Larry Doby, Rocky Colavito, Harvey King discussed on Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

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To get traded or did you try to learn another position so that you could get more playing time or anything like that? No. When I went on, I played a lot for space in Chicago. And so I like vice first base, and so I enjoyed that, but they had I can't remember the first drill pole. I think it was the first mainstream Boston at a time, and then I had a guy named Goodman, I think, was and I had plenty of first basements. So I want to say nicer than if I got chance to play. What's on the outfield? Yeah, and of course you were teammates with many great players over the years and often you had to compete for playing time, not just with Williams, but Larry doby, Rocky Colavito. I mean, we're always bringing in great legendary players who you had to fight off for playing time, I guess. And of course you were in the outfield without Taylor. Well, you don't say lost too, I had a good year and I traded Harvey king for California and that year, California went to write. Tailwind went to center and I went to left. We all hit, I don't know, we had like 90 something I might have got here, but the same was the next year I went on the bench because tail line did not play center field because you had to go against metal. So tail line wants to write, Kyle, they don't want the left, and they traded Frank bowling for the center, and I want to bench, and that was my career to Detroit. I like Chicago. Yeah. And I think you have more nicknames than any player I've ever heard of. I mean, you mentioned that Norman called you ladybug, right? But you also are called pawpaw and old papa and the Latin LARPer and smoky and the people's choice and Sunday slugger and Sunday Charlie and Sunday punch every time I read an article about you, there was a new nickname. Did you have a favorite one? Well, I've just told papa, that's where I live. And I'm in a Hall of Fame and we brought all this stuff from Detroit now here in papa and they gave me a day here and I got a big statue downtown and papa's retaken care of me. We're about 10,000 people here. We're in Van Buren county where the county seat were about, I don't know if you're not worth that. We're about 18 miles west of Kalamazoo on 94. And this time it's been great, but the same is, I've always been listening to phonebooks. Y'all, I've never had no problems with anybody, and I'm just people here in town, which I like that. They just consider me as another taxpayer. And I like that. All my kids must do here the whole thing. The only problem is you have people like us call you up every morning and then probably. But how did you get your nickname smokey? What did that come from? Oh, that was in high school because I used to pitch and I played four years of RC and I could really so hard. And I just feel good. And I had a scholarship go to western too, so I pitched it western mission and then also I hit force on lineup. So I was always a good hitter, but I control real hard. And then I got in when I went into the pros, I went into the picture outfielder and I just drove the manager crazy fishing and so they had an opening left field. They put me out there and I was glad that I got back on the mound. That's the best thing I never had. Because I really enjoyed hitting. And so I was glad to get rid of that. And I know that this opening day was your 95th birthday at comerica. It was Charlie Maxwell day and you got to be celebrated there. What was that day like for you and what do you think of this current Tiger's team? I didn't know what that I didn't follow the strike and I didn't know what was going on in the strike and there's a guy that I know what Detroit and he called me up and he says, you know, what you're doing on your birthday. I said, I don't know, I didn't think about it. You also, he says, well, we're having Oakland day because of the strength and the airport up against the White Sox. And he said, well, what makes it good is you're the oldest Tiger and I was flight stock. He said, what do you want to come down on your birthday? And so some of my kids still go to school here and they went to Florida, so my youngest daughter is on left so we come and I took my son my grandkids and I thought, man, that was great and I got a video and stuff like that and I said, well, now I know we're a celebrated by night 5th per se. It was great for mount scoreboard. Actually, Michigan and he tries really good. I enjoy it. Do you still watch a lot of baseball and what do you think of the tigers team today? Well, right now, I'd say I have to tell you this, I put out mute because I don't like to hear those guys talk ever saying that I see. And also, I don't need anybody to tell me what I see. And so I said, and so I hope that's not hurting your profession, but these guys, you know, they have people who are guys in their boots, all I want to do is talk. Well, I don't think that. I just want to watch the game. And then to say, well, I've said there was Pittsburgh won the first game. You only won the first game three, two, ten, three years. That's how it was. And while they're in the fortunately now, it's two and two. Beautiful ballpark. Yeah, I feel the same way. I don't always listen to the commentary either. Well, we're with a website called fan graphs, and this is a show we do for that site. But I feel much the same about some of the commentary we're not that kind of a broadcasters or media members. But the game that you went to, I guess it was a good one, right? The tigers won in a walk off. Yeah, they come out in the back of the night, and you know, once again. Yeah, it was a sellout. It was a beautiful day. It was like on a 49° the sun was shining. And I just started from scratch, but it was cold for people to send out there, but end up being built today sunshine and which is good to cut all the people there. And they come back and won the game. Silver game..

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