Dennis “Oil Can’’ Boyd’s new tell-all book, “They Call Me Oil Can: My Life in Baseball,’’ which hits bookstores in June, should be a blockbuster if the stories are similar to what the former Red Sox pitcher told WBZ’s Jon Miller yesterday at JetBlue Park.
Boyd, who spent eight of his 10 major league seasons with the Red Sox, admitted he was under the influence of cocaine two-thirds of the time he was on the mound.
“Oh yeah, at every ballpark,’’ he said. “There wasn’t one ballpark that I probably didn’t stay up all night, until four or five in the morning, and the same thing is still in your system. It’s not like you have time to go do it while in the game, which I had done that.
...Boyd, who will paint a picture of support and disdain for some of his former Red Sox teammates in his book, said, “All of them didn’t rally around me. All of them knew and the ones that cared came to me. The Dwight Evanses and Bill Buckners . . . it was the veteran ballplayers. Some guys lived it; they knew what you were doing, and the only way they knew was they had to have tried it, too.’’
Boyd contends he was blackballed from baseball and his career cut short because he was different. “The reason I caught the deep end to it is because I’m black. The bottom line is the game carries a lot of bigotry, and that was an easy way for them to do it,’’ Boyd said. “If I wasn’t outspoken and a so-called ‘proud black man,’ maybe I would have gotten the empathy and sympathy like other ballplayers got that I didn’t get; like Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Steve Howe. I can name 50 people that got third and fourth chances all because they weren’t outspoken black individuals.’’
Repoz
Posted: February 09, 2012 at 06:13 AM |
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1. Tim Stauffer, Trot Nixon's Coming (Dan Lee) Posted: February 09, 2012 at 06:31 AM (#4056985)edit to add: It couldn't possibly have been that his career ended because he had a wonky shoulder, chronic blood clots, stopped striking people out, and got absolutely destroyed in the second half of '91. No, no. It was because he was outspoken.
I think when you're an idiot, it is generally best not to be outspoken - black or white.
you're a brainist
I guess this explains why he was passed over for game 7.
Just wondering. Who will actually read this book? What publisher would think the public has a degree of interest in the life of Dennis Boyd that it would merit a biography? I doubt even hardcore Red Sox would be much interested in this. The only interesting angle I can see is the "professional athlete falling to temptation and ruining career" angle, which has already been told 1000 times and about people far more interesting than Boyd.
I'll read it. Of course I'm precisely the hardcore Red Sox fan who grew up in the 80s that would be the market for this. I can't imagine there is a particularly big market but just about any player who had some success has to have some fans.
The other thing is that having a good story to tell (and Oil Can was never dull) is key. Just thinking back Jay Johnstone wrote a couple of books, Bill Lee, Jim Bouton wasn't exactly Hall of Fame material, Dirk Hayhurst, Steve Fireovid....each of these had a "hook" I suppose but if I was looking for a player from that era who would have an interesting take on things Oil Can would be a good candidate. You've got the Red Sox link, Roger Clemens (to keep things timely) plus he was teammates with a couple of other Hall of Famers.
How do you not add "was a big-time coke-head" to that list?
I mean, you're a starting pitcher. You've got four nights out of five to get high as a kite. If you can't lay off the night before your start, to the point you're out to 5 in the AM, you are a huge addict.
Last year in the bigs: age 31.
Last year in pro ball: 110.1 innings with indy Brockton - at 45.
This was my first thought. I mean, go to bed early, get up, do some coke, head to the park!
In a world where there are in fact lots of books about the lives of baseball players, he's one of the players I would most expect to have a book written about him, actually. It would be more interesting than the life story of, say, Dwight Evans.
I always loved his nickname as a kid. I am a big Tigers fan but found Boyd entertaining, even though he played for the Red Sox. I probably won't go out of my way to buy the book, but would not run from it either.
We've already seen a few people here who say that they'll shell out the $17.13 for it, but unless "Triumph Books"** is limiting the initial press run to about 10,000 copies or less, within a year or two you'll be seeing this book offered for a penny. Stupid ballplayer confessing to stupid recreational drug habit that everyone could have figured out to begin with by watching him is an interesting story only if the stupid ballplayer was also a great ballplayer, and I've never heard "great" used to describe Oil Can Boyd.
**Small publishers are generally a lot smarter about keeping their first printings down, so there's a chance that the price won't drop quite as quickly as it would if it'd been Simon and Schuster or Random House.
I'm sure if Steve Howe were around, he'd be a little miffed to find out he wasn't a proud black man either.
OCB needs a little help in learning how to play the race card.
Actually, they're not "so-called" proud.
That's funny. I never heard of "oil" as slang for beer, just "oil can" as slang for the jumbo beer cans, b/c they look like oil cans.
Unnecessary; it's axiomatic that anyone who followed the 2011 Red Sox ended up with a drug habit.
Hey, coke habit ain't cheap.
I was a big fan of his back then.
One of my favorite live games ever was 6/9/85 when he 3 hit the O's, a masterful performance where, IIRC, nobody got past second base. More importantly though, it was one of those rare days when a pitcher has everything working, which made the game unfair as Boyd toyed with the O's all day, changing speed, keeping them off balance, just owning them.
It was a joy to watch.
Wasn't the Deuce and a Quarter a Buick?
Yes. You are correct sir. The Buick Electra 225...my bad.
Me too. I loved Roger Moret, and Pedro too. All three were/are a little bit nuts, and a lot of fun.
1986: not a good postseason for relievers.
As compelling as the chanting of Mets fans is as evidence of Can's impending suckitude is, I remain unconvinced.
I never understood why Mac didn't go to Can in relief, though it's possible that the emotionally fragile young man didn't deal well with getting bypassed for the start.
He pitched poorly in Game 3 of the ALCS, then rebounded to win Game 7. That's what I was banking on (that, and I didn't have a lot of faith that Hurst would have a lot left in the tank on short rest).
Game 6...Roger Clemens won Game 7.
Yes, Game 6.
Only knew that 'cause I had one in high school. A 1970 Electra. My god, that car had its own area code. And 7.5 MPG!
Is it weird that I miss it? It was my first car, but still.
I was one of the Red Sox fans pissed when they dumped Carbo in 1978, but having read about his own confessions I assume I would have tried to get rid of him too.
Boyd and Carbo were both interesting guys and fun to watch play. But I would not want them on my team.
The story is out there that Oil Can was hungover as all hell the day of Game Seven. The story as I've seen it is that once he got passed over he went out and tore it up in frustration. Not sure it's true but it's certainly reached urban legend status but does not sound at all implausible.
According to Lou Gorman the plan was to go to Clemens in relief in Game Seven. Why Mac didn't do that no one seems to know.
The "We want the Can" chant was a function of their need. The Mets couldn't win the series without going to Game Seven.
There is no reason those things can't all be true. Oil Can always struck me as similar to Bill Lee, a guy who was legitimately different but at the same time did some self destructive things to his body that probably exacerbated that differentness.
Later that month, I went to the Fri June 28 and Sat June 29 games, again vs Baltimore (at home)... spent a great weekend with my brother as a 17 yr old in Boston... Hurst was on his last leg... rumor was that he was going to get this one last start... and that if he sucked again he'd either be sent to Pawtucket or maybe cut... anyway... it would be his last opportunity to start... and he pitched a 6 hitter over 7 innings... and then ran off a string of good games... enough to keep his job... the next afternoon Boyd got lit up by Floyd Rayford and others...
I just realized two things:
1. Many parts/events in my life I link to baseball... broke arm on day of '73 Game 1 Millan error... cousin married day after Jeffrey Maier... great weekend in Boston with my brother on Hurst/Boyd weekend at Fenway...
2. I wrote this message in the manner of the old annual "Complete Handbook of Baseball"... with the three dots after each thought... :o)
No, the chant happened during the 7th or 8th inning of Game Seven. What Boyd had ever done to displease the Mets or their fans, I have no idea.
Huh, I hadn't realised there was more then one of each of these guys...
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