Tygiel, Mays, and The O-Tigers

One of baseball's best authors lost a lengthy battle with cancer on Tuesday. Jules Tygiel, who wrote the seminal book, Baseball's Great Experiment, died at the age of 59. For those who consider themselves historians of the game, Tygiel's book is a must-read. Written in an in-depth academic style, it meticulously tracks the integration of major league baseball, highlighted by the Brooklyn Dodgers' "experiment" of bringing Jackie Robinson to the big leagues. He also wrote the critically acclaimed Pastime, a compilation of baseball essays.  I had the privilege of meeting Jules on two occasions. In 1995, he served as the keynote speaker for the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and culture. During his visit, he provided the Hall of Fame with some valuable feedback on the museum's new exhibit about the African-American baseball experience. A few years later, I ran into Jules at the SABR Convention in Boston, where I thanked him for writing a review about my first book, A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's. It wasn't a rave review; in fact, he had several criticisms of the book, primarily concerning my lack of familiarity with Oakland and the Bay Area. But he also had some good things to say. Heck, I was just thrilled that someone as knowledgeable and acclaimed as Tygiel took the time to review it in the first place. That was a reward in and of itself. And it's an honor for any author who can say that he shares the same profession with someone like Jules Tygiel...

Baseball fans in the Cooperstown received some lukewarm news this week with the announcement that the nearby Oneonta Tigers, who have just been sold, will remain in Oneonta for at least two and a half more seasons. But there is no guarantee that new owner Miles Prentice will keep the franchise in central New York beyond 2010. I know very little about Prentice (other than the fact that he owns other minor league teams, including the Huntsville Stars), but the decision by Sam Nader to sell the franchise is tinged with sadness. Nader has kept the franchise in Oneonta since the late 1960s, in spite of mediocre attendance and an aging ballpark. In running the team like a family business, Nader has maintained a strong connection to the region encompassing Otsego County. Hopefully, Prentice will be able to foster the same kind of relationship. Otherwise, the area will be losing yet another baseball franchise, only months after learning that the Hall of Fame Game had come to an abrupt end...  

Thanks to faithful reader "dontcallmemikey," we're now displaying a new card on the homepage. It's a 1966 Willie Mays, No. 1 in that season's Topps set. Somehow, after all these years, Mays remains underrated. When Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams were still alive, they were generally acclaimed as the "greatest living ballplayers." Mays was rarely afforded that honor. Even now, with "Joe D" and the "Splendid Splinter" gone and Barry Bonds' reputation tainted by steroids, Mays is not always the first answer raised in response to that cumbersome question. I that know that a strong argument can be made for Bonds or Stan Musial, but I'll take Mays and his legitimate five-tool capabilities. "Say Hey" regularly slugged .580 or better despite playing most of his career during the depressed offensive years of the 1960s, drew a ton of walks, stole bushels of bases, played a wonderful center field (second only to Paul Blair among players I've seen), and may have been the greatest baserunner of the past 60 years.  He literally had no weakness in his game, not one. Yes, I'll take Willie Mays.