Baseball Dads — Baseball Bench Coach

My father was a Baseball Dad. He taught me how to play catch and to keep score at the Reds games. On summer nights we listened to the Big Red Machine together on our front porch. Early on he signed me up to play Knothole baseball (Cincinnati’s version of Little League). My games were mostly on Saturdays and way too often, Dad had to work and miss my game. I remember his Volkswagen pulling up in the driveway late Saturday and my excitement in running up to share the outcome.

Dad served as my catcher during the week between my pitching in the Saturday games. Our backyard barely fit 60 feet, 6 inches, so he had to lean back against the fence for me to throw at the proper distance when I got older. Until one day, he quit asking me if I needed him to catch. He told me years later that a sinker he missed had severely bruised his shin but he was too embarrassed to tell me. I’m sure that kind of backyard story is one to which many fathers and sons can relate. Baseball is about passing the game along to the next generation, even at the highest level, Major League Baseball.

Let’s start with the Boone’s. Bob Boone was a 4-time All Star catcher, primarily with the Phillies, and went onto manage the Royals and Reds. When Bob Boone’s son, Bret, a 3-time All Star, made it to the big leagues in 1992, it was the first time that three generations of a family had done so. You see, Bob’s father Ray had also been in the MLB. The managing piece of the Boone family tree is also generational. Aaron, Bret’s brother, perhaps most famous for his game-winning home run in the 2003 ALCS, is now the Yankees’ skipper, a quite successful one at that.

The Bell’s are another family of Baseball Dads. Gus Bell played 15 MLB seasons with the Reds and was a 4-time All Star outfielder. His grandson, David, had a 12-year career as an infielder. When David hit for the cycle in 2004, it was the first time that a grandfather and grandson had both hit for one. Gus had accomplished the feat in 1951. David of course is now the Reds’ field general in his first season. Did the Bell’s skip a generation? Not in any respect. David’s father, Buddy, was an MLB third baseman for 18 seasons, primarily with the Indians and Reds. Buddy also was a skipper, managing the Tigers, Rockies, and Royals, each for three seasons.

A family tree of five tool outfielders reigned out West in San Francisco, the Bonds family! Bobby Bonds was an outfielder for the Giants between 1968 and 1981, and combined power hitting with speed. He was just the second player in MLB history to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases. The greatest Giant in history, Willie Mays, was the first one. Of course Bobby’s son Barry more than matched his father’s accomplishments in 22 MLB seasons. Barry Bonds was the first player in baseball with 500 HRs and 500 SBs, and holds the career record (762) and single season record (73) for HRs. Barry was the only Bonds to go into coaching, failing in his one season as hitting instructor with the Marlins.

Baseball Dad royalty for me resides in the Griffey family. Ken Griffey Sr. played 19 seasons in MLB, mostly as the right fielder for the Reds. Sr. was a sensational fielder, a speedster, and #2 set-up hitter. On August 31, 1990, when he was with Seattle, his son, Ken Griffey Jr., started beside him in the Mariners outfield, the first time a father and son played in the same game. In 1999 I attended a Reds fantasy camp in Sarasota, Florida, and when I expressed excitement over meeting Ken Sr., he jokingly replied, “Don’t get too crazy. I’m not Jr.”

Ken Griffey Jr. was indeed one of a kind. His sweet swing, remarkable outfield catches, blazing speed, and huge smile, captured the baseball world during his 22 MLB seasons. I met Jr. before he was “The Kid”, umpiring a game he played in when he was just nine years old. His swing was even sweet then! Among his accomplishments, he was a 13-time All Star, 10 Gold Gloves, and 630 lifetime home runs. Two of my daughters and I were in attendance on Father’s Day in 2004 in St. Louis, when Jr. hit his 500th career home run with his dad, Ken Sr., watching the feat alongside the third base dugout. To top off a great day, my daughter that night pitched a winning softball game, and signed the game ball to me, one of my precious keepsakes!

I love being a Baseball Dad too. I was the manager or bench coach(!) for each of my three daughters’ softball teams. Recently, my niece sent me a text of a journal of the 2002 Ellisville Reds (who named that team?!) which she and my daughter played on. She called it a special keepsake and my first “blog”. It was indeed one of my first. I also kept journals of the three baseball trips each of my three daughters and I shared years ago. And just in the past few weeks, a new generation of baseball fans was added. I took my grandson to his first Cubs game.

Baseball provides all sorts of keepsakes, special memories, and yes, maybe even life lessons. I recall going with my Dad to a game at Crosley Field in the 1960s when the Cubs led the Reds 6-2 in the eighth inning. My Dad had to go to work the next day, and told me it was time to leave. Can’t we stay? No. As we exited the gates, the crowd roared. Can’t we go back? No. It turns out that Vada Pinson had hit a triple to get the Reds within two at 6-4, and we listened to the car radio as the Reds won in the bottom of the ninth, 7-6. I don’t give up on things much anymore, and certainly never leave MLB games early!

Dad, I miss you, a lot. With the love and joy of baseball, I take comfort that you are with me every single day! Happy Father’s Day to all of the Baseball Dads!

Until next Monday,

Your Baseball Bench Coach