for baseball fans only

[milagros317]

John Shelby, former centerfielder for the Orioles and the Dodgers, is now the first base coach of the Dodgers. Here is a conversation that I had with him on Sunday, March 14. The setting: He was just done leading the major leaguers in their morning stretching exercises, and he was signing an autograph for a fan, while pretending to be angry with that fan.

JS: You never saw me play. You can't tell me where or when, so you didn't see me play. Why should I be signing this for you? You never saw me play. I don't believe you ever saw me play.

*Shelby hands signed baseball card back to that fan*

*I hand Shelby a picture of himself that I just took with a Polaroid camera, and I hand him a Sharpie to sign it with*

me: I saw you play. In Shea Stadium, on October 9th, 1988.

*Shelby looks puzzled, the date obviously isn't meaningful to him*

me: It was the National League Championship Series against the Mets. The 12-inning game.

*Shelby nods, he knows exactly what game I mean*

JS: What did I do?

me: In the first inning, you had two RBI's.

JS: Off of whom? Who was pitching?

me: Dwight Gooden.

JS: *now smiliing* How many out? How many on base?

me: Two outs. Two on base, and you drove them both in.

JS: *smiling* Where did I hit it?

me: That I don't remember.

JS: *frowns* It was down the right field line. Do you recall who won?

me: Dodgers, 5 to 4, in 12 innings.

JS: What else did I do?

me: In the 9th inning, you scored a run. You were on base ahead of Scioscia's home run.

JS: *smiling again* How did I get on base?

me: You walked to lead off the inning.

JS: *smiling broadly* This man saw me play. This man really saw me play! He remembers. This man saw me play!

*Shelby carefully signs the photo, with his full name and uniform number, and gives it back to me, along with the Sharpie*

I never even had to describe the last wonderful thing that he did that day. With the Dodgers leading 5-4 in the bottom of the 12th inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Kevin MacReynolds hit a dying quail to center field. If it had fallen, two runs would have scored and the Mets would have won 6-5. But John Shelby ran in at full speed, lunged, and caught the ball at knee level to end the game. 😀 😀

Moral of the story: John Shelby in a nice guy who will sign for anybody who asks. But he has very high standards for respecting you as a fan. You better remember what you saw if you say that you saw him play.

 

[JPie1]

What a great story Milagros, definitely something to remember and cherish. Being that great baseball fan that I am I can definitely relate to that being a thrill. Must have made a nice birthday present!

 

[Limeoutsider]

At least he returned your sharpie

 

[giantfan121262]

What a great story!! I would probably not meet his standards b/c I don't remember him that much. the name sounds familiar but that's it!!

 

[milagros317]

Not living in LA, I don't get to see Dodger post season games much (and they haven't had one since 1996, for that matter).

When the Dodgers were in the NLCS against the Mets in 1988, I did manage to get tickets to games 3 and 4 in Shea Stadium. The game I described, game 4, was the only Dodger post season victory that I have ever seen, so it is etched in my brain quite clearly (but not perfectly, as you read). 😀

 

[natural tickler]

You must keep a diary of every Dodger game, because otherwise sometimes I dont even remember what happened yesterday much less 16 yrs ago😀

 

[milagros317]

I saved the box score and some newspaper articles about that game, and have them in a folder with the ticket stub. 😀

 

[Knox The Hatter]

I remember a trip with my last gf to Cooperstown in the Spring of '97. 'Twas early Sunday morning, I head into a shop, and there's Bob Feller selling signed photos. Baseball loon that I am, I recognize his seventy nine year old face immediately. Nothing against Rapid Robert; I'd rather been knocked on my ass by seeing Willie Mays sitting in that seat, but I was very pleased nonetheless.
In his day, Bob Feller was known as a very intelligent, highly opinionated, shoot from the hip ballplayer, and a tough guy, too. You had to be to captain a gun mount in battle aboard the USS Alabama.

I started speaking to him about things in general, and before long, he went into a tirade against various politicians he couldn't stand. Something I never expected in a million years. Let me tell you: if that politician had been in the room, this tall, strong seventy nine year old hurler would've given him new bridgework!
A very strange and funny morning. Now, I had wanted to ask him about a certain incident during his career that he got involved with unfortunately; a team-wide incident that turned out somewhat embarrassing, but after seeing that tirade, I thought it much better to go to breakfast. My girlfriend agreed.

A framed autographed picture of an already superstar status nineteen year old Bob Feller now sits on my father's fireplace. Supreme irony: Bob Feller pitched for the Cleveland Indians for twenty years, he's a part of the franchise's pantheon, and my Dad's a lifelong pinstripe bleeding Yankees fan. He loved the gift nonetheless.

Sometimes, you'll hear Bob sitting in as a guest in a broadcast booth now and again. Listen to him pick apart Pedro Martinez' motion, delivery, etc. Bob Feller ain't kiddin'.

 

[Mitchell]

Wow that is a great story. I used to live in the NY area then, and I remember that game. I can say that while I've gotten autographs from players before, one like that never happened.
My best autograph situation was in 1984, when I was 14, before a game between the Braves and Mets at Shea Stadium. I was a Braves fan, and a friend of my parents who was a baseball attorney got me into the Braves clubhouse before the game. I remember calling all the players "Mister" whatever their name was, but the biggest thrill for me that night was to get an autograph from my then idol, Braves outfielder Dale Murphy, who was in the trainers room and came out to sign my autograph. He looked so larger than life, so tall, and I remember looking up at his 6 foot 5 inch powerful body and being immersed in hero worship. Even when Atlanta was bad, I used to love to go to Shea and watch that man play. He always set a great example for others, even when part of teams that lost 90-100 games a year in the 80s. It is too bad he couldnt be a part of the Braves success the last 13 years.
Anyhow, didnt mean to ramble on. Great story about Shelby. I like hearing stories like that.

Mitch

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Know what I used to do?
Way back when, back in High School, me and a couple of friends would go up to the city and go to the hotels where the visiting teams were staying, and we'd try to catch the players getting on the bus to Yankee Stadium or Shea. Seeing them in the flesh. If you're a fan, this is a great way to get first impressions of the stars, let me tell ya.
Carl Yastrzemski was an intense fellow. He had these big black eyes that would focus on something (like the revolving doors at the front of the hotel). Not much for talking. Willie McCovey had a nice smile...he was literally always looking down at the crowd, he was VERY tall. He had an inner peace. Dennis Eckersley had this head of LONG hair, longer than Roger Daltrey's.
Steve Garvey was the most plastic man I've ever met. He looked like a walking exhibit from Madame Tussaud's, or a lifesized rendition of the groom from a wedding cake. My best friend said that a lot of people in California looked like this, it was a look to be emulated. I then commented on how well he would look as a lawn jockey in my neighborhood.
His teammate, Bill Russell, was a five star asshole. Period. He was like the attendance officer who harrassed Ferris Bueller. And, after the '78 World Series, a dog mysteriously appearing in the lobby of the New York Sheraton and attacking him, ripping his trousers would've been regarded as a natural occurance.
Joe Morgan was a nice guy, bright eyes, big smile, liked talking to people. Johnny Bench always had a big crowd surrounding him, so I couldn't really get an impression. Pete Rose walked alone, no matter how big the crowd was surrounding him.
Those were fun times.
Man, was I a sports nut! After the Knicks at the Garden I'd head downstairs to Charlie O's for a beer, and I'd be there three deep at the bar, having drinks with the likes of Elvin Hayes...

 

[tklgal226]

wow, what an experience! you really will probably treasure it the rest of ur life 🙂 thanks for sharing!

~clair