Day 16 of 2024 baseball books: We’ll accept that collect call

“fo:

“Called Up: Ballplayers Remember Becoming Major Leaguers”

The author:
Zak Ford

The publishing info:
McFarland
190 pages; $35; released Dec. 17, 2023

The links:
The publishers website; the authors website; at Bookshop.org; at Powells.com; at Vromans.com; at {pages}; at BarnesAndNoble.com; at Amazon.com

The review in 90 feet or less

Back on Day 7 of this series, we dialed into the call-up that Fr. Burke Masters once experienced. As a college player at Mississippi State, he thought someday he’d be in the minor leagues and get that summons for MLB duty. Instead, he experienced something that we’d like to consider a higher calling.

All in all, getting the call up to the big leagues — whether it’s winning a spot in spring training or sent up to fill in during the season — will never be a dull deal. It can be awe inspiring.

Zak Ford, a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan, chapter leader with the Society for American Baseball Research and on the advisory committee of the Pacific Coast League Historical Society, took up the task of sending out dozens of requests to former MLB players to ask about the emotions they felt, the circumstances they encountered, and the staying power they experienced when that event happened.

Turns out, 109 responded, from those who started back in the 1960s up through the 2000s. As well known as Sam McDowell, Jason Kendall, Jerry Reuss and Bob Tewksbury, who’ve written their own autobios. There’s Bobby Grich, Gene Tenace, Scott Spiezio, Atlee Hammaker, and James Loney. Far more in the somewhat obscure range as Randy McGilberry, Nyls Nyman, Bill Sampen, Andy Shibilo and Jonathan Van Every.

And every one has a story.

Some have saved a ticket stub from their first game. Others have the transfer paperwork to share. One has a copy of the lineup card the manager gave him.

Let’s go sampling:

== Reuss was a 1969 late-season call up with the St. Louis Cardinals after he finished the Triple-A season in Tulsa, the first of his 22 big-league seasons, nine with the Dodgers. Now he’s in Busch Stadium. There’s only a handful of games left in the season.

“Sitting in the home dugout, I happened to scan a group of seats that just three years earlier I was sitting in as a member of the local high school team and looking into the Cardinals dugout. I said, ‘I would have never guessed it would’ve happened like this.’ Sitting in those seats, becoming part of the Cardinals, and having this first day in the major leagues, some 27 months after I graduated from high school. It was at that point I remembered growing up in the suburbs. I would have conversations with other kids about playing in the big leagues, and we all seemed to have big league dreams. Everybody wanted to be a major league ballplayer, and I was one of the few that got the call.”

His debut is with Tim McCarver as his catcher “because that weekend, Ted Simmons, who would have normally started in a game like this, had military duty … McCarver walked me through everything …” He pitched seven shutout innings between two rain days, got the win, and singled in his first at-bat to drive in a run that would be the difference in the game.

== As long as we read about Josh Booty in the “Baseball’s Great Expectations” book from Day 12, we read that his debut with Florida in 1996 was the first of three very abbreviated seasons before he went back to LSU to play football.

“I wanted to play in the big leagues early, and get paid, so I went with the Marlins organization … I knew I was gonna get called up … I went from A-ball to the big leagues in ’96. In A-ball, I hit 21 home runs, which was the team’s franchise record, but I also struck out 195 times. I didn’t have much plate discipline. I got called up in September and they gave me my first at bat against the Braves. I was with the team three weeks before I got that at-bat … I singled in that plate appearance. I took a fastball to right field. I was happy.”

== Joe Grahe, who made his big-league debut with the Angels in 1990, ended up leading the team with 21 saves in ’92 during his seven MLB seasons. He recalls how he was in Las Vegas and got a cryptic message from his pitching coach about getting ready for a possible callup.

“I do what all self-respecting players do,” Grahe says. “I consult the Bazooka Joe fortunes on the bubblegum wrappers. It said, ‘You have an unexpected trip coming.’ … After the game, it happened. It was surreal. … Bert Blyleven and his family were in a car accident and they needed me to spot start …

“A year earlier, I was in the College World Series, and now I’m facing the defending World Champion (Oakland A’s) tomorrow night.”

== The real keeper of a story is Adam Greenberg, who made his debut in 2005 with the Chicago Cubs, took a Dontrelle Willis fastball to his head on his first major-league pitch, and then heard catcher Paul Lo Duca say, ‘Stay down, kid. You’re gonna be OK.’ But he wasn’t. He was out of the game trying to find his bearings. His comeback picked up a lot of media coverage. Seven years later, he is with Miami, facing the Mets’ R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball. Greenberg struck out on three pitches.

“I got a standing ovation for striking out from the home fans,” Greenberg said. “I don’t know how many times that’s ever happened.”

== Anyone remember Dave Machemer?

The infielder made his big-league debut in June, 1978, with the California Angels and hit a homer in his first at-bat. That was the highlight of his two seasons. He was hitting nearly .400 in the Pacific Coast League, but he hadn’t played because of a bad knee. Salt Lake manager Deron Johnson asks him: “Can you play tonight?”

“I go, ‘Deron, I’m going to be honest. It’s 80 to 85 percent, but I can play.’ He goes, ‘That’s all right, kid. You’re going to the big leagues.’ I was kind of in shock because of the fact I hadn’t been playing for two weeks or so.”

On June 21, eight days after the call-up, he’s leading off and playing second base, in for Bobby Grich. Facing Geoff Zahn and the Minnesota Twins. Machemer fouls off a few pitches on a 3-2 count. He sensed Zahn would come back with an inside fastball after throwing breaking balls away. Zahn did.

“I knew I hit it good … As I’m running down the first-base line, I’m watching it. I’m watching the third-base umpire, because I knew it was going to be close. The next thing I knew, the third base umpire was circling his hand for a home run. My nickname was Choo Choo because I made noise when I ran. Bob Clear, the first base coach, said, ‘Hey Choo Choo! Hold it! You might want to come back and touch the base! I remember high-fiving John McNamara at third base and when I came into the dugout the first guy to pick me up was Nolan Ryan.”

Choo Choo played 29 total games in two seasons. That was the only homer he hit with a .229 average in 48 at bats. And zero stolen bases with four caught stealing.

And not to derail a great moniker, but his Baseball-Reference.com page says his nickname was Mach One.

How it goes in the scorebook

The stories remind us of the Thomas Edison phrase: “Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.” It’s right there on the home page of this website.