New X's boss has had lifetime full of baseball
Posted: Friday, October 29, 2004
Of all the misguided lines the clichéd world of sports has to offer, none may be quite as poorly conceived as baseball's proverbial "cup of coffee.''
It is the sorry truth, indeed, that sports fans of all ages require no further explanation on a phrase that grossly understates the achievement of a lifelong dream.
The "cup,'' of course, is a cynical reference to anyone whose time in the major leagues is limited to mere days or weeks.
And, the unfortunate misconception it has fostered is that anything shy of a lengthy big-league career is deemed almost inconsequential.
Fact is, of all the millions and millions of young men who've grown up playing baseball on sandlots all over the world, only slightly more than 16,000 have made it to "The Show.''
So, it is a very exclusive fraternity to which the new manager of the Sioux City Explorers belongs. And the 11 relief appearances Steve Shirley made with the 1982 Los Angeles Dodgers aren't something I would ever dream of trivializing.
Back in the 1930's, a man named Angelo Rolando knocked around the minor leagues as a catcher, hoping against hope he'd be good enough to reach the bigs.
It didn't happen for Rolando and it didn't happen for his adopted son, Ron Shirley, a righthanded pitcher who campaigned in the minors more than two decades later.
"Baseball's been a part of my life forever,'' said Steve Shirley, wearing his new Explorers cap as he spoke into the TV cameras on Wednesday. "Baseball, to me and my father and his father, is more than a way of life. It's what we do. It's a taste, a feel.
"There's nothing better to me, my father or my family than a fresh-cut baseball field and somebody drawing a line on it. That means baseball's getting ready to start. We're ready to go.''
Baseball's bluebloods have a singular appreciation for what it means to be where Shirley has been for however long that happens to be. On the timeline of history, minutes and decades aren't nearly so different.
A second-round draft pick as a high school senior in 1974, it took eight long years to climb the mountain and another six thereafter to finally let it go.
"I kicked around for a long time,'' he said. "After you live out of a suitcase for so long, we can throw our stuff down anywhere and make a home.''
Since 1981, the "stuff'' has been parked in Albuquerque, N.M., where Shirley found his bride and the mother of his three children without ever leaving the ballpark.
"I met her at a game when I was pitching for Albuquerque,'' he said.
He pitched for those Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers' top farm club, in 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1986, but the road led many other places, as well, including two years in Japan.
Nothing, of course, held a candle to 1982.
"I was playing with some legends on that team,'' he said. "At the time, you don't know that. They're just guys in the clubhouse. I had been in the organization for a long time, so I had gotten to know them pre-legend. So, that was fun. Some great guys.''
For most of his 11 appearances out of the bullpen, the hard-throwing lefthander could look toward home plate for signals from his catcher, Mike Scioscia. He could check the runner at first and see the outstretched mitt of Steve Gary.
Shirley could look over his shoulder and find Steve Sax at second base, Bill Russell at shortstop and "The Penguin,'' Ron Cey, at third. In the outfield were Dusty Baker, Pedro Guerrero and Ken Landreaux.
Fernando Valenzuela won 19 games for the NL's Western Division runners-up, Jerry Reuss won 18 and Bob Welch 16. Manager Tommy Lasorda's fourth starter was Burt Hooton and the fifth, when he used one, was usually Dave Stewart.
Shirley, whose only major league at-bat produced a base hit, had plenty of competition in a bullpen that included three other lefthanders, Steve Howe, Terry Forster and Ricky Wright.
But he didn't stop to ponder why it all came and went.
"Right after that, I was sold to Japan,'' he said. "And I was off to a different place, doing a different thing. I didn't have much opportunity to look back and try to figure out why. I was trying to get Japanese hitters out.''
The life that is baseball is always one pitch at a time, one inning at a time, one game at a time, and one job at a time.
Dusty Baker, of course, now manages the Chicago Cubs. Mike Scioscia is the skipper of the Anaheim Angels. And, Bill Russell had a stint at the helm of the Dodgers.
For Shirley, the task at hand is the Sioux City Explorers and independent professional baseball's Northern League.
Glad to have him.
Sioux City Journal sports editor Terry Hersom can be reached at (712) 293-4214 or by e-mail at terryhersom@siouxcityjournal.com.
It is the sorry truth, indeed, that sports fans of all ages require no further explanation on a phrase that grossly understates the achievement of a lifelong dream.
The "cup,'' of course, is a cynical reference to anyone whose time in the major leagues is limited to mere days or weeks.
And, the unfortunate misconception it has fostered is that anything shy of a lengthy big-league career is deemed almost inconsequential.
Fact is, of all the millions and millions of young men who've grown up playing baseball on sandlots all over the world, only slightly more than 16,000 have made it to "The Show.''
So, it is a very exclusive fraternity to which the new manager of the Sioux City Explorers belongs. And the 11 relief appearances Steve Shirley made with the 1982 Los Angeles Dodgers aren't something I would ever dream of trivializing.
Back in the 1930's, a man named Angelo Rolando knocked around the minor leagues as a catcher, hoping against hope he'd be good enough to reach the bigs.
It didn't happen for Rolando and it didn't happen for his adopted son, Ron Shirley, a righthanded pitcher who campaigned in the minors more than two decades later.
"Baseball's been a part of my life forever,'' said Steve Shirley, wearing his new Explorers cap as he spoke into the TV cameras on Wednesday. "Baseball, to me and my father and his father, is more than a way of life. It's what we do. It's a taste, a feel.
"There's nothing better to me, my father or my family than a fresh-cut baseball field and somebody drawing a line on it. That means baseball's getting ready to start. We're ready to go.''
Baseball's bluebloods have a singular appreciation for what it means to be where Shirley has been for however long that happens to be. On the timeline of history, minutes and decades aren't nearly so different.
A second-round draft pick as a high school senior in 1974, it took eight long years to climb the mountain and another six thereafter to finally let it go.
"I kicked around for a long time,'' he said. "After you live out of a suitcase for so long, we can throw our stuff down anywhere and make a home.''
Since 1981, the "stuff'' has been parked in Albuquerque, N.M., where Shirley found his bride and the mother of his three children without ever leaving the ballpark.
"I met her at a game when I was pitching for Albuquerque,'' he said.
He pitched for those Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers' top farm club, in 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1986, but the road led many other places, as well, including two years in Japan.
Nothing, of course, held a candle to 1982.
"I was playing with some legends on that team,'' he said. "At the time, you don't know that. They're just guys in the clubhouse. I had been in the organization for a long time, so I had gotten to know them pre-legend. So, that was fun. Some great guys.''
For most of his 11 appearances out of the bullpen, the hard-throwing lefthander could look toward home plate for signals from his catcher, Mike Scioscia. He could check the runner at first and see the outstretched mitt of Steve Gary.
Shirley could look over his shoulder and find Steve Sax at second base, Bill Russell at shortstop and "The Penguin,'' Ron Cey, at third. In the outfield were Dusty Baker, Pedro Guerrero and Ken Landreaux.
Fernando Valenzuela won 19 games for the NL's Western Division runners-up, Jerry Reuss won 18 and Bob Welch 16. Manager Tommy Lasorda's fourth starter was Burt Hooton and the fifth, when he used one, was usually Dave Stewart.
Shirley, whose only major league at-bat produced a base hit, had plenty of competition in a bullpen that included three other lefthanders, Steve Howe, Terry Forster and Ricky Wright.
But he didn't stop to ponder why it all came and went.
"Right after that, I was sold to Japan,'' he said. "And I was off to a different place, doing a different thing. I didn't have much opportunity to look back and try to figure out why. I was trying to get Japanese hitters out.''
The life that is baseball is always one pitch at a time, one inning at a time, one game at a time, and one job at a time.
Dusty Baker, of course, now manages the Chicago Cubs. Mike Scioscia is the skipper of the Anaheim Angels. And, Bill Russell had a stint at the helm of the Dodgers.
For Shirley, the task at hand is the Sioux City Explorers and independent professional baseball's Northern League.
Glad to have him.
Sioux City Journal sports editor Terry Hersom can be reached at (712) 293-4214 or by e-mail at terryhersom@siouxcityjournal.com.
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