OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 05-06-2023, 04:45 PM

MY LIFE IN 2023
EC's Life's Is Filled with Glee in '23

"Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds"

Just finished "The Baseball 100" by Joe Posnanski... it's a wonderful book, well-written and well-researched.

Who was the greatest baseball player? Tough to say... it got down to Willie Mays and the great Negro League star Oscar Charleston... both 5-tool players that could do it all.

I'll just leave it up to Joe Posnanski's book.
Posnanski also wrote a wonderful book about Buck O'Neal, Negro League player and manager, who endeared himself with all of us in Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary.
Buck is a such a great guy... you fall in love with his positive outlook towards life, past, present and future. No matter the subject, Buck always ends the conversation on a high note with lots of smiles and sunshine..

Posnanski spent a year traveling with baseball's ambassador Buck O'Neal while writing "The Soul of Baseball", which was about Buck's life as a Negro League player and manager. Buck knew the Negro League players and he knew MLB players... he saw them play.

I just might take Buck's opinion on who the best baseball player was... He, Joe Posnanski and Willie Mays were taking a tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City... EC and my wife have been there... it was a real treat... just like the Motown Hall of Fame in Detroit... EC highly recommends both of them.

Willie was not in a good mood at the museum and not very talkative... Buck tried to get to get him talking about his baseball life and tell some stories... to get Willie going, Buck brought up the subject of "The Catch" Willie made in the 1954 World Series against Vic Wertz and the Cleveland Indians.

Excerpted from "The Baseball 100":

"Willie", Buck said in an effort to break through, "I saw the catch on television the other day."
The catch. Willie Mays made it on September 29, 1954. It was the first game of the World Series, the Polo Grounds, and he went back on a long fly ball hit by Vic Wertz, a fly ball that would have been a home run in almost every other ballpark. Mays turned his back so that anyone who was behind home plate clearly saw the number 24 on his jersey. He caught the ball over his shoulder and then whirled and threw it back to the infield.
"You saw that, Buck?" Mays said. He smiled a little.
"Only one other guy I ever saw could have made that catch," Buck said.
"Oscar Charleston", May said as he looked around the museum.
"He was you before you," O'Neil said.
O'Neil said that while Mays was the greatest major leaguer he ever saw, Charleston was the greatest ballplayer he ever saw.

'nuff said... that's good enough for EC.

05-06-2023, 04:45 PM	#9517
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	MY LIFE IN 2023 EC's Life's Is Filled with Glee in '23 "Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds" Just finished "The Baseball 100" by Joe Posnanski... it's a wonderful book, well-written and well-researched. Who was the greatest baseball player? Tough to say... it got down to Willie Mays and the great Negro League star Oscar Charleston... both 5-tool players that could do it all. I'll just leave it up to Joe Posnanski's book. Posnanski also wrote a wonderful book about Buck O'Neal, Negro League player and manager, who endeared himself with all of us in Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary. Buck is a such a great guy... you fall in love with his positive outlook towards life, past, present and future. No matter the subject, Buck always ends the conversation on a high note with lots of smiles and sunshine.. Posnanski spent a year traveling with baseball's ambassador Buck O'Neal while writing "The Soul of Baseball", which was about Buck's life as a Negro League player and manager. Buck knew the Negro League players and he knew MLB players... he saw them play. I just might take Buck's opinion on who the best baseball player was... He, Joe Posnanski and Willie Mays were taking a tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City... EC and my wife have been there... it was a real treat... just like the Motown Hall of Fame in Detroit... EC highly recommends both of them. Willie was not in a good mood at the museum and not very talkative... Buck tried to get to get him talking about his baseball life and tell some stories... to get Willie going, Buck brought up the subject of "The Catch" Willie made in the 1954 World Series against Vic Wertz and the Cleveland Indians. Excerpted from "The Baseball 100": "Willie", Buck said in an effort to break through, "I saw the catch on television the other day." The catch. Willie Mays made it on September 29, 1954. It was the first game of the World Series, the Polo Grounds, and he went back on a long fly ball hit by Vic Wertz, a fly ball that would have been a home run in almost every other ballpark. Mays turned his back so that anyone who was behind home plate clearly saw the number 24 on his jersey. He caught the ball over his shoulder and then whirled and threw it back to the infield. "You saw that, Buck?" Mays said. He smiled a little. "Only one other guy I ever saw could have made that catch," Buck said. "Oscar Charleston", May said as he looked around the museum. "He was you before you," O'Neil said. O'Neil said that while Mays was the greatest major leaguer he ever saw, Charleston was the greatest ballplayer he ever saw. 'nuff said... that's good enough for EC. Last edited by Eugene Church; 05-09-2023 at 09:52 AM.