It's What's Inside the Lines That Counts (eBook)

Baseball Stars of the 1970s and 1980s Talk About the Game They Loved

Fay Vincent (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2010 | 1. Auflage
336 Seiten
Simon & Schuster (Verlag)
978-1-4391-6331-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Its Whats Inside the Lines That Counts brings together ballplayers, managers, an umpire, and the first head of the players union to describe the momentous changes to the game that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent draws from his ongoing oral history of the game to celebrate the era that spans the Miracle Mets through free agency to Cal Ripkens historic consecutive-games streak.

Willie McCovey remembers meeting the Giants other Willie and the powerful impact that Willie Mays had on him. He expresses pride that the Giants chose to honor him at their ballpark with McCovey Cove. Teammate Juan Marichal, one of baseballs Latino pioneers, recalls encountering racism for the first time in America. He recounts fortuitously overhearing a conversation among Latino ballplayers before a Giants-Pirates game that provided him with crucial information about Roberto Clemente.

Managers Dick Williams and Earl Weaver assess their Hall of Fame careers. Williams remembers his contentious relationship with Charlie Finley and explains why he never managed for George Stein-brenner. Earl Weaver says he has changed, that umpires were 'fantastic people,' and that he shouldnt have gotten thrown out of so many ballgames. Read it here for yourself.


Tom Seaver, one of the dominant pitchers of his era, shares a funny incident from his first All-Star game, when he was young and looked even younger, and discloses the important piece of baseball wisdom that Gil Hodges gave him early in his career that has guided him ever since. Don Baylor recalls playing with a variety of teammates and teams, including the remarkable experience of playing in three consecutive World Series with three different teams, going from the 1986 Red Sox that came so close to winning the Series to the 1987 Minnesota Twins team that actually did it. Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, 'the Wizard of Oz,' tells the story of how he began his signature back flip and offers insights into how he was able to pull off some of the most spectacular defensive plays in baseball history. Baseballs Iron Man Cal Ripken remembers the high expectations that came with being the son of a baseball manager and explains why the 'Orioles way' was more than just a slogan for him. Bruce Froemming, MLBs longest-serving umpire, reveals the rules behind the fine art of allowing managers and coaches to have their say and still maintain absolute control over the game. And Marvin Miller, one of the most important figures in the history of the game, explains the origins and intentions of baseballs players union and why he is so proud of what it has achieved.


No fan of the game will want to pass up this illustrated, fascinating remembrance of two decades when baseball changed forever.

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Its Whats Inside the Lines That Counts brings together ballplayers, managers, an umpire, and the first head of the players union to describe the momentous changes to the game that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent draws from his ongoing oral history of the game to celebrate the era that spans the Miracle Mets through free agency to Cal Ripkens historic consecutive-games streak. Willie McCovey remembers meeting the Giants other Willie and the powerful impact that Willie Mays had on him. He expresses pride that the Giants chose to honor him at their ballpark with McCovey Cove. Teammate Juan Marichal, one of baseballs Latino pioneers, recalls encountering racism for the first time in America. He recounts fortuitously overhearing a conversation among Latino ballplayers before a Giants-Pirates game that provided him with crucial information about Roberto Clemente. Managers Dick Williams and Earl Weaver assess their Hall of Fame careers. Williams remembers his contentious relationship with Charlie Finley and explains why he never managed for George Stein-brenner. Earl Weaver says he has changed, that umpires were "e;fantastic people,"e; and that he shouldnt have gotten thrown out of so many ballgames. Read it here for yourself. Tom Seaver, one of the dominant pitchers of his era, shares a funny incident from his first All-Star game, when he was young and looked even younger, and discloses the important piece of baseball wisdom that Gil Hodges gave him early in his career that has guided him ever since. Don Baylor recalls playing with a variety of teammates and teams, including the remarkable experience of playing in three consecutive World Series with three different teams, going from the 1986 Red Sox that came so close to winning the Series to the 1987 Minnesota Twins team that actually did it. Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, "e;the Wizard of Oz,"e; tells the story of how he began his signature back flip and offers insights into how he was able to pull off some of the most spectacular defensive plays in baseball history. Baseballs Iron Man Cal Ripken remembers the high expectations that came with being the son of a baseball manager and explains why the "e;Orioles way"e; was more than just a slogan for him. Bruce Froemming, MLBs longest-serving umpire, reveals the rules behind the fine art of allowing managers and coaches to have their say and still maintain absolute control over the game. And Marvin Miller, one of the most important figures in the history of the game, explains the origins and intentions of baseballs players union and why he is so proud of what it has achieved.No fan of the game will want to pass up this illustrated, fascinating remembrance of two decades when baseball changed forever.

Textauszug

JUAN MARICHAL

When high-kicking pitcher Juan Marichal arrived in the major leagues, he seemed destined for greatness. On July 19, 1960, the twenty-two-year-old righty, who was in Class D ball just two years earlier, made his big league debut by tossing a one-hitter?only the third player to pitch a one-hit game in his major league debut?and striking out twelve batters, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 2?0. He not only retired the first nineteen batters but had a no-hitter going with two outs in the eighth inning.

After the game, Marichal was asked if he was worried about winning. Teammate Orlando Cepeda, translating for the Spanish-speaking rookie, just smiled, not even asking Marichal for the answer to that question. ?Juan said he expected to win,? Cepeda said. ?He always expects to win.?

Win he did, finishing with six 20-victory seasons and a 243?142 record over sixteen years. Along the way he had a no-hitter against Houston in 1963, was named to ten All-Star teams, tossed 52 shutouts, and completed 244 starts. The ultimate honor came with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.

?The symbol of his artistry . . . was the windup, with the high, graceful kick that left the San Francisco Giants hurler poised precariously on one leg like a bronzed Nureyev before he swept smoothly forward and propelled the baseball toward the plate,? was how sportswriter Ron Bellamy described Marichal in 1973.

Marichal, who began playing baseball on the dusty sandlots of the Dominican Republic, mesmerized hitters with his changeups, off-speed curves, sliders, and his famous kick-to-the-sky delivery.

While most pitchers are lucky to have two effective pitches?curveball and fastball?Marichal had eighteen, maybe twenty, according to fellow Hall of Famer Cepeda. ?He throws a fastball from here [gesturing overhand], here [gesturing sidearm], here [underhand]. He throws the curveball from here [overhand], here [sidearm], and here [underhand],? Cepeda said. ?He has eight different speeds on his fastball. He can throw his curve so it will take a week. He can throw a screwball so it will do a tango if he wants.?

Longtime opponent Hank Aaron once explained, ?He can throw all day within a two-inch space, in, out, up, or down. I?ve never seen anyone as good as that.?

Hoping to capture Marichal?s signature pitching motion, columnist Jim Murray, who was honored with the 1987 J. G. Taylor Spink Award for excellence in baseball writing, wrote in 1968: ?Every hitter in the league can tell you what size shoe he wears, what color it is, what the label is and how many spikes it has on it. The first thing Juan Marichal does on the mound is put his foot up in the batter?s eyes. He kicks his leg so high in the air some batters can?t recognize him when he has both feet on the ground.?

Marichal, nicknamed the ?Dominican Dandy,? understood pressure when at age seventeen he was ordered to pitch for his country?s air force team. The squad soon found itself in jail for ten days after losing a doubleheader, Marichal dropping one of the games 1?0. Perhaps it was experiences like that that helped Marichal become one of the greatest pitchers of his era.

I started playing baseball when I was seven years old and playing with the kids. I loved the game and right from the beginning I wanted to be a baseball player. My older brother, Gonzalo, he used to help me with balls and bats. When we started, we used to make our own ball and bat. We used to climb a tree and cut a branch,...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 16.3.2010
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Ballsport
• ISBN-10: 1-4391-6331-6 / 1439163316
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-6331-3 / 9781439163313