Davis’ candid comments are a marked contrast to some of his public statements during his Cincinnati seasons (1984-91; 1996), when he was often seen smiling with Schott.
On Schott using the “N word”: “To have my owner call me her ‘million-dollar — ,’ it didn’t really sit good with me,” Davis says. He says he was 22 at the time, which would have been his rookie season in 1984. He used it as motivation to make as much money as possible, he said.
“I got calls from the NAACP” and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, “but as a 22-year-old, what was I going to do? I put that under my hat, and used that as my motivation, that if I’m going to be a million-dollar … , then she’s going to have to keep paying me well over $1 million, because I’m going to prove my worth to her.”
On being left behind in an Oakland hospital after the Reds swept the A’s in the 1990 World Series (because Davis tore his kidney diving for a ball in Game 4): “I had a lot of bitter feelings about Cincinnati. For me to be the No. 1 guy, the face of the franchise, and to put my life on the line to help you win, it was kind of depressing. I held a grudge for a long time.”
Repoz
Posted: April 13, 2012 at 12:48 PM |
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1. Shooty is in the Trust TreeI don't even remember this. If it happened now, the internets would explode, of course.
I recall it very well. It came out in the 90s. After it went down, I heard an interview with Barry Larkin. He talked about Schott calling him "honey" all the time and he said Schott's statements were "embarrassing." Wiki:
Well, in 1992 it came out and then Schott responded to a question by telling ESPN, "Hitler was good in the beginning, but he went too far." Not to mention the stuff about the word "Japs". The internets weren't necessary for a pretty impressive explosion.
Schott was a throwback. She was a 1950s-style racist of the kind who didn't really understand that she was a racist and that the racist things she said were racist. And so she didn't censor herself when it would have been expedient to do so.
Edit: Coke.
On one hand, baseball ownership was very, very much an old boys club - corporate ownership had really just gotten off the ground, and you had a ton of old white guys many of whom were none too happy to have this woman sitting in on things (think "Major League" and replace the showgirl with an old curmudgeon).... so to some extent, I do have a bit of sympathy for the way Schott was basically forced out of ownership.
On the other, she she was an absolutely horrid racist, an antisemitic, and not just a little too comfortable with ideas that probably don't even get said at a Bircher meetup.
The conflicted liberal in me is torn between who to dislike more ;-)
The article is vague, what happened? Presumably he was in the hospital for a reason, so what does it mean that they left him behind?
edit: didnt see post 7 when I wrote this...
Larkin brought Davis' jersey to the ceremony IIRC.
Man, I remember being in the ballpark for his 2-run homer off of Dave Stewart after Rijo had shut down the top of the A's order in Game 1. Never did "Holy *($# we could win this" happen so quickly.
Edit: IIRC, the extent of the Reds management involvement with Davis after the series was over was buying his plane ticket home.
Actually, if memory serves -- I think they initially didn't even want to do that... or maybe didn't even do that.
I remember watching that on TV. Stewart's expression after the home run was one of sheer disbelief. It was as if all of the air had gone out of the Athletics' balloon. Right after the home run, I called my Mum on the phone and told her "It's over". I knew, absolutely knew, that the Reds would win it...
* I guess that's not true. But I was 8 at the time and I lived in Cincy, so I'm not going to let reality get in the way.
I frequently imagine an alternate universe where Eric Davis and Pete Reiser are remembered in the pantheon with DiMaggio, Mantle and Mays.
Davis wasn't on the same high school team as Brown and Strawberry. He lived pretty close by, and they were on some summer and park league teams together.
I just finished (last night) this book about the 1979 Crenshaw team Strawberry and Brown were on. I highly recommend it. Several other players on the team were also drafted, but Strawberry and Brown were the only ones who made it to MLB.
This is actually plausible. Many WW II veterans brought back souvenirs, including a ton of Nazi paraphernalia, and armbands in particular were common and easy to transport.
More importantly, Eric Davis was awesome as hell. It just wasn't fair how easy he made the game look.
It's absolutely plausible - but I seem to recall that she had more than just an armband... Of course, collecting Nazi paraphernalia doesn't necessarily make one a Nazi sympathizer, either -- but having casually known a couple such collectors and having also heard them espouse some general life views, particularly about certain classes or people and the proper ordering of society -- let's just say it would be probable cause from my experience.
Is it a horcrux?
Hmmm... Buy it, scrape it for hair and skin cells, extract DNA, clone Hitler.
Sounds like a perfect little project for a budding mad scientist.
Was there any provenance to verify the story behind it? Call me cynical, but no way would I take that story at face value.
I'd say the people likely to have Nazi paraphernalia are either WWII vets, the descendants of WWII vets who were extremely close to their ancestors, or Nazi sympathizers. The more time passes, the more likely it is that someone falls into that last category.
Oh God yes. 1988 came back right away. I was 14 and a huge A's fan and McGwire/Rickey Henderson were my favorite players and I was always kind of a pubescent snot so my whole family rooted for the Reds just to spite me. And we all knew, even my sister and brother who were all but clueless about baseball, that the Reds had broken something in the A's when Davis hit that shot. The rest was a bitter march to death with my family high-5ing and pointing at me after they did it.
The more time passes, the more likely is that the objects are owned by collectors. And why a collector have a yen for a particular kind of object is seldom explained by ideology.
I am no historian, only what I remember from history classes in HS and college, but isn't that pretty accurate? When WWI ended, Germany got hosed. Hitler came along and really helped re-build the country and instilled a sense of national pride. But then he kept going. Or maybe my history teachers were just Nazi sympathizers.
I suppose... I guess I'm colored by a very, very limited set of anecdotes... One case was a HS acquaintance whose dad had a large enough collection that he liked to show off, which was interesting until he started talking about "the Jews" when it became less interesting and more unsettling. The other was a guy I knew in college who I have zero doubt is living in a compound in Idaho, posting on Stormfront.
I'm a bit of a history buff myself and I'm really not squeamish about collecting such things per se - I have a few pieces of Soviet era memorabilia that I collected more by happenstance than active seeking (friend of a friend gave me an Olympic warmup jersey and a Red Army colonels' jacket and cap) and while I don't necessarily have them out on display, neither do I keep them tucked away in a box... nor do I have any real attachment to them.
One of my hobbies is building scale model airplanes. One of the members of my model club builds nothing but 1/48th scale Luftwaffe aircraft from WW2. He's the least likely person to be a Nazi I know, but he's fascinated by the aircraft, and particularly the color schemes and markings, used by the Luftwaffe in that period.
I build all sorts of aircraft. I've got aircraft with swastikas, aircraft with Soviet stars, etc. in my collection. It means nothing politically. I'm just trying to build accurate models of aircraft that are historically important, or of interest to me.
Pay no attention to that lampshade in the corner.
"Too far" is such an amazing understatement! It also allows for interpretations like, "Conquering Poland was reasonable, but Russia? He got a bit greedy." Or, "Hitler was right to hate, prosecute and marginalize Jews, but exterminating them was just a little gauche for my tastes."
I'm no history buff either, and, while I think one can read history this way, I think it misses the fact that Hitler's virulent anti-Semitism and lust to conquer Europe were not only always there, but were an inextricable part of how Hitler rose to power and restored German national pride. In other words, my sense is that it was inevitable from the start that he would have "kept going" and end up "going too far", because that's where he intended to go all along.
The Nazi party was always virulently racist, and they took power through a systematic campaign of murder and terror.
Perhaps not Nazi sympathizers, but if not -- woefully deficient in knowing their history. It's not as if Hitler and the Nazis just got bored reinvigorating German pride, building autobans, and suddenly decided "Hey, let's exterminate the Jews" because they no longer had anything better to do.
Versailles was both a catalyst and a vehicle for Hitler, but Hitler was Hitler and the Nazis were Nazis (especially the post '34 Nazis... You might be able to make a case that there were Nazi ideologists less interested in genocidal fate and purity prior to that, but you really can't after that).
Oh sure -- I put together an enormous model of the Bismark in HS -- I had a ton of model battleships to begin with, but the Bismark was easily the largest and most intricate.
Frank Robinson, Curt Flood and Vada Pinson at McClymonds High School in Oakland.
I don't think many people would be disturbed by this. If you grew up in the Cold War, there is something weirdly nostalgic about the Soviets. They were such a part of our consciousness.
Yes
No it is not accurate, Hitler and his "gang" were thugs from day 1, before they got in power, the day he was in office and right up to the bitter end.
Even before he gained office the SA (Brownshirts) were formed as his "bodyguard" but really the main purpose of the SA was intimidation - they physically attacked political rivals- operated a mafia-style protection racket to make money- engaged in large scale street brawls with communists and labor unionists- and in their downtime, for fun, would vandalize Jewish homes and other property.
Of course, once he was made chancellor (with 36% of the vote mind you)- but before he could quite consolidate his power base - the S.A. was seen as a political liability - it made the military and leading industrialists nervous that the new chancellor commended his own para-military/militia of street thugs- so in his first year in office he- well he simply had the leaders of the SA murdered (The Night of the Long Knives)
Hell even before the Night of the Long Knives, he had the German Parliament building burned down as a pre-text for suppressing other political parties and opening up concentration camps... then he began passing laws restricting Jews and confiscating their property, and "euthanizing" undesirables (people with disabilities)
At best you can say is that in his early years Hitler didn't bother his neighbors.
Prior to WWI Germany was the most industrially advanced nation in Europe
Immediately prior to Hitler, Germany was the most industrially advanced nation in Europe (the fabled Weimer hyperinflation had ended years before Hitler took over) - what hobbled Germany and Germany's standard of living immediately before Hitler's rise to power? Reparations payments and the Great Depression- to be blunt Hitler solved both problems in essentially one stroke- he stopped paying reparations and used the money to re-arm- stimulating the economy.
"Good"
There is no definition of that word that applies to him or his political party at any point in time
I see I was a bit late/ too long winded in responding to #32. But I digress.
I have assembled about 20 or so Luftwaffe aircraft models, most 1/48, a few 1/72 and one 1/32.
I have also assembled about 10-12 or so WWII Japanese planes
about 5-6 WWII Russian planes
about 10-12 WWI planes
about 20-25 American WWII planes
about 30 post-WWII combat aircraft (mostly 1/72)
(yes there have been times in my life where I had waaay too much time on my hands
the idea of just collecting WWII Luftwaffe aircraft, well that seems a bit odd (I mean I recognize that collecting these things at all is seen by many as odd)-
My largest is the Oregon- pre-Dreadnaught- my Bismark is just a waterline model as is my Hood.
My Arizona is quite intricate...
Yeah - just to be clear in 39 - I'm no Strasserist, I was just saying that within the Nazi party prior to the Bamberg Conference and enunciation of the führerprinzip and then especially, Night of the Long Knives, there were Nazi ideologues who were less interested in genocide and more interested in a sort of thuggish socialism that held capitalism -- AND communism -- with a great, great deal of distrust and distaste. Let's say Hitler dies in the Beer Hall Putsch -- does the Nazi party go on to be led by a Gregor Strasser or Ernst Rohm? And do things work out any differently? I don't foresee good things for Germany, Europe and countless millions regardless, but just as an example -- I'm not sure we get a Holocaust without Hitler. Antisemitism was a staple of the Nazis to be sure, but it was also quite sadly a pretty common part of Germany (and really, Europe) at that time and before.
One other guy in the club builds 1/72nd scale F-4 Phantoms. He's done 95 different ones so far...
I had both an Arizona and a Hood as well... My only pre-Dreadnaught was the Maine.
Though it was smallish - I would say my favorite was an Italian ship, the Vittorio Veneto. That was a beautiful battleship.
190 OPS+ from a legit gold glover in center is just about as good as it gets, so I don't think you even needed the asterisk.
Looking at my display case, which is right by me, I have in the case:
WW2 Era:
14 British
7 German
5 American
3 Japanese
2 Soviet
2 Italian
2 Australian
1 French
1 Finnish
1 Lithuanian
1 Yugoslavian
1 Spanish
1 New Zealand
plus
2 British WW1
2 British post-war
1 British 1930s civil
1 US post-war
1 Swedish post war
All are 1/72 except for one 1/144 kit.
My dad was also a philatelist and had many stamps from the aformentioned Weimar inflation era. It was fascinating to look at the overprints that made the stamp cost several million marks
I remember watching that on TV. Stewart's expression after the home run was one of sheer disbelief. It was as if all of the air had gone out of the Athletics' balloon. Right after the home run, I called my Mum on the phone and told her "It's over". I knew, absolutely knew, that the Reds would win it...
It's funny because as a little kid A's fan I thought the exact same thing. It was after Rickey struck out looking to start the game/Series (this never, ever happened in 1990 which was his glory year) and then Stewart gave up the home run. I remember thinking the exact same thing - it was over. And it was.
Cool -- I had some of those! May still ... My old Scott Stamp Album (which my mom got for me with S&H Green Stamps back around 1970) vanished somewhere during a series of relocations & divorces back in, I guess, the '80s, but I've still got a small box of loose stamps from way back.
They may not have all played OF then (I think Flood was an infielder to start, not sure on the others) but few major league outfields in history were as good as that high school OF.
Aw. For every sweet, I guess there's some bitter, huh? At least you guys took one title with that team. Do you have any recollection at the time of whether acquiring Willie Randolph and Willie McGee was seen by anyone as gilding the lily or messing with a good thing, or was it regarded as something that would clinch the title for the A's?
and, as I'm sure everyone knows, Robinson played on the basketball team with Bill Russell
ever read peter viertel's 'white hunter black heart'? there's a great episode where the protagonist and the movie director he works for (patterned after john huston) are chatting with a british expat couple at a hotel bar somewhere in africa, and she says something just like that. the john huston-type character stops dead and tells her he thinks she's the ugliest ##### he's ever met. i'm not sure but i think i read somewhere that most of the book was basically a rehash of actual events (viertel worked for huston on 'the african queen') ...
As a White Sox fan, I remember the A's picking up McGee and Harold Baines as a kick in the throat when the Sox were chasing them. At the time, the White Sox were considering adding Jerry Hairston Sr. and Minnie Minoso to their roster.
Ha! Yeah I guess so. It's all good, we won one, you won one, everybody's happy. 1990 must have been awesome for you guys. re: Randolph and McGee, I think most A's fans just thought it was kind of weird and cool that a team so obviously already stacked could add a few more stars out of the blue. McGee in particular - everyone was watching the NL batting race and hoping he would win. McGee was also insanely fast - I was at a game that year right after he got traded where he scored from first on an errant pickoff throw, which even with the Coliseum's bounty of foul ground was pretty incredible to see. My Mom just said "Wow". Looking at BBRef, it was this game:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK199008310.shtml
I know you are just joking, but MOST AWESOME PSYCHOBIOLOGY/GENETICS EXPERIMENT EVAH.
You'd have to double blind it though. You could clone like 20 or 30 famous people and distribute them to foster homes.
The weird part is that you can pretty much do this now, scientifically if not legally.
As for Schott, I remember her being upset about opening day being cancelled because that ump died...a sight (though seen on tv, not irl) That I'll never forget.
Here's a bit of what DMN wrote on the subject: (He's responding to the nonsense starting with the >)
Ray wasn't involved in the Marge threads of the early to mid-90s, though he did comment on the situation in one of the discussions about Rocker. (Again, his bit is the part that isn't indented)
You'd have to double blind it though. You could clone like 20 or 30 famous people and distribute them to foster homes.
The weird part is that you can pretty much do this now, scientifically if not legally.
Hmmm, you might have a movie on your hands.
(my sarcasm detector might be on the fritz again, though)
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I wish there was an archive of the Prodigy baseball message boards.
This is just disgusting, offensive language. It didn't sit well with you, Eric.
I believe there are quite a few BTF folks younger than me. Time flies!
Oh just lift a scene or two from HBO's Rome. No one will know the difference! As a kid I actually wanted to be a German historian. But then I found out I'd need to actually learn German to read the sources. Who knew?
I went to school with a guy who was working on Roman Bacchanalia cults as some kind of money launderin scheme for organized crime. The fact that you guys translate your sources yourselves blew my mind. I have a hard enough time reading 17th cenutry hand-writing in English.
You could have been a professor at The College on the Hill.
Imagine what he could learn about the Spanish Civil War from our local savants.
It would be a great resource for a study of what early 21st century baseball fans thought was significant about the Spanish Civil War. Which I'm 80% sure will be the focus of a doctoral thesis at some point by the year 2100.
edited to get my centuries right.
Most ancient historians don't get to work with the actual manuscripts themselves. We work mostly from published editions and high-quality photographs.
Either that or a big-budget action movie. "The flamewars have started again, the fate of the world is in the balance as the threads spiral out of control. Only one man can save civilization now. Arnold Schwarzenegger IV is Greg (U)K in BBTF III: The Snark Apocalypse"
The words may not have been identical, but the same sentiment was voiced by the guy on the right in this photograph after Hitler declared war on the U.S.
I guess that's why you have young graduate students around.
That is but one of the reasons why I would have young graduate students around.
"Franco was good at the beginning, but then ..." (oh, never mind)
A willingness to post in BTF political threads doesn't make you a martyr, pal. A masochist, but not a martyr.
A quick check of the Braves NG shows plenty of post-game discussions. And a note that somebody had set up a chat server for Braves fans.
EDIT: Plenty of drive by's -- "your team sux, my team roolz!!!" type of posts. Oddly enough this didn't work any better as a conversation starter then than it does now.
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