Take me out to the Ballgame....

[Paintman]

The Jimmy Piersall story.
My Mom was with my brother at WaterTower Place in Chicago. It is a 10 story shopping mall, a Ritz Carlton, and where Oprah lives (d).
They are at the street level flower shop facing Michigan Ave. Mom & Bro. are walking in, Jimmy is walking out. They sorta recognized each other, stopped, and made small talk trolling for clues to find out each others name. Mom thought he was one of my Dad's friends, and visa-versa. Walking away, Mom asked my little Bro. "What's Daddies friends' name?" Treeman said, "That's Jimmy !" Mom said, "No -no, Treeman, you say ,'Mister'. What is Mister's name.?"
"I dunno, but that's Jimmy Piersall from the White Sox."

Fun fact, when Bill Veeck bought the White Sox, he was one of the last old-line owners who needed the team to be profitable to make a living. So they cut costs. So, one year there was no pitching coach, but Jimmy was broadcasting TV and coaching the outfield. Truth told by some super outfielders, heck all Sox outfielders sought him out because he had a magical glove. The current radio Sox broadcaster Darren Jackson, a darn good outfielder, still tells Jimmy coaching him stories to this day.
Serious fact. Jimmy did tons of good work for normalizing mental illness in America. He was Bi-Polar. The Red Sox were at least enlightened enough to get him help. (Yey, it was electro-shock) .Wrote a book about getting back to the Bigs. Hollywood made a movie. (The actor who played Jimmy eventually played in 'Psycho' Anthony Perkins.) But Jimmy was a good dude. (You have my word.)

I like how he winded down his life. He fished. I like how he winded down his psychology. He fished. The pressure of MLB? Jimmy fished. Broadcast booth? He fished.

 

[Armand]

The Jimmy Piersall story.
My Mom was with my brother at WaterTower Place in Chicago. It is a 10 story shopping mall, a Ritz Carlton, and where Oprah lives (d).
They are at the street level flower shop facing Michigan Ave. Mom & Bro. are walking in, Jimmy is walking out. They sorta recognized each other, stopped, and made small talk trolling for clues to find out each others name. Mom thought he was one of my Dad's friends, and visa-versa. Walking away, Mom asked my little Bro. "What's Daddies friends' name?" Treeman said, "That's Jimmy !" Mom said, "No -no, Treeman, you say ,'Mister'. What is Mister's name.?"
"I dunno, but that's Jimmy Piersall from the White Sox."

Fun fact, when Bill Veeck bought the White Sox, he was one of the last old-line owners who needed the team to be profitable to make a living. So they cut costs. So, one year there was no pitching coach, but Jimmy was broadcasting TV and coaching the outfield. Truth told by some super outfielders, heck all Sox outfielders sought him out because he had a magical glove. The current radio Sox broadcaster Darren Jackson, a darn good outfielder, still tells Jimmy coaching him stories to this day.
Serious fact. Jimmy did tons of good work for normalizing mental illness in America. He was Bi-Polar. The Red Sox were at least enlightened enough to get him help. (Yey, it was electro-shock) .Wrote a book about getting back to the Bigs. Hollywood made a movie. (The actor who played Jimmy eventually played in 'Psycho' Anthony Perkins.) But Jimmy was a good dude. (You have my word.)

I like how he winded down his life. He fished. I like how he winded down his psychology. He fished. The pressure of MLB? Jimmy fished. Broadcast booth? He fished.

I liked the story you told about the owner of the team. I remember the rock n roll/disco blowout double header vs the Tigers. it may not have been politically
correct to some but at least he loved his team for the sake of baseball and not money. We need more like him these days.

 

[Paintman]

Numbers show Jimmy Piersall was great defensive center field

Chicago Sun Times ;
Tributes to the late Jimmy Piersall have noted his 1952 nervous breakdown and, after that, the unique things he did to have fun and reduce stress.

In the first White Sox game I attended — on Boy Scout Day in 1962 — the organist struck up ‘‘The Twist,’’ and Piersall gave it his best Chubby Checker in center field for the Senators.

5 th greatest Center Fielder of all time. Shootski, the man had a glove.
More #'s (Sun Times.)
Piersall’s RF/9 in center field was 2.86. The league average during his time was 2.69. That means Piersall made 0.17 more plays per nine innings than average, earning his team roughly one extra out per six games.

Compare that to Willie Mays, whose RF/9 in center was 2.67 against a league average of 2.55. Mays made 0.12 more plays per nine innings, roughly one extra out per eight games.

 

[Paintman]

Piersall, who also served as the first baseball analyst on radio station WSCR-AM, was a meticulous instructor who knew his craft, Sox broadcaster and former Cubs outfielder Darrin Jackson said.

‘‘He knew what he was talking about as an instructor and coach,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘He was very good and very passionate about what he was trying to teach us. Some of the young guys were like, ‘Come on, man, this guy is crazy,’ and I would turn around and say, ‘Shut up, this guy knows what he’s talking about.’ He would keep you out there all day if you didn’t do it right.’’

After work, Jackson said Piersall and his wife ‘‘would take guys like Davey Martinez and his wife, me and my wife and Gary Varsho out to dinner. We’d have a good time. He was very passionate about everything he did.’’

 

[Paintman]

More Jimmy Piersall. Yeh, that is all over Chicago news for 3 cycles. Was in Twin City News.on the golf trip Here is my 2 cents.
Jimmy didn't like baseball managers who were not baseball people. Give his undersong statistics, except for people who played the game, yeh, the guy was a Stud.
Proof: Chicago Trib quote:
JImmy Piersall, whose colorful baseball career led to a roller-coaster ride as a White Sox broadcaster, claimed he only had one vice.

"I never smoke or drank," Piersall insisted. "All I did was like broads."

n the game, and Ted Williams once called him the best center fielder he ever saw.

Piersall and his TV partner, Harry Caray, helped revive interest in the White Sox in the late 1970s. Their act was so unusual it was almost Vaudevillian, never to be replicated.
(I was there. It was magic.)

 

[7Critter]

He fished.

Helps in many areas.

 

[7Critter]

Excellent Piersall stories, Paintman.

 

[7Critter]

Four Home Run Night

Scooter Gennett makes Cincinnati Reds history and only the 17th person in MLB history to perform this feat.
He also went 5 for 5 on the night and drove in 10 runs. Scooter previously played for the Milwaulkee Brewers ( 2013-2016).

https://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2017/06/07/1470359183/1496806519955/asset_1800K.mp4

The Reds hope that as pitchers adjust to Scooter, he can adjust to how they pitch him, and continue hitting well.

 

[Paintman]

Scooter had a big game !

 

[Paintman]

That 'blind man' is probably an umpire.