MY TIME WITH JOE GARAGIOLA

I didn't know Joe Garagiola well.  In fact, I really didn't know him at all.  But when I spoke to him the one and only time by telephone, it was like I had talked to him all my life. He reminded me of comfort. He reminded me of my grandfather. A man full of knowledge, a lover of the game of baseball. He had a sharp mind, and he had a million stories he was itching to tell, but I didn't have that much time.  Trust me, if I did, if I could, I would have listened for hours and it would have been worth it.

In reality, the moment was brief. 34 minutes. I called him at his house and I just assumed some assistant would pick up, put me on hold until Mr. Garagiola would come to the phone.  But it wasn't like that at all.  Joe picked the phone up, and spoke with that authoritative voice that I remember hearing for decades in the broadcast booth.  He knew what he was talking about, and it was probably the most comforting conversation I've ever had with a stranger in my entire life.

I collected cards of Mr. Garagiola way before I ever spoke to him.  Even though he only played 9 years in the major leagues, years that I wasn't alive to see, it didn't matter.  His broadcast years sucked me in and I was an instant fan like so many others.

"I would love to get you to sign one of your baseball cards for me. I have quite a few", I said nervously.  The reality was I hated asking for autographs. I always felt like I was being a pain in the rear.  But he didn't make it weird at all.  

"Robert, if you want to send it to me, I'd be happy to sign for you", he said. It was genuine. He liked me, at least that's what I thought.  I felt like I was home as a kid with my baseball cards spread across the carpet in front of my fireplace during some family holiday or something.  It was the smell of home cooking and baseball and all that's good in the world.  I felt like a kid, and Joe made the whole chat unforgettable. We spoke of Yogi Berra, Bill Tuttle, President Gerald Ford, playing for the Pirates and on and on and on.  I listened to everything he said... a legend was speaking. He had my full attention.

I never dropped my Garagiola baseball card in the mail, you know... and now it's too late. Mr. Garagiola died yesterday at 90 years old.  He was for me, one of the best broadcasters of my lifetime and someone who I admired very much. Not only for his Italian heritage, but for his love of the game, and the passion he presented when he was in that broadcast booth.  Listening to him chat by phone, now almost 20 years ago made me understand why men  like Joe love baseball.

He knew everyone in the game and everyone knew him.  It was about hard work, but it was also about respect for him.  It was about family as well.  Joe was a family guy... in baseball and in life.  I knew that from the moment we spoke. It was obvious. He made me feel at home.  He made me realize just how important being passionate about something really was.  Joe loved baseball. Joe loved talking about it and making me feel like I was there with him.  It was absolutely amazing.

When I heard Mr. Garagiola passed away, I was heartbroken.  I felt for his family, and I felt for Major League Baseball.  No, Joe wasn't a hall of fame player, but he was a Hall of Fame broadcaster, but I gotta tell you something, even if he wasn't... he was to me.

Mr. Garagiola let me into his baseball world for 34 minutes in one phone conversation with him almost 20 years ago. From that day forward, I became an instant fan of Joe Garagiola.

Rest in Peace my friend.  That's for an unforgettable chat.




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WHEN YOU COME TO A FORK IN THE ROAD...TAKE IT

After learning about the passing of Yogi Berra, I thought about when I first was "introduced" to him. Believe it or not, it was as a New York Met manager through my grandmother who was a Brooklyn Dodger fan.  Not the most direct path toward getting to know, Yogi, but it was a path none-the-less.

My grandmother didn't like the Yankees, but she liked him; everybody did.  And why not, he was a simple man who loved to play baseball and wanted to make it his career.  There is something incredibly nobel about someone who isn't afraid to take the fork in the road. It didn't matter which pathway he took, they both led to his home.  Whether figuratively his home behind the plate as a New York Yankee leader or actually to his home in Montclair, NJ.

Some say "When you come to a fork in the road, take it," stems from Yogi giving friend and baseball colleague Joe Garagiola directions to his home.  The story continues as Yogi says, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."  What he meant was that since either path lead to his home, it did not matter which way Joe took to get to his final destination. So, although confusing and perhaps witty to many at first, truthfully, Yogi was just looking to simplify.

A few years ago, my mother gave me a small sign that simply says "SIMPLIFY."  How many times do we complicate things by making things much more complex than necessary?  Think about it in the context of baseball, for instance.  We make pitching changes just to play the odds of lefty versus righty.  We sit one player over another because player A has more success against a starting pitcher than player B.  Players wear arm bands, compression sleeves, shin guards, and designer sun glasses.  They don tattoos, eye black and pine tar.  They take performance enhancers, take cheap shots at fans, demand over-inflated salaries and take the game to bigger extremes than ever imaginable in Yogi's playing days.

Yogi tried to keep simple a game that is often too complex.  After all, it is only a game that kids play and if fortunate, men play as a career, however long that lasts.  Of all Yogi's "Yogisms" perhaps "When you get to a fork in the road, take it" isn't the most popular, but certainly has deeper meaning than at first glance.  Choose a pathway, work hard, help others and when you need to turn, turn.  Don't let one failure get you down.  Pick yourself up and keep going.  Maybe that's the heart of his quote and perhaps it's at the root of many of his others, which may be more popular like "It ain't over 'til it's over"; or "It's like deja vu all over again."

Whatever your take on it, let it guide you toward finding your success.  Perhaps it's just the pep talk the Yankees need to stay focused on reaching their fork in the road, and taking it.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof


 

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