Summer of '49 by David Halberstam

Author:David Halberstam [Halberstam, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Recreation, Baseball, History, United States, 20th Century
ISBN: 9781453286111
Google: 8c9XhAOLm4QC
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2012-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

GRADUALLY THE VETERAN YANKEE players were coming to know Stengel. He was shrewd, talkative, and theatrical. He could be arbitrary, and sometimes he seemed a bit odd. When a player swung too hard on a given pitch and missed, he would suddenly jump up, swing an imaginary bat, and yell, “Not too hard, and not too easy. Just butcher boy.” But there was a growing, somewhat reluctant admiration for his instincts. It was not long before the sportswriters started to notice in print how well Casey Stengel handled his team in the face of constant injuries, and how brilliantly he platooned his players, changing the nature of contemporary baseball by ending the set lineup, in which every day the same eight players played and batted in the same order.

In the outfield Stengel platooned Bauer and Woodling, close friends. Both were constantly at war with the manager because each wanted to play every day. Bauer smashed water coolers when Stengel pulled him for a pinch hitter. Woodling on occasion muttered darkly that you had to wear a cross on a chain to play regularly, an allusion to the idea that Stengel favored Catholics. Woodling, a marvelous natural hitter, was sure that if he played more often he would hit even better. He called Stengel “that crooked-legged old bastard.”

In 1949 Woodling and Bauer, between them, batted .271 with 15 home runs and 99 runs batted in; in effect they gave the Yankees, in an injury-filled season, a composite all-star outfielder. Theirs was a constant competition, however. One time a right-hander was pitching, and Woodling, the left-handed hitter, was sure he was going to play. But Stengel went with Bauer, which enraged Woodling. “Hey Gene, you caddy for me today,” Bauer said. Bauer got three hits, but late in the game the other team went to a left-hander. At that point Stengel pulled Bauer and went with Woodling, which enraged Bauer. He returned to the dugout, throwing his bats and screaming at the goddamn old man who would do this kind of thing. When the game was over Stengel said that he wanted to see Bauer and Woodling. Both of them were still steaming when they filed into his office. He turned first to Bauer. “I don’t give a good goddamn what you call me—you can call me a crazy old man, and maybe I am. But it’s my team and I’m going to run it my way. Now I’m going to tell you why I pulled you. You got your three hits, right? So let me tell you something, Mr. Bauer. You’re not a one-thousand hitter. And you’re not a five-hundred hitter. In fact, Mr. Bauer, you’re not even a three-thirty-three hitter. So you had your three hits for the day and that’s all it was going to be. That was your quota. I didn’t think you had any more hits in you. And you,” turning to Woodling, “the same goes for you. So forget all this old-man crap and play your position and do whatever the hell I tell you.

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