6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Hey, Jim -- It's the Kid On Line 1!

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Friday, May 21, 2004

Hey, Jim -- It's the Kid On Line 1!

The Angels being stuck in a slump -- well, were stuck in a slump until the eighth of tonight's game -- got me remembering a story my friend Debi passed on just before game seven of the World Series two years ago. How many times have you read the lineup and gone positively nuts because Scioscia insists on putting a slumping Eck at the top of the order? Or ditto for Tracy with his man-love obsession installing Green in the cleanup spot when he's hitting .236? Most of us, of course, are not brave enough -- or liable, in any event -- to contact the front office and deliver our pearls of wisdom. (God knows they probably don't read our blogs, anyway.) And even if you did, would they listen? Well...

When I grew up, we had season tickets to [Angel Stadium] -- incredible seats...we gave them up during the Rams debacle, but that's another story...
So one year, I can't remember which, I might have been 10-11, the Angels actually could possibly make it to the play offs...I went to 2 games in a row, and 3rd baseman, Carney Lansford made something like 7-8 errors in two games. I was appalled.
I called then manager Jim Fregosi - not really expecting to get in - not knowing if they were going to randomly ask a caller's age. I get his secretary, she wants my name, number and will have Mr. Fregosi return my call...
<ahem>
<O...M...G...>
OK - and I give it to her (at this point, I'm figuring the SWAT team was going to descend on my house with paratroopers for doing this. Hey - I was a Kid!)
So Jim calls me back. I ask about Lansford, and Jim (we're now on a first name basis) says that Carney has been having a lot of personal problems. I explain to him that I completely understand that (after all, I was almost 11 ;) but I went on to explain that we really had a shot at the playoffs this year and Carney should keep his personal problems off the field or not be on it.
Jim said he didn't have any other 3rd baseman.
He was sooooo wrong...
I told him he could take Bobby Grich off of short stop - throw him on third, bring Dan Ford in from left field to cover short, and on and on I went - completely rearranging his out and in field.
Jim tells me that he'd "think about it" and thanks me for my call.
The next night, the game is televised, the Angels are in New York, there's been a line up change - Carney Lansford is out of the game, Bobby Grich is playing 3rd base, Dan Ford is covering short stop.....and on it went. Fregosi used my entire line up.
They beat the Yankees that night.
Jim Fregosi wasn't signed to manage the team the next year. I'm sure the fact that he was taking advice from some random 10 year old kid probably had nothing to do with that. ;)

Sadly, Debi never again managed a major league team, but at times I think she'd do better than some guys I've seen in the dugout.

Postscript: Baseball Almanac shows Fregosi's last year was a half season before being fired in 1981, when he managed the team to a just under .500 record of 22-26. Maybe she was thinking of '79?

// posted by Rob @ 10:01 PM link // 0 comments