[Merkle923]

After nine years as a sub catcher and pinch-hitter for a variety of teams, Charlie Lau became the bullpen coach for the Orioles in '69, and then found his calling a year later in Oakland: Hitting Coach.

During his most famous stint, at Kansas City (1971-78) he mentored among others George Brett, then spent three years with the Yankees, and two with the White Sox. He died all too young during Spring Training of 1984.

I took these at Yankee Stadium in 1980; feel free to use as needed (and in the first shot, I'm pretty sure that's the then-Yankee catcher, the Johnny Oates - himself later a coach and manager - that he's talking to).