Stargell stands tall in biography

Posted May 20, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 20, 2013 at 09:25 PM

Willie Stargell’s height is listed as 6-foot-2 on baseball-reference.com. Pitchers who faced the Pittsburgh Pirates’ slugger, who had a menacing, pinwheel bat action as he awaited their delivery, would disagree. Stargell always appeared taller

Certainly, many of his 475 career home runs were towering, tape-measure jobs. “He doesn’t just hit pitchers,” fellow Hall of Famer Don Sutton once said of Stargell, “he takes away their dignity.”

Stargell had a dignity and demeanor that made him a beloved figure in Pittsburgh, earning him the nickname “Pops” near the end of his 21-season major-league career. An overly sentimental approach in writing about Stargell’s life would be the easy way out. Author Richard “Pete” Peterson manages to avoid that trap, writing a warm, yet reflective biography, “Pops: The Willie Stargell Story” (Triumph Books, hardback, $24.95, 242 pages).

Peterson is Pittsburgh-born and has written “50 Great Moments in Pittsburgh Sports,” “Growing Up With Clemente,” and “The Pirates Reader.” He is a professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University and is the former chair of the English department at SIU-Carbondale. He also can be heard on WSIU radio with commentaries on the station’s Reading Baseball series, now in its 10th year.

While playing up the Stargell fans remember — “a very warm, very loving, very forgiving individual” — Peterson also recounts his rocky upbringing and the racial hurdles he faced in the minor leagues. For example, Stargell’s father left his wife shortly after she became pregnant with Willie. He did not meet his father until he was playing minor-league ball in the Pirates’ farm system.

As a 6-year-old, Stargell’s mother left him in the care of her older sister Lucy, who took him to Orlando. “What began as a one-year stay became a six-year sentence of hard labor, whippings, and malnourishment,” Peterson writes.

The Pirates were one of the majors’ most culturally diverse teams during the 1960s, with Stargell and Roberto Clemente of Puerto Rico the two biggest names. The Pirates also fielded the first all-black lineup in major-league history on Sept. 1, 1971. Still, during spring training in the 1960s in Fort Myers, the Pirates were subjected to the same Jim Crow mentality that Jackie Robinson had experienced more than a decade earlier when he broke the color line.

While Clemente was proud and intense, Stargell was able to defuse racism with his laid-back demeanor. Peterson compares his methods to those of Willie Mays, who also worked diligently toward achieving racial equality in baseball by being low-key.

There were many great moments in Stargell’s career, like tape-measure homers at Dodger Stadium, Veterans Stadium and Forbes Field. Peterson touches on all of those moments and gives concise season-by-season summaries during Stargell’s career. Both World Series victories (1971 and 1979) are recounted in fine detail. Peterson also addresses Stargell’s struggles with his weight (particularly when he reported to spring training) and diabetes, and also his penchant to strike out (1,936 during his career).

Peterson also traces the evolution of 1979’s “We Are Family” World Series champions and the coveted “Stargell Stars.”

While Stargell is the focus, Peterson also pays attention to his supporting cast, including managers Danny Murtaugh and Chuck Tanner, pitchers Bob Veale and Dock Ellis, legendary broadcaster Bob Prince, and teammates like Bill Mazeroski and Dave Parker.

Peterson was a natural to write this book, and he jumped at the chance when he was contacted by Triumph Books. “It was one of those offers that you simply can’t refuse, especially if you’re from Pittsburgh,” he said in a radio interview on WSIU.

Eager for the opportunity, Peterson doesn’t disappoint. He paints Stargell the way he should be remembered — as a gentle giant whose death in 2001 was a sad one for baseball fans. Stargell stood tall in life, and Peterson brings him back to life in a powerful way.

Profar is second Bowman redemption card

Posted May 20, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 20, 2013 at 05:47 PM

Topps announced its second redemption for its 2013 Bowman baseball product, and card No. 2 will be Texas Rangers rookie shortstop Jurickson Profar.

The 6-foot, 165-pounder from Willemstad, Curacao, turned 20 in February and was called up by the Rangers on Sunday. He appeared in nine games with Texas in 2012, going 3-for-17 but hitting a homer and driving in two runs. His other two hits were doubles.

Profar’s card, the second of five redemptions for the 2013 Bowman set, will be a 65th anniversary Bowman Blue Sapphire refractor card that will have an on-card autograph and a new image.

Redemption No. 1 was an autograph rookie card of Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Rays @ Jays: Victoria Day matinee

Posted May 20, 2013 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 20, 2013 at 11:11 AM

ROGER MOONEY
TORONTO Jake Odorizzi makes his Rays debut this afternoon as the Rays and Blue Jays meet on Victoria Day.

Here is the Rays lineup:

Jennings CF
Joyce RF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Scott DH
Fuld LF
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
—
Odorizzi RHP

Green seeking funds for trip

Posted May 19, 2013 by Scott Purks

Updated May 19, 2013 at 03:54 PM

Hillsborough superstar triple jumper Jeremiah Green has an invitation to defend his national title at the New Balance Outdoor National Meet in North Carolina June 14-16, but at the moment he doesn’t have the funds to get there.

If you’d like to help fund the trip for Green, who leads the nation this year with a triple jump of 52 feet, 1.75 inches, please contact Hillsborough High track coach Joe Sipp at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

“We thought we were going to have some funding but it fell through,” Sipp said. “If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated.”

Area Athletes Shine at Golden South Classic

Posted May 19, 2013 by Scott Purks

Updated May 19, 2013 at 03:47 PM

Two Hillsborough County track athletes had particularly big nights at Saturday’s Golden South Classic meet in Orlando: Plant’s Julia Rodriguez won the 3200 in a blazing 10 minutes, 53.23 seconds and Hillsborough’s Jorian Ordway won the 400 in a personal-best 54.19 seconds.

St. Petersburg Gibbs superstar sprinter Trayvon Bromell also shined brightly, setting a meet record in the 100 meters at 10.27 seconds, breaking the mark of 10.29 seconds set by Palmetto’s Curtis Johnson in 1991. Bromell also teamed with three sprinters from Lakewood—Tim Holmes and Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin—to set a national-best tine for this year in the 4X100 relay at 40.29 seconds.