Red a Baseball Life

437 Pages·1998·2.78 MB·English

by  Red Schoendienst

title: Red : A Baseball Life
author: Schoendienst, Red.; Rains, Rob.
publisher: Sports Publishing, Inc.
isbn10 | asin: 1571672001
print isbn13: 9781571672001
ebook isbn13: 9780585046853
language: English
Schoendienst, Red,--1923---Biography. ,
subject
Baseball players--United States--Biography.
publication date: 1998
lcc: GV865.S35A3 1998eb
ddc: 796.357
Schoendienst, Red,--1923---Biography. ,
subject:
Baseball players--United States--Biography.
Page i
Red
A Baseball Life
by Red Schoendienst
with Rob Rains
SPORTS PUBLISHING
Champaign, IL 61820
Page ii
© 1998 Red Schoendienst
All rights reserved.
Direction of Production: Susan M. McKinney
Dustjacket and photo insert design: Michelle R. Dressen
Photos: Dave Stradal
ISBN: 1-57167-200-1
SPORTS PUBLISHING
804 N. Neil
Champaign, IL 61820
Printed in the United States.
Page iii
This book is dedicated to my family
all of whom have played such a special role in my lifeMom
and Pop, my brothers and sister,
my wife Mary, Mary's Mother and Dad, my kids and my grandkids.
My life has been spent in baseball, but it was a great family that
made everything possible.
Page v
Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Foreword by Stan Musial vii
1 Dreams Do Come True 1
2 Growing Up 5
3 In the Minors 23
4 A Major Leaguer 37
5 Baseball, and A Family Too 63
6 A Giant, A Brave, and Another World Series 85
7 Fighting a Disease 103
8 Ending One Career, Starting Another 119
9 The Manager 133
10 Hello Mr. Finley 161
11 Whiteyball 175
12 The Hall of Fame 191
13 Coaching Beats Working 201
14 A Great Ride 209
Page vi
Acknowledgments
I've got a lot to be grateful about in my life, and my thanks go out to
my family and everybody who has helped me along the way.
There were people when I was growing up in Germantown who were
there for me. Once I got into baseball, there were my teammates and
all the managers and coaches I played for. There were also the fans,
and they will never know how important they are for every player, no
matter the sport.
It's always good when people see you in a restaurant or someplace and
come up and tell you they enjoyed your playing, and tell you it's good
to see you and wish you luck in the future.
Several people were helpful in writing this book, and I appreciate their
assistance and kind words. My thanks to Peter Bannon and Mike
Pearson at Sports Publishing for making this book a reality.
Page vii
Foreword
by Stan Musial
The first time I heard the name Red Schoendienst was in 1945, when I
was in the service. I first heard that this kid, Schoendienst, was
playing left field for the Cardinals and doing a good job. I guess it
caught my attention because that had been my position the previous
year.
The next time I heard anything about him, he was playing third base
and doing a great job. Then I got word he was playing well at
shortstop. I thought, "This kid must be a heck of a player."
Red and I became teammates the following year, and I found out first-
hand just out great a player he was.
We soon became more than teammatesbeing assigned to room
together on the road, an arrangement we continued for 10 years, until
June 15, 1956, the day Red was traded to the New York Giants.
The rest of us got the word that Red had been traded just as we were
boarding a train out of St. Louis for an eastern trip. It was the saddest
day of my career. I slammed the door to my train berth shut and didn't
open it for a long time.
Red became my opponent for four years, but it didn't spoil our
friendship. He went from the Giants to Milwaukee in 1957, and his
acquisition made that club great. Most people who were there,
including Hank Aaron, don't think the Braves would have won if they
had not traded for Red. They needed a second baseman, and they
needed a leader. He wasn't ever a rah-rah kind of guy, but he was a
leader. He led by example, and he had that innate ability to make
those good players around him even better.
Red and I are as close as brothers, and we were reunited when Red
rejoined the Cardinals in 1961. We haven't been very far away from
each other ever since.
One of Red's traits that I have admired the most over all these years is
that he always is on an even keel. He never gets too high or too low.
He didn't do it as a player, nor as a manager.
He never complained about anything. He never said anything about
his bad eye, or lamented the fact it gave him so much trouble. Even
when he was sick, he never told anybody. During all the time he spent
in the hospital, recovering from tuberculosis, he never expressed
Page viii
anger or bitterness. I went to see him, and he was suffering. His
family wasn't allowed inside the hospital, and he had to wave at his
kids through the window to the sidewalk below. He never got upset
about it, but concentrated instead on what he needed to do to get well.
He then made a great comeback, when most people thought his career
was over.
Red would have been a great player no matter what position he
played, but second base was his spot. He covered a lot of ground, and
he could go back on fly balls to center and right field better than most
people I've ever seen. He was a very steady player. He had the greatest
hands I've ever seen and he was as good a fundamental player as you
ever wanted to see. He almost never made a mistake.
He was a very good manager as well. He was a player's manager, and
he again demonstrated the ability to get the most out of his team.
When I was the general manager of the Cardinals in 1967 and he was
the manager, we didn't make many roster moves the entire season and
we won the World Series. The players enjoyed Red and they respected
him.
Red loves baseball, and he has dedicated his live to the game. He has
earned the respect of everybody he has come into contact with over
the 53 years he has worn a major-league uniform. He has earned his
proper place in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Baseball is different today than it was when Red and I played, but it's
amazing in the game how the years run together. Red and I played
with players who played in the 1930s, and we played in the 1940s,
1950s and 1960s. We played against guys who played in the 1970s, so
it's hard to say one era is better than another. I have always believed,
however, that the great players from any era would have been great no
matter when they played, and I put Red in that category.
Red and I had more time to enjoy ourselves when we played than do
today's players. Society is so much faster paced today. We traveled by
train, and we had time to socialize. We had time to go out to dinner
and the theater, and had more leisure time. We got to go a lot of places
and meet a lot of famous people, both in the game of baseball and in
the entertainment world, politics and business.
We always enjoyed going to New York, and we spent many evenings
with Horace Stoneham, the owner of the Giants. We hung out at Toots
Shor's restaurant, and all the famous people came there to see what
other celebrities were there.
We were in New York one time when I got a call from Ty Cobb,
wanting Red and I to go to breakfast with him. Ty noticed me putting