Re: The Meaning of Yaz

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 04:18:23 GMT, "Srgnt Billko" <frrt@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


"Dave Bismo" <bismo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:iel4u2psmnldatssugj4t4smbsb39eph52@xxxxxxxxxx
On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 03:32:48 GMT, "Srgnt Billko" <frrt@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


"Dave Bismo" <bismo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3284u25pdeet95svune919f21j2at3mi83@xxxxxxxxxx
Great thread on SOSH--just fans reminiscing about Yaz for no apparent
reason, to pass the time on a dreary February day, but some great
reading for those who are interested in Captain Carl:

http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?s=a3ae6bd79ecd2fb679df3ad4b3a85e5a&showtopic=15458&st=0

-Bismo.

Neat - I just mentioned to my buddy the other day how I hadn't seen
anything
about Yaz or Dom DiMaggio in a while. Unfortunately we'll probably have
to
wait till after Dom dies to see much about him.

Sad but probably true. Heck, when I saw the thread title on SOSH, my
first thought was, "Oh my God, did something happen to Yaz?"

Dommy is a wonderful man, and I love reading about him. I really wish
I had seen him play, especially defensively.

Yaz was my first Red Sox hero,
<snip>
And the biggest thrill of all was attending his induction to the Hall
of Fame in 1989. Yaz gave an outstanding, emotional speech that
really touched all the fans. However, I also remember seeing the Hall
of Famers march into Doubleday Field the next day for the Hall of Fame
Game. Williams and Kiner were grinning and waving. Bench was giving
high-fives. Doerr and Feller stopped to chat with the fans. Musial
was going into his famous batting stance and busting out his
harmonica. Yaz looked like he was attending a funeral. He had the
grimmest expression on his face.

I think I mentioned this before - but I was at the game also. If I remember
right, they brought some low A catcher in from from a nearby team to fill in
after the regulars made token appearances. Didn't one of the teams have
trouble getting all their players there ?

Yep. The Reds didn't make it at all. The story at the time was that
they had plane problems, but a theory later surfaced that Pete
Rose--who had been suspiciously suspended for a month for bumping an
umpire--wanted the Reds to boycott the game as a protest. (And that
the suspension was harsher than normal as a warning for Rose to stop
with the gambling already.) It was a shame, because the Reds-Red Sox
was a planned matchup in honor of Yaz and Bench, who were both
inducted that weekend.

A lot of people were giving away tickets in the parking lot when it
became apparent that the game was going to be even more meaningless--a
Red Sox scrimmage, with coaches like Al Bumbry playing, as well as
minor leaguers like, IIRC, Paul Quantrill. (Though it's always been
common for teams to bring minor leaguers along--especially from the
nearby NY-Penn League--to replace the regulars after a couple of
at-bats or innings.) I got my tickets from Sweet Lou Gorman, and was
later offered tickets by ex-Reds GM Dick Wagner, who was then working
for MLB.

Nevertheless, it was fun to see the game and talk to Feller, Doerr,
Rick Cerone, and Wes Gardner. I also saw the HOF game in 1981, the
year Bob Gibson and Johnny Mize were inducted. Forgot who played in
the game, but I met Cool Papa Bell, Mize, and Musial there, so it was
a big thrill, and Doubleday Field is just an awesome place to see a
game. It's so old and quaint, and you feel like you're in another
era.

-Bismo.
.