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The Bookends Interview: Art Shamsky: Part 2
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Saturday, June 3 2006
 RIDGEWOOD, NJ – “The 1969 season,” Art Shamsky said, “started on a downer because I was hurt in spring training and was on the Disabled List for the first 21 days. I didn’t even know if I could play that year. So, for it to go the way it did –with us winning the World Series, and me contributing- was a great experience. “Being part of a team that no one thought could win made it much more special. Even today, we still talk about that wonderful team.” From their inception, the Mets were tagged as ‘lovable losers’. In 1962, they set a major-league record 120 losses [which the 13-38 Kansas City Royals currently threaten]. But, with their WS victory seven years later, they had also established the shortest amount of time an expansion team required to win a championship. Only the 1997 Florida Marlins, who were franchised five years earlier, have won it all in less time. “Our team was made up of incredible characters,” Shamsky recalled. “From Gil Hodges, our manager, to Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, from Tug McGraw to Donn Clendenon, I really believe that, fifty years from now, people will still remember our names.” The Mets’ success, stunning as it was, almost never happened, as Hodges -the great Brooklyn Dodger hero- had suffered a massive heart attack in 1968.
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The Bookends Interview: Art Shamsky: Part 1
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Friday, June 2 2006
 RIDGEWOOD, NJ – Once, Art Shamsky was a legitimate power threat. During the 1966 season, he slugged 21 home runs in a mere 234 at-bats, including four consecutive over a three-day period while playing for the Cincinnati Reds. In particular, were the three long flies he swatted during a 14-11, 13-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 12; Shamsky, who had entered the game in the eighth inning, established a National League mark by hitting the last two of those homers in extra frames. Then, in November of ’67, Cincinnati dealt him to the New York Mets in exchange for Bob Johnson, a journeyman pitcher. Within two years, Shamsky –who followed 14 HRs, 47 RBI and a .300 average with 7 for 13 [.538] as New York bounced the Atlanta Braves in the first-ever NL Championship Series- was part of the motorcade which escorted the Amazin’ Mets through the Canyon of Heroes. Now, more than 35 years after that historic ride, Shamsky and Barry Zeman have teamed to recreate that moment in time. “The Magnificent Seasons” [introduced by Bob Costas, with forewords by Joe Namath, Tom Seaver and Bill Bradley, Thomas Duane Books, 320 pps, $24.95] offers New York sports fans a unique treat. It perfectly sandwiches the Mets’ victory in between those of the Jets and Knicks, then ties the triumvirate into a bigger picture -how the city, itself, nearly crumbled from the weight of both financial and political struggles and the unrest created by racism and the Vietnam War. “That period of time,” said the ex-ballplayer, “was so incredible for New York. I knew, that with the Jets winning, then us, then the Knickerbockers, there was a story there. Three teams from one city were world champions –and all for the very first time.
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2,000 Hits And The Heart of a Winner
By Joe McDonald | Pro Baseball Central Co-host | on Monday, May 29 2006
 NEW YORK – For all his greatness, Derek Jeter has never been known as a numbers guy. He doesn’t hit a lot of home runs and since he hits from the top of the line up, the runs batted in usually are reserved for those lower in the lineup. But that’s the way he likes it, because when he was first called, Jeter learned winning was the most important thing for a Yankee from the man who held the captain’s title before the shortstop. “When I came up in ’95, Donnie [Mattingly] was still here,” Jeter said during the Subway Series a few weeks ago. “The way he carried himself and the way he went about his business, I could tell that’s the way to do it. I learned a lot from watching him. You come here; you learn quick that you come here to win.” Conducting himself under that mantra over the past decade, Jeter has accomplished a few milestones. The most notable came Friday night when the shortstop became just the eighth Yankee to get 2000 hits in the pinstripes. Since he is only 31 years old, the captain has a great chance to break Lou Gehrig’s mark of 2,721 and ultimately become the first Bomber to break the 3,000 mark.
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The 'Bookends' Interview: Cal Ripken, Jr.
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Wednesday, May 17 2006
 RIDGEWOOD, NJ –It has always been about the kids. Except that, now, Cal Ripken, Jr. has more time to work with. With the endless 162-game seasons in the background, the calendar is whatever he wants to make of it. So, if Ripken chooses to travel –the occasional tour is essential to promote any of his numerous baseball-themed books-, he does so at his discretion, and not in accordance with a league schedule. Maybe, in the near future, there will be fewer hours to spare if the Baltimore Orioles, his old team, make an irresistible overture. But, that’s a story for another day. These days, it appears that Ripken -who retired from Major League Baseball in 2001 with 3,184 hits, but is far more recognized for shattering Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-game streak-, has enough to do. His latest work, “Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way: Ensuring the Best Experience for Your Kids in Any Sport” [with Rick Wolff, Gotham Books, 256 pps, $15.75] is a testament that he is just as important to the game as when he walked away from it.
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The Bookends Interview: Ralph Kiner - Part 3
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Saturday, May 13 2006
 RIDGEWOOD, NJ –All of the losing, for both Ralph Kiner and the Mets, ended in 1969. “The Mets had a good pitching staff in 1969,” he said. “They had Tom [Seaver] and Jerry [Koosman] and Gary Gentry and some others. The first half of the season was one of disbelief. No one could believe that the Mets were for real. When a team wins all the time, it’s easy to predict that they will win. But, the Mets were just getting to .500 for the first time. The Mets had actually celebrated when they reached .500. Then, Seaver said, ‘We’re gonna go all the way this year.’ And, he was right.” For the Mets to win it all, they had to get past three legitimate powerhouses –the Cubs, to win the Eastern Division, the Atlanta Braves to win the National League pennant and the Baltimore Orioles to win the World Series.
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The Bookends Interview: Ralph Kiner - Part 2
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Thursday, May 11 2006
 RIDGEWOOD, NJ -For a short time, after his retirement, Ralph Kiner was the GM of the Pacific Coast League’s San Diego Padres and, later, a broadcaster with the Chicago White Sox. Then, on January 31, 1962, he was hired to work with Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy as broadcasters for the expansion New York Mets. A part of his job description was to host a post-game show known as ‘Kiner's Korner’. The 15-minute recap, seen at the conclusion of a home game, would ultimately bring him even greater fame. There were Kinerisms –unintentional mispronunciations- [Gary Carter was ‘Gary Cooper’, Darryl Strawberry was ‘Darryl Throneberry’, and so forth] at every turn, and he quickly established himself as the Mets’ answer to Yogi Berra, who is widely regarded as the master of such quips. Kiner once commented that Phil Niekro’s knuckleball was “like watching Mario Andretti park a car,” and astutely noted that that, “Solo homers usually come with no one on base." He sent birthday wishes to all fathers on ‘Father’s Day,” and said of one late-game pitcher, “All of his saves have been in relief appearances." He once said that “the reason the Mets have played so well at Shea is because they have the best home record in baseball." But, even his call of the game, itself, could boggle the mind. “The Mets have gotten their leadoff batter on only once this inning." Or, “This one is hit deep to right. It is way back -going, going, it is gone. No, it’s off the top of the wall."
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The Bookends Interview: Ralph Kiner
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Wednesday, May 10 2006
RIDGEWOOD, NJ - He has given his life to this game and, in return, the game has more than given back. Ralph Kiner is 83 now and still, very much, an icon to those who recall either his home run prowess [he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians from 1946-55], a broadcasting career which has spanned 40 years or his post-game show, Kiner’s Korner, which was once, despite the host’s many malaprops, among the longest-running programs in New York. “Baseball Forever: Reflections on 60 Years in the Game” [co-authored with Danny Peary, with an introduction by Tom Seaver, Triumph Books, 240 pps] may be the most diverse book ever published because Kiner’s social circles extended far beyond the baseball diamond. He led the National League with 23 HRs as a Pirate rookie in 1946 -the lowest total for a league leader since 1921 and the team’s first such champion since 1902- and would have, surely, won the Rookie of the Year Award had it existed. The following season, as Jackie Robinson busted through the color barrier, Kiner tied the New York Giants’ Johnny Mize for the home run title with 51 apiece.
-- Read More. Q & A With Jim Bouton
By Cecilia Tan | Pro Baseball Central GothamBaseball.com | on Friday, February 3 2006
 It's February and I am impatient for some real baseball news to come along. Until it does, I must content myself with the scraps that come over the wire: Robinson Cano would rather win a World Series than the World Baseball Classic, Enrique Wilson has been invited to Red Sox spring training, and Roger Clemens pitched batting practice in Astros mini-camp. That's about it for the "news." Thank goodness there is no shortage of "old" stuff then, to occupy our minds. This week I went down memory lane with Jim Bouton. Bouton is best-known for writing Ball Four, the book which made him a household name, but before he became an iconoclastic scribe chronicling the struggles of ballplayers, he was a hot shot pitcher for the New York Yankees.
-- Read More. The Wright Moves For David
By Joe McDonald | Pro Baseball Central Co-host | on Friday, December 2 2005
David Wright has seen the ups and downs at Shea Stadium and with the Mets recent trade for first baseman Carlos Delgado and signing closer Billy Wagner, the young third baseman likes the direction the team is heading. “Getting two guys of that caliber is great,” Wright said in a phone interview today. “I said all along - and I haven’t been on the team the longest - I saw what it’s not suppose to be like my like my first half of a year and last year you could see this organization is going in the right direction. Trading for a guy like Carlos Delgado and signing a guy like Billy Wagner, shows what it takes as an organization to win baseball games.” The slugging first baseman was acquired from the Florida Marlins last week for first baseman Mike Jacobs and minor leagues Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Psomas. Even though Wright came up through the system, he has no problems seeing some of his former teammates moved for a player of Delgado’s character.
-- Read More. An Interview With Nomar Garciaparra
By Joe McDonald | Pro Baseball Central Co-host | on Monday, August 22 2005
NEW YORK – A few years ago, his name was synonymous with the great shortstops of baseball. Nomar Garciaparra had one of the league’s highest batting averages and followed in the footsteps of Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski as the focal point of Red Sox Nation. Then the injuries happened and Garciaparra was eventually shipped away from Fenway Park to the Chicago Cubs on July 31, 2004 – only months before his former team broke their curse.
-- Read More. Still Classy: Juan Marichal
By Joe McDonald | Pro Baseball Central Co-host | on Sunday, August 21 2005
BROOKLYN – For its first All-Star Game and accompanying ceremonies, the NY-Penn League wanted to have a keynote speaker who represents dignity and class. They seemed to make the right choice in Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. When he played in the 1960s, the former San Francisco Giants great -who was on hand Sunday to throw out the first ball and sign autographs while the Cyclones took on the Aberdeen Ironbirds in the last game before the All-Star break- had to go through many of the same inequities Jackie Robinson suffered through in the 1940s and 1950s.
-- Read More. With A Quick Flick, Hernandez Is A Success
By Joe McDonald | Pro Baseball Central Co-host | on Friday, July 29 2005
FLUSHING, NY – With a flick of the hand, Roberto Hernandez revitalized his career. When he entered Spring Training with the New York Mets, the 40 year-old reliever looked finished after a sub-par year with the Philadelphia Phillies, but being reunited with pitching coach Rick Peterson gave Hernandez his old form back.
-- Read More. A 'Bleacher Creature' Feature
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Friday, April 1 2005
It was 1996 when Barry Werner, then the Sports Editor of the New York Daily News, approached Filip Bondy, his columnist, with a thought. "We need a story from the fan’s perspective." That was easier said than done, Bondy remembers, because so many of these features are impossible to read. "It had to be more than just getting a quote from someone saying, ‘I think we’re gonna win!’ That’s unreadable stuff.
-- Read More. An Interview with Steve Borelli
By Joe McDonald | Pro Baseball Central Co-host | on Friday, April 1 2005
They were pioneers who could paint a vibrant picture of the baseball diamond. Several of the game’s early voices -such as Red Barber, Bob Prince, Ernie Harwell and Curt Gowdy- have become timeless. Since television was in its infancy in the 1950s, radio was how many people received their baseball news. Subsequently, the broadcasters were more than just voices; they were friends or even members of the family. And, of all the voices to call the game, no one was more famous than Mel Allen.
-- Read More. An Interview with Mike Vaccaro
By Joe McDonald | Pro Baseball Central Co-host | on Friday, April 1 2005
There are certain sporting events that inspire people. These games show the greatness of human emotion and the drama produced encourages great things from the community that watch them. For the New York Post’s Mike Vaccaro, the Yankee vs. Red Sox rivalry from the last two seasons drove him to write his first book. “It’s called Emperors and Idiots and it’s a history of the rivalry going back to 1903, which is told through (the eyes of) the last two years,” Vaccaro told NY Sports Day. “The 2003 ALCS with the Yankees and Red Sox captured my imagination.”
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