Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: December 2010

Phil Roof Transforms ‘Sudden’ Sam McDowell

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Roof uses same looping script!

Phil Roof caught in the majors from 1961-77. The Kentucky native proved that good catchers win games, but great ones change careers. He wrote:

“I told Sam McDowell on a day I was catching him and told him no one could hit his fastball. He said, ‘I can’t pitch that way.’

The next start, I caught him and called for all fastballs until he got to two strikes. Game results: 10 innings, no runs, 16 strikeouts. The next start, he K’d 15 in nine innings.

Made a believer out of him.”

Tomorrow: Roof shares a lesson in pitch-tipping, noting that a code-breaker can homer with such inside knowledge!

Jewish Major Leaguers Star In Book

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Dave Cohen is an inspiration to all baseball letter-writers. Yes, THAT Dave Cohen. Mister Georgia State University Athletics. The Voice of the Panthers.

While some fans think a letter has to be limited to “what was your greatest thrill” type of query, Cohen spoke from his heart. How did faith and ethnic pride buoy a career? Hard questions, yes. However, the result is an eye-opening book.

I wrote to the author. He shared the highlights of his discovery in his kind, thoughtful reply:

“The premise behind the book was to learn about who some of these Jewish former major leaguer’s were and to hear their stories. Most Jewish baseball fans are somewhat familiar with the careers of Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax but how many of them know anything about the careers of the other Jewish ballplayers? Who were they and how did they leave their mark on the game? What were their experiences in the game? Since the beginning of Major League Baseball or professional baseball as we know it, among the thousands and thousands that have played, the number is in and around two hundred of those that were Jewish. It’s such a small number that, to me, among baseball fans it’s a special minority. On one hand there were players like Al Rosen, Steve Stone and Ron Blomberg, who I think understood why I was doing this book and why it is important to recognize their accomplishments.
There were also a couple of players who questioned as to why I, or anyone, would single out players based solely on their religion. I think it just comes down to the ethnic pride within the various communities whether it’s the Jewish community or the various Latin-American or Asian-American communities who follow the various players with a shared or common back round or heritage.
For this first publishing I interviewed seventeen former players. Two interviews were done in-person although I had met four of them in-person. The rest of them, except one, were conducted as phone interviews. Although I would have loved to, time and cost prohibited me from traveling around the country to meet them all in person. The only former player who did not want to talk on the phone was Ken Holtzman but he did agree to be interviewed via e-mail so that’s what we did. Surprisingly enough he answered most of my questions in complete detail. There were a few questions that he did not want to elaborate on and that’s ok too.
There were not really many instances during the course of my interviews where a player was not clear about what I was referring to. I did pre-interview research on each former player and knew much of the time where I was leading the conversation. The nice thing I found with some of these players and their interviews was that those who were lesser-known or who maybe did not have long careers, they seemed to be enthusiastic that someone had taken the time to research their baseball career and was interested in talking to them about it. They were, I think, genuinely please to be recognized and to be included in the book.
I think the best thing to do if you are planning on including a personal question in your request is, again, to do a little research on the individual and maybe come up with something more pertinent to his career. Google is a wonderful tool! As I mentioned, I found some of the former players I interviewed to be open and enthusiastic that someone had taken the time to read up on their career and to show an interest in their accomplishments. Depending upon the player, there may be some who do not want to talk about certain subjects. Either they’ll let you know by not answering or you’ll hopefully get an informative answer. Should you be talking to the former player in person it might even lead to a longer conversation.
From my conversations with Barry Latman he related to me that he never saw the side of Ty Cobb that Cobb was portrayed to be meaning racist and anti-Semitic. According to Latman, while they did meet in-person on a few occasions, most of their correspondence was done via letter writing. Remember, it was the early to mid- 1950’s. I did not get the opportunity to view all the letters. The only one I was able to read was the copy of the one he sent me to include in my book. Having visited Cobb’s hometown of Royston, Georgia and having read a little bit about him and his life and career my guess is that he was a product of his environment and the time period. His reputation on the baseball field may not have matched his off the field demeanor quite to the extent that is often portrayed. I don’t know that for sure but Latman never witnessed it.”
Baseball fans can order Matzoh Balls and Baseballs online at Amazon.com as well as the Barnes & Noble and Borders online sites. They can also visit http://www.havenhurstbooks.com/. Various independent bookstores carry it as well including A Cappella Books in Atlanta, which has autographed copies. Visit online at http://www.acappellabooks.com/ or call them at 404-681-5128 or toll-free at 1-866-681-5128.

Thanking Ron Santo…And Dick Allen?

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The famed SI poster that
graced my closet door!

Ron Santo will always be my hero.

Thanks to regional TV broadcasts in Central Iowa, the first game I ever watched was a Cubs game. Jack Brickhouse adored Ronnie. How could anyone feel differently?

The closet on my bedroom wall was adorned with Santo’s Sports Illustrated poster, circa 1968-69. Imagine my heartbreak upon our move, when I realized that my parents had Elmer’s Glued Ron to the door.

The shock of the Santo trade to the White Sox prior to the 1974 season brought a surprising response from my Dad.

“If he’s in the American League now, I won’t mind the drive to Minnesota.”

For years, my folks grimaced over my yearly requests for a vacation to Chicago. Downtown Chicago? City driving?

The Twins, however, seemed like an off-ramp team. Metropolitan Stadium was as easy to reach as any roadside diner.

I’ll never forget hanging over the rail at the “Met.” No other fan was seeking pre-game autographs from the visitors. This geeky junior high schooler knew he may never get another chance to thank his hero.

Instead, all I saw was Dick Allen, pacing the dugout.

“Mister Allen,” I pleaded. “Would you ask Mister Santo to come out, please?  I came from Iowa. I’m a big fan!”

I thought the slugger might slug me. I heard a loud snort and groan. Or a growl? He spun and disappeared.

Seconds later, I saw Santo peer around the corner. Only his head emerged, in puppet-show fashion.

“Please, may I have your autograph?” I gushed. “Thank you for being my favorite player all these years. I’m from Iowa. My folks never wanted to drive all the way to Wrigley Field to see you play. This is closer!”

Yes, I said it all. Ron Santo borrowed my pencil and signed the cover of my Twins program. He restrained his grin, only nodding when I thanked him. He retreated to the shadows. I floated back to my seat.

Only this week did I realize that I got an assist in being face-to-face with my hero. From this day forward, I’ll always believe that mysterious, misunderstood Dick Allen made my case to his new teammate, asking him to take pity on an awestruck Iowan.

In the 1980s, I had a five-minute chat with Santo at a sports collectors show in Tacoma, Washington. He loved the story of the Minnesota autograph, without commenting on any role Allen may have played in that day. I thanked him for sharing his diabetes story with the baseball world. He seemed embarrassed at such praise. Why did he reveal his diabetes when he did?

“I never intended to keep it a secret,” he said to me. “I just didn’t want it to sound like an excuse.”

 Ron vetoed a trade to California in the winter of 1973. This time, I’m sure he’ll be a starting Angel.

Holiday ‘Forever’ Stamps Might Help

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It’s the time of giving. Why won’t the postal carriers give us more autographs?

This is the “Tastes Great! Less Filling!” type debate of the hobby. Some collectors swear they find more players signing during the holiday season. Others swear the whole work takes a vacation until Jan. 2. No autographs, no matter what.

Don’t give up hope. Consider the holiday evergreen stamps. They have the “FOREVER” designation, in case of a postal increase. Plus, they might guilt out a signer who finds your envelope with “holiday” stamps got ignored until January.

The other longshot? Sending a Christmas card to soften up a signer. I wouldn’t do it. Even retired players know when there’s strings attached. If you want to send Christmas cards, send them as thank-you notes to guys who’ve signed for you in 2010.

Readers: do you get fewer or more returns before Christmas?

Johnny Goryl Salutes Billy Martin

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Want proof that Johnny Goryl was a team player? Ask him about hitting four homers in one week (July, 1963), commemorated by http://www.retrosheet.org/. Many players can recite their career stats by heart, including individual highlights.

Goryl, meanwhile, replies…

“I never knew I did that. I know that my best season in the M.L. was with the Twins.”

Speaking of the Twins, Goryl served on the coaching staff of new manager Billy Martin. How was the fiery skipper as a boss?

“Billy M. was great to work for. He did a terrific job that season, taking us to the A.L. Division Playoffs, only to be swept by Baltimore. We lost the first two games by 1 run and then got beat badly in the 3rd game in the best of 5 series.”

Goryl’s closing paragraph impressed me most:

“I am going to enter my 60th year in professional baseball next season, an accomplishment I am very proud of. I have numerous wonderful memories over the years and have seen a lot of great players in that time. I feel privileged to have been able to be a small part of the game and to be on the field with so many great players.


Thanks for remembering me, Tom,


Johnny Goryl”

See Goryl discuss his career and the future Cleveland Indians in a 2009 video