Post by dg on Mar 21, 2007 23:41:30 GMT -5
I need to start with a big Thank You to Jimbue. Jimbue sent me an autographed copy of "Balls" by Graig Nettles. I haven't exactly made it a secret that Nettles was my boyhood idol. I laughed upon reading critiques of the book... things like "a bit too self-serving"..... well, I can cut Nettles some slack for that. Hell, I have yet to read a baseball biography that WASN'T self serving. Though not exactly a literary classic , I got to read about some things that took place before I started watching baseball and I was also flooded with memories from my early years as a Yankees fan.
ALL of my memories as a young fan include the man I will forever recognize as THE most knowledgeable baseball fan , William Harold McGhee (R.I.P.)
To others, he was known as "Harold" or "Mr. McGhee"..... to me, he was "Grandpa". I was too stubborn to root for his team (the Royals), and the Yankees were my choice. He loathed the Steinbrenner/Reggie/Billy drama, but admired several of my heroes, including Graig, Bucky, Willie, Chris,Thurman, Gator, and Catfish.
When I was jumping up and down after we watched Nettles snare a line drive, he COULD have said something along the lines of "Great play..... but Brett is the game's best 3B".... but he didn't. Even if the play robbed the Royals of an extra-base hit, he'd smile and say "He reminds me of Clete Boyer". Then would come the stories of the Yankees glorious past..... ranging from info in letters his oldest brother sent home after watching Babe and Lou play (his oldest brother was in the Navy and spent some time in New York) to his claim that Mickey Mantle was the greatest athlete of all time. He loved the M and M boys, Whitey Ford, Yogi, Joe DiMaggio, Casey Stengel...... it was a seemingly endless list. Despite the fact that my Yankees knocked his Royals out of the playoffs in 1976, 77 and 78, he was thrilled for me.... for my love of the game as much as my joy watching back-to-back titles.
Nettles book started the flood of memories..... and an ongoing debate I've had over the past several days with someone claiming the 78' Yankees had "just another comeback" only served to open the floodgates wider.
The clincher was a discussion at work yesterday. I was asked how I could watch a Yankees game with the sound off while listening to a minor league game. That was when it dawned on me..... it's happening again. Grandpa was the guy watching our local Junior College football game listening to the Royals game on his transistor radio. In 1978, I was the 9 year old at his side. Though I doubt my lifespan will be long enough to obtain Grandpa's wealth of baseball knowledge, I've assumed his role.... and, as of May 25th, the 9 year old at my side will be my pride and joy, Jerry.
We all know life isn't fair. I live in the town that hosts the Kansas State Fair and grew up listening to my Dad say "Fair comes in September, son" ....... but, if life were fair, I'd have the opportunity to watch just a single Yankees/Royals playoff matchup with Grandpa on one side of me and Jerry on the other.
My words fail horribly in an attempt to pay tribute to the man I learned so much from ....the man that sat beside me as I screamed myself hoarse after watching my favorite Yankee, Donnie Baseball, hit one out of Kauffman Stadium.... and the man I've missed more with each year since he passed on in 1995.
Perhaps one day we'll get to discuss baseball again. Thank you, Grandpa.
ALL of my memories as a young fan include the man I will forever recognize as THE most knowledgeable baseball fan , William Harold McGhee (R.I.P.)
To others, he was known as "Harold" or "Mr. McGhee"..... to me, he was "Grandpa". I was too stubborn to root for his team (the Royals), and the Yankees were my choice. He loathed the Steinbrenner/Reggie/Billy drama, but admired several of my heroes, including Graig, Bucky, Willie, Chris,Thurman, Gator, and Catfish.
When I was jumping up and down after we watched Nettles snare a line drive, he COULD have said something along the lines of "Great play..... but Brett is the game's best 3B".... but he didn't. Even if the play robbed the Royals of an extra-base hit, he'd smile and say "He reminds me of Clete Boyer". Then would come the stories of the Yankees glorious past..... ranging from info in letters his oldest brother sent home after watching Babe and Lou play (his oldest brother was in the Navy and spent some time in New York) to his claim that Mickey Mantle was the greatest athlete of all time. He loved the M and M boys, Whitey Ford, Yogi, Joe DiMaggio, Casey Stengel...... it was a seemingly endless list. Despite the fact that my Yankees knocked his Royals out of the playoffs in 1976, 77 and 78, he was thrilled for me.... for my love of the game as much as my joy watching back-to-back titles.
Nettles book started the flood of memories..... and an ongoing debate I've had over the past several days with someone claiming the 78' Yankees had "just another comeback" only served to open the floodgates wider.
The clincher was a discussion at work yesterday. I was asked how I could watch a Yankees game with the sound off while listening to a minor league game. That was when it dawned on me..... it's happening again. Grandpa was the guy watching our local Junior College football game listening to the Royals game on his transistor radio. In 1978, I was the 9 year old at his side. Though I doubt my lifespan will be long enough to obtain Grandpa's wealth of baseball knowledge, I've assumed his role.... and, as of May 25th, the 9 year old at my side will be my pride and joy, Jerry.
We all know life isn't fair. I live in the town that hosts the Kansas State Fair and grew up listening to my Dad say "Fair comes in September, son" ....... but, if life were fair, I'd have the opportunity to watch just a single Yankees/Royals playoff matchup with Grandpa on one side of me and Jerry on the other.
My words fail horribly in an attempt to pay tribute to the man I learned so much from ....the man that sat beside me as I screamed myself hoarse after watching my favorite Yankee, Donnie Baseball, hit one out of Kauffman Stadium.... and the man I've missed more with each year since he passed on in 1995.
Perhaps one day we'll get to discuss baseball again. Thank you, Grandpa.