Aa afternoon with a friend not near as much into baseball as I.
Sometimes I wonder why he hangs out with me......
Wanna Coke?
"Phil Coke?"
Really? I can't ask if you want a drink without it turning to baseball?
"You should have asked if I wanted a Pepsi."
"Hey, do you remember Pumpsie Green?"
No.
"One of the first black players. I think he may have been the Red Sox first black player. There were no black people living by me growing up, so my first introduction to black folks was baseball cards.
Speaking of black, do you wanna freakin Pepsi?
"In looking back, I think those baseball card companies were a little anti-black, like a lot of folks were in the fifties and sixties.
It seemed like they hardly ever showed them smiling. And if they did, they'd look a little goofy. I remember those black players because I would try to collect every card.
Minnie Minoso, Jake Wood, Jim Gilliam, Gates Brown...
I'd bet they would give a straight answer if asked about a drink....
"Forget the drink, let's wait till it's two, then we'll go to Sonic for half priced drinks."
You're a cheap sombitch. If somebody was dying of thirst, you'd tell 'em to wait till two o'clock.
"I'm not cheap! I'll pay!"
Yeah, after two.
"Did you know that Babe Ruth was refuted to be part black?"
I'm getting a 7-up at Sonic to get you off this black player jag.
"That's what the Cubs were hollerin' at him when he supposedly pointed at Center Field for his 'called home run. They were calling him the 'N' word and big lips. I don't know for sure if Ruth was black though, so he wouldn't make my all-black team."
Alright, let me have the all-black team.
"Catcher, Roy Campanella. But heard Josh Gibson was really the best. But, I've got to keep it to Major League players.
First Base, McCovey with Stargell being close....I sure liked Donn Clendennon baseball cards though. All those N's were cool."
Yeah, who doesn't like 15 N's?
"Second base, Joe Morgan. Amazing player. Crappy broadcaster. Rod Carew too. Rod the God was incredible
Third base, Richie Allen. Jim Ray Hart would have been there too, but getting hit in the head ruined his career. There are not many great black 3b's. Bill Madlock was a good hitter too.
Shortstop, Maury Wills. Greatest PITA who ever lived. Wills is a personal choice. There are prbably better choices than Wills, but it's my team.
Outfield is easy. Aaron, Mays, and Robinson. I liked others like Willie Horton, Lou Brock, Vada Pinson, and Curt Flood, but those three, those three were awesome.
Pitching, Bob Gibson.
Satchell Paige and others would be thoughts, but if I had to win a game, Gibson would be the guy. The most entertaining was J.R. Richard. Like Hart, his candle burned too short. He could have been one of the best.
Let's go to Sonic.
"It's two o'clock already?"
Yeah, you've been yammering about black players for the last couple of hours....shuddup already, and let's go!
"I've gotta come up with a post for the Message Boards, any ideas?"
You're sick.
