The Duke of Flatbush was also a family man

Brooklyn Dodger's Duke Snider in the 1950s.

The funeral for Hall of Famer and Dodger great Duke Snider was held on Saturday March 12, 2011 at 2 pm at Fallbrook Presbyterian Church in his hometown, Fallbrook, CA.  Duke was a warm and charismatic fellow who just happend to play baseball extremely well.  He was also a family man.

The following is an excerpt from his 1988 biography "The Duke of Flatbush" by Duke Snider with Bill Gilbert from Zebra Books published by Kensington Publishing Corp, New York, NY.  Here Duke talks about his wife Bev and how supportive she was in their early years.  This provides a wonderful glimpse into Duke the private man and his family.

Bev and I had Kevin now, and when we left for spring training at the beginning of the '50 season, Kevin was not even four months old. Traveling across the country from California to Florida and then up the East Coast from Florida to live in New York with an infant, and with teh father gone half the days from April to October, certainly made things different.

Kevin, 2 1/2 years old

If you've never driven 2,500 miles from California to Florida with a baby and no air-conditioning and it takes three days and three nights just to get through Texas - don't.  We made frequent stops for gas, changing diapers, and warming up a new bottle of baby formula.  After that, Bev had the long drive north from Vero Beach to Brooklyn, another 1,200 miles, this time alone except for the infant on the seat beside her.  I had to travel with the team.

For Bev this was the start of an entirely new kind of life, filled iwth automobile trips thousands of miles long with only the children for company, and the two-week stretches in Brooklyn alone with the kids while I was away on road trips in my own role as the family breadwinner.

A baseball player's wife makes a contribution to husband's career that never shows up in the statistics, but it's just as real as it would be if she hit some of those home runs herself.  She's helping with work at home, driving to Little League games and Girl Scouts.  She's the parent in the audience at the school play, and the shoulder that's always there when the kids need one to cry on.  And she provides the athlete with thte peace of mind which is essential to his performance on the field.  When he calls home during a road trip and she says, "Everything's fine," the player knows not to ask any questions beyond that.  The two-word response means now you can concentrate on the next game.

Bev was and still is a homemaker, and the family home was wherever I was playing.  She pulled a 15-foot trailer to New York in 1963, San Francisco in 1964, and Spokane in 1965, when I managed in the minor leagues after my playing career.  In 1972, while I was managing in Alexandria, Louisiana, wwe upgraded the vehicle to a 25-foot motor home.  By then there were only two children at home - Kurt and Dawna - and Kurt could help with the driving.  Bev loved the adventure and wanted to show the children a type of camping life as opposed to motel living.

Duke poses with his wife and
high school sweetheart Beverly Null,
and their daughter Pam

They made a game of things.  The children made one up in Brooklyn while going through the tunnels.  The guards would wave the cars on, and the children would wave too, just to see if the guards would wave back.  They decided those who did were Dodger fans.  Those who didn't were Yankee fans.  They carried this game over to the ride back to California.  They would wave at the truck drivers, hoping to get them to blow their horns.  The same standards applied: Those who did were Dodger fans.

Bev took over-the-counter stay-awake pills to keep from getting mesmerized by the road.  She would stay with the kids in the less expensive motels, and thought nother of parking overnight at a gas station when they were pulling the trailer and no campground was available.  The service-station attendants were always helpful when they saw her pulling the trailer and handling the children by herself.

The attendant at one station in Tuxedo Junction, New York, gave her the restroom key to use overnight, and had a police officer come by to make sure Bev and the children were okay.

If there were a Hall of Fame somewhere for baseball wives, Bev would belong in it.

Duke, you will forever be in our hearts.

Japanese baseball players in U.S. try to contact friends, family after deadly earthquake

Los Angeles Times
March 11, 2011

Ripples from the earthquake that devastated parts of Japan were being felt as far away as Arizona and Florida on Friday as Japanese players tried, sometimes in vain, to reach friends and family members.

The quake, the largest recorded temblor to strike Japan and the fifth-largest in history, caused power failures and fires, shuttered airports and paralyzed transit systems, killing hundreds and setting off a massive tsunami.

Former Dodgers pitcher Takashi Saito took an indefinite leave from the Milwaukee Brewers' facility in Phoenix after being unable to contact his parents. Saito was born and attended college in the northern city of Sendai, home to 1 million people. The city, on Japan's northeast coast, was the closest population center to the epicenter of the 8.9-magnitude quake. And though Saito has been in contact with his wife, Yukiko, and three daughters, he has been unable to reach his parents, team officials said.

Kei Igawa, in minor league camp with the Yankees in Tampa, Fla., also left the team after failing to get information about his family.

Igawa's family lives in Ibaraki, which was also hit hard.

Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki and Boston Red Sox pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima also spent much of Friday trying unsuccessful to get through to their relatives although they said they believed their families were safe. Matsuzaka said he made contact with friends in Japan through e-mail but not by phone.

"Cellphones and power are down. There are 4 million people without power in Tokyo," Suzuki told reporters at the Mariners' camp outside Phoenix. "I have not gotten ahold of my family yet."

Former Angel Hideki Matsui, now with the Oakland A's, has also been unable to reach relatives but said he was not worried because they were believed to be far from the epicenter.

Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda said early Friday that he hadn’t been able contact his brother yet, “but the rest of my family is OK.”

Kuroda's brother lives near Tokyo, about 240 miles from the epicenter, but he often travels north on business.

“I think he’s, OK but I don’t know his whereabouts so I’d really like to contact him,” Kuroda said through an interpreter.

Kuroda’s wife and children live with him in Los Angeles.

Kuroda also said he was “worried because there’s a baseball team in Sendai [Rakuten Golden Eagles] and there’s a lot of friends on that team, so I’m worried about them and their families. When I saw the pictures on TV I was really shocked, I didn’t expect that it was this big."

Among the players on the Golden Eagles' roster are former big-league infielders Kaz Matsui and Akinori Iwamura.

Angels reliever Hisanori Takahashi actually saw the quake hit because he was online using Skype to talk to his wife, Yeyol, in Tokyo. The quake struck in midafternoon Japanese time.

"The monitor was shaking," he said through interpreter Yoichi Terada. "Then this morning I checked the Internet again and I saw the video. It was horrible so I called them again. They’re fine.

"So I'm fortunate. I'm happy. Of course I worry about what happened in Japan. But I cannot do anything about it. So I'm just trying to focus on baseball."

But for Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, the news from Japan made baseball far less important.

"This is a livelihood and these guys take it serious," he said. "But there are things more important to everybody’s live. And it gives you perspective."

Fans and players at Friday's Angels-Arizona Diamondbacks game in Tempe, Ariz., observed a moment of silence for earthquake victims.

-- For the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Baxter in Tempe, Ariz., and James Peltz in Phoenix, Ariz.

Kim Ng bids farewell to L.A.

                  (Dodgers)
Kim Ng

By Jill Painter

L.A. Daily News Staff Writer
March 9, 2011

Kim Ng is leaving the Dodgers to work for Major League Baseball.

 

Ng (pronounced ANG), who has worked as an assistant general manager of the Dodgers since 2002, will become a senior vice president of operations at MLB and report to Joe Torre.

 

"It's going to be a great opportunity for me," Ng said in a phone interview. "I'm going to be involved in a lot of exciting things on the international side. I have a chance to contribute in a meaningful way to the game and try to have an impact. I'm going to be overseeing a lot of the international operations. There's a lot going on in the Dominican Republic and potentially a worldwide draft.

 

"It was gut wrenching. I have enjoyed my time with the Dodgers so much. Frank (McCourt) and (general manager) Ned (Colletti) have been so good to me."

 

Ng came to the Dodgers from the Yankees nine years ago. She was an assistant general manager in New York and worked Torre there and in L.A. Torre, who retired from managing the Dodgers after the season, recently took a job as the executive vice president of operations at MLB.

 

The Dodgers' future is uncertain with Frank and Jamie McCourt's court battle for team ownership. That wasn't a factor in her decision to leave the club, according to Ng.

 

"Absolutely not," Ng said. "I've taken a long-term perspective on decisions I've made in my career. This was an opportunity that was to fantastic to let pass by. These opportunities don't come along very often. You can see some of the stability that exists in the commissioner's office. Those don't come open very often. It was really about me looking forward and where I am and where I want to be."

 

Ng started her career with the Chicago White Sox and then worked for the American League for one year. She is considered the most qualified candidate to become the first female general manager in baseball. She has interviewed for general manager vacancies with the Dodgers, Padres and Mariners. Her move to the offices at MLB hasn't changed her goal to one day become a general manager.

 

"At some point I still hope I reach that goal," Ng sid. "My main mission now is to try to help Joe and the commissioner (Bud Selig) and baseball. If anything, this can make me a more well-rounded candidate.

 

Listen, there are people who are older than me who haven't gotten the chance to interview and probably should've. I feel fortunate in that respect. The fact that it hasn't happened to this point, that's just part of it. It's not frustrating for me. This is a new chapter. It's going to be a great challenge."

 

McCourt had high praise for Ng.

 

"I'm excited for Kim because this is a huge step in her career, but I'm disappointed that we are losing such a tremendous talent," McCourt said in a statement. "She has been a dedicated member of our organization for the last decade and has set herself apart with her integrity, her work ethic and her dedication to winning and always doing what is best for the Dodgers. I wish her all the best in her new role and I will always consider her part of the Dodger family."

'Moneyball' films scenes in Dodger Stadium

L.A. Times; September 14, 2010 

The Dodgers have seen plenty of drama lately with the saga surrounding the divorce of owners Frank and Jamie McCourt.

But a different kind of drama was playing out at Dodger Stadium on Monday when hundreds of extras poured into the arena to film scenes for "Moneyball," a big-screen adaptation of Michael Lewis' 2003 best-seller about the revival of the Oakland A's and its maverick general manager, Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt.

About 700 extras participated in a variety of baseball scenes, including a 1984 game between the Dodgers and the Mets, when Beane played for the New York team, and a montage sequence set in 2002 that chronicles the Oakland A's memorable season.

Sony Pictures had to get special permission from Major League Baseball to shoot at the stadium on Friday and Monday.

"Being a Dodgers fan and being here at Dodger Stadium, it was just great," said Todd Christensen, location manager for "Moneyball."

"Moneyball" is just the latest project to shoot at Dodger Stadium, which for many years has been a popular site among filmmakers partly because of its grand vistas of downtown Los Angeles and large parking lots, which make it ideal for production base camps.

See more info on film's release, from IMDb

This year alone the stadium has been used as a location for 16 productions, including the TV series "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "Criminal Minds" as well as commercials for Wendy's, Ford and Microsoft. In addition to "Moneyball," the stadium has been the venue for more than a dozen movies, among them the latest "Star Trek" film and "Fast & Furious."

The stadium, which has relationships with location managers around Hollywood, charges anywhere from $10,000 a day for use of its parking space to $25,000 a day for a shot inside the stadium. Management views the filming activity as an important way to market the stadium.

"We welcome the movie shoots," said Jill DeStefano, manager of venue sales and services. "We love to have them and it's exciting for us."

"Moneyball," scheduled to be released next year, almost never made out of the ballpark. Sony last year halted production on the film just days before it was to begin shooting. The move came after director Steven Soderbergh turned in a script rewrite that Sony Pictures co-Chairman Amy Pascal was dissatisfied with. Sony tapped screenwriter and producer Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing" and "Charlie Wilson's War") to revise the screenplay.

Sony began filming the movie, whichcost about $57 million to produce, on July 12 and has shot scenes in Los Angeles and Oakland. In addition to Dodger Stadium, filming locations included Chatsworth, Malibu, Blair Field in Long Beach and the aviation-themed studio Air Hollywood in Pacoima.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Dodger Stadium. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

These girls are playing hardball with the boys

Birmingham pitcher Marti Sementelli, left, and San Marcos pitcher
Ghazaleh Sailors, right,  wish each other luck before their game on
Saturday at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa. It is believed to be
the first boys' baseball game at which girls were the starting pitchers.

(Bret Hartman / For The Times)

Marti Sementelli of Birmingham faces Ghazaleh Sailors of San Marcos in a historic pitching matchup. It's not a gimmick, as both are valued members of their teams.

Bill Plaschke, L.A. Times
March 5, 2011

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE GAME

The probable starting pitchers were two improbable dreams.

On the mound for the Lake Balboa Birmingham High boys' baseball team was a 5-foot-2 righty with a wicked changeup, a cut fastball, and a whole heap of black hair stuffed under her cap.

Her name was Marti Sementelli, and she does not throw like a girl.

"I've used that line," she said, giggling. "But I've used it on boys."

On the mound for the opposing San Marcos High boys' team from Santa Barbara was a 5-3 righty with a floating curve, a sneaky fastball, and two pink batting gloves.

Her name was Ghazaleh Sailors, and every heckler is but three swings from humiliation.

"The first time they see me, people say stuff," she said, grinning. "But then I strike them out, and that seems to quiet them down."

The several hundred fans scattered under the stately trees around the Birmingham Field roared at such proof Saturday, chanting and cheering for a cultural celebration that seemingly could happen only here.

For what is believed to be the first time in history, two high school boys' baseball teams played a game in which both starting pitchers were girls.

It was not an exhibition. It was not a joke. It was a serious seven-inning battle between two boys' teams led by girls who had fought to stand at their center.

"It was like everything turned upside down," Sailors said. "It was amazing."

It was boys struck out by girls. It was boys picked off by girls. It was a 6-1 Birmingham victory engineered almost entirely by a girl.

Sementelli, considered perhaps the best girl baseball player in a state with more girls baseball players than anywhere — about 400 — threw a complete-game five-hitter, giving up only the one earned run with four strikeouts and three walks.

"I couldn't stop shaking, " she said afterward. "I still can't stop shaking."

On the other side of the diamond, Sailors couldn't stop laughing, thrilled with giving up but three hits in 3 1/3 innings while striking out out two, walking one, and even chopping a single to center against Sementelli while batting in the seventh inning.

"I never thought this would happen," she said. "For me, this is about history, about creating more opportunities so girls won't have to go through what I went through."

In a world where softball is supposed to keep women quiet and happy, it indeed has been difficult for those who have insisted on making our national pastime truly national for everybody.

While the most famous women's baseball was played by the women in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between 1943-54 — inspiring the movie, "A League of Their Own" — it hasn't been so glamorous for women trying to play with the men.

While women have played in the Negro Leagues, on independent teams, and have even pitched batting practice to major leaguers, no woman has ever played in the major leagues. Given the biological differences in strength and speed, the odds seem long, with the best chance given to a junk-ball pitcher who doesn't have to bat.

In fact, most girls who play youth league baseball are usually convinced to switch to softball when they realize that there is no future in hardball. Sementelli and Sailors, both seniors who hope to play at the next level, are clearly not most girls.

"I'm not one who takes the easy route if it means giving up something I love," Sementelli said.

They took the mound Saturday in a game that was scheduled with this matchup in mind. The girls are teammates on the U.S. National Women's baseball team, and the coaches agreed that the message was too big to ignore.

Said Birmingham Coach Matt Mowry: "It takes a special kind of kid to do this, and Marti is that kid."

Said San Marcos Coach Tony Vanetti: "Ghazaleh is the poster child for dreams really do come true."

They took the mound looking like small boys, purposely showing no hair under their caps, as Sementelli's hair was pinned up and Sailor's hair was cut. When they began pitching, their deliveries were so refined and their breaking balls moved so much, an unsuspecting fan would assume they were freshman phenoms.

"When Marti first joined our team, I was like, do we really want a girl around here?" said Kevin Torres, a Birmingham senior outfielder. "Then in batting practice she struck me out and I'm like, well, OK."

Sementelli has always been something of a local prodigy, even once striking out Jimmy Kimmel on his talk show, so her path has been fairly easy. Not so much for Sailors, who has endured much taunting in her journey.

There was the kid who took a ball and stuck it in her face and said, "I hate you, and I'm going to throw this ball at you." There were the kids who struck a razor on a string and wrapped it around her legs while she was sitting in the dugout. There was once even a kid who protested her appearance on the mound by purposely dropping a fly ball in center field.

"It hasn't always been so much fun for her," said her father, Robert. "But she is the kind of kid where the taunting just makes her tougher."

Like Sementelli at Birmingham, Sailors has finally found a home at San Marcos, where she is a valued member of the team even if she has to dress in a storage shed with a kid guarding the door. Together, Saturday, on a Birmingham field awash in the warmth of acceptance, the two pitchers reveled in a new and wondrous space.

"For a long time, we thought we were alone," Sailors said. "Today was a great reminder that we're not."

Throw like a girl? One could only hope.

bill.plaschke@latimes.com