OMG! it’s embarrassing to me and I hope not to you that I can’t resist being the first person to comment on the soul-rocking power of theses pieces, the outlandish comparisons that then work perfectly and the switching of gears from music to baseball without the slightest sense of a foot on a clutch, but most of all the humanity and sense of justice denied or justice accorded of every possible kind. All I can say is FUCKIN’-A! IE aka Dad. 👍
Reggie, I imagine, will always be Reggie in his own way ... maybe his honesty is a little slippery to himself, but, he seems very real in his moments. Of course, in 1977, we only saw him through his play and through the filter of the national and New York media ... which ... with the perspective of forty-plus years (both of the ensuing decades and my own then eleven year old perceptions) it’s pretty easy to see how his brand of outspokenness would not be well received.
Maybe it’s because Henry Aaron appeared in the documentary, but, I *think* I was already feeling the feels before his segments ... I found the documentary unsettling in the same way Howard Bryant’s The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron unsettled me. Here were two giants of my youth, both of whom I admired (As a Red Sox fan things were a bit more complicated ... let’s leave it at ... in 1982 I was quite relieved ... “*Now* I can root for Reggie.), who were such a significant part of my formative fandom, and who gave me so much joy in their accomplishments, carrying so much pain. Did Henry Aaron ever feel joy in the game, or just relief? As much as Reggie talked about Reggie and promoted Reggie ... was he ever truly comfortable? Was he able to give himself the joy he gave others? I’m not certain the answer is yes.
Well said. And no, I don’t think Reggie was ever truly comfortable or happy in the game, which - whatever his faults - is kind of heartbreaking. There was one line of his that really sticks with me from the doc: “I’m happy to be here - but ain’t YOU happy to have me here, as well?”
Great piece! I need to find that first Thin Lizzy album, AND I need to watch that Reggie documentary. I always loved your insight into 70s baseball (and music, of course).
As a side-note, and at the risk of tooting my own tin whistle, Reggie was interestingly introspective in a recent ESPN doc that I also appeared in, Yankees-Dodgers: An Uncivil War.
Fantastic piece about two of the all-timers! I lived in NY in the 70s, and Reggie was a god to us. I even got a foul ball that he hit under my mother's seat on a warm afternoon in 1977 - but as this was before collector culture ruined everything, my brother and I played catch with it. And yes, "Honesty Is No Excuse" is the finest song Phil ever gave us. Bravo!
I didn’t know about your NY roots! Very cool about the Reggie ball - I would have done the same with it! (In fact, I had a glove signed by both Gates Brown and Bill Freehan… and I played Little League with it until their signatures wore completely off.)
I built a display for March at the library for the Vinyl Revival program. I went with an Irish theme and put up record jackets from the library’s collection on a kiosk near the room where patrons go to listen to records. The records are kept behind the counter and requested if they want them. I put up both Johnny the Fox and Nightlife to talk about Thin Lizzy’s Irish roots and Jim Fitzpatrick’s art (I mean, the guy did the Che Guevera art- what a great piece of trivia). Last week I noticed someone must have purloined the Johnny The Fox cover. Not a huge loss, but I hope they took it and hung it up at their abode or used it to get a tattoo.
OMG! it’s embarrassing to me and I hope not to you that I can’t resist being the first person to comment on the soul-rocking power of theses pieces, the outlandish comparisons that then work perfectly and the switching of gears from music to baseball without the slightest sense of a foot on a clutch, but most of all the humanity and sense of justice denied or justice accorded of every possible kind. All I can say is FUCKIN’-A! IE aka Dad. 👍
You kidding? Wanted: More readers like Irwin Epstein!
Well done as always!
Reggie, I imagine, will always be Reggie in his own way ... maybe his honesty is a little slippery to himself, but, he seems very real in his moments. Of course, in 1977, we only saw him through his play and through the filter of the national and New York media ... which ... with the perspective of forty-plus years (both of the ensuing decades and my own then eleven year old perceptions) it’s pretty easy to see how his brand of outspokenness would not be well received.
Maybe it’s because Henry Aaron appeared in the documentary, but, I *think* I was already feeling the feels before his segments ... I found the documentary unsettling in the same way Howard Bryant’s The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron unsettled me. Here were two giants of my youth, both of whom I admired (As a Red Sox fan things were a bit more complicated ... let’s leave it at ... in 1982 I was quite relieved ... “*Now* I can root for Reggie.), who were such a significant part of my formative fandom, and who gave me so much joy in their accomplishments, carrying so much pain. Did Henry Aaron ever feel joy in the game, or just relief? As much as Reggie talked about Reggie and promoted Reggie ... was he ever truly comfortable? Was he able to give himself the joy he gave others? I’m not certain the answer is yes.
Well said. And no, I don’t think Reggie was ever truly comfortable or happy in the game, which - whatever his faults - is kind of heartbreaking. There was one line of his that really sticks with me from the doc: “I’m happy to be here - but ain’t YOU happy to have me here, as well?”
Great piece! I need to find that first Thin Lizzy album, AND I need to watch that Reggie documentary. I always loved your insight into 70s baseball (and music, of course).
As a side-note, and at the risk of tooting my own tin whistle, Reggie was interestingly introspective in a recent ESPN doc that I also appeared in, Yankees-Dodgers: An Uncivil War.
Here's a link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/49fe1dd6-3dd1-40e7-a110-35228f3ba5fa. You'd have to have an ESPN+ account to watch it. If you don't have an account, I may be able to hook you up.
I don’t have an account but would love to see it!
I've got an .mp4 file that I can drop on a thumb drive. I'll send it to you this week.
Right on - thank you!
Fantastic piece about two of the all-timers! I lived in NY in the 70s, and Reggie was a god to us. I even got a foul ball that he hit under my mother's seat on a warm afternoon in 1977 - but as this was before collector culture ruined everything, my brother and I played catch with it. And yes, "Honesty Is No Excuse" is the finest song Phil ever gave us. Bravo!
I didn’t know about your NY roots! Very cool about the Reggie ball - I would have done the same with it! (In fact, I had a glove signed by both Gates Brown and Bill Freehan… and I played Little League with it until their signatures wore completely off.)
I built a display for March at the library for the Vinyl Revival program. I went with an Irish theme and put up record jackets from the library’s collection on a kiosk near the room where patrons go to listen to records. The records are kept behind the counter and requested if they want them. I put up both Johnny the Fox and Nightlife to talk about Thin Lizzy’s Irish roots and Jim Fitzpatrick’s art (I mean, the guy did the Che Guevera art- what a great piece of trivia). Last week I noticed someone must have purloined the Johnny The Fox cover. Not a huge loss, but I hope they took it and hung it up at their abode or used it to get a tattoo.