The Headline Lefty Gomez Never Saw

[DOUGHBOYS]

We live in an era where each athlete takes care of their body. It is their choice to know what to put in that body and how hard to train that body.
My personal opinion is that most baseball players over train for the sport.
Let's face it, unless pitching, baseball is a lot of sitting and standing interrupted by physical exertion.
It is during this exertion that the over training athlete is most likely to hurt himself.
Still the 'cut' or 'carved' body is something to be proud of to teammates and others in the locker room. But on the field, the natural strength of an Adam Dunn is equal to or more powerful than a 'cut' Matt Kemp.

But, this is modern day.
Now, we have information at the touch of a keypad. Athletes know the do's and don'ts to make themselves better.
This was not always the case.

Lefty Gomez was the best pitcher of his time. He pitched the Yankees to many pennants and World Series during the 1930's. He pitched in a time when scouts, doctors, and owners THOUGHT they knew what was best for athletes.
But, they did not.
Gomez threw a great game in his youth and was on the verge of being signed by a pro team. One scout told his coach that he had a contract in hand and was already to sign Lefty to the deal.
He had one request. He wanted permission to enter the locker room to see Lefty after the game.
After exiting the locker room, the scout told his coach that the deal was off and that Lefty would not be extended a contract.
"Why? What did he say?"
"He didn't say anything. I didn't talk to him. But, I did SEE him and his dick is too big. He'll never be a Big League pitcher."
Now if anybody was to not make the Major Leagues, it is for sure they could take consolation in reading the next morning's headline,
'Gomez Not Signed To Major Leagues, Dick Too Big!'

Gomez had a blessing in disguise by not being signed by the misguided scout.
He signed with the Yankees. A team with Ruth, Gehrig, and Lazzeri. A team that won.
A team with misguided ideas of their own.
The Yankees believed that if skinny, an athlete must have a dental problem. So, they had many of their players go to the dentist for the sole purpose of having their teeth removed.
Gehrig had teeth pulled.
As did Gomez.
As did many others.
It was a practice that was accepted in the 1930's.
Imagine Alexis Ramirez coming from Cuba and the White Sox intimating that he'll need to go to the dentist in order to gain weight.
Screwy.
But, that was the times.

One other weird thing.
And I'll put this in the form of a trivia question.
What did Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby have in common?
Besides being called the greatest left handed and right handed hitters that ever lived, Ruth and Hornsby never watched movies.
Both thought that watching movies would be hard on their optic nerves and that they would lose their batting eye.
Ruth took this a step further and resolved not to read any books or papers for a prolonged time because of the effects on the eyes.

Today's athletes rule their own bodies.
They have comfort in knowing the best things to do for these bodies.
Medically, they have little in common with players from the 20's or 30's.
They know they can read.
They can watch movies.
They can be be skinny.
They can even even have a large penis.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Just an addendum to this-
I think about all the ball players now that say playing video games is there favorite way to pass time.
Not even a thought about squenching those eyes at a screen for hours, while the Babe was afraid to watch a movie.
Not that the Babe was missing much, since 'talkies' arrived during the middle of his career.

Now it is all about the body and how strong or fast one can make themselves.
Then, hand-eye coordination was thought to be key. And the eyes were utmost on players minds.
The next tidbit illustrates not only how much Ruth gave thought to his vision, but how much the Yankees also wanted to protect his eyes-
Ruth played right field at Yankee Stadium and two other stadiums.
In the other stadiums, he would normally play left field.
The reason being that the sun shines on left field at Yankee Stadium and the other two stadiums.
Right Field in the other six stadiums.
The Yankees made sure to protect his eyes by playing him in a non-sun outfield spot.
He played before lights.

Ruth haters (there were a few) liked to say that Ruth was always where the sun don't shine.