Lonny Frey, 99, Former Brooklyn Dodger 1910-2009

It is with a sad tone that I bring you the news of another Brooklyn Dodger passing. Former infielder Lonny Frey died Sunday at the age of 99 according to the Seattle Times. There are conflicts about his age, as the obituary lists 98, but Baseball-Reference.com lists his birth year as being 1910, which would make him 99. I had received written correspondence from Frey approximately a month ago and he seemed in good spirits. It is never a good feeling to hear the news of someone passing after receiving such recent communication.

Frey played 14 seasons in the Majors from 1933-1948 with Brooklyn, Cincinnati, The New York Giants and Yankees. He lost two seasons due to his service in World War II between 1943 and 1945. He was a three-time All-Star and played in three world series, two with the Reds and one with the Yankees. Frey gained recognition later in his life as he began to outlive the majority of his contemporaries. The New York times published an interesting 2008 article with Bob Feller and Frey, as they were the last two players alive from the 1939 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.

Some of Frey's baseball memorabilia was profiled on an episode of Antiques Roadshow, where his son had his World Series and All-Star mementos appraised.

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Jackie Collum, 82, 1927-2009 Former Brooklyn Dodger Pitcher

The little lefty from Iowa Jackie Collum died at the age of 82 on August 29, 2009 in Grinnell. Collum, although only 5'7, used a devastating screwball to pitch in parts of 9 seasons in the Major Leagues from 1952-1962 with the Cardinals, Reds, Cubs, Dodgers, Twins and Indians. Prior to playing professionally, he served in the US Army during World War II in the Philippines. Upon his return from military service, he was signed into the St. Louis Cardinals organization, where he posted 24 wins in Class C St. Joseph in 1948. He cited being selected to the 1954 National League All-Star as a batting practice pitcher, as being one of his favorite accomplishments of his Major League career. After baseball, Collum ran Pioneer Oil Company in Grinnell, IA.

Here is a January 2009 article written about Collum by William L. Sherman of the Iowa chapter of SABR, entitled "Jackie Collum, A Living Legend".

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Former New York Mets Pitcher Jerry Koosman Gets 6 Months For Tax Evasion

The Associated Press reports that former New York Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman has been sentenced to 6 months in prison for tax evasion after not federal income taxes between 2002 and 2004. Koosman pitched 19 seasons in Major League Baseball, including winning two games for the Mets during the 1969 World Series. Koosman has filed returns for the missing years, but according to prosecutors, he owes approximately $65,000. He will begin serving his sentence on November 3rd.

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Branch Rickey On Signing Bonuses

With the news of Stephen Strasburg's recent record setting 15.1 million dollar guaranteed contract, I want to refer to a passage from "Branch Rickey's Little Blue Book" on signing bonuses from over 50 years prior. Similar sentiments are felt today by the fans and many players who had to work their way up through the minor leagues to secure a Major League contract. In this passage, Branch Rickey was discussing the merits of eliminating the, "High School Rule," which prohibited teams from even discussing a professional career with a player who had high school eligibility remaining.

"Now there is another good reason to be rid of the High School Rule as written or proposed: It promotes the "bonus," and that is the greatest menace to the continued solvency of a great many major-league teams. Some teams are spending as much as a half-million dollars yearly in signing new, young, untried players about whose ability nothing positive is known. The bonus inherently affects the player in a number of negative ways. The player's morale is upset. He is often ruined by the sudden possession of large amounts of money. His ambition is stultified. And his self-sufficiency is pronounced (even his habits in the direction of the "good life" are affected).
The club is likewise affected, because it is just too bad to have 25-year-old, tried and true players view with amazement the presence of one or even a half-dozen bonus players who get more money to sign a contract as an 18-year-old than most of them can ever hope to save in a lifetime of playing.
The financial structure of the game is jeopardized. Most clubs cannot possibly pay between $300,000 and $700,000 a year for new, unknown material of tender age and be assured of staying solvent." Branch Rickey's Little Blue Book, p.55

While the figures have grown significantly, Rickey poses multiple observations of the effects of a large signing bonus: complacency, loss of focus, animosity between veterans and rookies, and giant financial risks for the Major League teams. Let's hope that Strasburg becomes a front-line starter for many years to come, or else the Washington Nationals checks might be sporting a new logo, Spalding.

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Davey Williams, 81, 1927-2009 New York Giants Second Baseman

Former New York Giants second baseman Davey Williams passed away on August 17, 2009 at the age of 81 at his home in Dallas, Texas.

Williams made his debut with the Giants in 1949 and stayed for good after the 1951 season, making the All-Star team in 1953 and appearing in two World Series (1951 and 1954). He had his career ended in 1955 after he suffered a back injury from being run over by Jackie Robinson while covering a bunt.

I had the opportunity to interview Williams in December 2008 and he recounted the events of the collision with Robinson.

"Jackie was a great competitor," Williams said. "He had the right to get even with alot of guys. Jackie told Howard Cosell that I was the only guy he ever hurt intentionally. I got there late, it was my fault. [Sal] Maglie threw at him. The next pitch, Robinson turned to bunt, and instead of covering first and allowing him to go in and cover the ball on that side of the infield, I'm standing out there waiting for the fight to start. Robinson bunts the ball, and Maglie doesn't go over to field the ball, Whitey [Lockman] goes over to field the ball, and now I wake up and have to cover first base. I got there the minute he got there, and I didn't have any momentum going for me at all, and he ran right up the middle. Somehow, I held onto the ball, he didn't knock it out of my hand. I was out too, I didn't play again for 11 days."

He had fond memories of playing with Hall of Famer Ray Dandridge in Minneapolis.

"He had great hands and for the life of me, I don't know why he didn't get a chance to play in the big leagues," he said. "He was impressive."

During the same time he was there with Dandridge, Willie Mays was making his debut in Minneapolis. After briefly playing with Mays, he knew that Mays, "would be a franchise player somewhere." Definitively, Williams described Mays as, "the best player I ever saw."

With the National League up 2-0 in the 7th inning, manager Charlie Dressen inserted Williams into the 1953 All-Star game, replacing Red Schoendienst. Williams told the story of his brief appearance in the contest.

"I caught the last out in the All-Star game off of a pop-up from Yogi Berra," he said. "I always told people if I dropped the ball, we could've padded the score; heck we might still be playing! I got to bat off of Mike Garcia. I went up to hit against him in the 8th inning, and he threw the first pitch, and I thought, 'Whoa! My gosh!' He surprised the heck out of me, he threw a fastball. I hit against him a hundred times before and he really startled me when he threw that first pitch in the All-Star game. It was kinda like he threw it 110 MPH. It wasn't that way in the World Series a year later. I wasn't that surprised [regarding their meeting in the 1954 World Series]. I hit the ball out of the ballpark against him and it was foul by about a foot. I was around by second base and I come back across the mound, and Mike said, 'I must have made that a bit too good.' I said, 'You must have if I hit it that well.'"

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