New York sports legends help give Sports Angels its wings

April 15th saw the fourth annual Sports Angels Spring Fundraiser take place at the Pig and Whistle on 36th Street. The dinner and auction served to support and raise awareness for Sports Angels' campaign to assist local youth sports organizations. Sports Angels is headed by former Baseball Hall of Fame president Ed Stack, Brooklyn Dodger great Ralph Branca and Joseph Salerno. Bobby Hoffman was honored at the event with the Community Service Award for his dedication to the Manhattan Youth Baseball program.

In attendance were a variety of New York sports legends including Branca, Bud Harrelson, Jeff Nelson, Roberto Clemente Jr., Howard Cross, and Greg Buttle. On the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's 1947 debut, Branca conveyed sentiments that were echoed by many in attendance, tonight was about helping children to play sports.

"I enjoy that we can help others, and that's what we really look forward to," Branca said. "We see some new and old friends and we want to build up an entourage of people that support us to help raise enough money to help the kids."

Stack added that the organization has seen it's greatest impact on the local level.

"We're reaching out to grassroots organizations that need help," Stack said. "They may not need a lot of money, but need uniforms and equipment and we're there to give them help so they can charge ahead."

Nelson, the former Yankee reliever and current XM radio host, saw the event as a chance to use his stature to give back to legions of kids that admire the pro athletes from afar.

"Anytime you deal with kids and sports, and you are an athlete, it's a great opportunity to help," Nelson said. "It's nice that athletes give back. The kids look up to athletes on the field and there are a lot of them here tonight. They're giving back to a good cause; I know it touches all of their hearts."

Clemente Jr. felt that the charitable nature of Sports Angels compelled him to be there. He said he was following his family legacy by supporting the event.

"Anytime you have the opportunity to help an organization like Sports Angels, you have to be present," he said. "It's a natural thing to do [help others]. If you take a look at my life and my parents lives, it's something that we do, since I was a kid. To say no to a kid or an organization that is doing well, I can't say no. It's what we do."

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Ferguson Jenkins and Montclair youth baseball pay homage to the Negro Leagues

Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was in Montclair this past Saturday to support their youth baseball league's tribute to the Negro Leagues. Yogi Berra Stadium was filled with players aged 12 and 13 fitted in uniforms that not only sported the names of championship teams such as the Chicago American Giants, Homestead Grays Kansas City Monarchs and Newark Eagles, but also displayed the names of legends such as Cool Papa Bell, Larry Doby, Josh Gibson, Ray Dandridge and Satchel Paige. This event was the brainchild of Richard Berg and league president Garland Thornton. Berg hopes that the uniforms provide a sense of pride for the youngsters.

Ferguson Jenkins (standing) among all of the Montclair players honoring the Negro Leagues / N. Diunte

"Each time these kids go to bat or make a play in the field, they will be representing one of the greats of the Negro Leagues," Berg said.

Berg should know a thing or two about the history of the Negro Leagues, as he was the former president of the Negro League Baseball Players Association. During the opening day festivities Berg presented Jenkins with a proclamation from Montclair's Mayor Jerry Friend, who deemed April 10th Ferguson Jenkins Day for his support of Montclair baseball and his philanthropic efforts nationwide. Jenkins took the time to explain the current efforts of his foundation.

"I work with the Fergie Jenkins Foundation in St. Catharines, Ontario," Jenkins said. "We were just in spring training in Mesa. We worked with the Cubs, Texas, Oakland and the Giants. We brought players in, they gave their time, signing autographs and letting people know that the foundation was raising money for all different types of charities.

"Bob Feller, Vida Blue, Gaylord Perry, and Rollie Fingers have all signed on with us. We raise money for the Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Make a Wish Foundation, American Red Cross, Institute for the Blind, and cancer research. We try to let people know that we're raising money on a daily basis to help these organizations. It gives people the opportunity to come and get an autograph, and when you bring in other Hall of Famers, I think that brings the public in and raises the awareness for the causes we support."
 
Jenkins who was also in town for a pitching clinic later that day, participated in the opening day photo shoot with the league's players and coaches. Even though Jenkins did not play in the Negro Leagues, he recognized the importance of promoting the league's history.

"The Fergie Jenkins Foundation has been in touch with the Kansas City Museum with Buck O'Neil before he passed away," he said. "The museum in Kansas City is struggling right now. Unfortunately, without donations, it might go under. I'm not sure if its going to go under. Right now, they're looking for pledges and donations across the country. Everyone is hoping that they can get enough money to keep it open. It used to be open all day, now it is open only on the weekends."

Knowing that the museum is experiencing difficulties, Jenkins has hit the pavement to spread the word directly to a growing diversity of fans. He aimed to increase awareness about how the game has grown due to integration and globalization.

"We try to enhance the knowledge of youngsters and adults that the Negro Leagues were in existence like the Major Leagues, and that a lot of players didn't get the opportunity to play because of their skin color," he said. "Jackie [Robinson] was the first, [Larry] Doby was second, and then it was a kind of a snowball effect that brought players in. It enhanced the game even more; it made teams better. Now what you see in baseball is an international game. Kids from all different places like Canada, Australia, Germany, Phillippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are playing."

Jenkins first learned about the history of Negro League baseball from his father Ferguson Holmes Jenkins, who played in the Negro Leagues in Canada. It is a legacy that he continues to pass on wherever he travels.

"My father played in the Negro Leagues in Ontario," he said. "His nickname was Hershey; he played on two championship teams in 1938 and 1939. The Chatham team was called the Chatham Black All-Stars, the next year they were the Black Panthers. They toured through Detroit, also in Buffalo, all across Ontario. They barnstormed a lot. My dad didn't tell me they had a lot of problems. People went out to the park to see baseball. That was fundamentally what they were trying to do, play the game of baseball."

He viewed Saturday's clinic as an avenue to share his advanced knowledge about the game to children who are at a younger age then when he was able to receive it.  He hopes that they will take that information and use it on the field.

"I hope that the kids grasp a little bit from what I'm trying to get across to them," he said. "When I was younger, I didn't learn how to pitch until I was 16 years old. These youngsters are 12 and 13. I played a lot of hockey growing up and on the advice from one of my coaches, I stopped playing hockey at 17. I was able to get my interests more in the game of baseball and pitching, and I was able to sign after my senior year in high school. I just hope that the kids understand that what I am trying to get across is something that was taught to me at an older age. They're getting taught at an younger age, and if they can grasp it they can use it when they play in their leagues."

While not every player at the clinic is going to play baseball in high school and beyond, Jenkins wanted to deliver the message that baseball is to be enjoyed. It is a message that he feels is often lost in today's current hyper-competitive climate of youth sports.

"I tell kids to have fun," he said. "Learn to play as a team with your teammates and understand that all of your coaches try to give the best advice they can, because none of them are ex-MLB players, so they're just trying to pass on the same knowledge that I am getting across to them. The game is fun, have fun! What you try to learn now at a young age, you try to build on so that by the time you get into high school, the coaching aspect will be a lot more and you will be much better ballplayers."

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Tommy Lasorda inducted into Cuban Sports Hall of Fame

MLB Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda was inducted into the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday in Miami. This makes for the 16th Hall of Fame of which Lasorda has been enshrined. To read the details on Lasorda's induction, click here.

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Andre Dawson tells how he almost signed with the New York Mets in 1987

Andre Dawson announced Tuesday that he would be going into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Montreal Expos. Dawson was in New York this week for the 21st annual Baseball Assistance Team dinner, which works to support former baseball players who are experiencing financial and medical hardships. His support for the organization goes back to his playing days, when in 1992 he was cited in a Sports Illustrated article as one of only a handful of Major League players that contributed to the BAT to support the legends of the Negro Leagues.

Andre Dawson / N. Diunte

Former New York Mets manager Davey Johnson told how the team courted the newly minted Hall of Famer during the 1986 off-season.

"First of all, I pleaded with Frank Cashen to sign Andre Dawson," Johnson said. "I said, 'It's not going to be expensive, I think he'll play for $500,000, we could really use him.' It wasn't in our policy to sign free agents. We never signed a free agent; Cashen wouldn't do it, as long as I was there anyway. I really tried to get him, I thought he was a heck of a player and I would have found playing time for him."

Dawson said that he found playing in New York to be a riveting experience.

"Early on in my career facing, Tom Seaver, Doc Gooden, playing against Darryl Strawberry, it was exciting," Dawson said. "[New Yorkers] were a different type of fan; very competitive. They had teams that for some reason would always find a way in the late innings [to win]. They would call it that Mets magic, I didn't believe it, but they would make it happen in the late innings. They had some stellar athletes that made the game enjoyable."

Imagine the Hawk in the same outfield as Darryl Strawberry, both MVP candidates in their prime. Would Dawson have been the piece that made the Mets repeat or three time champions? Unfortunately for Mets fans, it didn't happen. Dawson signed with the Cubs for $700,000 prior to the 1987 season, and won the MVP that season for the cellar dwellers.

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Book Review: Early Wynn, the Go-Go White Sox and the 1959 World Series

Early Wynn, the Go-Go White Sox and the 1959 World Series"
Lew Freedman
McFarland Publishing, 2009
223 pages


A man so tenacious on the field that he threw at his own son after he hit one back up the middle, and claimed that he would knock down his own grandmother if she dug in against him, Early Wynn was the catalyst for the Chicago White Sox 1959 World Series appearance. A rare four decade player, an aging Wynn was brought to the White Sox at the end of the 1957 season in exchange for Minnie Minoso. Bill Veeck apparently thought that Wynn had one more great season left in his arm, and Veeck was correctly, as Wynn would be victorious 22 times en route to a Cy Young award and World Series appearance in 1959.

Freedman weaves in anecdotes from the few living players from that 1959 team to chronicle the season's happenings. Sadly, almost three-quarters of the team are deceased. An especially poignant moment is when the living players gather in Chicago in 2008 and they collectively acknowledge that their reunion reminds them of the many members of the team that have passed. We hear from the likes of Billy Pierce, Jim Rivera, Bob Shaw, Jim Landis and Turk Lown as they chime in on Wynn and their own ups and downs during their pennant winning journey.

Freedman does his best to merge the three topics of his book, Wynn, the "Go-Go White Sox" and the 1959 World Series by examining the roles of Manager Al Lopez, General Manager Frank "Trader" Lane and owners Veeck and Charles Comiskey Jr.. What you are left with is a solid assembly of the 1959 White Sox and how Wynn led the charges all the way to the World Series.

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Mike Schmidt - Autograph Craze Is Out of Whack

Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt weighs in on his take on autographs after the recent Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Cooperstown. How far over the line have autograph seekers gone in their quest to obtain signatures? This is from Sports Illustrated's online website.


For The Associated Press

It was 1970, at the College World Series, where I signed my first autograph. I'll never forget it: Our Ohio University team had just beaten No. 1-ranked USC in game one, and I was asked to sign a ball on the way to our bus.

What a high. Not the victory, but the elevation to celebrity status. Of course, that was back when an autograph was just that - a signature of a person obtained in remembrance of a moment, a place, an exchange that could be cherished for some personal reason. No commercial value was tied to it. No sneaking around security, no stalking, and no fake story or act was involved.

In the early 1960s, my grandparents shared space on a flight to Dayton, Ohio, with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. My grandmom brought me, then in my early teens, all three signatures on business cards. I still have them in a frame. One says "Best Wishes Mike,'' the other "Mike, Best of Luck'' and the other "Mike, Best Wishes Always,'' followed by their names. That's where I got my often-used autograph salutations.

Coincidentally, several months back I did an appearance with Jack Nicklaus and showed him the 45-year-old signatures. He not only agreed they were authentic, but was enamored at the very fact that I had them. He said they must have been obtained on a plane when they were headed to play Firestone in Akron. I won't go into the value he put on them in today's market. The point is, I was an excited kid, the one getting the autograph.

Then at some point back in the late 1970s to early '80s, the sports memorabilia industry came to life and the autograph, as we once knew it, was history. Unfortunate, yes. No longer would young Mikes have a chance to appreciate three business cards signed by three famous golfers in the same way ever again.

Fortunate, yes. Old Mike has made a couple million he never counted on. Companies like Upper Deck sprang up and paid celebrity athletes megabucks for exclusive rights to signatures on products. Dreams Inc. specializes in creating unique sports- and Hollywood-related items designed specifically for signatures of famous people to be mass marketed. There are scads more. None of the product has value without the authentic celebrity signature. I ask, isn't the provider of the value, the signature, entitled to a piece of the profit?

I just returned from Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. It happens every July in the quaint little town in upstate New York. What once was a gathering of baseball fans for a once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing the Hall museum and the enshrinement festivities is still that for some.

But for many, it is memorabilia heaven, a chance for vendors to stock up on product, for collectors to expand their collections. And somewhere, lost in the crowd must be little Mike who just wants a memory. That is the sad part of it. Hall of Famers, including me, packed into a house, sitting behind tables selling autographs. Sad. That little guy who, along with his father, had a chance to meet and get an autograph remembrance of the moment spent with his hero, is gone. He'll most likely never again get that experience without paying for it.

The autograph might be the most sought after commodity in today's society. Even the targets want them. Yogi Berra, Gaylord Perry, Bob Feller, me, even Sandy Koufax getting signatures from friends to auction for a charity back at home. When will it end? Never, as long as there are famous people and a demand for the John Hancock.

I'll be perfectly honest, I hate playing the cat-and-mouse game with collectors on the street. It was one of the reasons I retired early. Being targeted and stalked everywhere by people seeking a chicken-scratched slash on an inventory item is not fun. I'm not saying I'm a victim of paparazzi, but when airline luggage handlers wait for you in airports, your right to privacy is gone. When someone jumps out from behind a pillar in a parking lot as you're getting a rental car, you're being stalked. This isn't little Mike and his dad. These guys play games, they dress in costume, they hire little kids with sad faces and pretty girls in skimpy outfits, they make up stories, they lie, they even act polite, anything to get you to sign.

I even had some young adversaries who I came to know by name because we would laugh about the games they play on the streets. It was a friendly contest of who could fool whom. I'd figure out ways to beat them at their own game, by wearing a disguise or taking a secret route to the park.

Sure, there are some who say "I'll never sell this'' and maybe they are serious. But understand one thing - with my signature, sell it or not, that item increased in value from $10 to $100. Someday by someone it will be sold. No more throwing out the old baseball cards found in the attic like my Mom did.

So here's my quandary: I feel sorry for little Mike, he's been squashed in this mess, I can't tell which one he is in the crowd of collectors who all claim to be him. On the other hand, I like that my signature has value, and that I'm paid well just to sign my name. I can't decide whether to sign freely on the street and hope that little Mike is in the crowd, or refuse because most of them are collectors or working for dealers and sign only in a controlled environment, where both sides understand the industry parameters.

Honestly, what has happened is ugly. Our society has become so callous, rude, and motivated by money that even something as American and simple as shaking hands and signing a baseball for a young person can seldom occur today. Who would have thought that back in Omaha in 1970 my excitement over autograph No. 1 would have led to this?

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Will 2010 bring the election of the next designated hitter to the Hall of Fame?

Yesterday's induction of Joe Gordon, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice into the Baseball Hall of Fame now gives us almost an entire year to contemplate the candidacy of the new crop of players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. The list of includes (in alphabetical order): Roberto Alomar, Kevin Appier, Andy Ashby, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Shane Reynolds, Robin Ventura, and Todd Zeile.

A name that jumps off of this list, certain to be a hot topic of debate is Edgar Martinez. Martinez spent his last 10 seasons exclusively as a designated hitter, only appearing in 33 games in the field from 1995-2004. Paul Molitor is the only player in the Hall of Fame who spent nearly half of his career as a designated hitter. However, a quick comparison of Martinez to Molitor shows that Molitor spent substantially less time as a DH, playing 900 more games in the field. Molitor is also 9th all-time in hits with 3,319, over 1,000 more than Martinez.

Offensively, Martinez is only one of 15 players that has a lifetime BA of over .300, a lifetime OBP of over .400, and a lifetime SLG of over .500. 13 of the 15 players are in the Hall of Fame. The two that aren't are Joe Jackson and Martinez. While Martinez was one of the most feared hitters of the mid-late 1990's, are his offensive numbers dominant enough to overshadow the fact that he didn't pick up a glove for his last 10 seasons in the Majors?

When fans and voters discuss the merits of the forthcoming Hall of Fame candidates, how significant will defensive play be factored into the equation? If you only have to go up there and hit 4 times a game without the grind of playing in the field 9 innings, do you have an unfair advantage over the players who are expending their energy on both offense and defense? How far ahead offensively does one need to be for public consensus to deem them Hall of Fame worthy if you are primarily a DH? These are the questions will be investigating as Edgar Martinez begins his campaign for the Hall of Fame. There is already a website dedicated to promoting his candidacy for the Hall of Fame. You can read all about it, here.

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George Kell, 86, Hall of Fame 3rd Baseman 1922-2009

Hall of Fame 3rd Baseman and legendary Detroit Tigers announcer George Kell has passed away at the age of 86. Kell was a humble presence as the voice of the Tigers alongside Ernie Harwell. A class act, Kell was generous with his fans, answering large quantities of his fan mail with personal notes in response to their queries. He donated a lot of the money he would receive from fans seeking his signature to local churches in his home of Swifton, Arkansas.
The ten time All-Star made his debut with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943. He was traded to Detroit in 1946, where he had the opportunity to blossom, making his first All-Star team in 1947. In 1949, he won the American League batting title by less than two-ten-thousandths of a point over Ted Williams. He also played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles before retiring after the 1957 season. He finished with a career average of .306. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1983.

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Sparky Anderson - No More Mail (TTM) Autograph Requests

Hall of Famer Manager Sparky Anderson asks his fans to stop sending him autograph requests in the mail. Recently he has sent out cards with the following message: "Because of the overwhelming amount of requests, I can no longer sign items sent through the mail. I appreciate all of your kind thoughts and trust you understand the situation. Please accept the enclosed signed card and I thank you for your courtesy." - Sparky

I can imagine with the proliferation of websites that discuss autograph collecting, that the word of Sparky's generosity with his autograph in the mail has spread with collectors recently at a rate greater than when he was an active manager. I hope that the readers of this blog and fellow collectors are appreciative of his past generosity and respect Sparky's wishes at this time in his life. He was one of the few members of the baseball Hall of Fame who signed in the mail without charging for requests.

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Happy 90th Birthday Monte Irvin

February 25th, 2009 marked the 90th birthday of baseball icon Monte Irvin. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973, Irvin is the last living star of the Negro Leagues. Starting with the legendary Newark Eagles in 1937 as a shortstop under the name Jimmy Nelson to protect his amateur status; he went on to play in 4 East-West All Star games before being signed by the New York Giants in winter of 1948. Due to the presence of future Hall of Famer Willie Wells at shortstop, Irvin made the switch to outfield, and a legend was born. Staring with the Giants as a 30-year old "rookie", he went on to post a .293 career average, and was third in the MVP voting in 1951 en route to a World Series appearance.

Irvin is one of the classiest acts in baseball, often readily traveling to spread the word about baseball's history at dinners, signings and stadiums. He is a walking baseball encyclopedia and one of our sports greatest resources. He currently lives in a retirement community in Houston.

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Ed Kranepool recalls the sparse teachings of Rogers Hornsby with the 1962 Mets

Ed Kranepool briefly discusses in the video below, his interactions with Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby as an 18-year-old rookie with the New York Mets in 1962. Hornsby was a coach on the Mets inaugural team, and passed away shortly after the season in January 1963.

Ed Kranepool listening to Casey Stengel in 1962

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Juan Marichal 'Dominican Dandy' Interview

Hall of Famer Juan Marichal was in New York recently for a few public appearances. We sat down to talk about his memories of playing in New York early in his career and what he enjoys most about attending the BAT dinner.

In this interview below, he shared  his memories of playing in the 1964 All-Star game at Shea Stadium, his current work with ESPN Deportes, his thoughts on the Dominican entry in the World Baseball Classic, and how he was signed by the legendary Horacio Martinez.

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The Stars Come Out at the 20th Annual BAT Dinner

Tuesday January 27, 2009 marked the 20th annual "Going to Bat for B.A.T. Dinner" which celebrated the charitable efforts of the Baseball Assistance Team and the memories of Shea and Yankee Stadiums. Over 120 former Major League players were in attendance including 10 Hall of Famers.

During the opening press conference, both Luis Gonzalez and Bret Saberhagen spoke about the importance of B.A.T. Gonzalez's initial intrigue with B.A.T. came from having, "an opportunity to help baseball players and their families in need." After seeing the positive effects of B.A.T.'s efforts, he began to recruit the younger players in the clubhouse to make contributions. He felt it was his way of, "instilling old school values into new players," by helping them give back. Gonzalez was honored with 2008 Bart Giamatti Award for his involvement with numerous community based programs including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Phoenix Children's Hospital.

Saberhagen helped to raise $100,000 for the B.A.T. this year by winning a golf tournament with Hall of Famers Ozzie Smith, George Brett and former New York Met, Vince Coleman. He saw donating the winning purse to the B.A.T, "as a great way to give back to the baseball community." They received the 2008 Big BAT/Frank Slocum Award for their generous donation to the B.A.T. organization.

B.A.T. president Ted Sizemore said that the fundraising efforts will continue during Spring Training, visiting all 30 teams to educate players about the role of the B.A.T. The Bobby Murcer award will be given to the team that donates the most money during Spring Training.

This year's grant recipients included former Cleveland and Cincinnati farmhand pitcher Jacinto Camacho (1963-70) and Mets minor league outfielder Angel Cantres (1971-76). Both were able to have their expenses paid for acquiring prosthetic legs by the B.A.T. with the help of MLB alum Benny Ayala. Cantres gave a heartfelt speech during the dinner, thanking B.A.T. for giving him the opportunity to once again use the legs that allowed him to play baseball.

Current player representative, Randy Winn spoke about the continued need for B.A.T. awareness, "as any player regardless of circumstance can fall on hard times or have bad luck. It feels great to be in a position to provide assistance to the MLB family."

The evening proceeded with a cocktail reception hour, where many guests mingled with the many Major League alumni, scoring autographs and mingling with the many stars of baseball's past. The guests then made their way to the dinner, which was emceed by Gary Thorne. The Hall of Famers in attendance congregated on stage for photos, and many of the former Mets and Yankees gave their favorite memories of Shea and Yankee Stadium. Ed Kranepool relayed one of the more entertaining stories of the evening regarding the Mets colorful manager, Casey Stengel. "Casey was going to bring me out after a few innings of playing the second game of a double-header in 1964. I had played the first game, so I wasn't that worried; being 19 you're just happy to be out there. Of course, Casey couldn't keep his promise, as he used all of the substitutes within the first few innings and the game just happened to go 23 innings. The game ended at 11:50. If it would have gone 10 more minutes, it would have been the longest game ever, as we would have started in May and ended in June!"

For more information on the Baseball Assistance Team, please visit http://www.baseballassistanceteam.com

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