Willie On Willie
"For fourteen years I had the best seat in baseball." - Willie McCovey on getting to view Willie Mays' at bats from the on deck circle.
This is pretty amazing when you think about it. Think of all the fans who had front row seats between the dugouts. But they usually only saw home games. Or all the players sitting in the dugout. But they were only marginally closer than the fans. The catcher and umpire were closer to Mays, but they had to concentrate on the ball, and were only there for the series. Willie McCovey had the most consistent and intimate view of Willie Mays' career of anybody. He hit directly behind him in the batting order for 14 years, so that's maybe 4 times a game times 150 games per year. We're talking like 8,000 plate appearances from 40-60 feet away. Closer than the pitcher. And he got paid.
This is pretty amazing when you think about it. Think of all the fans who had front row seats between the dugouts. But they usually only saw home games. Or all the players sitting in the dugout. But they were only marginally closer than the fans. The catcher and umpire were closer to Mays, but they had to concentrate on the ball, and were only there for the series. Willie McCovey had the most consistent and intimate view of Willie Mays' career of anybody. He hit directly behind him in the batting order for 14 years, so that's maybe 4 times a game times 150 games per year. We're talking like 8,000 plate appearances from 40-60 feet away. Closer than the pitcher. And he got paid.
Labels: Willie Mays, Willie McCovey
posted by Steve Scott at 1:18 AM
1 Comments:
my uncle once took me to a game in atlanta and we sat right behind the on-deck circle, in talking distance to the players. that view is awesome - as were both willies.
what do you suppose they would be saying to Duaner Sanchez right now? The mets dismissed him from camp because he couldn't get it together to show up on time. i wonder if he is the product of american public schools? no shortage of players who would appreciate the spot.
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