(This is the final installment of a not-ever-published biography on former MLB player and Colorado Silver Bullets’ coach, Johnny Grubb, that I collaborated on with fellow writer, Mike McClary See the first installment here and the second installment here.)
Grubb during his time with the Colorado Silver Bullets.
“I feel I was prepared for what to expect,” he recalled. “The players all hustled and played hard. Size-wise, they were just physically not as big as the fellas when it came to hitting. Many were in the 130 to 140-pound range and generating bat speed and a lot of power was a challenge.”
In 1995, his first season with the team, he recollected the players utilized wood bats which hindered their ability to compete.
“I think a bit of it was they wanted prove they could compete (using wood bats), but part of the challenge was when you use wood that is light enough to generate bat speed the pitch will almost overpower the bat,” Grubb said. “Outfields also cheated in on us a lot because we struggled to drive the ball.”
The Silver Bullets switched to aluminum bats during their 1996 barnstorming season. Grubb said it made a notable difference. “After we switched to aluminum bats that helped prevent teams from cheating in.”
The aluminum bats also yielded an uptick in the squad’s power. In fact, Grubb still remembers that moment on Cape Cod (July 21 to be exact) when outfielder Kim Braatz hit the first over-the-fence home run in Silver Bullets’ history.
“She got a fastball and turned on it; put a good swing on it and it was a legitimate home run over the left field fence,” Grubb said. It was one five homers the team belted that season.
“Overall, the (players’) approach at the plate was terrific,” he added. “Defensively, they were very sound (Grubb also coached the outfielders). Their positioning and footwork were fantastic.”
Another vivid memory Grubb has from his two seasons working with this group came a year earlier in the familiar surroundings of Fenway Park in Boston.
“We played a game July 1, 1995, in Fenway Park before the Tigers-Red Sox game. I remember it vividly because following our game I had a chance to visit with Larry Herndon (fellow Tigers’ outfielder and then a coach with the Tigers) and Billy Consolo (Tigers’ manager Sparky Anderson’s longtime bench coach). Larry and Billy were very impressed with the way the ladies went about their business.”
The Silver Bullets lost, 4-2, to a team from Massachusetts’ Hanscom Air Force Base that day.
Grubb as coach with the Richmond Braves.
Following his tenure with the Silver Bullets, Grubb returned to his hometown of Richmond where he continues to live with his wife, Linda. They had two sons, Chris and Corey, and six grandchildren. Upon returning to his home, Grubb helped coach the varsity baseball team at his alma mater, Meadowbrook High School. One of his former players, Cla Meredith, reached the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 2005, spent parts of six seasons in the majors and finished with a 14-14 career record with a 3.62 earned run average over 286 career relief appearances with the Red Sox, Padres, and Orioles.
Grubb may have even imparted some of the lessons he learned from the Silver Bullets’ during his tenure at Meadowbrook.
“I think the team did a great job,” he said. “I know they were trying to develop other women’s teams, but it just didn’t happen. Matchups do matter and when we’d play college-aged teams we were probably a bit out of our league.
“But, gosh, yeah, it was such a rewarding experience for me. It taught me a lot about coaching when you see someone who loves the game so much. They were all ears and eager to learn because most had only limited baseball experience so things like baserunning (leading off, secondary leads, etc.) was new to them. They went about everything the right way. I found that group very willing to listen and learn. And I learned so much from them; I didn’t see them get down on themselves and that’s very easy to do as a ballplayer, especially when you’re not enjoying a lot of success. I know I was hard on myself and would get down, but I didn’t see that with them. They did a great job.”
(This is the second installment of a not-ever-published biography on former MLB player and Colorado Silver Bullets’ coach, Johnny Grubb, that I collaborated on with fellow writer, Mike McClary See the first installment here.)
Johnny Grubb as a Cleveland Indian.
In 1978, Grubb played for his fourth manager in his five major-league seasons: Jeff Torborg, who replaced Robinson during Grubb’s injury-shortened the 1977 season. It turned out that 1978 was also the season in which he could fully immerse himself in studying the American League brand of baseball, and hitting in particular.
“As an athlete, you have to be able to adjust. And I didn’t know much about the American League, and the National League took pride in being really aggressive on the basepaths and playing for one run, not trying to go for the big inning all the time,” he said.
“In the American League, the first thing I noticed was that they kind of pitched a little backwards. In the National League, if they were behind in the count … if the pitcher was behind in the count, you could pretty much bet on a fastball,” Grubb said. “In the American League, you couldn’t count on that. They could throw you a changeup, a curveball with the bases loaded and two strikes on you. They just kind of pitched a little backwards because of the smaller ballparks. And actually, I thought the pitching was better in the American League because they weren’t as predictable. Like I said, you couldn’t count on a fastball in fastball situations. So it took a while to get used to that. But if you watch and study the pitchers, you start learning how they pitch guys in certain situations.”
Grubb also had to get used to a role he never played in the National League: that of the designated hitter. “That took a little bit of getting used to as well because you have an at-bat and then you go sit. So I had to find a way to keep myself ready,” he said. “And you could either go down in the bullpen area or go up in the clubhouse and swing the bat or go down wherever you could find a place to stay loose and try to keep yourself in the game instead of just sitting there waiting around for your next at-bat.
“So you just learn to try to find out what works for you and make sure you’re ready for your next at-bat. But I’m sure it prolonged my career because I played almost until I was 40,” he said. “And I don’t know if I’d have played that long had I been in the National League.”
With his contract expiring at the end of the 1978 season, Grubb sensed the Indians were not going to re-sign him and, as the trading deadline approached, expected a trade. On August 31, 1978, he was traded to the Texas Rangers for two players to be named later. (The two turned out to be pitcher Bobby Cuellar and minor-league outfielder Dave Rivera.)
When Grubb joined Billy Hunter’s Rangers for a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas was 65-65 and in third place in the American League West, just 4½ games behind the first-place Kansas City Royals. In his first game as a Ranger, on September 3, Grubb went 1-for-4 with a single off Ed Farmer. In 21 games with Texas to close out the ’78 season, he hit .394 with a homer and six RBIs in 33 at-bats. The Rangers finished the year in second place with an 87-75 record, five games behind the Royals.
Johnny Grubb as a Texas Ranger.
Over the next four seasons, from 1979 to ’82, Grubb hit .272 for Texas and still saw most of his playing time in the outfield. In the spring of 1983, he could sense that a change was coming in Arlington. “I hadn’t had much playing time in spring training, so I knew something was going to happen,” he said. “Either they were going to just release me or make a trade. And I didn’t think they would just release me because I felt like I could still play.”
On March 24, he got the answer. “[Rangers manager] Doug Rader called me into his office and he told me that they had made a trade. He said, ‘Grubsteaks, you’re going to like where you’re going.’ I said, ‘Where’s that?’ And he said ‘Detroit.’ And, of course, I looked at him and kind of said ‘Yup. That would be a good team to go to.’ We knew they were strong and getting better each year and right on the verge of being a real, real good ballclub. So I was happy to go there.”
In his first season with the Tigers, 1983, Grubb, wearing number 30, played in 57 games, mostly in right field and as the designated hitter; he batted .254 with four home runs and 22 RBIs. That season the Tigers were in the hunt for the American League East lead most of the summer. In fact, Detroit flirted with first place as late as August 26, when the club was just one game behind the eventual World Series champion Orioles. The Tigers wound up finishing second with a 92-70 record, but the groundwork was set for 1984.
Though he was now 35, Grubb’s playing time increased in 1984, up to 86 games and 276 at-bats as an outfielder, DH, and – a more common occurrence – pinch-hitter. Now the seasoned veteran on a team featuring twentysomethings Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, and Lance Parrish, among others, Grubb settled into his role and enjoyed the ride. “It was fun to watch those guys play and every once in a while, to jump in and do something myself,” he said.
“What I remember most about that year is that I never really felt like we were out of any ballgame,” Grubb said. “Any lead a team could get, we felt like we could have a big inning and jump right back in the game. And we had real good pitching, so if we had the lead, we had Willie [Hernandez] and [Aurelio] Lopez coming in to shut the door on them. The pitchers did their job, and the hitters did their job. And we just felt like we could win any game.” Grubb finished the ’84 season with a .267 average, eight home runs, and 17 RBIs, and set his sights on the American League Championship Series matchup with the Royals. After coasting to victory in Game 1 of the ALCS, the Tigers found themselves in a nail-biter in Game 2.
Johnny Grubb as a Detroit Tiger.
The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead but the Royals chipped away to tie the game in the eighth inning. With one out in the top of the 11th, and with Ruppert Jones on first and Darrell Evans at second, Grubb faced Dan Quisenberry, who led the American League with 44 saves that season. The left-handed-hitting Grubb was 0-for-1 against Quisenberry during the regular season and had just two hits in 12 career at-bats against him. Grubb waited as the submariner and his batterymate, John Wathan, discussed their pitching strategy. “He got two strikes on me and Wathan went out to the mound. I was watching them when they were out there talking. I thought I could read their lips and I thought I saw them saying ‘fastball.’ And I thought, well, I can’t trust that, but I’m going to be ready for it.” Hitless in his previous three at-bats in the game, Grubb was looking to change his luck and power his team to a 2-0 series lead.
As Wathan got into his crouch, Grubb dug in. On the next pitch, he ripped a two-run double to right-center to put the Tigers up 5-3 in the game and leave them one win away from the World Series. “He threw a fastball, and I’m sure [Royals center fielder] Willie Wilson was cheating-in a little bit on me with two strikes. But I happened to get a hold of one and drove it over his head. So I’m glad I came through to help out. That was my turn, I guess, to do something to help the team.” The Tigers clinched the pennant two days later, defeating the Royals 1-0 in Game 3.
One could argue that for the Tigers to play the first game of the 1984 World Series in San Diego was perhaps more special for Trammell and Grubb than other members of the team. Trammell was raised in San Diego and it’s where Grubb’s career had begun 12 years earlier.
“That was real neat to go back. When they did the introductions, I remember they gave me a nice ovation. I wasn’t sure really what they might do. You’re not sure if fans are going to turn on you or not. But they were really, really nice. And, of course, we had friends that still lived back there, and just going back where I started my career.”
Grubb made his first World Series appearance in Game 2, as the designated hitter, batting seventh. He singled to left off Padres starter Ed Whitson in the first inning. It was the fifth, and last, hit off Whitson in the inning before he was replaced by Andy Hawkins with two out. Grubb also played in Games 3 and 5, as designated hitter and a pinch-hitter, but went hitless in both games, though he was hit by a Hawkins pitch in the World Series-clinching Game 5.
The final three years of Grubb’s Tigers career were no different than his first two; he played sparingly in the outfield and was used primarily as Sparky Anderson’s DH. His finest statistical year in Detroit came in 1986. In 81 games, he hit .333 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs.
Detroit returned to the postseason in Grubb’s final year, 1987. The Tigers fought the Toronto Blue Jays over the final 10 days of the season and clinched the AL East title on the last day. Though his regular-season numbers were the lowest in his 16 years – a .202 average, two home runs, and 13 RBIs – Grubb excelled in the ALCS against the Minnesota Twins. Appearing in four of the five games, he batted .571 on four hits in seven at-bats.
Grubb’s major-league career came to a close on October 12, 1987, in Game 5 of the ALCS. He collected a hit in his final at-bat, a single to left field off his former Tigers teammate, Juan Berenguer, in the eighth inning. The Tigers lost the game, 9-5, and the series, four games to one. Four days later, the Tigers released the 38-year-old Grubb.
“Coming into that season, I was close to 40, so I knew it was getting right down to the end,” Grubb said. “And I knew Sparky probably saw me as not going to have a whole lot of playing time, a guy off the bench. So I knew it was a good chance it might be my last year, but I wouldn’t allow myself to think that way. And I just had a poor season, but ended up having a good playoff for us. But I wish I’d have had a better season for us. I just didn’t do that well that year.”
In 1,424 major-league games, Grubb collected 1,153 hits, with 99 home runs, and finished with a .278 career batting average.
Next Time: The next act of Grubb’s post-playing career takes an unusual turn
(On occasion, I’ve shared some of my writing from other projects in this space [see pieces on Detroit PSL basketball stars Curtis Jones {here} and Spencer Haywood {here}]. As it’s baseball season now, it seemed timely to share one that focuses on a baseball player. My longtime friend Mike McClary approached me in 2021 about helping with a request he’d received from the Society for American Baseball Research [SABR] to updatie a previous biography he’d written about Johnny Grubb. The update was to include Grubb’s work with the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s baseball team. Over the next few posts, I’ll share my collaboration with Mike about Grubb that, to date, has not been published by the SABR Bio Project. Check out Mike’s Detroit Tigers-focused work at The Daily Fungo.)
Johnny Grubb in action with the Detroit Tigers.
Like most folks, Johnny Grubb didn’t have the foggiest idea who – or what – the Colorado Silver Bullets were when future Hall of Famer and former co-worker with the Richmond Braves (Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate), Phil Niekro, reached out early in 1994 to see if he’d be interested in serving as a hitting and outfield coach with the upstart soon-to-be barnstorming group of women baseball players.
“I was working with a sports agent in the Richmond (VA) area at the time and (my wife and I) still had a teenager at home,” Grubb recalled of Niekro’s initial request. “I tried to do both (coaching and work with the sports agency), but finally I approached Phil and told him ‘Family comes first and I need to stay home right now.’ He was very understanding.”
And – it turns out – persistent because Niekro came calling again before the 1995 Silver Bullets’ season.
This time, Grubb said yes, and for the next two seasons worked with a group of ballplayers he recalled nearly three decades later who were “all ears and eager to learn.”
John Maywood “Johnny” Grubb, Jr. was born on August 4, 1948, in Richmond, VA, to John Grubb, Sr. and Geraldine Grubb. One of three children, and the only son, Grubb gravitated to sports and baseball in particular during his childhood. “There were not a whole lot of neighbors, so I’d pretty much just watch some of the Yankee games on television and then I got a real interest in baseball,” Grubb said.
As was the case with many other boys growing up in the 1950s, Grubb’s favorite player – and Yankee – was Mickey Mantle. After watching the Game of the Week on television, Grubb would head outside and take some cuts, imitating the players he’d watched that afternoon. “I ended up learning how to hit both right- and left-handed just from watching them on television,” he said.
At Meadowbrook High School in Richmond, where his classmates included future professional golfers Lanny and Bobby Wadkins, Grubb excelled at basketball and football as well as baseball. After his sophomore season, he gave up football to focus on baseball, which, he acknowledged, was probably a smart decision. “I might have gotten hurt, as small as I was then,” Grubb said.
After graduation, he enrolled at Manatee Junior College – now State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota – in Bradenton, where he played two seasons under coach Bob Wynn. After his sophomore year, Grubb was drafted for the first of four times in a two-year span. In 1969, the Boston Red Sox drafted him in the third round of the amateur draft, but Grubb chose to remain at Manatee. Later that year, the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the first round with the 14th overall pick of the amateur draft’s secondary phase.
Rather than sign with the Reds, Grubb instead transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee and starred on the 1970 squad that compiled a 49-9 record and finished as runner-up to the University of Southern California for the NCAA championship. Grubb led FSU in hitting with a .303 regular-season average. In the College World Series, he again led the Seminoles in hitting and was named to the All-Series team. Later he was named an honorable mention All-American.
The Atlanta Braves drafted Grubb in the third round of the 1970 amateur draft (secondary phase), but he opted not to sign. On January 13, 1971, the San Diego Padres selected him with the 24th pick of the first round in the secondary phase. With only two quarters remaining at FSU, he weighed his options and then signed with the Padres.
“I took pride in being a good outfielder, and thought I had a better-than-average arm,” Grubb said. “And though I was not a real burner as a baserunner, I felt like I had better-than-average speed. So I felt like I had the four tools that they wanted. Especially in the National League, they want you to be able to field, run, hit, and have a good arm. And, of course, like they always said, if you can hit, they’ll find a place to play you somewhere.”
Grubb’s professional career began in 1971 with the Class A Lodi Padres of the California League. The Padres promoted him the next season to the Double-A Alexandria (LA) Aces of the Texas League. Hall of Famer Duke Snider managed the Aces, and the team’s pitching coach was former Dodgers – and Tigers – left-hander Johnny Podres.
By and large, Grubb spent most of his time in the outfield in the minors but he dabbled, at the club’s request, at third base: “They were trying to get me to learn how to play a little bit of third. So I wasn’t sure if they were going to have me at third or the outfield. Then they had a guy that they signed as a bonus player, Dave Roberts. They played him at third, and then they ended up moving me back to the outfield, which was fine with me. I liked the outfield.”
A Johnny Grubb team photo with the San Diego Padres.
Grubb’s fast track to the major leagues continued at the end of the 1972 season, when the Padres promoted the 24-year-old outfielder to the big club in September. On September 10, 1972, he made his major-league debut as the starting center fielder in a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves. Grubb promptly collected his first major-league hit, a seventh-inning single to right off Ron Reed. In the nightcap, Grubb got two more hits and his first major-league –RBI. In seven games, Grubb batted .333 with a double and triple.
He spent the offseason playing for Obregón in the Mexican League to get more playing time and experience at the professional level. Grubb said the talent in the Mexican League was similar to that of Double-A or Triple-A clubs in the United States. His experience in Mexico apparently provided Grubb with the edge the Padres were looking for; he broke camp with the team in 1973 and his 16-year big league career was in second gear – and he’d never have to put it in reverse by returning to the minors.
In his first full major-league season, Grubb appeared in 113 games for a new manager, Don Zimmer, and played almost exclusively in center field, hitting .311 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs. He finished sixth in the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting, with the Giants’ Gary Matthews winning the award running away. (Grubb did, in fact, play some third base during his rookie season. He played four innings over two games at third but never had to make a play.)
Grubb saw even more playing time in 1974 – and he capitalized on it. Of all Padres who qualified for the National League batting title, he led in several offensive categories, including a .286 batting average, a .355 on-base percentage and a .758 on-base plus slugging (OPS) percentage. That year New York Mets manager Yogi Berra selected Grubb as an All-Star reserve — and the Padres’ only representative – for the game in Pittsburgh. In his only at-bat in the All-Star Game, Grubb popped out to shortstop on a pitch from Oakland hurler (and eventual Hall of Famer) Catfish Hunter in the seventh inning.
“I was real happy to be on an All-Star team,” Grubb said. “It was a little unusual that it was only my second year in the league. But I was just happy to be there.”
Grubb played two more seasons in San Diego, hitting .269 and .284, respectively. After the 1976 season, he was traded with catcher Fred Kendall and infielder Hector Torres to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder George Hendrick. Grubb said he was looking forward to playing for Indians manager Frank Robinson, who had tapped him as an everyday player in 1977. But a hand injury just 34 games into the season made Grubb’s first year in Cleveland one to forget.
Johnny Grubb during his time with the Cleveland Indians.
“I did it on a checked swing,” he said. “I tried a checked swing on one of Gaylord [Perry]’s nasty pitches. Some people call it a spitter, but it could have been a forkball, I don’t know. But I tried to check my swing and I guess the knob of the bat came across my hamate bone. And it’s a strange way to do it, but it broke it off and I ended up having to go in” for surgery.
Next Time: The latter part of Grubb’s MLB playing career
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron stepped to the plate in the fourth inning at Atlanta Stadium to face Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Al Downing with teammate Darrell Evans on first base. Aaron launched a 1-0 pitch deep into left center field into the glove of Braves’ relief pitcher Tom House who was patrolling that portion of the bullpen.
It was Aaron’s 715th career homer, breaking the existing record of 714 established four decades earlier by Babe Ruth.
Homeplate umpire Satch Davidson, Los Angeles Dodgers’ catcher Joe Ferguson, and Hank Aaron watch as Aaron’s 715th career home run takes off. (Photo by Associated Press)
Bedlam ensued shortly thereafter, with fans somehow getting onto the field to join Aaron’s home run trot. There was even a young Sarasota. FL, radio reporter in a gray overcoat who attempted to capture a moment or two with the day’s hero. That reporter? Craig Sager.
Here’s the boxscore from that historic day, 50 years ago. Note the Dodgers’ committed six errors during the Braves’ 7-4 win.
We were fortunate to have Dennis Hafeli join us on our podcast, Conversations with Sports Fans, last season. Hafeli was in attendance at this game and he shared his recollections during our conversation found here.
Atlanta Braves’ broadcaster, Milo Hamilton, on the call for Aaron’s 715th.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ broadcaster, Vin Scully, on the call for Aaron’s 715th.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
Who belongs to this sweet, or is it sour, swing from a Spring Training past?
In the spring of 1994 the world’s greatest basketball player at that time turned up in the Chicago White Sox training camp in Sarasota.
Yes, Michael Jordan – that Michael Jordan! – who’d retired from the NBA on the eve of the 1993-94 season, decided to give baseball a try as an homage to his father who’d been murdered the summer of 1994. James Jordan Sr. had reportedly envisioned his son as a professional baseball player.
Michael Jordan follows through during Grapefruit League action with the Chicago White Sox in 1994. (Photo from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
Jordan toiled away with the White Sox AA Birmingham Barons for the 1994 season, played in the Arizona Fall League, and then gave up the dream the following spring amidst MLB’s labor uncertainty. He then rejoined the Chicago Bulls,, played the final 17 games, and finished 11th in the MVP voting!
Here is Jordan’s Baseball-Reference page for his season in Birmingham. And a bit of an oral history from a recent piece in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
During the MLB work stoppage in 1994, ESPN picked up occasional Birmingham Barons’ games. Here’s Jordan coming through 2-run single.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
For a variety of reasons, I’ve found myself watching some sports documentaries recently. Here’s what those viewings have been, what I learned, and whether I’d rewatch them.
It Ain’t Over
I watched It Ain’t Over Christmas night with my father who was visiting for the holiday. The film was released in 2022 as – from what I can tell – a bit of a passion project by MLB legend Yogi Berra‘s granddaughter, Lindsay, who spends much of her time on camera reminding the viewers of the greatness her grandfather achieved. And, by and large, it achieves its goal. I’d find it hard to believe anyone who spends time with this film will walk away without a newfound appreciation for Berra and what the body of his work entailed. I’d certainly watch it again, though I’m still left wondering why Nick Swisher was one of the sitdown interviews. (Viewed on Netflix)
Black Ice
We here in the United States have this perception about our neighbors to the north in Canada that they’re a kinder and gentler people. More welcoming, more humane. You likely know the cliche. It turns out, however, when it comes to how we’ve historically treated black and brown people, we’re a fair amount more alike than we might think. I watched Black Ice on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and it provided the type of reflection that holiday is designed to instigate. Beyond a terrific historical look at the NHL and its parallels with MLB when it comes integration, I was awed by the multi-generational composition of those intereviewed and impacted by institutional racism. I certainly need to watch it again to better appreciate the history and ongoing challenges. (Viewed on Hulu)
The League
Speaking of racism – institutional, overt, or otherwise – The League takes a deep dive into the Negro Leagues. I saw this over a few days in early December and came away with a greater appreciation of the struggle for black players to find their way into MLB. And then, once integration occurred, how it began the slow death of the Negro Leagues and, utlimately, of the thriving economies in and around the communities where these teams played. Rich in information and first-person interviews from players from bygone years, this one is not to be missed. (Viewed on Hulu)
The Saint of Second Chances
Mike Veeck is part of one of the pre-eminent baseball families in history. His grandfather, Bill Veeck Sr., was a general manager with the Chicago Cubs and his father was unimitable, Bill Veeck Jr.The SaintofSecond Chances, a pseudo bio-pic come documentary, takes a look at some of the Veeck family’s history, Mike’s uneven relationship with his father, the eventual reconciliation, and how he rebuilt his reputation after Comiskey Park’s Disco Demolition Night promotion that went, ahem awry. The film also attempts to tug at viewers’ heart strings by sharing the story of Mike’s daughter, Libby, who plays a huge role in the latter half of the movie. (Viewed on Netflix)
The Redeem Team
Ostensibly, The Redeem Team is the story of the 2008 U.S. Men’s Summer Olympic Team which won a Gold Medal after a series of American disappointments on the international stage. In reality, as the film moves on it, you became aware that it’s a bit of a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant who was a late addition to the squad. Likewise, viewers get a good sense – even as a younger player – of LeBron James‘ will to win and his leadership skills. Finally, Coach Mike Krzyzewski showcases his ability to motivate even the biggeset superstars in the sport. (Viewed on Netflix)
Bill Russell: Legend
Bill Russell: Legend is considered a TV series by IMDb, but let’s be honest, this is more like a 3-hour-plus documentary (split over two episodes) about one of basketball history’s most dominant and influential players, Bill Russell. It does take a deep dive into Russell’s life, dating back to his family’s beginnings in Alabama to the move to California to his time at the University of San Francisco to the crazy trade Boston Celtics’ GM/Coach Red Auerbach made to get him to Beantown (yes, he was essentially traded for the Ice Capades.) Unsurprisingly, it also explores the racial tensions between a successful black man in Boston and the greater community as well as how he became involved in the Civil Rights movement. There is a calvacade stars who opine throughout this “series” and their insights are brilliant. I especially love Jerry West‘s perspective as a long-time rival who so often found himself on the losing end of battles with Russell’s Celtics, you could feel his reverence for his foe. (Viewed on Netflix)
(About the Series: Based upon my Conversation with guest Derek Meinecke, I’m going back in time to be in the stands at 10 sporting events. This week, it’s #2. You’re able to find links to the previous installments below.)
The new infield of the Brooklyn Dodgers as they prepared to face the Boston Braves in the opening game of the 1947 season at Ebbets Field. Left to right are Spider Jorgensen, Pee Wee Reese, Eddie Stanky, and Jackie Robinson.
My junior year of undergrad at Eastern Michigan University back in the late 1980s, I was in Professor Curtis Stadtfeld’s “History of Journalism” class. One of our assignments was to look at a significant historical event from a journalism point of view. In other words, how did the media cover a particular event?
It was a no-brainer for me: My topic would be Jackie Robinson‘s intregration of Major League Baseball.
Similarly, it was a no-brainer when it came to selecting the penultimate Back in Time journey to witness sports history.
We’re heading to back to Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, NY, on April 15, 1947. I’ll take any seat in Ebbets’ Field that afternoon – and there were about 5,000 available! – to witness Robinson’s debut for the Dodgers against the visiting Boston Braves.
I’m not really sure how, why, or when my fascination with Robinson began, but it did. He was long-since retired and already enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, before I was born. And, unfortunately, died when I was five. If I had any inkling of who Robinson was as a child, I surely don’t remember it.
Yet, there I was in 1980-something, doing a deep dive into the media’s coverage of Robinson as he worked his way from the Kansas City Monarchs to the Montreal Royals to the Brooklyn Dodgers. For the life of me, I cannot find that paper.
I think I received an A for the assignment. What I do recall, however, is that it’s when I first became acquainted with the work of Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Wendell Smith who was instrumental in the recruitment of Robinson and supporting him once he joined the Dodgers’ organization. Interestingly, Robinson and Smith the two died just 32 days apart in 1972. (Check out this wonderful story about Smith written by the Los Angeles’ Times‘ Bill Plaschke back in 2013.)
Pittsburgh Courier writer Wendell Smith, left, and Jackie Robinson.
The game wound up being a bit uneventful as far as Robinson’s concerned. He went 0-for-3 but reached on an errant throw on a sacrifice bunt. He eventually came around to score the go-ahead run in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win. You’re able to read the SABR Game Project on his debut here.
It’s great to know what happened, but it should have been nice to be there.
A pair of Wendell Smith articles grace the cover of the Pittsburgh Courier’s Washington Edition.
(About the Series: Based upon my Conversation with guest Derek Meinecke, I’m going back in time to be in the stands at 10 sporting events. This week, it’s #4. You’re able to find links to the previous installments below.)
Hank Aaron’s historic 715th career home run swing. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr.)
On April 8, 1974, I would have been a 6-year-old first grader in Mrs. Harpring’s class at Decatur, IN, Northwest Elementary School. I’m fairly certain I was still a couple months away from playing my first (semi) competitive baseball and I don’t recall any sense of awareness of what Hank Aaron accomplished that night.
That changed in short order, however.
As my sports fandom expanded beyond my father’s love of the Chicago Cubs and the Indiana Hoosiers, I became aware of what Aaron had done that night in Atlanta Stadium.
To witness this history – and the historical circumstances surrounding it – is why I’d like to go back in time to be in the stadium to see Aaron eclipse Babe Ruth‘s then-career home run record.
I remember seeing the highlights of Aaron’s 4th inning laser to left field off Al Downing and hearing the iconic call of Braves’ broadcaster Milo Hamilton.
“He’s sitting on 714 …”
Milo Hamilton
Atlanta broadcaster Milo Hamilton’s call of Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715 home run.
I believe I remember Hamilton’s call most specifically because I was later fascinated by the fact that he was a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs on WGN with Jack Brickhouse. Call it naivete or just stupidity, but the youngster in me didn’t understand why a broadcaster would work for two different franchises.
Today, of course, it makes sense.
I’ve also grown to appreciate the history that was present on the field during this game.
To wit:
Not only did Aaron eclipse Ruth’s all-time home run record, he also passed Willie Mays‘ National League runs scored mark (then the 2,063 of his career) when he scored on Dusty Baker‘s double in the second inning.
And speaking of Baker, there were three future MLB managers who played in the game: Baker, Davey Johnson, and Johnny Oates. They combined to win 4,352 career games and two World Series Championships.
In the crowd that evening was a future U.S. President – then Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter – as well as Sammy Davis Jr., and the evening’s National Anthem singer, Pearl Bailey. (Interestingly, Davis and Bailey died three months apart in 1990.)
Beyond Aaron, at the game this night were a pair of other future Baseball Hall of Fame pitchers, Don Sutton with the Dodgers and Phil Niekro with the Braves.
Four players from this game were better known for other things:
Downing, of course, is one of just 15 black pitchers in MLB history to have won 20 games. Mudcat Grant dubbed the group the Black Aces.
Later this season, Tommy John injured his left elbow and had surgery that later became known as Tommy John Sugery. He missed the entire 1975 season, but pitched 14 more seasons after recovering.
Bill Buckner wound up hitting .289 lifetime for five different clubs, but his most famous moment, er infamous, occurred during the 1986 World Series when his error at first base allowed the New York Mets to force a deciding Game 7 in which the Mets won.
The Braves starter, and winning pitcher, was Ron Reed who in the mid-1960s played 119 games for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
And, lest we forget, the intrepid reporter that was on the field almost immediately in an effort to grab some audio from Hammerin’ Hank. A fella named Craig Sager who went onto sartorial splendor with TBS and TNT.
From left, Aaron is greeted at homeplate by his teammates. Note the man in the beige overcoat, that’s Craig Sager, more visible in the upper right photo. Fans escorted Aaron from second base home following his HR.
Looking back at it, the game oozed with history and future history-making figures. Among them, certainly, was Los Angeles Dodgers’ broadcaster Vin Scully who was on the mike that night as well. His call, found below, has become one of my favorite calls in history (right up there with Al Michaels’, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”) Like he often did, Scully let the moment breathe and then provided the historical context of the moment: A black man, a black pitcher, the fact the game was being played in the Deep South.
It is brilliant!
Of course, if I was sitting in the bleachers I wouldn’t be able to hear any of it, but that’d be alright with me. Just to be in the building would be special.
It wasn’t a police escort, but it may as well have been for what’s likely the most iconic walk-off home run in MLB history.
The New York Yankees visited the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series on October 13.
In the Yankees three victories, they’d outscored the Pirates 38-3. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, had eeked out its three wins by a cumulative score of 14-8.
It was no surprise, then, that Game 7 was both a high scoring and a close game. After the Pirates claimed a 9-7 lead with a 5-run eighth inning, the Yankees re-tied it with a pair in the top of the ninth.
This set the stage for Pittsburgh second baseman Bill Mazeroski leading off the bottom of the ninth against Ralph Terry and what became one of the greatest walk off home runs ever hit.
Bill Mazeroski, center, is greeted by a young fan, right, and third base coach Frank Oceak as he heads for home following his Series-ending homer.
Mazeroski turned Terry’s 1-0 pitch and drove it into the woods beyond left field fence at Forbes Field to clinch the World Series for the Pirates, 10-9. (Check out the full video of Mazeroski’s at bat and the bedlam that ensues below.)
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
Are we not flipping out over this year’s MLB post-season action?
It’s been a decade now and it’s still too fresh for many Detroit Tigers’ fans. Detroit led Boston 1-0 in the American League Championship Series after stealing Game 1 in Fenway Park and led the Red Sox, 5-1, with two outs in the eighth inning of Game 2 when David Ortiz came to the plate with the bases loaded and faced closer Joaquin Benoit. The rest is history or ignominy for Tigers’ rightfielder Torii Hunter who was posterized along with one of Boston’s finest in the Red Sox bullpen.
Boston wound up walking off Game 2 and went on to win Game 3 in Detroit. The Tigers’ knotted the series at 2-2 in Game 4 before losing Games 5 and 6. This moment, however, was viewed as pivotal in the series.
Detroit Tigers’ rightfielder Torii Hunter went all out to try and nab David Ortiz’s game-tying grand slam during Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS in Boston.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
