Willie Mays: should he be vilified for 1951 sign stealing? Wednesday, February 19, 2020
I know, it's jolting to even consider but 20 year old New York Giant rookie Willie Mays was part of the Giants cheating to win the 1951 NL pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers of Jackie Robinson.
Why is Jose Altuve vilified but not Bobby Thomson? Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Hank Aaron played with Bobby Thomson but wants Astros cheaters banned for life. Sunday, February 9, 2020 ...
So before threatening Altuve, Bregman, Correa, Springer ... pause and consider whether you want to go after Willie Mays, the Say Hey Kid of the 1950s. It's not too late to ban Mays for life.
__________________________
Since the hysterical and apoplectic reaction to the 2017-2019 Houston Astros sign stealing continues unabated, it seemed appropriate to try again to shock people by again pointing out that Willie Mays was in about as similar a situation in 1951 as one could imagine.
Leo Durocher managed the Brooklyn Dodgers 1939-1946, 72 games in 1948; New York Giants 79 games in 1948, 1949-1955, Cubs 1966-90 games in 1972, Astros 31 games in 1972-1973.
Durocher the Spymaster: How much did the Giants prosper from cheating in 1951? By Bryan Soderholm-Difatte
Note: This article appears in the Fall 2012 edition of the "Baseball Research Journal."
In the summer of 1951, the New York Giants under manager Leo Durocher began to employ an elaborate sign-stealing scheme...
... the revelation by Joshua Prager—first in a 2001 Wall Street Journal article and then his book, The Echoing Green ...
After (Don) Mueller tagged Dodgers’ pitching for three round-trippers in the September 1 game, Brooklyn coach Cookie Lavagetto told manager Charlie Dressen: “You notice when we come here, we never fool anybody? We throw a guy a change of pace, he seems to know what’s coming?”9 The next day, Mueller—who had hit only 18 home runs in his entire career to that point, and would hit only 42 more over the next six years and retire with 65 for his career—hit two more. His five home runs in consecutive games tied the major league record ...
9. Prager cites Lavagetto saying this to Peter Golenbock in his (1984) book, BUMS: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers (New York: Contemporary Books, 2000).
Rookie phenom Willie Mays did not play as well on the road as at home during that time, but there is nothing in his comparative before-and-after statistics to indicate Mays exploited the Polo Grounds’ advantage.12
12.James S. Hirsh in his recent authorized biography, Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, wrote that “Willie Mays is circumspect on the issue.” (New York: Scribner, 2010), 136.
______________________________
Circumspect?
Al Corwin was a relief pitcher with the New York Giants 1951-1955. Carl Erskine was a starting pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers 1949-1957, LA Dodgers 1958-1959; 122-78, .610, ERA 4.00.
Joshua Prager book "The Echoing Green":
page 88:
The team largely stopped shouting signals from the bench, relaying them instead from the far less conspicuous bullpen. The bullpen came to know which Giant batters depended on signs. ("The guys who could hit the longball wanted to know," remembers Corwin. "Willie loved it.") ...
page 333:
1991 ... Mays confessed to Erskine at a golf tournament in Indiana. ("He pulled me over," says the Dodger pitcher. " 'You know, Carl, we stole your signs.' ")
_________________________
Leo Durocher
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Manager in 1994. (Voted by Veteran's Committee)
SABR bio by Jeffrey Marlett
On the very day (Jackie) Robinson (1947) was to be introduced, Commissioner Albert B. “Happy” Chandler suspended (Dodger manager) Durocher from baseball for a year. Chandler claimed that Durocher had once again associated with known gamblers...
According to author Joshua Prager, Leo ... his (1951) rudimentary telescope-and-bell system rigged in the Polo Grounds offices 483 feet away from home plate ...
_____________________________
Some perspective, please.
Bellinger and Judge: whelp of a beaten cur. Wednesday, February 19, 2020 5:13 PM
Aaron Judge, shake hands with Jose Altuve. Wednesday, February 19, 2020 6:15 PM
Showing posts with label Signs.
2 comments:
I seek truth in baseball like I do in other life activities that are important to me. But this one is a whopper. Willie Mays was a cheater and Hank Aaron just a big hypocrite! Aaron who knew about Giant sign stealing AND probably juiced up to pass Ruth, wants fellow cheaters to be barbecued while he wallows in HOF glory! Thanks again, Ken.
You're welcome. Check my recent post about Johnny Bench stating what his Reds team would do to a runner at second who interpreted the catcher's signs and relay that to the batter: hit him in the head next time up. Bench said it twice ... on MLB Network.
Post a Comment