Blunt, resolute, and feisty, with large glasses, a slight paunch, and receding white hair, Feller is a man with secure opinions. Fresh from his most recent Cooperstown visit, he says that Pete Rose is a “liar” and “problem” who irreparably disgraced baseball by betting on it and that Rose should remain barred from the Cooperstown shrine (there is talk of a possible reconciliation).
“Pete Rose is not in and he shouldn’t be. Betting on baseball is worse than anything else that I can think of, much worse than taking performance-enhancing drugs. He is a liar and a troublemaker for the game. The commissioner should let him fall by the wayside and just go away.”
He has been vociferous in his condemnation of steroid users in baseball. On the same day as our interview, Manny Ramirez was outed as the latest representative of the 500-homers club to allegedly test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, joining Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa. Ramirez also breached baseball’s drug policy this year, serving a 50-game suspension. Rafael Palmeiro failed a 2005 test. Barry Bonds’ urine sample was seized in a 2004 raid and shown to be positive.
“Barry Bonds should also be banned for life,” says Feller. “I´m not surprised by Ramirez´s flunking of the test, none of the news surprises me. They have been lying about it for years and years. This generation wants instant gratifications. Before their sixty they will all be dead, after years of pumping themselves full of things that are eating up their organs. It is all part of our society´s demand and need for conspicuous consumption. It´s a mess.”
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1. phredbirdYES
and i'm just going to ignore his other weird pronouncements.
did i miss something?
Gone in 60 seconds!
Ouch.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/sports/baseball/04bonds.html
and this
are actually accurate descriptions of our society. Of course there are about 100 areas where it's more of a concern than PEDs.
Certainly he is entitled to his opinions and I respect that, but some of the things he says make me cringe.
He's 90. He's allowed to be the cranky old man.
Like phredbird, I've decided to simply ignore the rants I disagree with, embrace his deep-seated hatred for Pete and anything else I might agree with and be terribly thankful he's still around to share it with us. May he hit 100.
At least he left out "bare-foot."
I'm a big Feller fan. He may have some grumpy old man in him, but at least he keeps to his convictions.
I'm always impressed with his memory.
He mentioned a number of specific things in his Costas interview and even though he got a few wrong (DiMaggio spanked him a little bit after the war,) he was pretty accurate.
This writer on the other hand could use some help.
"their" should be "they're"
The average Hall of Famer will live to be 97 years old. But only because Bob Feller is going to be 400.
Harold Connelly is 78.
Ruth Fuchs is 64.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is 62.
That only took a few minutes of google/wiki.
For you it took a few minutes, but Feller had to wait eighty years for Google to come along.
If agents are prostitutes, who are the johns and pimps in this analogy?
Please----don't ever change.
It's worth noting that a lot of the HgH promoters say that massive use of that hormone will prolong your youth and your life. I doubt that is proven one way or the other, yet. But you run into a problem of proof when most HgH users are also steroiders, too.
Babe Ruth: dead at 53.
Roger Maris: dead at 51.
man, i must have been asleep. really. i don't remember much noise about it. but then ... i am getting old and forgetful too.
Roger Maris: dead at 51.
You could have predicted Ruth's premature death (lifestyle). Not Maris'.
I know what Feller's point it. Yours is?
Yes, how horrible it is for a person to have someone represent them in what will probably be the biggest choices in their life and their family's life.
I also wonder how Feller got around to all the trade shows after he retired. I'd be mighty impressed if Feller handled all the bookings personally.
Whereas we're all hoping that you do change.
Well, when Feller was a player he managed to book entire barnstorming tours without any help from an agent, and probably took in more outside income than any player of his time. He was pure business all the way.
--------------------------
I'd say the same thing to Feller that I say to David, Ray and Chris:
Please----don't ever change.
Whereas we're all hoping that you do change.
Aw, shucks, Ray, you're just saying that. You know that your sputtering ability would fly out the window without a constant foil to keep you going. You'd be like the Undertaker if Mankind walked out on his contract.
Jimmy Foxx dead at 59
Mel Ott dead at 49
Lou Gehrig dead at 37
Hack wilson dead at 48
Chuck Klein dead at 53
It seems like prolific home run hitters of of the 20s and early 30s didn't live long.
It seems like people in general from the 20's and early 30's didn't live long.
Brain tumor and stroke
Jimmy Foxx dead at 59
Choked on a bone
Mel Ott dead at 49
Auto accident
Lou Gehrig dead at 37
ALS
Hack wilson dead at 48
Complications of alcoholism
Chuck Klein dead at 53
Undisclosed causes
All in all, a combination of bad genes, bad luck, and bad habits
Bobby Doerr: 91
Rob. Roberts: 83
Bob Gibson: 74
The secret is obvious.
That's a cute trick.
Interview questions could always be better, of course... Costas focused on the '54 Series before eventually Feller brought up his '48 title... I would've loved to have heard a little more about the incredible three-way race in the AL that year... another heartbreak for my father, who gave up hope the next year after the '49 crusher.
Also, a little too much of a laundry list of players from Costas-- "how was it like pitching against _________?"... Feller should've kept answering "smoke 'em inside"...
Overall, a great hour's worth of TV. The guy is a living legend. Imagine-- 371 IP in one year. Sheesh! And I appreciated his take on his long life, surviving WW2, etc-- "luck".
Jesus, you aren't kidding, Mark. This is the most amazing video link I've ever seen posted on BTF, and should be given a thread of its own. It's worth a hundred of the usual and predictable Feller pinata posts.
Whatever Feller may be like today, he was 20 years ahead of his time in 1957, and I guarantee that anyone who's never been exposed to this side of Feller is going to see him in a completely new light. He takes every pointed question that Mike Wallace throws at him and throws it right back at him. If there's any difference at all between what Feller was saying in this 1957 interview and what Curt Flood was saying in 1971, I sure as hell can't see it. The first 15 minutes is taken up entirely on his opposition to the reserve clause, and I can only imagine that Marvin Miller might have been taking notes.
And as a bonus, you get to see Mike Wallace shamelessly shilling Philip Morris cigarettes. But what the hell, Wallace is six months older than Feller and still manages to make occasional 60 Minutes appearances.
EDIT: I just submitted this video separately, and should have credited Mark for digging it up.
Bob Dernier Cri 50
Jack LaLanne is 95. Joe Rollino, of course, lived to be 104 when he was hit by a van. Of course, neither of them may ever have touched a steroid, who knows. But bodybuilders don't seem to be excessively mortal.
Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been 62 now had he not died early from steroid use.
Maris smoked 2 packs a day.
But died of a disease that is not associated with tobacco use.
Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been 62 now had he not died early from steroid use.
Don't put too much ice in my coke, OK?
Ok, just a couple of cubes, then.
Actually, y'know, he hit .151 ...
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