Catcher in the Lie

Joe Garagiola, the guy you wished would shut up so you could hear more from Vin Scully, has died at the age of 90. Garagiola spent 9 seasons in the National League in the 1940s and ‘50s, playing for 4 teams when there were only 8 in the league. He was aware of his status as a major league fringe player, noting that he lived across the street from his best friend, Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, so “Not only wasn’t I the best catcher in the major leagues, I wasn’t even the best catcher on my block.” The highlight of his career came when as a rookie he outhit Ted Williams in the 1946 World Series. After he retired, he lent his name to a collection of anecdotes called Baseball is a Funny Game, to which he contributed about as much as he did to this obituary, thus earning him the reputation of a folksy storyteller, which led to jobs as game show host, baseball and wrestling broadcaster, Today Show panelist, partner in a series of poorly received TV ads with President Gerald Ford, guest host of The Tonight Show – where he had the only interview with active members of the Beatles – and of course, MC of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for nearly a decade. He also betrayed the brotherhood, supporting the reserve clause that essentially bound major league baseball players in indentured servitude during Curt Flood’s lawsuit against Major League Baseball, a decision he later regretted. Garagiola’s most enduring contributions to baseball were as founder of the Baseball Assistance Team, an organization that raised money to support players from the days when players actually needed second jobs in the offseason to make ends meet because back-up shortstops weren’t making $4.5 million a year and his outspoken advocacy against the use of chewing tobacco. For these contributions, he was awarded the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, presented once every three years by the Baseball Hall of Fame for positive contributions to Major League Baseball.