When Dick Williams came calling, pitchers like
Goose Gossage often didn't want to see him.
Dick Williams, one of the top managers of the '60, '70 and '80s, and a Hall of Famer, died today. Williams was one of those old-school tough guys who didn't take guff from anyone, even his employer.
As a kid, I loved the Oakland A's. Williams was their manager when they won two of their three straight World Series. The team featured colorful figures like Reggie Jackson, Bert Campaneris and Rollie Fingers on the field and Charlie Finley in the owner's box.
Everything I've read about Williams since paints a portrait of a disciplinarian who insisted things be done his way. He used that to take charge of the circus that was the A's back then. It didn't seem to matter whether Reggie stirred controversy or Finley was the center of attention, Williams kept the team winning; they were the best team of the '70s. (Sorry Big Red Machine, you finish second in my rankings.)
Maybe only a strict manger could have run a team like that successfully. In the end, it was too much for Williams. He quit the A's after three division titles and two world championships. He'd had enough of Finley and his style. For those who are too young to remember, Finley was part carnival barker (that was the fun part) and part George Steinbrenner (think tyrant).
UPDATE: The Brewers swept the Cardinals this weekend and I was right: it is oh so sweet to beat Tony La Russa's team.
Tony La Russa will be managing in his 5,000th game tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals visit Milwaukee in a key early series with the Brewers. Only Connie Mack, who sat on he bench in his suit for 7,755 games, managed more.
That La Russa has made out the lineup card so many times over more than three decades is a testament to his ability. He took the Chicago White Sox to a division title, the Oakland A's to three pennants and a World Series title, and the Redbirds to two pennants and a title.
None of the teams he has managed have been accused of overspending. La Russa has chosen his coaches well, especially Dave Duncan, who seems to have a magic potion that turns suspect pitchers into stars.
And yet La Russa is difficult to like. Part of it, I am sure, is that he has never managed my teams. But it's more than simple partisanship.
It's Mother's Day and for the sixth year many major leaguers will stride to the plate wielding pink bats. The color, of course, doesn't really affect the game -- notwithstanding Ron Santo's poor attempt at humor while broadcasting a Chicago Cubs game.
The bats are a way to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The observance is in conjunction with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization. In 2009, baseball also started choosing honorary bat girls for the day.
The bat girls, who are breast-cancer survivors, are chosen by each team. It's a nice addition to the day. Of course, ball girls are not new as many teams have deployed them down the lines over the years. Perhaps most famously the Cubs (they seem to have problems in this area) hired and later dismissed Marla Collins, whom was the object of many Harry Caray sexist remarks and a spread in Playboy.
Willie Mays turned 80 yesterday. It's hard to believe the "Say Hey Kid," frozen in time making the most famous catch ever has reached that milestone.
To a lot of fans, Mays is the greatest player ever. The image of his cap flying off as he chased down an impossible-to-catch fly ball proof of his superior ability. No doubt Mays is among the greatest ever; he is even celebrated wit the immortal refrain "Willie, Mickey and the Duke" in Terry Cashman's ode to baseball, "Talkin' Baseball."
I find Mays career fascinating for the way it played out over two decades. Last year, I read "Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend" and I came away with two overall thoughts about Mays.
First, there were three distinct periods to Mays' career. In part one, he was the young kid who came from nowhere to make Gotham's Nation League team a champion. Then, in part two, the team moved west to San Francisco. It took the fans there years to warm up to Mays (which shows just how fickle sports fans can be: How do you give a cold shoulder to the "Say Hey Kid?").
Finally, part three, the final act of his career. Mays is traded to the Mets so he can have a triumphal return to New York. Instead of being joyous, the farewell tour has left many New Yorkers with a bad taste. They often lament that it's a shame Mays' career had to end the way it did.
But I think they have selective memory. Yes, the aging hero did lose a ball in the sun during the seventh inning of Game 2 of the 1973 World Series against the Oakland A's. And yes he did look bad stumbling and falling. But, after that, in the 12th inning, Mays drove in the last run of his career. It gave the Mets a lead they wouldn't relinquish. In other words, the last RBI of Mays' career was a World Series game winner. I've never heard anyone mentions this. All they remember from his Mets' days is one lousy missed fly ball.
The other image I formed of Mays was of a man whose entire life was baseball. The account in the book is of a man who in retirement never really found something to spark his interest the way being the "Say Hey Kid" had.
But for a black kid from Alabama who was born before Jackie Robinson broke into the majors, it's quite an accomplishment to be the man many consider the best ever. For him, the first act was so large it's possible that no second act could live up to it.
I've written a couple of times about baseball's problems with the law and other incidents of bad behavior. Now comes the arrest this week of Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo on DUI charges. Unfortunately, he's not the only player who has been arrested for drunken driving since spring training began.
At least five other players are in the same situation: Adam Kennedy of the Seattle Mariners; Derek Lowe of the Atlanta Braves; Austin Kearns and Coco Crisp of the Indians; and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.
I don't know if that's more than in an average year, but I was shocked to read that major league baseball has no policy regarding offenses related to drinking. Maybe I just haven't paid enough attention, but it seems like baseball players and alcohol have often been linked and some sort of policy would have developed.
