I'd like to give a cheerful and warm thanks to Mark over atRetro Simba for sending me some various Oakland A's baseball cards in the mail, although one piece of cardboard stood out in a particularly nostalgic way-the Marcel Lachemann pictured. I remember him fondly as the pitching coach for the then- California Angels in the early 90's. My grandparents lived about a 10-minute drive from Anaheim in nearby Buena Park, so my grandfather and I attended quite a few Angels games. They enjoyed going to flea markets on weekends and would sometimes drop me off in the parking lot where I would buy tickets from scalpers (who my grandpa taught me to lowball if it was close enough to game time) and then once inside stand around under the S. California cornflower-blue sky chatting with 90-year-old bench coach Jimmie Reese -who was once Babe Ruth's baseball roommate-on the third base line. I was always tickled by Reese's answer when asked what life was like rooming with The Babe.
"I roomed with his suitcase."
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I usually don't watch Pirates/Cardinals games, but I love early morning "get-away" baseball and these two teams squared off the other day as I was enjoying my coffee and rubbing the crud out of my eyes. It was impressive to watch 43-year-old Dick Mountain (who had sucked in his previous 4 outings, so he must have eaten his Wheaties and had balanced his chakras) baffle the Cardinals hitters with an array of off-speed pitches. Mountain grunted and groaned his way through 6 ⅔, throwing everything but the kitchen sink, giving up 1 ER, and helping the Buccos complete the sweep of the RedBirds. I have a friend (a Mariners fan) who would always sing the praises of Jamie Moyer, and this game brought me major "Moyer Vibes." We decrepit old guys love it when old farts succeed on the ball field as we can live through them vicariously and exclaim, "Well if he's still got it then so do I goddamn it!" And that morning was one of those days for Mr. Mountain-a successful day on the hill that gave me renewed hope in crusty old dudes everywhere with back problems, fussy wives, and a 9 o' clock bedtime.
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Here's a short Vida Blue vs Hank Aaron video. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
This entry was posted in "busts" and baseball cards, 1970's Oakland A's and tagged baseball, baseball cards, Coco crisp afro blog, Dick Mountain, life, memoir, oakland a's, Vida Blue, writing on by .