NFBC Message Boards

I've got a cool job. I score keep for a minor league team. I've been a baseball guy my whole life and this job suits me to a tee.
Yesterday, Steve Garvey, whose son plays on our team, sat beside me and talked baseball for six innings with me.
Originally, I think he was supposed to shake hands with me and go about his business of being Steve Garvey. When shaking his hand, I told him that besides his arm, there was not much to fault him with on the field.
He gave me a rye smile and reminded me that he had had had a tough shoulder surgery which moved him from third base to first base.
I responded that leaving third base for first base would eventually open up a spot for his good friend, Ron Cey. (During the time Garvey and Cey played together, there were rumors that they did not get along).
He asked me if I'd like an autograph.
I told him no. I already knew his name, I didn't need a reminder.
Garvey decided to sit beside me and talk a bit.

I asked him if the Cey-Garvey rumors were true. He told me that it wasn't that they didn't get along. It was just that they were two distinctly diverse personalities and as time went by, realizing this, they simply avoided each other as much as possible.
He then told me that Don Sutton was a tough teammate to have. I surmised that that was a politically correct way of saying that Sutton is a jerk.
Again, the rye smile.
I told him I had heard the same thing from other fans and a couple of writers. I asked him if Sutton's selfishness was the root of his problems. He laughed and said that it was if I knew the guy.
I told him if it made him feel any better, Sutton was near the bottom of my broadcaster list as well.
Another smile.

I told him that I didn't want to give him a big head, but that I had always thought a lot of him as a hitter. That I believed he always hit better in the clutch and that most batters were not programmed that way.
Again, the smile.
I asked him who was the toughest and easiest pitcher to hit for him
He answered Phil Niekro as the toughest. That there was no preparation for a knuckleballer and that the only way to approach him was to be patient and try to go opposite field.
The easiest was any left hander. Not a knock on lefties he said, it was just easier with the ball always coming towards you, not away.

I didn't ask about his off field problems because I didn't care. And, he probably would have gotten uneasy and left his seat anyway, so there was nothing to be gained for either of us.
He turned the tables on me and asked if I could name the infield that had set a record for being together eight and a half years.
Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey.
I told him it was a record that will probably never be broken with today's free agency.
He said that being a part of that infield is one of the more prouder things that he looks back on in baseball.

He then shared a story with me that I didn't know.
His father drove a bus in Tampa during the 50's and one of his jobs was to transport the Brooklyn Dodgers from the airport to their spring training complex. Little Steve was a baseball card collector and little leaguer and Father Garvey asked if he'd like to visit with some Dodgers.
The answer was obvious and Little Steve rode the bus and met some of the Dodgers like Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, Jackie Robinson and others. They took a liking to him and asked if he would like to be a bat boy.
Little Steve Garvey would be the Dodgers spring training bat boy for the next four years. Never knowing that a few years later, he would be playing with the same organization.
He showed me some pictures on his phone of a young Steve Garvey with his Dad and another with Gil Hodges.
I told him that he even had the 'Garvey haircut' as a boy.
This time a full laugh.

He spends his time now with an organization now that supports and helps former players without insurance or much retirement income in getting grants and benefits from his organization. He's most proud about a former player who had a brain tumor and incurred over a half million dollars worth of expenses and his organization paid for it all.
He also gives motivational speeches and the occasional signing sessions.

I found Garvey to be very personable and engaging. He is still into baseball, watching as much as possible.
When I got home, I peeked at some of his stats and found that not only was he a clutch hitter, he was a phenomenal clutch hitter. His lifetime batting average was .294 and his average with a runner on third base was .330
He was consistent during each month of the season, but when September came, his average would raise anther 25 points.
Next time he comes to town to see his son play, I'll let him know about those stats.
I don't think he'll care though.
I gave him plenty of opportunities to talk about himself as a hitter, he never did.
I'm guessing I'll get another smile.

Cool story, Dan. Not what I would have expected from Garvey; I would have thought he would have been kinda stuck on himself.

Of course, after he ruined the innocence of my childhood during the '84 playoffs, piss on him anyway!!!!

And piss on Leon Durham, Terry Kennedy, Lee Smith, and Tony Gwynn while you're at it!

I didn't expect much of Garvey myself. He really was very personable though.
A very pleasant surprise.
One thing I forgot to mention is that I left a door open into whether he could have 'improved his game' with stuff that was prominent after his generation.
Of course, I meant steroids.
He started talking about how the bats are so much harder now than when he swung one. He marvels at how the bats themselves have changed so much from his day.
I laughed to myself. I had left the question open for steroids, and for him it wasn't even a thought.
Pretty cool.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:I didn't expect much of Garvey myself. He really was very personable though.
A very pleasant surprise.
One thing I forgot to mention is that I left a door open into whether he could have 'improved his game' with stuff that was prominent after his generation.
Of course, I meant steroids.
He started talking about how the bats are so much harder now than when he swung one. He marvels at how the bats themselves have changed so much from his day.
I laughed to myself. I had left the question open for steroids, and for him it wasn't even a thought.
Pretty cool.

Dan I have gotten a chance to me Garvey and Sutton a few times and you are spot on. My favorite Sutton story is watching him bless a guy out for getting his autograph every single day and selling it to Bob Pressley who is the biggest memoroblia dealer in Atlanta. No doubt the guy was doing it. The key point though is the guy's face was so deformed from burns that working a traditional job was probably not in the cards. Sutton can sign his name once a day and the guy eats... I also watched him admonish a child and a parent because the child do not say thank you after Sutton signed something. The kid was a good kid just in awe of Sutton and shy. I could not resist and said Don I have seen Stacy (his daughter) quite a bit around Buckhead through the years and I am not exactly sure you should be giving parenting advice.

I got lost in Malibu one day on vacation trying to find Gladstones restaurant. Really lost and ended up near Brentwood. I stopped and asked a man for directions. I found it odd that the man was sweeping his drive way on like labor day (Princess Di had died the day before is that labor day?) in a polo and khakis. As the man approaches it is Garvey and he could not be nicer. He responded you will like Gladstones the girls are all over you there. I responded back that is probably because you are Steve Garvey he smiled. Miss you Danny boy long time no talk. Go console Andy on Melky Cabrera....