Conference 7.286::sports_91

136.0. "Skin, metal, cloth, hat" by BOSOX::TIMMONS (I'm a Pepere!) Tue Apr 16 1991 08:22

    Anyone see the article in last weeks' SI regarding signs in baseball?
    
    Some funny stories in there.  My favorite was on Mickey Rivers. 
    Apparently he was incapable of paying attention when he was on base. 
    He'd talk with the 1Bman, or look around in the stands, all the while
    his 3B coach would be flashing signals on whether to steal or not.
    Finally, the coaches hit upon one sign that worked.  They'd call him
    'til he looked over, then wave their arms from 1st to 2nd.  During one
    game, Mickey wasn't watching as the coach waved and waved.  Finally,
    the opposing pitcher, Luis Tiant I believe, stepped off of the mound,
    called Mickey, and said "Mickey, they want you to steal."  :*)
    
    Another was Bernardo Carbo, when he was with the Red Sox.  The signals
    all had a numerical value, and the runner was supposed to watch, add up
    the value of the signs, and the total would tell him what to do. 
    Bernie sees the signs, then takes off from 3rd on a suicide squeeze. 
    The catcher drops the ball and he scores.  Back in the dugout, the
    manager, Johnson, was going crazy.  The signs were supposed to tell him
    to hold.  Johnson asks him what the signs were, Bernie says "a two and
    a two."  Johnson says yes, that adds up to 4 which is to hold, but
    Carbo ran the squeeze, which was a 5.  Bernie says, "Oops, I added
    wrong!" (or something to that effect).  Ha ha ha.  
    
    
    Lee

    Didn't see the SI story, I'll have to check it out.
    
    When I played Little League, the steal sign for our team one year was
    the assistant manager lighting a cigar.  Then there was the day this
    man picked the wrong time to have a nicotine fit.  "What were you doing
    trying to steal second when we're five runs down?"  "Mr. Bacciocchi lit
    his cigar!"  That signal got changed pretty quickly...
    
    
    py