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Friday, February 03, 2012

Former Astros manager Larry Dierker grew to love reading

And here I thought he only played in Cocoa.

On to baseball. I asked the most successful manager in Astros history (four division titles in five years), are you OK with the Astros’ move to the American League?

“I know a lot of people don’t like it, but it’s going to be fine. I’m a National League guy, obviously, but the last couple of years I’ve been rooting for the American League because of Nolan (Texas Rangers owner Nolan Ryan). I like the National League because of the strategic implications. Decisions are easier for managers in the American League. The leagues used to be a lot more different, with different umpires and even different baseballs. But the boundaries have been blurred by interleague play.

“Now the American League has almost the same appeal as the National League. The move doesn’t bother me,” he said.

“Plus, having the Yankees and Red Sox and other American League teams here every year will offer something we haven’t had before. Those big crowds will mean more money to buy more free agents.”

Repoz Posted: February 03, 2012 at 07:07 AM | 6 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: astros, history

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1. Matthew E Posted: February 03, 2012 at 10:06 AM (#4052645)

Geez, from the headline I thought he had died. I'm glad he hasn't.

Dierker wrote a book himself that was pretty good. It Ain't Brain Surgery, something like that.

2. Morty Causa Posted: February 03, 2012 at 12:01 PM (#4052791)

He has a neat presence in Ball Four, too.

3. Tricky Dick Posted: February 03, 2012 at 12:36 PM (#4052839)

I remember when Dierker first started writing a colum for the Houston paper (early 90's maybe). At the time, it seemed like having a current or former professional ball player write a column or series was kind of a fad on newspaper sports pages. Then I started reading Dierker's columns, and I realized this isn't your typical jock column---he can really write, and perhaps better than most sports writers.

This is also worth noting:

Dierker has logged more than 1,000 hours teaching adults the fundamentals of reading.

"Adult illiteracy is a huge problem, much bigger than you'd think," Dierker said. "It's hundreds of thousands of people. They are people who speak English as a second language, or they're dropouts, or they're people who never even started school."

4. Bob Tufts Posted: February 03, 2012 at 01:26 PM (#4052890)

The adult literacy program (especially for people for whom English is a second language) is a program that Larry holds close to his heart. I've spent some time talking to him about it and he is a dedicated and motivated advocate and teacher.

5. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: February 03, 2012 at 01:43 PM (#4052903)

It's a shame he never got a second crack at a manager's job. It's hard to think he wasn't blacklisted for what he wrote in his columns and his book. I think he was more idiosyncratic than most teams prefer.

6. Charlie O Posted: February 03, 2012 at 02:04 PM (#4052913)

I've wished for years that the A's would hire him. If nothing else, the pitchers would be forced to quit nibbling so much.

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Friday, February 03, 2012

Former Astros manager Larry Dierker grew to love reading

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