Baseball and The Scooter

While obviously I’m saddened to hear the Scooter has died, nothing gets me more than when old-timers come around to tell stories about fellow ballplayers. Could listen for hours; days and weeks even. Nogthing else I'd rather be doing, almost. The stories are boyish and unending, like we all wish our own lives were. While it’s not about Scooter himself, right before I heard about him dying I was sitting on the bowl flipping though Ball Four for the 17000the time and came upon one of my favorite parts, Bouton pitching with Joe Pepitone playing first base:

In the 1964 World Series with Lou Brock on first base, I gave the pick-off sign to Pepi when I took my stretch position and looked over toward first, he was standing there shaking his head, tiny shakes because he didn’t want anyone to see. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone shake off a pick-off sign. It was in the 1964 World Series that he had lost a throw from third base in the shirts in the crowd and was the goat of the game. Now he didn’t want to handle the ball any more than he had to. Just for the hell of it, I gave him the sign again a few pitches later. I wanted to see if he’d shake me off again. He did.

Francessa just waxed it best on the radio: baseball unfolds like a novel.