ve listed a few that I found on a quick search---

January 1920—Babe Ruth—Boston

March 1972---Sparky Lyle—Boston

November 1959---Roger Maris—Kansas City

December 1984---Ricky Henderson—Oakland

November 1992---Paul O’Neill—Cincinnati

December 1995---Tino Martinez

July 1995---David Cone—Toronto

November 1997---Scott Brosius—Oakland

February 1999---Roger Clemens—Toronto

June 2000---David Justice—Detroit

February 2004---Alex Rodriguez –Texas

December 2009---Curtis Grinderson—Detroit

Date unknown---David Swisher

George Vecsey

7/24/2012 11:11:24 am

Alan, this is what I do for fun, man. It's not Clemens and A-Rod that come with price tags and expectations. It's Kuzava and the Mize and Ramos that kill hope -- what was it Orwell said of the future, a boot in the face of humanity, forever. something like that. GV

Dave H. link

7/27/2012 05:26:13 am

I didn't get to be a Yankee fan until 1945, although my scarlet fever was in 1942. I saw a newspaper ad for baseball on WINS and it happened to be the Yankees, although I lived in Brooklyn and found myself out of step with my buddies. You might like a couple of my posts on 1942 stars:

Names from the Past: Joe Gordon
Well launched into a new dynasty as the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees brought up a promising rookie second baseman, Joe Gordon, in 1938. His job was to fill the shoes of one of the holdovers from the late 1920's Murderers Row, Tony Lazzeri.

After a dozen years notable both for slugging and fielding, Lazzeri had slumped to .a career-low 244 in 1937. While batting only .255, Gordon made an impressive debut by hitting 25 home runs and driving in 97 runs in 127 games. His fielding was excellent enough to earn him the name of Flash, for the popular sci-fi comic strip and movie serial hero of the era, Flash Gordon. He was then and remained consistently at or near the top in putouts, assists, and fewest errors at his position.

Gordon got his batting average up to .284 in his second year and drove in over 100 runs for the first of three times with the Yankees. His best year was 1942, when he hit .322 with 18 homers and 103 RBI's and won the American League's Most Valuable Player Award. Despite his achievements, many observers felt the award shiould have gone to Ted Williams, who won the league's Triple Crown that season, but Teddy Ballgame was notoriously unpopular with many voting writers.

After a slump to .249 in 1943, Flash served in World War II for two years.
Returning in 1946, he was reinstalled at second base even though his wartime replacement, Snuffy Stirnweiss, had won the batting titkle in 1945. Disappointingly, Gordon was one of several Yankees to underperform in that first postwar season, batting .210 with 11 home runs as the Yanks finished a distant third.

During the winter, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Allie Reynolds. It proved to be one of the most mutually beneficial baseball trades. Gordon rebounded to .272 with 29 home runs and formed a splendid double play combinmation with Indians playeer-manager Lou Boudreau. The following year, he was a pillar of the last Indians world championship team, batting .280 with career-high home run and RBI totals of 32 and 124, respectively. Reynolds for his part won 19 games and a World Series start in 1947 and became part of a pitching trio with Vic Raschi and Ed Lopat that sparked the Yankees to a record five straight world championships beginning in 1949.

Gordon played two more years in Cleveland and retired after the 1950 season. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009 by the Veterans Committee.

Names from the Past: Ernie Lombardi
Ernie Lombardi was an outstanding catcher, a lifetime .300 hitter, two-time batting champion, a seven-time All Star, and 1938 National League MVP who has totally faded into obscurity. Playing 17 years in the 1930's and 1940's, he was known as Schnozz for the size of his nose in an era marked by nicknames like Leo the Lip (Durocher), Goose (Goslin), King Kong (Keller), and Slats (Marion).

Schnozz began his career in 1931 with the Brooklyn dodgers, but had his most productive years with the Cincinnati Reds, winning his MVP in 1938 with a league-leading .342 batting average, and playing a major role in two pennant-winners the following two years. He spent one year with the Boston Braves in 1942, capturing his second batting title at .330, and concluded his tenure with five years on the New York Giants.

Besides a lifetime .306 batting average, Lombardi was admired for an accurate sidearm throw from a crouching position and he was considered a fine handler of pitchers. Ironically, one of the few memories of his playing days is from vintage filmed highlights. The abovementioned Yankee outfielder Keller knocked him over in a home plate collision that enabled two runs to score in the climactic Game 4 of the 1939 World Series. The episode became known as "Schnozz's Snooze" and unfairly diminished his fielding reputation.

The Hall of fame Veterans Committee, with a fuller appreciation of Lombardi's career, elected him to the Hall in 1986.

Dave H. link

7/27/2012 07:50:31 am

My scarlet fever came in 1942 and I inadvertently became a Yankee (and baseball) fan in 1945 after noticing a newspaper ad for baseball on WINS. I don't remember any seaon-saving trade that year. In fact, they let star pitcher Hank Borowy go mid-year and he helped the Cubs to their last World Series. You'll recall that the Yanks struggled on to fourth place with batting champion Snuffy Stirnweiss, Tuck Stainback, and Bud Metheny. Charlie Keller and Red Ruffing came back from the war mid-season and gave us some hope for 1946, but that was another downer.

Big Al

7/24/2012 11:29:54 am

George, does the name Luis Soto ring a bell, chubby, little utility infielder who hit a nine-hopper up the middle in Flushing in October of 2000? And what of Brian Doyle and Bucky F. Dent as your pals in Boston refer to him. This plucky little bunch of over-achievers in pinstripes from the Bronx finds a way to overcome and adapt, despite the constraints of a $200 million budget.

George Vecsey

7/24/2012 01:10:15 pm

names vaguely familiar, yes

Alan Rubin link

7/24/2012 04:34:21 pm

George,

You are absolutely correct in that the little surprises are the most fun. I like to root for the little guy as well as the teams with the lowest payroll. Milwaukee is first on that list as my 14 year old grandson lives in Madison, WI and it gives us something in common. He has been to NYC often and knows that he would be a Met fan if he lived here.

The Yankees are not always perfect. The following link shows some of their blunders.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1244339-new-york-yankees-ranking-the-10-worst-trades-in-bombers-history

Ed Martin

7/24/2012 05:02:44 pm

As I read your comment Johnny Hopp, I said to myself Johnny Mize. Us older guys remember Hopp with the Boston Braves and Mize with the Jints. I already hadna painful memory of Mize. Branch Rickey began the two admission doubleheader as I recall. I went to one that began at 10 a.m. The Dam Jints won 19-2 and Mize did a lot of damage. I forget the specifics. As a natural Yankee-hater, all Dodger fans were, these guys showing up in the Bronx was adding insult to injury.

Brian Savin

7/25/2012 12:16:14 am

Gracious. Adding up the total "man years" of experience of this group, there has got to be a couple of hundred years of sports angst reflected here. I can imagine Eternity as a place where the Yankees find the key to winning each and every world series forever. Heaven and hell are the same place -- and your fate depends on who you chose to route for in life!!

George Vecsey

7/25/2012 04:22:11 am

That's what Orwell was talking about.

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face -- forever."

(I looked it up after mangling it somewhat the first time around) GV

Alan Rubin link

7/25/2012 03:18:25 am

Brian,

Yes, I’m enjoying the collective experience of this group and all the many memories it brings.

“Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss” by Marty Appel is a must read as it is an encyclopedia of good and bad Highlander/Yankee trades since about 1903. I read many books as a teenager about the early days of the Yankees, as well as baseball in general, but Marty Appel’s research and insight has taken this history to a new dimension.

I also enjoy all forms of trivia, but the baseball period between the late 1800’s up to about the 1940’s should be a topic in itself.

One of my favorites was how Walter Johnson ended a darkness shortened game by striking out the side without throwing a pitch.

Although I was a Yankee fan, my favorite ball park was The Polo Grounds. The short foul line, high walls and deep center field made every game interesting. I do not know why, but we once decided to sit in the bleachers right next to the dirt runway leading to the club houses. Ralph Kiner hit a home run that landed there on the fly, over 595’. Sometimes you get lucky. However, we barely knew what was happening in the infield.

George Vecsey

7/25/2012 04:23:05 am

I will send this to Marty. GV

Ed Martin

7/25/2012 08:00:16 am

this really rang a bell, lots of interaction. Fun reading from your fans. By the way it reminded me of your post on nicknames. Here are a couple: Mandrake for Jint outfielder Don Mueller. In section 8we called him this singles hitter that for his bloops and seeing eye hits. For the younger, Mandrake the Magician was a comic strip hero.
"Scoonge" for the "Reading (PA) Rifle, Carl Furillo. probably a reference to Scongili. PS saw Furillo catch a shot off the right field wall on the fly and throw to third to head off a runner from first. The ball arrived before the runner and was still rising when it flew over the third baseman's head and landed way back in the seats. Fun.

Adrian

7/25/2012 08:34:03 am

Since we're talking about the good great days--
My 1st game at the Polo Ground. Right field bleachers. 1st row. Ball hit to deep right. Mueller picks it up on one hop and fires a perfect one-bouncer to the man covering 2nd. Being a kid, I didn't think a human could throw like that.
1st game at The Stadium. Same seat. Pitcher throws. Suddenly, Hank Bauer, in front of me, sprints toward center and dives to catch a wicked line drive that I never saw leave the bat.

That's when I realized pro baseball was not in my future.

George Vecsey

7/25/2012 09:15:15 am

my first game at the PG? A guy named Jack Conway hit a 254-foot HR -- his only one in the majors -- to beat my Dodgers. I cried all the way home (what the heck, I was 9)

GV

David A

7/25/2012 09:13:21 am

George,
Truly enjoy your blog, its wonderful pieces like this that give me the impetus to write the following:

http://blogcritics.jdowell.mtv-dev03.technorati.com/sports/article/with-the-trade-deadline-fast-approaching/

Thanks,
Dave

George Vecsey

7/25/2012 09:16:22 am

Thanks so much. will read later.
I'm at Fenway for Roma-Liverpool.
Will be filing for the NYT later.
GV

Dave A

7/25/2012 03:39:38 pm

Go USA Ladies Olympic Soccer! Columbia...next victim-enjoy Fenway. Who are you rooting for (if I may ask?)

George Vecsey

7/25/2012 03:54:27 pm

Too busy to root tonight. I rooted for my Internet connection to come back in a quivering ball park.
I've never become intensely devoted to any one club the way many fans do.
Journalists root for the story, usually. Sounds dull, but true.
GV

Alan Rubin link

7/25/2012 09:15:27 am

Adrian,

I never got used to seeing the outfielder running toward center field to play the ricochet's of hard drives down the line. The right fielder would often throw out a hitter who rounded first too wide and was caught by a quick throw. Since it happened frequently, it was considered part of the home field advantage.

michaelira

7/25/2012 09:15:53 am

Luis Arroyo and Bobby Shantz.

Bob in Cherry Valley

7/25/2012 03:21:12 pm

I linked to this from the NYT Bats blog and found myself moved to look some stuff up, and, respectfully, to post some comments:

When I encounter the words "Pedro Ramos" (or variations) my first association is "Cuban palmball," which I believe involved some kind of tropical moisture.

Sal "The Barber" Maglie, late season pickup in '57, becoming one of the few to play for all 3 (then) NYC franchises. (I don't think anyone played for all 4, though Stengel wore all 4 uniforms, two as mgr.)

Johnny Blanchard came up in the Yankees' system, finally made it to the majors in '59 as a pinch-hitter and #3 catcher behind Elston Howard and Yogi, played 6 seasons and pinch-hit in five straight WS ('60-'64) for the Yanks. Not a late season pickup, a career Yankee.

But most importantly, Luis Sojo (with a "j") was indeed a late season pickup for the Yanks -- in August '96. He had been the starting 2B on the '95 Seattle team that broke Don Mattingly's fans' hearts in the first round of the post-season, along with Tino, Jeff Nelson, and ARod (who was 19). Sojo stayed with the Yanks through '99, then signed with the Pirates for '00, when the Yankees picked him up again, once more in August, a couple of months before the WS game-winning dribbler off Leiter. The Yankees brought Sojo back a third time -- on September 1st this time, and from retirement -- after he had hit a HR off Guidry in the '03 Yankees' Old Timers Game earlier that summer (!). He was 3B coach for the Yanks in '04 and '05 and has managed Yankees' minor league teams most years since, mainly at Tampa, where he managed Nova, Gardner, Hughes, Kennedy, Joba, Romine, Coke, Robertson, Austin Jackson, Nunez, and others who made it to the majors. Sojo now holds the all-time wins record for a manager in the Florida State league. And probably the all-time Yankees late season pennant race pickup record too.

George Vecsey

7/25/2012 03:57:43 pm

Darryl Strawberry played for all four NY franchises -- his only four teams. Of course, two of them were in Calif. when he did.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/strawda01.shtml

Bob in Cherry Valley

7/25/2012 04:17:00 pm

I was on the fence about whether post-'57 counted but I did forget about Straw, so thank you. I guess the home uniforms at least were pretty much the same, except for the caps. By this standard we can also include, at least with Casey, Don Zimmer, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Mets, and coached for the SF Giants and the Yankees.

Forrest Murray

7/25/2012 06:03:07 pm

The quote above about Johnnie Mize and his eyes was with all due respect not from Red Smith,but from my uncle, Dan Parker, in the Daily Mirror.

George Vecsey

7/25/2012 11:08:50 pm

Funny how that works -- Red becomes the representative sportswriter for the ages. Dan Parker was a giant when I was breaking in, before the Mirror went down. Thanks, GV

Big Al

7/26/2012 01:54:59 am

Many thanks to the the two gents who have corrected me on two mistatements I made in prior posts. Blanch (Johnny Blanchard) came up in the Yankee organization. Perhaps I was thinking about his trade to KC in the lamentable Mike Burke era. Someone asked Blanch if he was pleased because he would have a chance to play regularly in KC. Blanch's reply was classic: "Who wants to play regularly in Kansas City?" My apologies to Mr. Parker on attributing his Dad's superb line on John Mize to Red Smith. Perhaps as I march towards social security age as an old baby boomer I am encountering early signs of senility. I recall the line being used in Pete Golenback's marvelous book "Dynasty" recounting the Yankee years of 1949 through 1964,"when rooting for the Yankees was like rooting for U.S. Steel." I have to root the book out of the attic because I could swear that Pete attributed the quote on Mize to the great Red Smith, a favorite of mine. But as I say, I am an aging baby boomer and like many "young" guys in their 50's and 60's, my idol was and is a young kid from Oklahoma who ran like the wind and hit moonshots from both sides of the plate. All he did was take the Yankees to the Series 12 times in his first 14 years, hit 18 homers in October, 3 more than Ruth and win the Triple Crown. 50 years ago in 1962, I saw the Mick batting lefty in BP before a double-dip with the Tigers hit 12 consecutive balls into the bleachers between the 407 sign in right center and the 461 sign in dead center. The peanut and hot dog vendors set down their trays, turned and watched. Kaline, Cash, Colavito and Bunning stood behind the cage and stared in awe, then laughed hysterically. Next time in the cage, The Natural stepped into the box from the right side and on his first swing, he hit a ball that looked like a Tiger Woods 2 iron, ten feet off the ground, no more, which went over the 457 sign in left center and got stopped by the bleacher seats about ten or twelve rows back. If the seats weren't there, the ball would have wound up in the lobby of the Concourse Plaza Hotel on 161st Street. Incidentally, some of us with Moms who had grown up in the Bronx watching Ruth, Gehrig and DiMag always referred to the Concourse as the "Cohen Course". I could never figure out why. I need a good knish, but where to find one these days? George V. and I knew a place in Queens - - - - . Right old friend?

George Vecsey

7/26/2012 03:01:09 am

Al, I can get pho in our home borough now....and dosa....
that works, too. But the knishes at Charney's were good, too
GV.

Alan Rubin link

7/26/2012 03:01:22 am

Big Al

Mantle was the most powerful player I had ever seen. I saw him hit a line drive home run to right center that the second baseman just missed catching by inches. It just kept rising. I wonder how his would have felt if he did catch it.

One night my wife, a non-sports fan, and I were at a Howard Johnsons on Rt 4 in NJ for a late night ice cream when I pointed Mantle out to her. He was across the room with his back to us. When she asked how could I tell since he was far away and not facing us I replied, "I would recognize that neck anywhere" .

Big Al

7/26/2012 03:13:55 am

You can get great Yona Schimmel knishes is Teaneck as well. But the knishes at Charney's were like fragrant little pillows, with perfect crust and hospital corners. The mashed potato inside was perfectly seasoned with onion and pepper and the special deli mustard made them superb. For those favoring kasha, these knishes were also perfect. The kasha was soft, flavorful and moist, like the kind in my Bubby's flanken with kasha varnishkes (pot roast and kasha, oy!). I am so hungry!!!!!

Alan Rubin link

7/26/2012 03:37:54 am

The references to Red Smith reminded me of a long-time, unresolved, argument with my friend about whether we played “hardball or baseball” as kids growing up in NYC.

It started when we were coming onto the Westside Highway from the George Washington Bridge. Harvey pointed out the Little Red Lighthouse that was in our kids’ story books. I commented that I used to play hardball on the field right next to it. He exclaimed that there was no such thing as hardball, it was baseball.

This continued on and off good naturedly for years until we decided to ask Red Smith, but he had died two days later.

I lived at 190th street and Fort Washington Avenue in Manhattan’s Washington Heights section. My sports universe was the cement school yard of PS 187 across the street, where softball was king. However, it was always a treat to play hardball on dirt and grass under the bridge at 177th street. You could actually slide on your side and playing next to the Hudson River was worth the trip.

I’m hoping that someone in this talented group of fans can shed some light on this. I do not know if “hardball” was a term unique to the world of PS 187 or if its use was more wide spread. We always referred to the games as either hardball or softball, never baseball.

Harvey was from the Jerome Avenue area of the Bronx, which was probably not as enlightened as upper Manhattan. My theory is that Manhattan residents of my era were ego-centric. All NYC friends of my generation refer to having been from Brooklyn, the Bronx or Queens. Manhattan alumni always refer to themselves as being from New York. Just a theory!

Keep in mind, many of today’s politicians, political analysts and even corporate executives refer to “playing hardball”, not baseball.

Big Al

7/26/2012 03:38:35 am

Alan, this is from Alan, a/k/a Big Al. I live right off Route 4 these days and I know that Mickey brought his entire family to live with him one Summer in a rental house in Bergen County, perhaps 1962. The neighbors apparently drove him crazy and the experiment was not repeated the next season.

Do you recall the sound of ball on bat when Mantle connected with full power? Was it not different, louder and sharper, than any other player's best? Three examples: (1) The home run off the facade off of Bill Fischer in 1963 (note: Mick always called it the "facarde"); (2) I was at the double-dip vs. the Pale Hose in August of 1964 when Mantle's second of two tremendous homeruns, this one off of Ray Herbert, went over the monuments, over the 461 sign, over the twenty foot screen above the sign and twenty rows into the black seats where its progress was stopped, 502 feet from home plate. It was a Daily News "diagram shot"; remember the Mantle HR diagrams? ; and (3) The moonshot walkoff HR in Game Three of the 1964 Series off of Barney Schultz that Cards' RF Mike Shannon turned and stared at. I have heard Tim McCarver, who was behind the plate for the Cards, say he was in awe. Crosetti almost jumped on Mickey's back as he rounded third. Pepi and Ellie greeted Mantle like he was Neil Armstrong. That day in October of 1964 was one of the two or three happiest of my entire life. It almost cancelled out Bill Mazeroski.

Big Al

7/26/2012 04:14:28 am

Alan, of course it was "hardball"! We played hardball at Alley Pond Park and at Cunningham Park in Queens. We played stickball with a broomstick and a tennis ball on the wall with the painted strike zone at Martin Van Buren HS in Queens Village. We played stoopball and slapball with a "spaldeen". "Punchball" was for sissies. Anyone who is not intimately familiar with the proper use of these terms was obviously not well brought up, a "garcon mal eleve" as M. Vecsey would call him. Only a complete vulgarian would refer to an egg cream as a "chocoate soda", is it not so? Only a knave would make one with Bosco and club soda. The cogniscenti know that an egg cream is simpy not an egg cream without Foxx's U Bet and seltzer from the fountain or spritzer of such high intensity that the gas created could fuel an Apollo booster rocket. Hardball is hardball, softball is softball; this is true to a metaphysical, existential certainty.

Alan Rubin link

7/26/2012 05:19:53 am

Big Al,

“Hardball” it is as you have the proper credentials to make that ruling.

It was in 1962 when we saw Mantle as we were just married and staying with my folks in Teaneck until our apartment in Elizabeth was ready. As for the sound of the line drive home run, as my kids and grandchildren say—awesome!

I suspect that you live in Teaneck or nearby if you are near Rt 4. We moved from Washington Heights to Teaneck in December 1947. I lived there until I graduated college in 1958. I lived on Forest Avenue just five houses up from River Road.

We could start an entirely new dialogue on the culture and protocols of school yard sports. We played all the games you mentioned and some that you forgot. PS 187 was a square with one quarter used for the school. There was one large, a relative term, field and two smaller ones. Unless the rest of the yard was cleared on Sunday afternoons for the college kids to play, all of the activities that you mentioned were going on while three softball games were being played. The center fielder on the largest field had to play both walls of the school corner in addition to dodging several basketball poles.

There were also games of target going on against the left field wall. I always was in the school yard by 7 AM so that I could be in the first softball game as winners played all day. A game of target could start with only two players and a softball game needed two to a side. Hits in certain areas were outs and the restrictions modified as more players arrived.

I often went back to PS 187 on weekends for two years because pickup games were unknown in Teaneck at the time.

While playing center field for Teaneck JHS at Tenafly, I had to run through a track meet to catch a ball. When my coach asked how I managed it, I told him that I had school yard training.

One of my highlights was when the truck delivered Foxx’s U Bet and seltzer. The mix was enhanced by adding some malt crystals on top for flavor, if my mother was not home.

Great memories!!

George Vecsey

7/26/2012 06:26:53 am

Big Al plays hardball. Of course he does. That's what we called it in Queens (a decade earlier than Big Al).
Words change by borough. In Queens you would "get" a haircut. But I met friends from Brooklyn who would "take" a haircut.
Red wouldn't have known about NYC youth semantics. I think he was from Green Bay. Dave Anderson from Brooklyn would know,

7/26/2012 05:06:03 am

In late breaking news the Steinbrenners announced they have bought A.C. Roma, and are considering bringing back Pele for the last month before the championship. Nice story, as usual, George on Fenway match.

Pinstripe Birthdays link

7/26/2012 06:05:06 am

Don't forget when they brought El Duque back to the Bronx in July of 2004. He won 8 of 10 decisions to get them into postseason.

George Vecsey

7/26/2012 06:29:37 am

Dear Pinstripes: They could bring back Lefty Gomez tomorrow and he would go 7-1 down the stretch. GV

Alan Rubin link

7/26/2012 07:11:05 am

George

Lefty Gomez was quite a character as well as a good pitcher. Once with two men on base, he threw the ball to second basemen Tony Lazzeri, the only one not involved in the play. Everyone was save as Lazzei was surprised and just held the ball.

On the pitcher’s mound before the next pitch, Gomez was asked what he was doing. He replied to Lazzeri, I heard that you were so smart that I wanted to see what you would do with it.

Big Al

7/26/2012 06:11:43 am

Alan buddy, I am in Bergenfield, not much more than a mile from Windsor Road and Teaneck, past Bergenfield HS, where Ronny Vallone starred at hardball. I go to the JCC of Teaneck, across Cedar Lane from Holy Name Hospital. Do you remember Tabachniks and the Butterflake Bakery? Bill Parcells played at River Dell in Oradell, ten minutes away. I am familiar with all important games and we cannot leave out boxball and hit the penny. But did you flip baseball cards? In the schoolyard at P.S. 18 on Hillside Ave. in Queens Village (George knows this area) I was an acknowledged master. You challenged your opponent calling your bet, such as "first and five". You flipped five cards and your opponent had to match. We always kept two sets of cards, one for flipping and one for the shoebox, full set. Did you ever notice that there were ten Pumpsie Greens and Eli Grbas for one Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays? Do you think that Topps did this deliberately? I would walk to school to be there at 7 AM so I would have a full hour of card-flipping and was subjected to daily abuse by my idiot Met friends starting in 1962. According to them, Choo Choo Coleman was better than Ellie Howard and Joe Christopher was better than Mickey Mantle. How does one respond to such lunacy? And they were under the impression that the Mayor's Trophy Game was Game Seven of the World Series. Did you know that Rod Kanehl was better than Bobby Richardson? Oy! Vanilla Malted at Michael's Luncheonette (candy store) on Hillside was 30 cents for three large glasses of malted with two giant scoops of vanilla. Remember the ice cream headache? The spaldeens at Michael's were kept in a large wicker basket and they cost a quarter, a major investment. We tested the spaldeens using Isacc Newton's theory of gravity to determine which one bounced the highest. Michael, the proprietor, never questioned us and assumed our scientific theories were proper. And yes, my Mother threw out all my shoeboxes of sacred cards as soon as I left for college.

Alan Rubin link

7/26/2012 07:01:03 am

Big Al,

Of course I know Tabachniks and the Butterflake Bakery. I had to buy and extra Russian rye because I usually ate one on the way home. Vince Lombardy was the football coach of the always successful St. Cecelia HS teams. I believe that was where he was first noticed.

Gratzel’s was another good bakery on Cedar Lane. There were two very good fast pitch softball summer leagues in Teaneck and they played in the better one. It was rumored that they paid their pitcher. One year it was decided to have a game between the two league winners. Several of us watched one of their games from behind home plate and set our goals on just getting a hit. We did get some, but no one took a strike or a full swing. It was important to practice your timing. We did not win, but did received treats from the bakery.

We did all the same card flipping as well as marble contests. Did you read the book, ”Where you going, out?; What are you doing, nothing? It tells a one year cycle of neighborhood activities. An enjoyable read!

Mothers were always a problem. I was a saver, but she never allowed comic books into the apartment. Considering how long I keep things (just ask my wife), I must have missed out on a fortune.

I have many fond memories of Bergenfield, except for a few blind dates. Teaneck played them in sports and I got to know many of the players.

Irwin Gordon

5/16/2014 05:50:14 am

Hello Big Al,

Are you also familiar with Michael's Luncheonette in Woodside? My father briefly worked there in 1959.

Regards, Irwin

Big Al

7/26/2012 07:10:26 am

This comment by George is very astute, a distinction with a difference. At Sal the barber's on Springfield off Union in Queens, you "got" a haircut. You could also get a a bet and a decent vig on Yanks-Tigers, Ford v. Bunning. Does anyone recall the great blackout of 1965? I was in the chair with Sal, late in the afternoon, when the lights went out. My haircut was half-finished. I had to come back the following day. Can you imagine the grief I took? My buds never let me forget my mohawk. In those days, we all got the "semi-crew" cut. Mantle and Unitas wore their hair that way. Y.A. Tittle, a hero, had a different cut.

Big Al

7/26/2012 07:29:33 am

The Bergenfield Bears were one tough outfit! The Butterflake made the best marble cake, chocolate eclairs (custard not whipped cream!!!) and assorted cookies in G-d's creation and still does. Do you recall the line that stretched outside the bakery on Sunday mornings? The small, seeded rye, onion rolls, bialys and bagels with everything (garlic, garlic, garlic) are simply the best. As for Tabachniks, when you walked into the place, you immediately went into a trance. The smells were so wonderful they must have been illegal. Did you know that Jim Bouton played semi-pro ball in Teaneck? My buddy's dad managed him. Alan, Washington Avenue hasn't changed a lick and neither has Teaneck Road by the Armory. Try Tommy Fox's on Washington for a Yankee or Giants game.

Big Al

7/26/2012 09:11:37 am

Dear Dave H., I stand corrected yet again and thank you. The Big Cat hit 50+ homers only once and I was thinking of the master of malapropisms, Ralph Kiner, great slugger and hilarious broadcaster. I suggested recently to George V. that the Mets should invite the new Governor Cuomo to Opening Day at Shea II and have a special Kiner's Corner for Ralphie to interview Guv. Andy C. Can anyone alive who was watching the Opening Day at Shea I when Governor Mario C. was in attendance fail to recall Kiner's epic malopropism in referring to the Governor as Mario "Kooh-mo"? When I see Ralphie these days, it evokes Bob Shepherd, who is still announcing Derek "Jeetah", from his grave in Cypress Hills Cemetary, Queens. Reminds me of a story Kiner told about his days in Pittsburgh when he was winning HR championships year after year and he went into GM Branch Rickey's office and demanded a big raise. Rickey replied: Young man we finished last with you and we can finish last without you." Ralphie became Kiner the Cubbie

Alan Rubin link

7/28/2012 08:30:16 am

Big Al

Branch Rickey’s comment to Ralph Kiner was typical of how he utilized any opportunity to under pay his players. Although he was very innovative and made many positive contributions to baseball, Rickey could be mean spirited and often disrespected his players in order to save money.

Two books that are of interest are “Dollar Sign on the Muscle: The World of Baseball Scouting” by Kevin Kerrane (1989) and “Branch Rickey:Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman” by Lee Lowenfish (2007).

I was sitting behind home plate watching a Pittsfield Mets game at Waconah Park in Pittsfield. MA shortly after “Dollar Sign on the Muscle” came out. There were two scouts sitting in front of me, so I asked if they had read the book. They said that it was perfectly on target.

Although it is a book on scouting, Rickey is referred to often. For example, he would release players on the road so he would have to pay their return fare home.

My son Josh met Lee Lowenstein while on a summer internship at WBAI in NYC. On his weekly sports program, Lee interviewed Kevin Kerrane about his book “Dollar Sign on the Muscle”. It turned out that Lee was a customer in my store and we became very good friends. I would not normally read a book about Branch Rickey, but Lee is a terrific writer about baseball and I always support friends.

“Branch Rickey” is a wonderful insight to the man and is an interesting read. I believe George had some references to Rickey in his recent Stan Musial book, another must read.

Pchelpplanet.com link

8/29/2013 12:31:50 am

I Like this way of summarizing the Spain’s football match and no one can accurately brief the event other than you .And it is sad to realize the fact that the injured player is not replaced with the substitution.

Queen link

8/29/2013 12:32:48 am

very good

Comments are closed.

Who's Going to Replace A-Rod? Brooks Robinson?

Categories

Buy the Book