CLAUDELL WASHINGTON HAS DIED

Sad day in the baseball world and it involved a journeyman and a solid baseball guy and former New York Yankee.  There's no doubt Claudell Washington will be missed as he was always described as a great teammate.  Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle put this out on Twitter:

Claudell Washington was living in the East Bay and had been battling illness for several years. RIP to one of the 70s A’s more underrated players.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) June 10, 2020

Yup. Underrated is exactly what I would call Claudell.  The New York Post writes:

"Washington spent three seasons with the A’s and played for the Rangers, White Sox, Mets (1980), Braves, Yankees, Angels and the Yankees again in 1990. He was an All-Star in 1975 at 20 and in 1984 for Atlanta. In 1,912 big league games, Washington batted .278 and was a .333 (13-for-39) hitter in 15 postseason games.

Washington’s best season with the Yankees was his last of the first stint. In 126 games in 1988, Washington tied a career high by hitting .308 with 11 homers, 64 RBIs and posting a .784 OPS.
He also hit the 10,000th home run in Yankees franchise history on April 20, 1988, when he crushed a pinch-hit blast off Twins closer Jeff Reardon."

And BYB friend Billy Sample tells this story of Washington on his Facebook:

No doubt Claudell will be missed. My heart goes out to his family.

Rest in Peace, friend.

BILLY SAMPLE GETS HIS DUE

I was always a fan of Billy Sample. Loved him with the Rangers... was thrilled when he played for the Yankees. Just a scrappy, hardworking dude with a great work ethic.  To learn more about my friendship with Billy these days, you gotta read BILLY SAMPLE JUST KEEPS ON GOING among others. Just type in "Billy Sample" in the search engine of BYB... there are a ton of stories about Billy there.

Anyway, I am happy to congratulate Billy on a great achievement.  They have named a baseball field after him in Salem, Virginia.

WSLS writes:

"The city of Salem honored one of its most famous sons on Friday with the dedication of a plaque and scoreboard sign. The field at Kiwanis Park is now known as Billy Sample Field, the same field Sample played on back in the day. 

Sample was a decorated athlete in his time at Andrew Lewis High School, playing baseball, football and basketball. He attended Andrew Lewis after attending the Carver School. 

He went on to play major league baseball for about a decade and also does play by play broadcasting. 

On Friday, friends and family were there as they unveiled the honor. Sample said he's proud to have his family name and legacy rooted in the place he loves. "

You can't beat accomplishment. I am very happy for Billy.

Congrats my man!

DAVID CONE & JACK CURRY HAVE A BOOK COMING OUT!

I remember seeing this a few weeks ago on Twitter, and I guess with everything going on in my life, I accidentally glossed over it. But the truth is this is Bleeding Yankee Blue. We are not only huge Yankee fans, we are true YES fans.  And it goes beyond that.  I've been following Jack Curry since the New York Times. Love him. Love his journey. And obviously when it comes to Coney, We followed him with the Mets, Royals, Yanks and even the Red Sox if you can believe it.

Put these 2 together and it's a powerhouse.  Check this out.

That was our second choice! Lol. Anyway, here's how to pre-order. Thanks for the interest. https://t.co/WUaVbaniIy

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 20, 2019

That's right. David Cone wrote a book with Jack Curry and you can pre-order it on Amazon. The book comes out in May.

Now, much like I did with our bud Bryan Hoch or when Billy Sample had his movie and book out a few years ago... I need to make sure I share this stuff with all of you all so that you can take a moment and pre-order it, read it, watch it... whatever it is.  I know Full Count is gonna be a good read with these 2 involved and I'm excited about it.

Take the time, click on this Amazon link and support Coney and Jack. Pre-order HERE! Great baseball people... and just amazing people as well.

Happy Friday.

BILLY SAMPLE JUST KEEPS ON GOING

I am a Billy Sample fan and had been as a kid watching him play the Yankees as a Texas Ranger.  When he came to the Yankees in that single season of 1985, Sample continued to contribute as a ballplayer and I couldn't have been happier to see him in pinstripes. 

It was then that Billy Martin was at the helm, Guidry was dominant and Donnie was the starting first baseman. And the team as a whole was in the beginning stages of working their way back to a decent, championship club.

Sample and I wrote back and forth to each other for a lot of years and it started because I asked him to sign a baseball card for my son back in 2003.  He was not only happy to do it, he wrote me a letter as well.  Here's a small portion:

I wrote him back and we kept it going from there.  When my second boy was born... it started all over again... and then when I had my other children, more letters, more autographed baseball cards, more conversation.

I was and am forever grateful to a man that not only gave his all on the field, but was nice enough to share a little of that with me, a regular guy with a regular life.

And so, because of all that, I helped promote Billy's film Reunion 108, a funny movie about baseball and it's clubhouse.  He had great success with it, and I even own it on DVD.  I still watch it from time to time. Here's Billy talking about his movie in a trailer:



And now I get to help Billy again, with his book, currently out on Amazon and titled:  A Year in Pinstripes ... And Then Some.  A terrific book about his year back in 1985 with the Yankees.

He talks about his career, his courage to play the game he loved and there are also some great nuggets in there you need to check out.  For the price, you get a ton of fun info on that 1985 team, and learn about a great man, underrated in my opinion.

If you haven't seen the vast pages of BYB, know that on the top of our home page there is a tab called the BYB Book Club.  Billy's Book is listed there along with many others I recommend.  I suggest you check out A Year in Pinstripes ... And Then Some.
 

We'll reach out to Billy again soon. I have a bunch of followup questions I want to ask him about his baseball career, as well as talking to him about his current life as filmmaker and author.  I also want to hear about his children and grand kids and how he is enjoying himself in life after baseball.

Billy's a good man.  Support him.  Buy his book.

This one's for you Billy.

HELP MY BUDDY BILLY SAMPLE OUT...

Quick note.

Billy Sample had a mvoie out last year called Reunion 108. I has asked him about it in our interview with him, read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BILLY SAMPLE. But here is what he said:

Billy Sample: I wrote a script. It's an edgy, satirical, R-rated comedy with a baseball clubhouse backdrop.  I submitted it to the Hoboken Film Festival and it took top honors in it's category and then I decided to produce it. 

Here's the trailer:



Well, if you missed it in theaters, no problem. Reunion 108 is now for sale on DVD on Amazon.

Here is the link:

BUY REUNION 108

Now I am not involved in the film at all. I just like Billy, and I support him. He's always been a straight shooter with me for the past decade when we used to write letters to each other.  A very nice guy.

Billy's an honest guy, I loved watching him play, and I wish him the best, always.

If you have a few bucks and you want a good laugh... buy Reunion 108.

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!

BILLY SAMPLE IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL

As many of you may or may not know, I loved Billy Sample growing up and I'm happy to call him part of the Bleeding Yankee Blue family these days.

We interviewed Billy recently in EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BILLY SAMPLE.  We chatted about how we had spoke about a decade before through coorespondence and how the man just keeps on plugging away:

"...He was, and is, a great, honest man and we became "friends"... in my head.  Now, years later, we met up again, this time because of a movie he put together called Reunion 108."



I ask him about his movie then. Here's what he said:

 "I wrote a script. It's an edgy, satirical, R-rated comedy with a baseball clubhouse backdrop.  I submitted it to the Hoboken Film Festival and it took top honors in it's category and then I decided to produce it.  The jury is still out on that decision, but it's what I wanted, and now I have the task of getting it into as many theaters as possible and educate the audiences while eliciting quite a few laughs."

 In the world of BYB, and as I wrote in BYB: THE GIVE & TAKE OF SUPPORT & RESPECT,

"So I say to the BYB audience... the audience that wakes up with us every morning. The audience that bookmarks BYB and who shares us daily.... Thank you. And I want to tell you something else... Anything you do, BYB has your back.  You have a fundraiser you need help with? You let us know.  You need help with a survey? (Read FROM THE YANKEES, TO CATS, TO PIZZA), BYB can help with that.  And if you need alittle pick me up?  Tell us. We're easy, especially if you love us back."

So, that applies here as well. My support for Billy and his film venture continues. Check out the Soundtrack to Reunion 108...

Post by Reunion 108.

Billy, anything you need, you let us know. Support Billy Sample ladies and gentlemen.  He's a great dude!

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BILLY SAMPLE

I love and respect the grind.  I know it's hard to make it to the major leagues and stay there and I admire many of the great ball players past, present and future for being able to make it and stay along as long as they have and will.  When I was growing up, there were many guys that played the game with the same club for a long time.  There were others, that as a Yankee fan, you wanted on your club, be it because of their talent, scrappiness, toughness, whatever it was.  One of those guys that I always admired was Billy Sample. 

Now, full disclosure; Once my first son was born, I made it a mission of mine to send out baseball cards to players present and past to get their autographs. The goal was to give each of my kids a binder full of baseball card autographs when they were old enough to enjoy it and understand the game. It was something I did as a kid, and something I hoped to pass onto them. One of those players was Billy Sample, and for a short time, we wrote letters back and forth to each other.  He answered my questions openly. He was, and is, a great, honest man and we became "friends"... in my head.  Now, years later, we met up again, this time because of a movie he put together called Reunion 108.

I recently wrote A SAMPLE OF BILLY SAMPLE. I wanted to share my recent connection with the BYB audience, an audience that didn't exist when I started my baseball card collection for my children. Now, these days, it nice to tell the stories to our audience, and so, when I asked Billy to do an interview with us, he agreed, and I was thrilled.

So here it is. A great interview with a smart baseball mind, a former pro baseball player, a movie maker and my friend, Mr. Billy Sample. Enjoy this ladies and gentlemen... I sure did:

BYB: Mr. Sample, you played 1 season with the Yankees, 1985. Tell the audience about playing for Billy Martin.

Billy Sample: In my opinion and that of others, Billy was a tremendous tactician, and he played an aggressive, small ball type of game.  Not that he shunned the three run homer, but he would force pressure on the defense by maximizing the smaller parts of the offense.

BYB: What teammates were you close with on that '85 Yankees team and why?

(In Photo: Don Baylor)

Billy Sample: By nature I am not a close, "makes friends" type of person.  I dressed on the side of the room with Andre Robertson, Don Baylor and Ken Griffey Sr., so I probably conversed more with them during the day than most.  

Ken Sr., had a fifteen year old son, who turned out to be a pretty good ballplayer too.

BYB: Yogi Berra was also your manager for 16 games in 1985. What was he like in a setting like that?

Billy Sample: Yogi was and is a super respected person.  Similar to what the public sees, he has a very easy demeanor with an understated humor.

BYB: I followed your career before the Yankees, when you were with the Rangers.  Tell me about your experience in baseball back then in Texas. What is your fondest memory of playing there?

Billy Sample: From Texas, I just remember the heat, oppressive temperatures. It was hard to maintain weight and energy. I believe one year we had forty-three consecutive days of over a hundred degrees.  The newer stadium, with its better infrastructure can shield the players better than the minor league stadium that the team inherited after its move from Washington

BYB: Growing up, who did you idolize in baseball and why?

Billy Sample: I didn't have any baseball idols growing up.  My models were people of whom I had interacted; like teachers, Cub scout leaders, coaches, etc.  I did admire the quiet dignity of Roy White. 

When I was traded to the Yankees, while Roy was in some front office capacity, I called him to my locker one day as he was walking through the clubhouse and told him. He didn't believe me... ha ha.

BYB: You shared a great nugget about Don Zimmer recently and we printed it on Bleeding Yankee Blue. Any other stories you want to share about the great Mr. Zimmer?

Billy Sample: Rangers' management had decided to replace Don Zimmer mid-way through the 1982 season, but as this was happening, Amon Carter, one of the minority owners of the club, died unexpectedly.  Owner Eddie Chiles didn't want the firing of Don to overshadow the homage paid to recently departed part owner, so he asked the manager to stay on through the weekend, even though he had been unofficially fired. Let's just say that press conference after the weekend was priceless.

Post by Reunion 108.

BYB: We recently chatted about the movie "Reunion 108" you put together.  Tell me about it, I'm sure the BYB audience would love to hear about it.

Billy Sample: I wrote a script. It's an edgy, satirical, R-rated comedy with a baseball clubhouse backdrop.  I submitted it to the Hoboken Film Festival and it took top honors in it's category and then I decided to produce it.  The jury is still out on that decision, but it's what I wanted, and now I have the task of getting it into as many theaters as possible and educate the audiences while eliciting quite a few laughs.

BYB: Is making movies something that you always had in the back of your mind, even when you were a major league ballplayer?

Billy Sample: No, not at all. I thought about journalism from time to time, but never thought about a movie during my playing days.  I doubt if making a movie even entered my mine before the last five years or so.

BYB: Billy, who was the 1 pitcher that you hated to face the most and why?

Billy Sample: I had trouble with a number of pitchers; Shane Rawley, Dave Stieb, Neal Heaton, Paul Splittorff, Jack Morris, Sammy Stewart. How did I stay in the league? Ha ha.  However, the late Tom Underwood and I both knew that I had trouble with him.   Once I got a cheap infield hit off of him in Baltimore. He with the Orioles and me with the Yankees. We both nodded because that's the only hit I remember getting off of him.  Officially I was 2 for 21 off of him.

BYB: Finally... anything you want to say to Bleeding Yankee Blue?

Billy Sample: Continued success with Bleeding Yankee Blue.

Thank you Mr. Sample, and all the best to you sir.  I would like to help promote Reunion 108 right now ladies and gentlemen.  Billy Sample is on Facebook.

I suggest you reach out to him.  Tell him you want to help him promote his film.  It's takes alot of courage and confidence to step out into a brand new field after baseball, but Mr. Sample is doing it, and I tip my cap.

I truly appreciate Mr. Sample taking the time.  And Billy, if you need anything, you reach out to us at BYB. You are now, officially, part of the Bleeding Yankee Blue family.

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

A SAMPLE OF BILLY SAMPLE

Growing up, there was a dude I always admired...and he played for the Texas Rangers most of his career.

When he came to the Yankees for the 1985 season, I was psyched.  His name was Billy Sample.

Over this past weekend, Billy and I spoke on Facebook.  Little did he realize that we spoke once before. Back in the summer of 2003 when my 11 year old son was just a baby.  I'm not sure if I ever told the Bleeding Yankee Blue audience about this, but when all of my kids were born, I made it a mission of mine to send out my baseball cards to baseball players and ask them for their autograph for my son.  I've stayed true to that, collecting many autographs over the years for my 4 boys.  And when they are old enough to have a true interest in the baseball players of years past, I will hand them their book of autographed baseball cards that I put together for each of them and hopefully they'll cherish them as much as I enjoyed making them.

You see, I love baseball, and as a kid, I sent cards out as well. I just figured years later, I would do something that I truly enjoyed for them.  An extension of myself or something... I don't know.

In that mix of players in 2003 was Billy Sample. I sent my letter to Billy, and instead of sending me back a price form to charge me for his autograph like so many try to do, he wrote me a letter, and then another, and another and we corresponded quite a bit in 2003.  Here's a sample, and I'm giving you this nugget and only this nugget because obviously, the conversations are private.

Billy Sample is a stand-up guy, a smart baseball mind, and at the time he was working for MLB Radio.  I was fascinated with his baseball knowledge, his stories and his eagerness to help me put together a card collection for my kid.  In short, he was kind and a helluva guy.

Now, 11 years later we meet again. This time, we spoke about Don Zimmer.  I asked for permission to print this correspondence between Mr. Sample and I because I really wanted to share it with you.  It comes from the heart and it's about Don Zimmer. You'll love it. Rest in Peace, Don Zimmer:

"I played eight years and a month in the majors, and I'm proud of that month! I had eight managers during that tenure.  My favorite one passed away, Don Zimmer.  I thought he told it to you as straight as it could be told, and it wasn't always what I wanted to hear.  A trade late in spring training for Lee Mazzilli in 1982 had me wondering where Lee was going to play.  

I walked into the clubhouse the next morning, and the clubhouse attendant said that Zim wanted to see me. I thought, "Noooooo!"  I was mad going in in those meetings and not all that happy coming out of them, but I could appreciate Zim trying to use the analogy of him backing up Pee Wee Reese when he thought he would get a shot at shortstop in the fifties with the Dodgers. 

As you know, he was quite a character.  One day after a night game in Texas and an off day before going to Toronto, we left early in the morning on the off day. Usually the team would leave later in the evening, as there is no need to be in the home team's city by eleven am.   However, there is a need if you want to get to the horse track and bet on all thirteen races!  And you should have seen this old school Dodger trying to implement the new wave short term performance philosophy directed by the front office!  

He once said to me, 'How many hits will you get in your next thirty at bats, six, seven, eight?'  I reached for the pocket schedule he had on his desk. 'Are we facing both Morris and Petry in the next series?'  The number given had to be re-adjusted. 

If you were around him for any period of time, you have a story. I have more, maybe for another time.

Condolences to his lovely and congenial widow, Soot. The game and the people involved were better because of his sixty-six year association."

Blow your mind? Maybe. For me personally, hearing about the greats through personal stories always makes me all fuzzy inside.  Zimmer inspired many and like Billy said, Zim said it to you straight.  Gotta love that.

Thanks for the sample, Mr. Sample... maybe there will be more. I hope so.

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  

HAVE YOU SEEN YOGI THE CAT?

I don't know who it was, but someone on Twitter or Facebook or something liked the pictures that Natalia (She's @NataliaYank2530 on Twitter) made of Andy Pettitte and David Robertson as cats and asked... "I want to see Yogi the cat." That's right, Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame Yogi Berra... as a cat.  So, I did what any Yankee fan would do, I listened and asked Natalia to do her best. She did and here it is.

Now, for me personally, I don't get it. But Natalia has started something pretty interesting, hasn't she? Yankees as cats. Who knew... a new fad maybe? Maybe we should make T-Shirts, although, I'm not sure why we would. I mean, to be honest, even Natalia herself doesn't get it, she told me as much. I will say this though, she's dedicated and she's willing to please. So if you have a Yankee cat request, make it to Bleeding Yankee Blue and we'll ask Natalia if she can make a Yankee Cat thingy for us to post on BYB for you.  I personally would love a Stankiewicz the Cat, or a Sample the Cat, or who knows... maybe Mattingly the cat? Who doesn't love Mattingly... but now you may be able to love him... as a cat.

If you haven't seen Pettitte the Cat, here he is:

Of course, it was DRob the cat that started this whole thing.   You can check him out below:

The funniest part of that was DRob writing Natalia on Twitter asking if that was actually him as a cat.  I guess he was startled... or something.

Whatever the case, big shout out to my friend the artist / cat person, Natalia... She likes cats... she likes the Yankees... she's making magic.  Yankee Cat pictures... boo-yah!

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.