LAKELAND, Fla. – No one around here enjoys spring training more than the person who has seen more training camps than anyone – Ernie Harwell.
At 79, he has lost none of his love for the game. You see him
every day, even when there is no broadcast or game. He fits in perfectly.
He is like a day game in the middle of the summer. Always warm, friendly
and polite. It is a quiet morning at Marchant Stadium and Harwell
is talking to some of the broadcasters and writers. He is telling
of the time he was traveling with the Brooklyn Dodgers and they were staying
at a hotel in Cincinnati.
“They had a pitcher on the Dodgers named Elmer Sexhauer,” Harwell said.
“One of the Cincinnati writers wanted to talk to him for a story and called
him from his office. “When the telephone operator answered, the writer
said: ‘Do you have a Sexhauer at your hotel?’ And she said: ‘Hey,
we don't even have time for a five-minute coffee break!’ ”
Do we take this man for granted? Yes and no. He has been
around for a long time but has received many plaudits over the years.
He has become such a part of the scene in Detroit that there is a feeling
he will be with us forever. Nothing is forever. And so, on a quiet
morning in Marchant Stadium, I felt the urge to interview him one more
time, and one more time he was helpful, engaging -- and just plain fun
to talk to.
Who's the best player Harwell ever saw?
He quickly said: “Willie Mays. He could hit for power, he could hit for percentage, he had great instincts, he was an outstanding fielder, he could run, he could throw and he knew how to run the bases. He also had a lot of verve.”
Verve? I had never heard anyone use this word to describe a player, but it fit. Willie Mays did play with a lot of verve.
Best manager?
“I'd take Sparky Anderson,” Harwell said, and isn't it interesting
how we are always tempted to call him “Ernie” instead of “Harwell.”
That's the hold he has created on us. “Sparky knew how to handle
his players,” he said. “He handled them in a way that was positive
and helpful. And nobody I ever knew ran a better game than Sparky.
I might put Leo Durocher up there, too. He was different. He won
his respect through fear. He ran a great game, too, and got a lot out of
his players.”
Best pitcher?
“Bob Gibson. He could throw hard and had tremendous stuff and could
intimidate the batters. I'd put Sandy Koufax and Warren Spahn right behind
him.”
Best relief pitcher?
“Hoyt Wilhelm.”
Best clutch hitter?
“Yogi Berra. He was very special. He could hit any kind of pitch and hit it anywhere on the field. You'd be rooting against the Yankees and you'd go over to take a look at the Western Union ticker to see how they were doing and there it was on the tape: Berra, HR, New York, 8th inning, two on. He was an amazing man.”
Finally, I asked him to pick his greatest team -- the players he saw in his long career as a broadcaster.
He answered in, oh, maybe 30 seconds.
“Stan Musial at first, Jackie Robinson at second, Luis Aparicio at short, Brooks Robinson at third, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays in the outfield, and Gibson on the mound and Berra behind the plate.”
Thank you, sir.