SAVAGE
VIEWS – To Cooperstown and Back
July
27, 2022
I don’t
recall not being a Brooklyn Dodgers fan.
It could have been as early as 1947, when I was 6 years old or more
likely 1948 when I was 7. I was always a
Gil Hodges fan and it might have been because his middle name Raymond got my
attention– who remembers?
Not sure
when we got our first TV set – probably before 1950. Listened to Red Barber and Connie Desmond broadcast
the games on radio. Do recall listening
to the final game of the 1950 season when Del Ennis hit a three-run homerun off
Don Newcombe in the 10th inning to win the pennant for the Phil’s on
the final day of the season.
A year later
I played hooky as a 10-year-old from St. Stan’s in Greenpoint to attend the
playoff game at the Polo Grounds.
Unfortunately, some guy by the name of Thomson hit “the shot heard round
the world”. I know I am one of three
surviving folks from that game. Mays and Erskine being the other two.
As a
long-term Hodges fan, I admit to being biased about his credentials for the
baseball HOF. What sometimes gets overlooked:
· He was one of the two leaders of a
great Brooklyn teams in the late 40’s and 50’s – Reese being the other.
· I remember a game in 1948 when Rex
Barney was pitching a no-hitter, but having trouble throwing strikes. Hodges went to the mound and gave Barney
“strong words of wisdom”. Whatever Gil
said worked wonders and Rex finished his historic game.
· He was instrumental in smoothing the
way for Jackie Robinson to be accepted.
A true friend to Jackie
· When he hit 4 homers in a game, he
was only the second player to ever do so.
· In 1949 he hit for the cycle – I
believe he is the only player to have hit 4 homers in a game and also hit for
the cycle.
· He was one of the best fielding
first baseman of all time.
· When he retired only Jimmy Foxx and
Willie Mays hit more homers from the right side.
My point is
that not only did Gil have a very good career on a very good team, many
intangibles set him aside from others including having a strong moral fiber.
When I heard
the news that he was finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first
thing I did was go to AIRNB to find a place to stay for me and three of my
sons. Next, I got reservations at two
of the better dining establishments in Cooperstown. I also joined the Hall of Fame Museum.
We flew out
of Raleigh into Albany and arrived in Cooperstown mid-afternoon on Friday, the
22nd. After lunch at the
Lakefront restaurant, we headed to town to shop for souvenirs. I picked up a Hodges #14 Dodgers T-shirt. While walking through Main Street did see
Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky and Ed Kranepool selling memoirs.
I had made
dinner reservations at the Hawkeye Bar and Grill in the Otesaga Resort for 8:00
and received confirmation of the reservation the day before. When we got there, we were turned away
because a private party was happening and we were not invited. Wound up spending the evening at Mel’s
instead.
On Saturday
following breakfast at the Doubleday Café we visited the Museum. It was a mob scene and we left after two
hours to hook up with friends of 50 years that we had not seen in seven years. Decided to head out to the Ommegang Brewery
and when we got there they were closed hosting a private party Went to the nearby Red Shed Brewery for a
couple of quick drafts and then back to Ommegang. It’s been a good 12 years since we were there
and the place has changed dramatically.
It’s been converted into a full-scale restaurant with a nice selection
of beers. Before, it was just a place to
sample brews.
Went back
into town to catch the Parade of Legends.
It was kind of cool to see the large contingent of Hall of Famers who
did show up.
Saturday
dinner was at Toscano Italian Restaurant.
Noticed a nice-looking lady at the table next to ours and I tapped her
on the arm and asked her if she was married to anybody famous because she
looked like “a trophy wife”. She replied
that she is married to Steve Garvey, “her trophy husband”. Got to chat with Steve for a few minutes. Hard to believe he’s 73-looks a lot younger.
On Sunday
went to the Induction Ceremony. Large crowd of David Ortiz supporters. If he wasn’t being inducted the place would
be half empty (half full?). Left early
as the speakers droned on. Jim Kaat
seemed to have a lot to say.
For dinner
went to Becca’s for pizza. A-Rod decided
to show up. He’s a really big guy.
It was an
expensive week-end but worth the price to spend time with my sons and friends
we have not seen in a while. But, best
of all, my man, Gil Hodges, finally got the recognition he long deserved.
Ray
7 comments:
Great stuff, Ray.
Gawd
Dinner bill from hell
Sounds like an awesome weekend - glad you were able to share it with your sons! This is how the love of baseball gets passed on through the generations.
Also glad you got to see the Red Shed. There are dozens and dozens of cool little breweries and wineries like that throughout the finger lakes.
Next time will make allowances to spend more time in the museum.
Really great read Ray, and wished there was more. Your setting of the story with the info about your youth was important and helped us learn more about Hodges. Too, it was interesting to hear of the former players selling memorabilia and that Steve Garvey was there. I know he makes his living as a motivational speaker and on his website writes that “he is destined for enshrinement in Coopertown”, to which I write “LOL”! I liked Garvey, but give me a break! He will push that to be able to make much more in fees as a speaker.
Several years back, I had the good fortune to meet someone named Malcolm Cepeda. He had a baseball academy here and made his living that way. He would come by the restaurant I work at with his family and we had great conversation about what was going on with my Mets. One day, he tells me that his parents are coming to town, and he will bring them by. That was cool… So, one day arrives and he brought his dad wearing a San Francisco Giants tee shirt: Orlando Cepeda! THE ORLANDO CEPEDA!
We took a few pictures and Mr. Cepeda spent some time. His hands were probably as big as Michael Jordan’s, maybe bigger! Malcolm told me that his dad made a living public speaking, but after he went into the Hall of Fame, he really made much more money. That’s what Steve Garvey is thinking.
Nice story.
Cepeda was a helluva player. The Giants had both him and McCovey
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