is it just me, or did this obit seem to just end arbitrarily? they left out half of his life.

Not a good week for Buzzes

I had never really championed Bavasi for the Hall of Fame, but after reading his obit I have to ask: why isn't he in the Hall of Fame? Eight of his teams went to the Series, four won it all, that's a pretty good start right there. I know that he had no success in San Diego or California, but the Padres were an expansion team, so that's hardly a major black mark against Bavasi's record.

Perhaps he's overshadowed by Walter O'Malley, though it took the latter until this year to finally get elected.

In general, general managers are woefully underrepresented in the Hall of Fame. Unless they happened to have doubled as owners, their chances of making haven't been very strong.

Bob Howsam should be in, and I'm beginning to think that Bavasi should be too, though I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.

general managers are woefully underrepresented in the Hall of Fame.

I find that interesting, given that they generally are much more important in determining a team's success than anybody else -- more than any player or manager. I don't quite understand why so few baseball fans/writers seem to realize this.

GMs should be more represented in the Hall of Fame. But since they have always held onto their jobs while managers get fired perhaps that is compensation.
Should Walter O'Malley really be described as "parsimonius"? I'm sure he loved money but pretty much every owner in his time would squeeze a nickel until the buffalo defecated. Except for Phil Wrigley in Chicago and Tom Yawkey in Boston and those guys did win a whole lot. Branch Rickey loved money, would he be labelled "parsimonius"?

I had never really championed Bavasi for the Hall of Fame, but after reading his obit I have to ask: why isn't he in the Hall of Fame?

Good question. He did a thoroughly brilliant job with the Dodgers, running an organization that was top-to-bottom excellent, for nearly 20 years.

Howsam's a pretty good call, too. I'm sure if I put some thought to it there might be a few others who've been overlooked.

With both Howsam and Bavasi passing away are there any major Rickey disciples left?

dick young called branch rickey 'el cheapo'. i loved that.

Actually I think it was Jimmy Powers who called Rickey "el cheapo."

And Rickey wasn't cheap except when it came to salaries. O'Malley bought out Rickey because he thought Rickey wasted too much money.

Rickey concinced O'Malley into investing in an AAFC team didn't he? He probably was about 15 years ahead of his time. It wasn't until the early 1960s New York could support a second pro football team.
Harol Parrott's book "The Lords of Baseball" supports Rickey against Jimmy Powers of the "Daily News". Powers would call him El Cheapo and accuse him of not wanting to win the 1946 pennant by getting rid of Billy Herman and not promoting Jackie Robinson from Montreal. Rickey wanted to meet Powers and get across his side of the story but Powers refused. Hard to tell who was right:. Was Powers right for not wanting to be compromised or was he a jerk who wasn't interested in getting all viewpoints to decide the truth (like Mike Lupica or Bill Moyers).

One of the many interesting "what ifs" in baseball is if Rickey had gained control of the Dodgers instead of O'Malley. It may not have changed that much..both were shrewd operators. Rickey had mixed feelings about the Move West.

Should Walter O'Malley really be described as "parsimonius"?

Today's fan likely does not comprehend the difference between then and now--"parsimonius" is the most convenient shorthand for a very long explanation.

I know that he had no success in...California

Two division titles isn't shabby. And they probably should've beaten Harveys Wallbangers Harvey's Wallbangers after going up 2-0.

Good question. He did a thoroughly brilliant job with the Dodgers, running an organization that was top-to-bottom excellent, for nearly 20 years.

I would guess that because success strongly corresponds with money, folks are unwilling to credit the GM.

Howsam's a pretty good call, too. I'm sure if I put some thought to it there might be a few others who've been overlooked.

Harry Dalton.

Paul Richards--(though, of course, he wore many hats besides GM)

why isn't he in the Hall of Fame?

Objectively, he may have a good case, but it's not something I can get worked up about. His Dodger teams were before my time, and I'll never be able to forget him saying he could replace Nolan Ryan with a pair of 8-8 pitchers.

I used to have Bavasi's book. I think that I gave it to MHS at one of the SABR conventions.

The Brooklyn Dodgers football team. Not a pretty picture.