Header - Baseball by the Letters

Year: 2010

Ethan Blackaby: Milwaukee Braves Lured by Coca-Cola Advertising Dollars?

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Ethan Blackaby’s brief tenure with the Milwaukee Braves taught him more than on-field skills.

The future general manager for the AAA Phoenix Firebirds (the talent factory for the San Francisco Giants) saw the ownership’s urge to relocate the Braves from Wisconsin.

He wrote:

“My first inkling was the winter of 1964. There was a rumor that Coke had offered the Braves a big advertising package if they moved to Atlanta. Braves accepted the deal and actually planned on moving in 1965, but N.L. vetoed the move. The Braves moved our Triple A team there for one season.”

Blackaby’s first at-bat came in 1962, hitting for Bob Uecker. He collected a pinch-double off Ernie Broglio. Kudos to the amazing Retrosheet website for preserving such memories, especially when the history makers have forgotten. Wrote Blackaby:

“Did I pinch-hit for Uecker? I can’t remember. Uecker is a funny man and I still see him in the winter. He lives here (in Arizona) in the winter.”

What does Blackaby cite as his front office accomplishments as a minor league exec?

“We had some good players, Chili Davis, Jack Clark. My greatest accomplishment was finishing in top-ten of minor league attendance for a period of about five years. I had a great staff.”

Blackaby belted 95 home runs in his minor league career. If he hadn’t been trapped in a power-laden Milwaukee outfield, Blackaby could have found time to shine.

Be sure to stop at the BR Bullpen. Baseball Reference offers a swell summation of Blackaby’s career, along with a classic minor league shot of the Phoenix GM.

Tip Your Cap to Pete Castiglione

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Infielder Pete Castiglione left us April 22. His obituary stated he was 89.

According to the always-helpful www.sportscollectors.net, Pete had signed 48 requests, but sent back blank cards for the first time in October, 2009. That’s a likely sign that a former player’s health is declining.

Pete put his baseball career on hold for four seasons to serve in the Navy during World War II. More about his boyhood days can be found from this fine Connecticut newspaper article.

For my book Collecting Baseball Cards, I looked to Pete for a memory about his four Bowman and one (1952) Topps card appearances. He wrote:

“Players were contacted by an agent representing the baseball cad companies. The fee in those days was either gifts or money. The companies usually gave you a few boxes of the cards. Very few players saved the cards in the late 1940s and 50s. My children played with the cards.”

I can’t say often enough to remember all of baseball’s over-80 retirees NOW. Their numbers are shrinking. They feel a sacred obligation to fans and the sport. Impressive penmanship, attention to detail and appreciation for baseball history are typical of the responses they send. Please, thank them today.

Not All Heroes Are on Scorecards

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How do I choose the personalities to write to as I collect baseball memories? I don’t limit myself to 25-man rosters or official entries in any encyclopedia. If someone has a life and career that speaks to me as a fan, I want more of their story.

As I maintain my goal of sending a letter a day, here’s the people my next sheet of FOREVER stamps are reserved for…

RANDY WEHOFER (pictured above): Iowa Cubs team announcer who played a, yes, team announcer, in the movie Sugar.

NANCY FAUST: White Sox team organist retiring in 2010, her 41st season. She got crowds to sing —

“Na, na, na, na. Na, na, na, na. Hey, hey, hey. Goodbye”

MIKE VEECK: Minor league baseball visionary, son of Hall of Fame team owner Bill Veeck.

SISTER MARY ASSUMPTA: Cleveland Indians super-fan who has baked cookies to give to her “boys” for 25 years. Featured on a 1997 Upper Deck promo card.

KADIR NELSON: Gifted illustrator and creator of the stunning book We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball.

DAVE RAYMOND: The first Phillies Phanatic.

DENNIS RIMA: One of the “Ghost Players” who’ve performed at Iowa’s Field of Dreams and around the world.

Stay tuned!

Walter Alston & Casey Stengel Successful Today? Not Likely, Says Pitcher Larry Miller

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Back in 2001, former pitcher Larry Miller still threw strikes.

Verbal strikes, that is.

Miller didn’t sugar-coat his opinions when asked about hurling for two
Hall of Fame managers in a three-year career. Furthermore, Miller slung
a high, hard one at the 1960s Mets organization.

“I never got to know either Alston or Stengel as people,” Miller began. “As managers, they had similar skills as far as making proper strategic moves during a game. Neither spent much effort trying to connect with the players. My belief is that neither would be very successful managing today’s players who require and demand special considerations.”

When coach Wes Westrum took over the Mets following Stengel’s retirement, Miller felt that the new manager was doomed.

“Westrum took over a team still brimming with expansion players. The core of the ’69 Mets (Seaver, Ryan, Koosman, McGraw, etc.) were just coming into the organization as minor leaguers. The best manager in baseball at that time would have had difficulty improving the Mets record.

“The old saying ‘You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken s – – – ‘ applies here.”

Walter Alston & Casey Stengel Successful Today? Not Likely, Says Pitcher Larry Miller

by


Back in 2001, former pitcher Larry Miller still threw strikes.

Verbal strikes, that is.

Miller didn’t sugar-coat his opinions when asked about hurling for two
Hall of Fame managers in a three-year career. Furthermore, Miller slung
a high, hard one at the 1960s Mets organization.

“I never got to know either Alston or Stengel as people,” Miller began. “As managers, they had similar skills as far as making proper strategic moves during a game. Neither spent much effort trying to connect with the players. My belief is that neither would be very successful managing today’s players who require and demand special considerations.”

When coach Wes Westrum took over the Mets following Stengel’s retirement, Miller felt that the new manager was doomed.

“Westrum took over a team still brimming with expansion players. The core of the ’69 Mets (Seaver, Ryan, Koosman, McGraw, etc.) were just coming into the organization as minor leaguers. The best manager in baseball at that time would have had difficulty improving the Mets record.

“The old saying ‘You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken s – – – ‘ applies here.”