NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Although I am quite confident in Joe Girardi’s ability to manage the 2008 New York Yankees, I somewhat question his love for Bobby Meacham as 3rd base coach.
Granted, nobody coaches third as well as Larry Bowa, and the Yanks will dearly miss Bowa this year. It would be unfair to ask Meacham to be his equal.
But when I heard this winter that former Yankee Bobby Meacham was coming along with Girardi and would in fact coach 3rd base this year, it brought back a flood of memories about one of Boss George’s favorite whipping boys from the mid 1980s.
The 1980s, of course, were vintage Steinbrenner. A month didn’t go by back then—heck a week didn’t go by—when he didn’t scold a secretary for having too many flowers on her desk, berate an announcer for saying something derogatory about the good-hit, no-pitch pinstripers, or castigate a ballplayer for sub-par performance.
During this time, Boss George took particular pleasure in destroying the career of Bobby Meacham. The slender Meacham was a promising young shortstop who emerged after the heartbreaking auto-accident that derailed the career of Andre Robertson. (Some experts believed Andre might have been one of the finest defensive shortstops this side of Ozzie Smith, but his shoulder and psyche were never the same after the accident.)
In 1984, Meacham was expected to win the shortstop battle for manager Yogi Berra’s Yankees. His competition was Tim Foli, a veteran who had seen better days, and Robertson, who was trying to make a comeback. Roy Smalley was slated to play 3rd that year, but he would soon be traded to the White Sox for Doug Drabek and Kevin Hickey in order to make room for Mike Pagliarulo.
On April 7, 1984, just five games into the season, Meacham made a key error that led to a Texas Ranger victory as the Yanks fell to 1-4. (There were a mere 157 games left in the season.)
After the game, Steinbrenner went apoplectic, and demanded that Meacham be sent down to AA Nashville. According to the New York Times, Steinbrenner said “I’m not banishing the kid to Siberia for life. My baseball people tell me he’s erratic.”
Aside from the unfortunate fact Phil Rizzuto once called Meacham’s arm “erotic” rather than “erratic,” I was also taken with the phrase “my baseball people.” That was the key phrase that Big Stein used back then to blame his underlings for everything from the rise of the Sandinistas to the break-up of Ma Bell.
Ah…nostalgia.
The demotion of Meacham was ordered despite Yogi Berra’s wish to have him on the team. Berra told reporters: “It’s not my doing and I don’t want to talk about it.” Clubhouse sources depicted Yogi as being depressed over the demotion because it hurt the team, as well as his credibility with the players.
One player said “I’ve never seen Yogi so upset. Everyone is staying away from him.”
The next day, however, Steinbrenner held court with the press again and continued to criticize the sensitive Meacham. “My baseball people say that Yogi is wrong and the kid won’t be ready for awhile. He isn’t ready for New York and I don’t want to subject him to New York.” And then the Boss took some swipes at Yogi: “I know Yogi isn’t happy with this move…but he doesn’t understand everything.”
Insert Yogisim here….
Later that year, Meacham was brought up to the big club again and ended up hitting a lackluster .253/.312/.328 in 360 Abs. His fielding improved (it was always good), but the year wouldn’t end without another Steinbrenner blow-up concerning the youngster.
In August, he limped to first on a grounder, and it appeared to most sane observers that he must have tweaked a hamstring because he had never been accused of not hustling. Steinbrenner, however, decided that Meacham must be “tired” and he divulged to the press that he ordered Yogi to give Meacham some time off.
“I told him to stay home Friday. Go to the beach, go wherever you want but don’t come here.” To further the Boss’ bizarre view, he said, “When I see a kid as good as him hit grounders and have trouble running them out, I say he’s a tired athlete.”
I can’t imagine what Yogi thought as he watched the trainers wrap Meacham’s hammy.
Ah, but the best what yet to come.
On August 4, 1985, Bobby Meacham was involved in one of the strangest plays in Yankee history when Meacham and Dale Berra were both tagged out at home plate by Carlton Fisk on the same play.
It went something like this: Dale Berra was on 1st and Meacham on 2nd, Rickey Henderson blasted a hanging curve into the gap in left center. Meacham, however, was convinced that Chisox centerfielder Luis Salazar would catch the ball, so Meacham stayed put on 2nd so he could tag up and go to 3rd upon Salazar’s miraculous catch.
Berra, however, held no such convictions, and he began to run full speed toward the stationary Meacham. Bobby saw Dale running toward him and panicked. He got his feet twisted and fell to the ground. He got up and both men reached 3rd at about the same time, Berra a whisker behind Meacham.
Gene Michael, the 3rd base coach, threw his hands up in confusion, but both runners sped toward home. Fisk took the relay throw from Ozzie Guillen (Yes, THAT Ozzie Guillen) and tagged them both—boom. boom. out. out.
Yankee manager Billy Martin growled “I’ve never seen a play like that in grammar school, let alone the Major Leagues.”
Meacham would play two more years for the Yankees, never distinguishing himself. He was the starting shortstop for most of 1985 and for the first few weeks of 1986, when Steinbrenner once again banished the beleagued Bobby for committing errors.
Meacham said “Two errors in two weeks and I am on the bench. Then weeks after that I am on Columbus coaching first base. That still blows me away.”
In December 1987, Meacham’s long nightmare was over as he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Bob Brower.
The New York Times reported that “The Yankees have finally liberated Bobby Meacham.”
Meacham’s failure to connect at short for the Yanks was shared by many others in the mid to late 80s, including Dale Berra, Mike Fischlin, Ivan DeJesus, Paul Zuvella and Wayne Tolleson. (The Alvaro Espinoza era was yet to come.)
In discussing his time with the Yankees, Meacham said: ''I've learned a lot…not just about baseball, but about my outlook in general. I've been humbled, and that's helped me to accept things better. I've learned to depend on things that are permanent, not on something that can change just like that. I've learned to roll with the punches.''
Fate being what it is, Bobby never played in another big league game. He was cut by Texas in spring training of 1988. His career offensive numbers, 236/.313/.308, are far from impressive, but he still remains a symbol of a player that might have flourished under different circumstances. He did manage to twice lead the American League in sacrifice hits, with a career high of 23 in 1985. And he stole 25 bases in 1985.
In recent years, Meacham has managed in the Pirate organization and coached with the Rockies as a roving infielder instructor. He coached 3rd for Joe Girardi in 2006, and he is looking forward to his new role with the Yanks.
Good luck Bobby Meacham, I’m rooting for you.
I’m sure the Boss is too.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
