pushed her foot hard on the base and threw her arms up in triumph.
“Way to go, Maggie!”
“Great catch, Benny!”
The Tigers had won, 3–2!
After shaking hands with the shocked Red Sox, the Tigers stood outside the dugout celebrating. All together they started chanting: “Game ball! Game ball! Game ball!”
Scott held the ball up for quiet. “I think we all know who’s getting this ball,” he said, smiling.
“All right, Benny.”
“Attaway, Brain.”
“Way to go, Peaches.”
Scott shot Drew an angry glance.
“I mean Benny. Way to go, Benny,” Drew said, smiling.
Scott held the ball up again. “Benny helped the team all year by keeping the stats, making suggestions, thinking up the shift, and just knowing a lot about baseball.”
“Knowing baseball?” Drew blurted out. “How about that catch? That’s
playing
baseball!”
The team cheered as Scott tossed Benny the ball.
The Tigers seemed to drift away more slowly following this last game. Finally, only Drew, Fran, and Benny were left. They helped Scott put the helmets, bats, and memories of another baseball season into the battered brown equipment bag.
“I can’t believe it’s over,” Scott said, tossing a final helmet into the bag.
“I can’t believe we did so well,” Fran said. “We had a winning season.”
Drew pointed his thumb at Benny and laughed. “I can’t believe Benny made that catch.”
The kids laughed and looked at Benny.
“I can’t believe Drew is calling me Benny,” he said, flipping the game ball happily in the air.
T HE E ND
P LAYER C OACHES T HE R EAL S TORY
W hat Benny told his teammates about player-coaches is true. Years ago, it was fairly common for major league ball players to take on the added responsibility of coaching their teams. They called these guys player-coaches (or player-managers).
The list of player-coaches includes some of the biggest names in baseball history. Ty Cobb (career battingaverage of .367), Rogers Hornsby (.358), home-run slugger Mel Ott (511 homers), and pitching great Christy Mathewson (373 wins) are on the list. Also included are Hall of Famers like Bill Terry, George Sisler, Joe Cronin, Mickey Cochrane, and Harold Joseph “Pie” Traynor, who all managed teams during their playing years.
The legendary Babe Ruth wanted to manage the New York Yankees near the end of his playing career, but the owners of the Yankees said no. They thought the “Sultan of Swat” (as Babe Ruth was known) was too undependable to run a baseball team.
Today you don’t hear much about player-coaches. Most of them played ball before the 1950s. But in the 1970s, all-time great Frank Robinson (586 homers) played and coached with the Cleveland Indians. Pete Rose, another all-time great (4256 hits), was a player-coach for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s.
Probably the greatest single season any player-coach has had in the history of baseball was the season Lou Boudreau (pronounced Boo-DRO) had in 1948. Boudreau,a shortstop with the Cleveland Indians, became the team’s player-coach in 1942 when he was only twenty-four years old. He was so young that the newspapers sometimes called him “The Boy Manager.”
Boudreau wasn’t a terrific player-coach right away. In the Indians first six years under Boudreau, they never finished higher than third place in the American League. Things were looking so bad for Boudreau that the Indians almost traded him in 1947.
It’s a good thing they didn’t—1948 was a magical year for Boudreau. As he put it: “I had angels on my shoulders.” Boudreau batted .355 with 18 home runs and 106 runs batted in. He led American League shortstops in double plays and fielding percentage and he was named the American League’s MVP (Most Valuable Player).
That year, the Indians—coached by Boudreau—tied the Boston Red Sox for first place in the American League with a record of 96–58. Boudreau smashed two home runs and two singles in an 8–3 victory over the Red Sox
“Way to go, Maggie!”
“Great catch, Benny!”
The Tigers had won, 3–2!
After shaking hands with the shocked Red Sox, the Tigers stood outside the dugout celebrating. All together they started chanting: “Game ball! Game ball! Game ball!”
Scott held the ball up for quiet. “I think we all know who’s getting this ball,” he said, smiling.
“All right, Benny.”
“Attaway, Brain.”
“Way to go, Peaches.”
Scott shot Drew an angry glance.
“I mean Benny. Way to go, Benny,” Drew said, smiling.
Scott held the ball up again. “Benny helped the team all year by keeping the stats, making suggestions, thinking up the shift, and just knowing a lot about baseball.”
“Knowing baseball?” Drew blurted out. “How about that catch? That’s
playing
baseball!”
The team cheered as Scott tossed Benny the ball.
The Tigers seemed to drift away more slowly following this last game. Finally, only Drew, Fran, and Benny were left. They helped Scott put the helmets, bats, and memories of another baseball season into the battered brown equipment bag.
“I can’t believe it’s over,” Scott said, tossing a final helmet into the bag.
“I can’t believe we did so well,” Fran said. “We had a winning season.”
Drew pointed his thumb at Benny and laughed. “I can’t believe Benny made that catch.”
The kids laughed and looked at Benny.
“I can’t believe Drew is calling me Benny,” he said, flipping the game ball happily in the air.
T HE E ND
P LAYER C OACHES T HE R EAL S TORY
W hat Benny told his teammates about player-coaches is true. Years ago, it was fairly common for major league ball players to take on the added responsibility of coaching their teams. They called these guys player-coaches (or player-managers).
The list of player-coaches includes some of the biggest names in baseball history. Ty Cobb (career battingaverage of .367), Rogers Hornsby (.358), home-run slugger Mel Ott (511 homers), and pitching great Christy Mathewson (373 wins) are on the list. Also included are Hall of Famers like Bill Terry, George Sisler, Joe Cronin, Mickey Cochrane, and Harold Joseph “Pie” Traynor, who all managed teams during their playing years.
The legendary Babe Ruth wanted to manage the New York Yankees near the end of his playing career, but the owners of the Yankees said no. They thought the “Sultan of Swat” (as Babe Ruth was known) was too undependable to run a baseball team.
Today you don’t hear much about player-coaches. Most of them played ball before the 1950s. But in the 1970s, all-time great Frank Robinson (586 homers) played and coached with the Cleveland Indians. Pete Rose, another all-time great (4256 hits), was a player-coach for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s.
Probably the greatest single season any player-coach has had in the history of baseball was the season Lou Boudreau (pronounced Boo-DRO) had in 1948. Boudreau,a shortstop with the Cleveland Indians, became the team’s player-coach in 1942 when he was only twenty-four years old. He was so young that the newspapers sometimes called him “The Boy Manager.”
Boudreau wasn’t a terrific player-coach right away. In the Indians first six years under Boudreau, they never finished higher than third place in the American League. Things were looking so bad for Boudreau that the Indians almost traded him in 1947.
It’s a good thing they didn’t—1948 was a magical year for Boudreau. As he put it: “I had angels on my shoulders.” Boudreau batted .355 with 18 home runs and 106 runs batted in. He led American League shortstops in double plays and fielding percentage and he was named the American League’s MVP (Most Valuable Player).
That year, the Indians—coached by Boudreau—tied the Boston Red Sox for first place in the American League with a record of 96–58. Boudreau smashed two home runs and two singles in an 8–3 victory over the Red Sox
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