The man that gave color to baseball

By Staff
Guest columnist Jim Grammer
There are many stories about Leo Durocher.
He was one of the greats as a baseball player, coach and manager.
But, what makes the Leo Durocher's legend live on was his half ballplayer-half clown persona.
His flashy lifestyle and his antics on and off the field are legendary – and most of his stories are true.
His baseball career spanned from the early-1930s until the 1970s, and every big name in baseball of that era seems to have a connection to the man.
From Eddie Collins and Dizzy Dean, to Willie Mays and Pete Rose, they all had a funny story to tell about him.
One of those stories included a rookie pitcher who threw the first two pitches behind Leo's back and ran into the dugout to hide behind a water cooler. Another story said one time a batter charged Leo, who was managing in the dugout. The batter claimed Leo ordered the pitcher to hit him.
His baseball career was not always humorous, though. He was probably thrown out of more games than anyone in the history of Major League Baseball. He was even suspended by the commissioner for year because of his alleged association with gamblers. Some say it wasn't the gamblers, it was his marriage to actress Loraine Day.
The story I love the most about Leo happened when he got his first coaching job as third base coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
With a runner on first, Leo watched as a batter hit a long fly ball. The ball bounced off the wall in right center and the outfielder made a perfect throw to home. That throw reached homeplate when the runner on first was halfway home.
So, the runner turned around and headed back for third. However, the batter who had hit the ball had rounded second and was heading for third.
Though Leo was jumping up and down, yelling and screaming and waving his arms, the runners never paid him any attention.
Finally, the two runners slid into third base at the same moment. Leo, not one to withhold an emotional outbreak, threw his cap to the ground, backed up and took a running go toward third base. He dove head first and joined the other two runners.
Not only did the umpire determine one of the runners was out, he also told Leo he was out … As in, out of the game.