It was heartwarming to hear Bobby Murcer the other day on Michael Kay's radio show. As usual, Bobby was his optimistic and friendly self. He is hopeful of beating the cancer and is looking forward to broadcasting Yankee games again this year. If cheerfulness counts, Bobby will beat this thing.
I received this email last night from a 20-year-old fan who, admittedly, knows Bobby only as an announcer and never saw him play:
From: Zach xxxxx
Date: January 25, 2007
To: Phil Allard
Subject: Bobby Murcer
Hey Phil:
….I've been reading on all the websites and columns about Bobby Murcer the player and what he meant to the Yanks back then when they were bad in the early 70s. I never really thought about it much, but I see now he was the favorite player of his generation. What was it like for you when he was traded for Bobby Bonds?
Zach…..
Well Zach, you've now touched on the second worse moment of my adolescence, after Sister Helena's theatrics.
October 22, 1974 was a really bad day for me, and for a great majority of Yankee fans. At 5:15 pm on that gray day word came crashing over the radio that the team's new owner-some shipbuilding tycoon named George Steinbrenner-had traded Bobby Murcer to the San Francisco Giants for Bobby Bonds.
The trade seemed to come out of the blue; at least I had no indication from the newspapers that it was a possibility. Of course, this was well before the days of 24-hour sports radio and even before ESPN. Sports news was garnered from the papers and from the reports on WCBS and WINS radio at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. Often, you just got scores. You never got analysis.
I had just come home from Freshman Football Practice. As I recall, it was a particularly disagreeable practice. Coach Quinn (a former Marine who took intense pleasure from making sure that at least one player puked every practice) was riding me hard, I had flunked an algebra test (big news there) and I was looking forward to dinner and a nap.
I turned on the radio and stared at it in silence. My childhood idol was being sent packing 3,000 miles away to a windy stadium that would make him miserable. It didn't seem fair, and it was my most painful realization at last that baseball was a business.
Still, I thought to myself, Murcer was the face of the franchise and a fan favorite. The Yankees were beginning to regain credibility in the American League. In 1974, the Yankees finished 89-73, just 2 games behind the front-running Baltimore Orioles. (The Yanks also won 93 games in 1970, so it's not like every year from 1965-1975 was abysmal.)
Murcer had relinquished center field to the eloquent Elliot Maddox in 1974, and it was the first of two years that the Yankees were playing at Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being remodeled. Murcer was clearly psyched out by the deeper right field fence in the big pitcher's park, and it affected his performance.
There was no question in my mind that Bonds was the better player. And I had nothing against him personally (Of course, no one knew at the time that he has spawned Satan). Bonds Sr. played only one year for the Yanks and he put up decent numbers, but his greatest value to the team came when he was traded to the Angels for two cornerstones of the 1977 and 1978 championship teams, Ed Figueroa and Mickey Rivers. (Figueroa was the first pitcher from Puerto Rico to win 20 games in a season.)
Meanwhile, Murcer was serving a 5 ½ year sentence in San Francisco and Chicago. In 1979, the Yankees reacquired him shortly before Thurman Munson's death. The night after the Captain's funeral was one of the most dramatic moments in Yankee Stadium history. After delivering a tearful eulogy as his buddy's funeral, Booby knocked in all 5 runs in a 5-4 win over the Orioles. He had a 3-run homer and a walk-off 2-run single.
Oh Yes, Murcer had a magical touch all right.
Another email came in re: The Big Unit
From:Brian xxxxx
Date: January 26, 2007
To: Phil Allard
Subject: The Big Unit
Why all the praise for Brian Cashman and his trade of Randy Johnson to the D'Backs. Aren't the Yanks going to miss his presence and his 17 wins per year?
Dear Brian,
You should know that Wins are a relatively meaningless statistic for a starting pitcher. Wins matter for teams, not pitchers. Johnson's 17 wins last year are due largely to the run support the Yanks gave him. He ranked first, by far, in the run support in the major leagues with 7.51 runs per 9 innings. The next closest was Justin Verlander at 6.77 runs a game.
Johnson's ERA was an even 5, much higher than the league average of 4.38. Only Carlos Silva and Rodrigo Lopez gave up more runs that Johnson.
As far as presence goes, Johnson is no longer an intimidating figure. Rather, he is a heap of bewilderment and confusion. The Yanks can do without his surly attitude in the clubhouse too.
The 17 wins will be distributed among several pitchers. I wouldn't worry about it.
The people Cashman got back from this trade, as well as the Sheffield deal with Detroit, have re-stocked the minor league system with quality arms. They were very good trades.
Here's one from the obligatory A-Rod bashing contingent.
From: James xxxxx
Date: January 26, 2007
To: Phil Allard
Subject: A-Rod
I was hoping so much that the Yanks would get rid of A-Rod this winter…Cairo could even play 3rd….your thoughts?
James:
HaHaHaHaHa
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