GRANDSTANDING COLUMN: ‘Buy’ the book

It’s not something well-publicized, but I have more than 1,700 books about baseball.

Thanks to regular trips to Saver’s and the FriendShop, here in Rio Rancho, instead of paring down this huge collection, I keep adding to it – sometimes buying for the second, or even third time, a book I’d forgotten I had.

My latest book gave me particular satisfaction because it’s written by someone I know: “Takes from the Dugout – 1,001 Humorous, Inspirational & Wild Anecdotes from Minor League Baseball” is a collection of “stuff” El Paso Chihuahuas radio voice Tim Hagerty put together.

Having written four books, including two about baseball in Albuquerque, I’m sure the most fun part for Hagerty was doing the research.

Of course, with my long association with minor league baseball, namely the almost 1,700 Albuquerque Dukes and Albuquerque Isotopes ballgames I’ve sat through, I’ll read anything about MiLB.

The book has eight chapters, and Hagerty found a handful or so of Albuquerque tidbits, as well as a couple from outside the Duke City.

Here’s one: Umpire Al; Sample’s false teeth fell out while he was making a call at home plate during a Class C Longhorn League game in Artesia in the early 1950s.

And this one: The independent Roswell Invaders won three Pecos League championships from 2011-18The team wears lime green jerseys and pants, and their home ballpark features green bases.

Here’s one from the Dukes’ days in Albuquerque: Mark Mimbs and his identical twin brother, Mike, had the same results on the same night. On May 6, 1995, Mark pitched six scoreless innings for Triple-A Albuquerque, allowing just one Phoenix hit. His brother Mike pitched six scoreless innings for Philadelphia, allowing just one Atlanta hit. The two also had the same number of walks, strikeouts and hit batters.

I found this one interesting, because I knew the player mentioned: Amarillo Gold Sox pitcher Steve Lagomarsino (later a Dukes pitcher and, after his baseball career ended, a New Mexico State policeman) had to miss part of the 1947 season after a teammate stabbed him during a poker game.

I wish Hagerty would have consulted me for a few Albuquerque items that missed the pages, which I would have happily shared with him:

• Once, before an Albuquerque Dukes; game with Vancouver – a game at which Hall of Famer Bob Feller was signing autographs for the fans – the Canadians hadn’t received their paychecks and called a strike, and the game had to be postponed.
• Before another Dukes’ ballgame was about to begin, Albuquerque’s starting pitcher — it may have been Pete “Big Foot” Ladd – didn’t like the way the mound was feeling to him, and that game was postponed.
• One player I really admired was third baseman Dave Hansen, whom I not only enjoyed chatting with numerous times during his Dukes days (198-91), but because he was the ONLY player I ever saw who did some groundskeeping: “Hanny” would literally take a garden rake out to his third base position before a game and rake it smooth.
• In the late 1990s, a deluge during the monsoon season cascaded down the lava rocks in the outfield and tore down sections of the outfield fence.
• Some of you may remember the Labor Day 1995 game in which infielder Ron Maurer of the Dukes played all nine positions during the game. Incredibly, perhaps, in his inning on the mound, he recorded a 1-2-3 frame.
• The late MiLB entertainer Myron Noodleman – think Jerry Lewis – made his professional debut at an Albuquerque Dukes’ ballgame.
• Speaking of entertainment, Captain Dynamite used to blow himself up after ballgames. He’d stick a coffin of sorts out near second base and set off some dynamite. I used to joke his first word after that was, “Huh?” His niece later took his place for a year or two.

No, I don’t anticipate writing another book. Four were enough, and I’ve got things to write about here for the Observer and online, plus an occasional freelance piece for Sports Collectors Digest.

You can catch Hagerty’s paperback on amazon.com. (And both of my “Baseball in Albuquerque” books can be found there, too.)