The following is a special guest piece by my brother-in-law-to-be, Aaron Hardt, Jr. of Milwaukee. When it comes to both music and baseball, Aaron is a passionate and intrepid fan who will go to great lengths to chase down his favorites. Last spring, he accompanied me on a fantastic Grapefruit League trip. More recently, he and his girlfriend attended this year’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, a trek made in honor of one of his all-time favorites, Paul Molitor. Aaron was so enthusiastic in describing it to me that I asked him to pen a guest piece, so here he is in his capacity as the Futility Infielder roving reporter.
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My girlfriend, Jamie, surprised me back in March by organizing a dream vacation: a weekend in Cooperstown to watch what could very well be the last Brewer inducted to the Hall of Fame. If you would have told me that fateful Game Seven World Series loss in 1982 would be the last time I’d see my home team in the postseason, I might have reconsidered choosing to see Barry Manilow at The Milwaukee Arena with my parents that night. Before you judge me, Manilow did start the second half of his show in a Robin Yount jersey! Also, my family had recently moved from Northern Illinois and my heart still belonged to those hapless White Sox teams. The Brewers had manufactured comebacks all year long in 1982. They took the Orioles and Angels at the last possible moment — why wouldn’t they do the same to the Cardinals?
The Brewers had been solid performers ever since 1978, and as a 14-year-old kid, I had no reason other than to believe that they would always be great. I’m fortunate enough to say I got to see those characters play, but sure wish I would have appreciated it more at the time. The Brewers’ making a joke of an offer to Paul Molitor forcing him to leave for greener pastures was the beginning of the end. Yount and Jim Gantner soon followed, the Dark Ages set in, and they continue to reign in Brewtown. So, when Jamie presented me with a chance to relive the salad days, I could hardly wait.
I should point out that an opportunity came up to meet Molitor at a local mall a few weeks back. I decided out of all of the Brewer “swag” I had that nothing would mean more to me than a signature on the itinerary that Jamie had compiled for our trip. There is a long story behind how I ended up first in line, but suffice it to say I secured a wonderful “Have fun Aaron and Jamie Best Wishes Paul Molitor” on the cover of our itinerary — Molly Rules!
After Jamie and I spent a magical couple of days in Niagara Falls, we made the scenic drive to Cooperstown. The town was absolutely buzzing the day before the Induction Ceremony as we made our way in on the trolley. The locals couldn’t have been friendlier! Street vendors were hawking everything from shirts to blueberry pies (which were VERY tasty). The Hall hosted two celebrity signings that drew large crowds that day, Don Zimmer and Rod Carew. I chose to snap a few photos as opposed to waiting in the lines for a signature. Vintage memorabilia ranging from a Honus Wagner card to the National League lineup card from the 2002 All Star Game I attended at Miller Park kept me fascinated for hours.
After a stop at The Blue Mingo Grill for lunch and a road trip to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, we found ourselves trying to figure out where we were going to park for the next day’s festivities. The trolley parking was free, but I couldn’t find anything that said it would actually take us to the grounds of the Clark Sports Center. The closest one would still be quite a long walk. We took a quick spin by the site of the ceremony, and to our horror saw rows of lawn chairs set up behind the VIP section. Instead of camping out, these lunatics already “claimed” all of the good spots by simply plopping a chair down! We had decided not to bring lawn chairs from Milwaukee and only had a blanket, but that was back at the hotel 45 minutes away. We brainstormed and decided to try and find a cheap beach towel at the local “Great American” which turned out to be a grocery store. I said to Jamie, “What about a picnic table cover?” She said that might work and we found a 4′ x 6′ beauty. $1.97 later and armed with a bunch of large rocks from a local construction area, we too had our own plot staked out for the ceremony. MacGyver would’ve been proud!
Sure enough, all of the free parking at the trolley lots had been taken by the time we hit town the next day. I just kept driving until we were only a few blocks away and saw a woman adjusting a parking sign on a tree by her driveway. She was only taking one car and we could have the space — a reasonably short walk compared to the pay for parking opportunities that we had passed. Armed with our cooler and blanket we headed over to see if the “MacGyver Cover” had survived the night. All was well and we settled on the ground right behind the VIPs with a dead-on center view. The hours waiting passed quickly as a large screen was broadcasting major league highlights over the years. Finally, the time came and over 50 Hall of Famers returned for the ceremony! Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson, Sandy Koufax, Rockin’ Robin Yount — they were all there.
After the National Anthem AND the Canadian National Anthem (performed by Fergie Jenkins) we got our first speech from honoree Murray Chass. The legendary New York Times writer received the Spink Award and delivered one of my favorite quotes of the ceremony: “When I was younger than eight I wanted to be a garbage man. I don’t know why I changed my mind, but I’m glad I did.” Next up was Frick Award honoree, San Francisco Giants/Oakland A’s announcer, Lon Simmons. His home run call, “And you can tell it goodbye” gave generations of fans in the Bay area a rally cry for every dinger hit. He started off by saying, “When I walked into the hotel and saw all these fellows there I thought I’d made a mistake. I thought I’d missed the hotel and gone into the wax museum” Lon’s speech might as well have been a roast as he told amusing stories about Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Gaylord Perry and others. We were fortunate to be the first crowd to witness a new segment of the ceremony where they would honor a Hall of Famer from years past. This year was the 50th anniversary of Harmon Killebrew’s first year in the Majors, so he got special recognition. Being that Molitor is a Minnesota boy made it all the more significant. Johnny Bench busted out a hilarious rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” complete with Harry Caray glasses as we headed to the home stretch.
Paul Molitor started his speech with a quote that I think every boy believes: “My dreams never took me to Cooperstown. I didn’t play the game to get here, I played the game because I loved it.” I can safely say it’s that humility that endears Molly to every fan in America and especially the ones who reside in the cities where he’s worn the uniform of the home team. He continued, “When that snow would begin to melt and that grass would start to peak through in the spring time, it was time for baseball” I can’t tell you how many springs I spent staring at my parents backyard in Libertyville, Ilinois with glove in hand just begging for the waterlogged grass to dry off enough so my brother and I could get our season started.
Paul touched on all of the moments of his career from high school, to being signed by the Brewers (“Frank Howard asked me if the scout was drunk when he signed me”), to the ultimate Brewer moment (“Game 5 of the playoffs, Cecil Cooper, a big hit. He drove in Jimmy Gantner and Charlie Moore. And an inning later Rodney hit a ball to Robin at short, and he threw over to Cecil, and County Stadium just went ballistic. I think it was the loudest I ever heard that place”). He concluded by touching on his times in Toronto and Minnesota before thanking his friends and “all 9,000″ of his cousins and family members that had showed up. Most important to me he ended by saying, “And all the fans that came out today, I appreciate you more than you know sharing in this day with me.”
In true closer fashion, Dennis Eckersley brought it home. His tales of overcoming alcohol abuse, failed marriages, and poor performances as a starter only to thrive in the later stages of his career truly brought everyone to tears. His end quote will inspire me forever, “You leave me humbled and grateful for this honor. I’d like to leave an offering of a message of hope. That is, with the grace of God you can change your life, whoever you are.” He had this to say about Molitor: “Paul, you’re among the greatest who ever played this game and, most importantly, those who respect the game with all your heart. You’re one of the smartest players in the game. You did it all. You hit for average, you hit for power, you had the quickest bat in the game. And I tell you what, you were an all-around pain in the — to deal with.”
Our trip ended with us enjoying the presence of five Hall of Famers in one room — Whitey Ford, Rollie Fingers, Jim Palmer (who told us he “owned” Molitor), Tom Seaver and Johnny Bench. We spent the evening in the hotel room watching the last game of the Red Sox vs. Yankees series and dining on some killer Chinese takeout. Afterwards, Jamie asked if that experience made me feel like a 10-year-old boy again. I answered her that it honestly made me feel like a 36-year-old man saying goodbye.
Thank you, Paul Molitor. Thank you, 1982 Milwaukee Brewers. You showed me first hand why I should appreciate all the good in my life while I have it. While the past may be a nice place to visit, it’s time for this fan to stop cheering ghosts. Here’s hoping the current regime of Brewer management and players can field a team for just one season with the same kind of passion, commitment, joy, blood, sweat and tears that you gave for years. This time, me and my VCR will be ready!