Book Review: Baseball From 3,000 Miles Away by Gary Mintz

In May 2016, I wrote a journal article about Lou Mintz, the Chief of Stack Maintenance and Delivery at the New York Public Library where I worked from 1983-90. Lou had the extraordinary responsibility ofensuring that millions of books and periodicals were shelved properly and could be retrieved and delivered to library patrons promptly. In the seven years that I had known Lou, I don’t remember discussing baseball or his family.  Lou came to my farewell party.  His son Gary discovered this article and contacted me.  I decided to go to a meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society (NYGPS) to meet him.  In January 2017 I went to a meeting at Bergino’s and met Gary.  Over the years I went to a few of the in-person meetings at Bergino’s and Finnerty’s.  I attended a few Zoom meetings during and after the COVID-19 outbreak.  If I couldn’t attend the live meeting, I would often view the recordings on YouTube.

When Gary announced his self-published book “Baseball from 3,000 Miles Away”, I knew I had to read it.  Thanks to Amazon.com I was able to get it shortly after publication.  Gary was born a few years after the New York Giants moved to San Francisco.  His father was a big New York Giants fan and kept his devotion after the team moved to the West Coast.  Gary became a fan of the Giants out of his love and admiration for his dad.  I didn’t realize Gary’s devotion to the Giants until I read his book.

He talked about his first Giants game at Shea Stadium in 1969 and his trips to Philadelphia and San Francisco to see the Giants play among many other topics.  He discussed his difficulties in following the Giants caused by the time zone differences and limitations of radio and television during the first few decades of his faithfulness to the Giants.  Following his team became easier in this era of the Internet and Cable TV.  Readers will also find out about Gary’s career as a teacher.

Gary was absolutely thrilled in 2010, 2012, and 2014 when the Giants won the World Series. He certainly experienced many losses and disappointments over the years all followed the team.  He thinks about his late dad every day. He has always been devoted to his family.

I don’t want to give away too much in this review since I hope all the members of the NYGPS purchase the book.  Other fans of the Giants and baseball historians will also enjoy the book.

 

Lincoln Mitchell Speaks to a Meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society

Lincoln Mitchell signs a copy of his book at last night's meeting

Lincoln Mitchell is a political analyst, pundit, and writer based in New York City and San Francisco.  He is also interested in the history of baseball.  Last night he appeared at a meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society to discuss his new book:

San Francisco Year Zero: Political Upheaval Punk Rock and Third-Place Baseball Team.

In November 2018 he spoke to the same group about his previous book:

Baseball goes west: The Dodgers, the Giants, and the shaping of the major leagues

He traces the roots of the current situation in San Francisco back to 1978 when three key events occurred: the assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk occurring fewer than two weeks after the massacre of Peoples Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana, the explosion of the city’s punk rock scene, and a breakthrough season for the San Francisco Giants.  Since the audience was comprised of baseball fans he spent time discussing the 1978 baseball Giants.  The team's final record of 89-73 was not terrible, but the team did lead the NL West for much of the season.  He mentioned the political situation around the Giants threatening to move to Denver or Toronto back then as Candlestick Park was a terrible place to play baseball.  He linked this issue with other political problems in San Francisco at that time.

Tonight's Meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society

Last May I wrote a journal entry reminiscing about Lou Mintz of the New York Public Library.  Using the "magic" of social media his son Gary read my journal entry and want to talk to me.  We did speak over the phone about Lou and NYPL when I worked there from 1983-90.  Gary mentioned the New York Giants Preservation Society.  I never discussed baseball in general or the Giants specifically with Lou while we were both at NYPL.  Gary did put me on the mailing list for his group.

Tonight I went to the group's meeting at Bergino's Baseball Clubhouse on East 11th Street a few feet from the former home of the Metropolitan New York Library Council.  I passed by Bergino's many times but tonight was the first time I came in.  What a collection of memorabilia!  I wish I had big bucks to buy some of the stuff in the store.

Tonight's speaker was Dan Taylor (not of WCBS-FM fame) who is a big Giant fan, television sportscaster, and author of  "A Scout's Report: My 70 Years in Baseball".  This man is a walking encyclopedia of baseball scouting.  He wrote the book with "super scout" George Genovese.  I didn't realize how intricate it is to scout a ball player and predict his success in the major leagues.  I guess it is like any hiring process as you never know how an employee will work out until they actual are hired by the organization.

It was certainly a worthwhile evening.  After I complete writing this journal entry, I will watch Jeopardy which Lee recorded for me on the DVR.

The New York Giants Preservation Society Salutes Monte Irvin on His 100th Birthday

The New York Giants Preservation Society headed by Gary Mintz met last night at Finnerty's to celebrate the 100th birthday of Monte Irvin who played for the New York Giants from 1949-1955 and who was one of the first Black baseball players in Major League Baseball.  You can see from Baseball-Reference that he did not come to the Giants until he was 30 years old, but played in the Negro Leagues before that.

Gary Brown and John Barr who actually met Monte Irvin spoke to the audience and said only glowing things about him.  Audience members were invited to contribute to the discussion as well.

Gary Brown spoke last night

John Barr

Stew Thornley Speaks to the New York Giants Preservation Society

Yours truly with Stew Thornley

I have been acquainted with Stew Thornley's baseball expertise from my activity in SABR.  Stew lives in Minneapolis but is very familiar with the New York Giants and the Polo Grounds.  I originally thought tonight's talk would focus on this book:

The Polo Grounds: Essays and Memories of New York City's Historic Ballpark, 1880-1963 (McFarland Historic Ballparks)

He did discuss this, but his talk turned out to be a "mixed bag" of his many interests in baseball.  I did not take notes at the meeting so I'll list some of the points he made.  Most of the talk was devoted to answering questions from the audience.

• He knew much about the Minneapolis Millers that was a farm team of the New York Giants in the 1950s.  There was some speculation back then that the Giants would move to Minneapolis, but of course, that never happened.
• He spoke about Metropolitan Stadium, also known at the Met, where the Twins played after the franchise moved from Washington, DC.   The minor league Millers played there from  1956 until the Twins came.  That stadium was built to try to attract a major league team to come there.  He said that the people in Minnesota did not have much "affection" for the Washington Senators.
• There was some discussion of the strange dimensions of the Polo Grounds and Willie Mays catch in the 1954 World Series.  One gentleman in the audience attended that game.  Many of the people in the audience have attended games there.  I went to two games in 1962-3 with my dad to see the Mets.
• Stew spoke of his experiences as an official scorer for the Minnesota Twins.  He is on the MLB Official Scoring Advisory Committee. He is in NYC for their annual meeting at MLB Headquarters.

Stew Speaks to the audience

Meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society at Finnerty's

In January 2017 I went to a meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society, a group of fans of the baseball team that moved from the Polo Grounds to San Francisco in 1958.  I found out about this group from Gary Mintz, the son of NYPL legend Lou Mintz whom I knew when I worked there in the 1980s. Last night the group held a meeting at Finnerty's, a tavern described as a home away from home for San Francisco Giants Fans.

The featured speaker was Lincoln A. Mitchell, a political analyst, pundit, and writer affiliated with Columbia University who spoke about his new book:

Mitchell, L. A. (2018). Baseball goes west: The Dodgers, the Giants, and the shaping of the major leagues

He spoke about the book for about 1 hour and then fielded questions from the audience which was much larger than I anticipated.  There were about 40 SF/NY Giant fans and his colleagues and acquaintances from Columbia University.  He spoke on how the move of baseball to the west coast affected the culture of baseball in the decades that followed.  I bought the book and read about 10 pages on the subway ride home.  Now, I have to find time to read it as I have several magazines and a Bob Dylan book on my reading list,  I have always been a Met fan but am quite interested in the history of baseball.

Lincoln Mitchell signing copies of his book

This sign from Candlestick Park and was

acquired by the owners of Finnerty's

Steve Somers Addresses The New York Giants Preservation Society at Finnerty's on 33rd Street in Manhattan

 

The New York Giants Preservation Society has been discussed several times in this journal.  For a few years, the group met at Finnerty's, a San Francisco-themed sports bar located at 2nd Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan. During the COVID pandemic, the group had to meet online via Zoom.  The group thrived, but Finnerty's had to close.

Recently, Finnerty's reopened at 33rd Street, directly across from the Empire State Building.  Today, for the first time in 6 years, the group reconvened at Finnerty's with Steve Somers as the guest speaker.  He spoke about his recent book, Me Here, You There, which I reviewed a few weeks ago in this journal.  I bought the book on Amazon Kindle, but Steve was signing books for many of the 60 attendees.

A cake for the occasion 

The front of Finnerty's

..

Moe Resner Speaks to the New York Giants Preservation Society About the last Giant Home Game at the Polo Grounds

Moe Resner 

Moe is a baseball historian familiar with the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs.  He was at the Polo Grounds on September 29, 1957, to see the Giants' last home game there before moving to San Francisco. He discussed a new film produced and directed by Janko Radosavljevic, entitled: Moe Resner 1957 Baseball. The video will show Resner’s passion for the fabled Polo Grounds. This video will be available shortly on Amazon Prime.

A one minute clip of the video

Moe Resner Throws Out The First Pitch at Wrigley Field

Another Sad Story about a Business Closing Due to the COVID Situation

 
Thousands of businesses in New York City including bars and restaurants have closed in 2020 due to the COVID situation.  I just decided to give an example - Finnerty's Sports Bar on 2nd Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan. It is unique since it appeals to fans of San Francisco sports teams.  The New York Giants (Baseball) Preservation Society held several meetings there.  Below is a message that the owners sent to their customers.

BACK TO HOME

To our friends and supporters,

We hope you all are staying healthy and safe during these unprecedented times!

We are reaching out today to let you all know that we have had to make the sad decision to permanently close Finnerty’s.

We are gutted.

The last 11 years have gone by so quickly and we can barely believe it.

We still remember how proud we were when taking down the roll down security gate during opening renovation, making us one of the only bars in the area without one. We believed in the East Village and the neighborhood proved us right year after year. We thank you and hope you stay strong!

We always wanted to be a great sports bar but we never imagined we would become a home for Bay Area fans and expats living on the East Coast . What started as a small group of 49er fans on Sundays became something bigger than the bar itself.

Getting to host thousands of fans for playoff games, World Series trophy visits, and the decade of bus trips to Giants, Sharks, Warriors, and 49ers games has been one of the greatest and craziest honors imaginable. You are the best the fans in sports and getting to meet so many of you throughout the years has been our great privilege.

While shutting down operations in March 2020 due to Covid was one of the hardest things we’ve ever made, we knew it was the right decision for the safety of our staff and customers.

The pandemic striking the city just days before St Patrick’s Day and March Madness was a huge blow to us during what is typically our busiest month of the year.

Even with this, we still hoped to eventually reopen in some capacity. But unlike so many other catastrophes we have made it through, this was one disaster that forced people apart rather than together, and one that struck the heart of our industry.

Even in the best of times, the realities of the bar and restaurant industry in New York City make surviving, let alone prospering, a difficult undertaking. As lucky as we’ve been before, we weren’t immune to these realities this time.

The pandemic, along with being unable to reach an agreement with our landlord, forced our hand. There just wasn’t any way forward for us.

That being said, aside from our community, saying goodbye to our staff is the hardest part. Anyone who has been to Finnerty’s knows that we have a small and dedicated team that made Finnerty’s the special place it was for our customers. Finnerty’s wouldn’t have been Finnerty’s without them.

As disappointed and sad as we are at having to close our doors, all the emails, texts, tweets, letters, and phone calls wishing us well and offering us support have meant the world to us. It is still almost inconceivable to us that a little bar in New York City touched so many people both down the block and across the country.

While this is the end of Finnerty’s for now, we truly hope to share a drink with you all again soon. We’ll keep the bell polished and ready to ring again.

Stay strong, stay kind, and look after one another!

Dieter Seelig & Brian Stapleton

Owners of Finnerty’s

The New York Mets Retire Willie Mays' #24

 

I was watching the Mets Old Timers Game ceremony, but I had to go into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.  I was quite surprised to hear that the Mets are retiring Willie Mays' number 24.  Willie's best days were behind him when he was traded to the Mets in 1972, but his number is being retired to honor his days in New York National League baseball.  Mrs. Payson, the original owner of the Mets, promised to retire his number, but it didn't happen until just now. It was not announced in advance. I am sure that Gary Mintz and the New York Giants Preservation Society must be ecstatic. 

SF Giants 2 Mets 1 in 13 Innings

It is very unusual for me to go to a mid-week ball game, but Gary Mintz of the New York Giants Preservation Society invited me to his game. I had the pleasure of working with his late dad at the New York Public Library from 1983-90.  The older people in this group rooted for the NY Giants when they played in the Polo Grounds until 1957.  Their loyalties moved to San Francisco with the team.  We were sitting in center field near the home run apple.  During the "kiss cam" segment a medley of Aretha Franklin was played.

The game was an uneventful pitcher's duel with Zach Wheeler of the Mets facing Derek Holland of the Giants.  The game was tied at 1-1 as it went into extra innings.  In the top of the 13th with runners on first and third with two outs, Brandon Crawford hit a lazy fly ball that shortstop Amed was poised to catch to end the inning.  Left fielder Dominic Smith collided into Rosario causing him to drop the ball allowing the go-ahead run to score.  Oy vey!  See the video below.

Game recap

Should the Baseball Season be Canceled?

In the video seen above, Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst, pundit and writer based in New York City and San Francisco, argues that the Major League Baseball season be canceled.  He has appeared in this journal before as I have attended his talks at the New York Giants Preservation Society.

It was certainly sad to hear that several players and coaches of the Miami Marlins tested positive for the Coronavirus causing the postponement of a few games.  Lincoln bases his logic on that.  It is important for baseball to provide some diversion for the American public.  If players and coaches from several teams test positive, it is likely for the better to cancel the season.  I hope that will not happen, but baseball personnel should not have to be sickened or even die from this dreadful disease.

Book Review: A Nice Jewish Boy from San Francisco Makes it Big as a Host on WFAN in New York

 

Since 1987, when WFAN launched, I listened irregularly, but I never called in to speak to any of their hosts.  I just never wanted to be put on hold for a long time.  Steve Somers started at the station at its launch and was a full-time host until 2021.

In this autobiography that I have on the Kindle, Steve Somers traces his career from his boyhood in San Francisco until he became famous as an overnight host known as Captain Midnight at WFAN, America's foremost sports talk station.  He worked in several small radio and TV markets until he realized his dream of being on the air in the Big Apple.  I am not a night owl, so I didn't listen to him on his overnight shift.  But there were times when he was on the air during the day, and I heard his show.

He had some celebrity callers, including Jerry Seinfeld.  He calls the Mets the Metropolitans (their full name) and the Islanders the Icelanders.  Much of the book is devoted to anecdotes.  He listed many of his regular callers on the overnight shift.  He insisted that regular callers did not have a special line to the station.

On Wednesday, December 3rd, he spoke about his book at a Zoom meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society.  I attended the meeting and asked him if he preferred one host or two, also did he think that hosts should talk about non-sports related topics.  He felt that the one host who talks to the callers is a better option and the host should stick to sports.

I highly recommend this book to sports fans.

Reflections on Bruce's Journal as it Approaches 4000 Entries Since October 2005

I am approaching entry #4000 of a blog that started on October 15, 2005 and just kept on going.  That article was a very short description about a football game at Hofstra University.  Most of my entries have been much longer than that.  I guess if an article is too long some people may not read it.  I can’t give a reason for keeping on writing it.  I am never certain of the impact that to made on people over 14+ years.  I am aware of a few regular readers, but it has gotten close to 600,000 hits worldwide. Perhaps some people look at an entry and think that I am a nut. Medical issues and very personal topics are never included.  Anyone can read what I put on the Internet, so I need to be careful.  Once I got in trouble when a pompous professor from Texas objected to something I wrote. I usually write two entries in three days.  I had two companion blogs that I stopped after I retired in December 2017.

• Commuting Blog
• Professional Blog

I can categorize my entries as follows:

• New York Mets
• Baseball (general)
• Sporting events that I attended
• Radio Broadcasting
• Bob Dylan
• Oldies music including Youtube videos of songs
• Museum visits
• Movies (I only critique a few movies that saw)
• Family activities including vacations
• Autobiographical entries
• Random Comments of the Day

I thought that I should look back at some of the significant entries that I have written over the years.

• Remembering Alan Berman  - I was friends with him from 2006 until his tragic death in June 2013.  This entry traced many of the events of our 7-year friendship.
• Remembering Lou Mintz of NYPL  - His son Gary found this entry and contacted me.  I joined his New York Giants (Baseball) Preservation Society
• Bruce the Mets Fan From Day 1 – and the rest is history
• Bruce, the Bob Dylan Fan – this was written in 2006.  Much has happened since then
• I’m Not There and Don’ Look Back – Two Dylan Movies with significance for me  - why I didn’t return to my former employer.
• Final Thought as a Retire and Leave the Profession of Librarianship – this was the final entry of my companion professional blog.
• It seems that out of sight out of mind supersedes keeping in touch  - My frustration with my inability to keep in touch with former colleagues
• Trying to Remember the Early Days Growing Up in Rego Park
• Reminiscing about my New Brunswick Days – Part 1
• Reminiscing about my New Brunswick Days – Part 2
• My 44-Year Journey Ends on My Terms

Bruce’s Journal is run on a platform called Blogger provided by Google.  It provides me with the list of the postings with the most hits.  Here are the top ten, many of which I don’t understand why they got so many hits:

1. TGIF  - this is a very short posting done on March 26, 2010.  I just can’t understand why it got so many hits.
2. The Tale of the Two-Dollar Bill – April 14, 2011 – I received a two-dollar bill and donated it to the local public library
3. Jeopardy and the Two-Dollar Bill -  November 22, 2011 – there was an answer on Jeopardy that required knowing that a president was on a two-dollar bill.  I thought there were better posts about Jeopardy that deserved more hits.
4. Congratulations to the Beach Boys on their 50^th anniversary – December 31, 2011
5. Jason Keller, Jeopardy Superstar- December 27, 2011
6. Mark Simone leaves WABC for WOR – January 3, 2013  Mark Simone became persona non grata as far as I’m concerned.
7. Bob Dylan – Forever Young – 50 Years of Song -Life Magazine  - February 23, 2012 – I think there are more significant posts about Dylan that should have received more hits.
8. Another Afternoon at CW Post – November 7, 2009 – About a football game there.  I don’t understand why it got so many hits.
9. WABC Rewound is Gone -  April 29 2010 – At this point WABC Rewound was no longer heard on 770 AM.  It is still heard yearly on Memorial Day on internet radio.
10. More Tsuris for the Mets – March 18, 2011 – Tsuris means aggravation.  This post discusses problems the Mets’ owners faced as a result of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

In general, I don’t understand why the above 10 entries got so many hits.  There were more articles that were more significant to me.

I will keep writing for Bruce’s Journal as I average about 240 entries a year, so in another 4 years when I reach 5000 entries, another analysis.

Doing Recreational Reading about the Pacific Coast League at NYPL

I really shouldn't call this research since I am not trying to write a paper on this topic. A few weeks ago I attended a talk given at a meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society by the author of:

Mitchell, L. A. (2018). Baseball goes west: The Dodgers, the Giants, and the shaping of the major leagues

The author mentioned that at one time the quality of play at  Pacific Coast League (PCL) was almost as good as that of Major League Baseball.  This piqued my interest and I thought I should do some reading about the PCL.

I read parts of the following books:

O'NEAL, Bill (2018). PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE 1903-1988. S.l.: EAKIN PRESS.

Wells, D. R. (2004). Baseball's western front: The Pacific Coast League during World War II. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co.

Zingg, P. J., & Medeiros, M. D. (1994). Runs, hits, and an era: The Pacific Coast League, 1903-58. Urbana: Published for the Oakland Museum by the University of Illinois Press.

There were many excellent ballplayers who spent their entire careers in the PCL.  In earlier years those clubs were not farm teams for MLB.  The San Francisco Seals,  Los Angeles Angels, and Hollywood Stars were prominent teams in that league.  But obviously, the PCL changed when MLB moved west in 1958. 

Random Thoughts on a Rainy Tuesday Morning

Every day I read about problems on New Jersey Transit and am grateful that I no longer have to ride that railroad.  Some of the issues are caused by mismanagement while others are the result of a crumbling infrastructure.  There was a major delay this morning on the Montclair-Boonton line caused by a trespasser fatality.  I can't blame the agency for this, but I wonder if this and similar incidents are suicides.

I still get emails from the MTA about problems on the #7 subway line.  Every day there are signal problems.  Maybe in my lifetime, the antiquated signaling system will be updated.  In the past year, I only encountered one major delay as the train was delayed for about 15 minutes getting out of the Flushing station.  I still ride the subway, but not nearly as often as I did while I was working.

I just completed a project for SABR's Baseball Index where I indexed about 1000 articles from the Games Project.  I will take a break for a few days and then index about 200 more article that was done over the last 3 months.

Tonight I am going to a meeting of the New York Giants Preservation Society at Finnerty's in Manhattan.  I'll report on this tomorrow.

Reflections after 3 Years of Retirement

2020 has been a difficult year for everyone.  Karen was in the hospital for 12 days in April suffering from COVID-19.  Recovery has been difficult for her.  Many cultural institutions including movie theaters are still closed limiting recreational activities.  Libraries are open with limited services.  I feel very badly for those who have suffered from the disease and those who were economically affected by the pandemic.

I have taken my hobbies to a higher level over the three years.  I have spent much time in activities with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).  I certainly spend much more time reading books about baseball and music.  I certainly have attended many Zoom meetings over the past year.  The New York Giants Preservation Society headed by Gary Mintz would meet only a few times a year.  Recently, this organization runs Zoom meetings almost every week.  I meet monthly with Bob Dylan enthusiasts on a Zoom Meeting.

I am disappointed that my contacts with former colleagues have been minimal.  A click on Facebook or Twitter indicating one likes my post is not keeping in touch which should be a two-way street.  It is frustrating when I don't get a reply to a friendly e-mail.  I have come to the conclusion that out of sight out of mind supersedes keeping in touch.  I guess I must move on and let go of the past.

I am pleased that my finances are in very good shape.  I am actually saving money every month.  I planned very well through TIAA for a good retirement income supplemented by Social Security.  I hope in the future I can take vacations.

I hope for the best for everyone.

 

History of the Polo Grounds

 

Since my last journal entry was so long, I'll make today's very short.  I found this video by accident when I accessed YouTube.  I am sure that Gary Mintz and everyone in the New York Giants Preservation Society know everything discussed here.  This video did not describe any non-baseball events at the Polo Grounds.

I received an email from Fadi Deek saying he read review of his book and appreciated my comments.

Will Zoom Meetings Prevail When "Normalcy" Returns?

 

Since people can not gather for face-to-face meetings during this pandemic Zoom meetings have become very popular for online classes and discussions among hobbyists.  There are more meetings online than there ever was face-to-face before the pandemic.  For example, the New York Giants Preservation Society (baseball) held about 3 meetings a year at a sports bar.  Over the past few months, this group has run meetings almost every week.  For a while, I attended these online meetings, but as long as I don't want to ask a question, I view the archived version at my convenience.  Since the meetings are online, people from all over the country can attend.

Likewise, a Bob Dylan fan group that I organized in Fall 2019 used to hold meetings at NYU in Greenwich Village.  We now hold monthly meetings online.

Once this miserable pandemic ends, will people prefer online meetings?  It remains to be seen..