Header - Baseball by the Letters

Roger Repoz Salutes Mickey Mantle

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Not Mantle.
Not Murcer.
Still grateful.

Outfielder Roger Repoz did his best to ignore the New York media. However, he couldn’t help but be thunderstruck by his new place of employment in 1964.

Did he remember his Yankee Stadium arrival? His letter confirmed that the impression still remains:

“I remember walking out on the field like it was yesterday. The facade hung out over the field.

It was like being in a canyon.”

Repoz couldn’t just be another outfield prospect. For New York scribes, he had to be a future Mickey Mantle. Who could survive such high expectations. He explained:

“I tried not to notice because there wasn’t going to be another Mantle. He was so good!”

Repoz flashed occasional Mantle-like power in his career. Two homers and six RBI versus the 1968 Tigers in one game. A 1971 grand slam against the mighty Orioles. Neither power display tops his list, though.

“My first major league hit was a home run off Steve Barber. I still have the ball.”

And http://www.retrosheet.org/ has the memory. Flash back to July, 1, 1965.

Tomorrow: one of the 1953 Yankees explains his Topps card of that year, then ponders Casey Stengel.

Bud Harrelson: ‘I Always Wanted the Mets.’

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Good luck finding
a ‘Derrel’ autograph
today!

Did Bud Harrelson want to play for the San Francisco Giants? I quoted to him from The Ballplayers, a 1990 reference book.

“Harrelson grew up in California wanting to play for the Giants, who rejected him as too small.”

This was repeated in a thorough SABR biography.

I asked for details. Who did the rejecting? How? His reply was fascinating:

“The Giants never scouted me. I always wanted the Mets.”

The Ballplayers did point out one epic week in Harrelson’s career. In the same week in late 1966, he secured Met wins against the Giants and Pirates with dramatic steals of home. The losses dashed pennant hopes for both clubs.

Why don’t we see more steals of home today?

“The old-time pitchers had a longer wind-up.”

Harrelson learned to switch-hit after struggling to hit his weight in 1965.

“Casey Stengel encouraged me. I wanted to play every day, right and left.”

I enjoyed discovering the Ultimate Mets Database entry for Harrelson. Be sure to check out the fan memories section, too.

Tomorrow: Revisit Yankee Stadium, circa 1964, with Roger Repoz

Brave Taylor Phillips Tamed 1956 Redbirds

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Does he look like a
‘T-Bone’ to you?

Lefty Taylor Phillips offered me a quick reply to questions. He ended his letter, “Thanks for thinking of me. God bless.” He even added a favorite Bible verse (Romans 12:13).

What surprised me most is that he used the F-word.

FUN

I keep asking players about career highlights. Retired players are used to “my biggest thrill” questions. I want to hear about the most fun they had that year. I haven’t had any takers on the question until Mr. Phillips.

Some biographers love the snarky comment about this pitcher’s lifetime batting average being only .053, just six-for-113 in six total seasons. I pointed out that his were six hits more than I ever had in the majors! I asked which singles were most memorable:

“All of them!”

And fun?

“The most fun one: I drag-bunted and the ball went to center field.”

Of course, I won’t pass up a chance to hear about someone’s best day ever (fun optional). For Phillips, I was sure that day would have been Aug. 9, 1956. He was pitching before a home crowd in Milwaukee’s County Stadium. At game’s end, he owned a three-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. What were the high points for the young left-hander? Phillips answered:

“First Major League start. Complete game. The three hits I gave up, Don Blasingame, Wally Moon, Stan Musial, all left-handed hitters.”

(Thanks to http://www.retrosheet.org/ for preserving these moments of baseball history.)

Tomorrow: New York Met Bud Harrelson tells how Casey Stengel made a difference in his career.

Fernando Valenzuela on Disabled List, Due to Autograph-Seeking Fan? Could Have Been!

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“No! Not My Face!!!”

“‘Nando! ‘Nando!”

BONK!

E-1

Wait. Here’s the whole story.

My wife is on the field at Dodger Stadium shooting photos in 1988. She is exclusive witness to baseball history, a “could have been” spin on the 1988 World Series title for Los Angeles.

Fernando Valenzuela emerged from the dugout. He grinned sheepishly as children chorused his name. Slowly, he turned, whipping the young fans into a frenzy. Slowly, he took a program to autograph.

Suddenly, someone shouted. Valenzuela tried to identify the voice as he stared into the sun.

All he saw was an underhanded baseball hitting him in the face.

Coach Joe Amalfitano witnessed the mishap. He started shouting and scolding. The embarrassed pitcher held the offending baseball. The throng sucked in its collective breath. All Valenzuela did was smile, sign the ball and roll it back across the dugout roof.

No disabled list time. No pitcher who swore off autographs. But a lesson.

Some players, current and former, are looking for a scapegoat. One excuse to stop signing for everyone. Like Dirty Harry hissing, “C’mon, punk. Give me a reason!”

Will you be the one who changes hobby history?

Thanks to one Diana Helmer, for sharing this classic tale. Someone who likes baseball, the hobby and ME? I feel like a World Series winner, too!

Twin Bobby Randall’s Autograph Insight

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This same expression
greeted collectors
at a KC hotel

“How do you not look like a stalker?”

Scour the blog comments here. One person brings up a good point. In-person collecting isn’t the same as through the mail.

I haven’t tried the “graphing” in person game for more than 20 years.
Why? Because I remember Bobby Randall.

I had gotten him at the Kansas City hotel where the Twins stayed in the late 1970s. I remember him pointing, snorting and shaking his head at us collectors in the lobby. He muttered something to a couple of teammates.

Fast forward to Iowa State University. The retired second sacker was the college’s baseball coach. I interviewed him for the ISU paper.
After I was done talking about his career, I confessed that I had coaxed him to sign in my youth.

“Did you like collecting autographs?” he asked with a grave expression.
I replied with enthusiasm. That’s when I asked the hardest question.

“Didn’t you like signing?”

Randall, a professed Christian, sighed and scowled. “It was always, ‘HERE. HERE. Sign this! And THIS and THIS!’ You could never look up.”

The ex-Twin’s face at Iowa State matched his frustrated glare in that KC hotel lobby.

Randall remains a great by-mail signer. Back then, he volunteered to go give a talk to summer day-camp kids when my counselor wife asked. He talked with every single camper, signing for each after individual chats.

Know that there’s going to be a Bobby Randall or two in every team you seek out for signatures. Before you get too zoned on getting as many autographs as possible, remember how the signer feels. Ask the hard questions:

How does it feel to sign autographs for a group of fans? How can collectors collect better?

The answer might help refine your collecting game plan, as it shapes our hobby’s future.