Sunday, May 22, 2011

Head Athletic Trainer Gene Monahan Will Retire

Head Athletic Trainer Gene Monahan, who is the longest-tenured employee in the Yankees organization, announced on 5/11 that he will retire at the conclusion of the 2011 season after 49 years of continuous service...is the longest-tenured Head Athletic Trainer in the Major Leagues, having worked in that capacity for the last 39 years...first worked for the Yankees organization in 1962, serving as a bat boy and clubhouse attendant during spring training while in his senior year at St. Thomas 
Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale...began his athletic training career with the Yankees' Class-D Ft. Lauderdale affiliate in 1963, and was promoted in 1965 to Double-A, where he served as head trainer for Columbus (Ga.) and Binghamton (N.Y.)...in 1969, made the jump to Triple-A Syracuse, where he worked through 1972 before heading the Yankees' Major League training staff in 1973. 

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Leyritz gets 2nd chance after fatal crash

Leyritz gets 2nd chance after fatal crash
May 17, 2011 by BARBARA BARKER / barbara.barker@newsday.com
Former Yankee Jim Leyritz tries to turn his
NEWARK
Somehow, he still walks with the same recognizable swagger.
Fifteen years, including three very difficult ones, have come and gone since Jim Leyritz's famous home run in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series. Yet, the former Yankees catcher still walks the baseball field with the confidence of a clutch hitter, with the feeling that he knows exactly what needs to be done and exactly how he's going to do it.
It didn't matter that he was wearing a gray T-shirt that says Newark Bears Tuesday instead of the Yankees pinstripes. It didn't matter that Riverfront Stadium in Newark is about as far away from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx as one can get and still be in professional ball. Leyritz was back home again, on a baseball field, which may be the one place for him in life where things always have made sense.
Six months after being cleared of vehicular manslaughter charges stemming from a 2007 automobile crash in Florida that resulted in the death of a 30-year-old woman, Leyritz is working as the pitching coach for the Newark Bears, who open their season May 26 against the Rockland Boulders. The unaffiliated professional team plays in downtown Newark and is managed by former Yankee Tim Raines.
"For me, this is a great opportunity," Leyritz, 47, said Tuesday during a team practice. "It's an opportunity to start my career over again and maybe get into the coaching ranks."
Leyritz played 11 years in the majors, primarily as a catcher, breaking in with the Yankees in 1990. During the course of his playing career, he made close to $11 million, and after his retirement in 2000, he worked as a commentator for ESPN Radio, MLB Radio and MLB.com.
Leyritz, however, went from a fan favorite with the Yankees to shunned outcast in December 2007. According to reports of the trial, after having drinks with friends on his 44th birthday, the car Leyritz was driving struck that of Fredia Veitch, a mother of two. Veitch, who also had been drinking, according to trial testimony, died as a result. Leyritz soon found himself looking at the prospect of spending up to 15 years in prison after being charged with vehicular manslaughter while driving drunk.
He ultimately was found not guilty of the charge last November, though he was convicted of a lesser DUI charge for which he received probation. He also settled a civil suit with the woman's family, according to reports.
One person who did not abandon him throughout the trial was Newark Bears owner Thomas Cetnar. Leyritz had played 19 games for the Bears in 2001, before signing with the San Diego Padres organization. He struck up a friendship with Cetnar, who then was the general manager of the Bears. The day after he got in the automobile accident, Cetnar flew to Florida to be with him.
And the day after he was acquitted, he offered him a job with the team. Leyritz, who is divorced and has primary custody of his three sons, was thrilled at a chance to bring them north for the summer to spend time around baseball.
"This is a league of second chances on the field," Cetnar said. "I think he's excited about turning the page after getting involved for three years in something that was tragic. Tragic for everyone involved."
Leyritz has written a book about his life that comes out June 7 called "Catching Heat," which discusses the car crash and trial. Because it has yet to be released, he would not talk specifically about the details of the accident Tuesday and what it was like to go through it.
He did, however, credit his religion, close friends and family for getting him through the last three years.
"I try to believe everything is a learning experience," he said. "Unfortunately, this was very painful for both families and everyone who had to go through it. But now, I'm able to move forward and move on and this is something I really want to do."
Another thing he wants to do is re-establish ties with the Yankees, adding that he is hoping he can go to Old-Timer's Day this year.
Cetnar believes that the experience has changed his friend.
"We all go through things in life that humble us as we mature," he said. "I think this has humbled him. He was always about doing the right thing, but I think he looks at things through different eyes now."
His swagger, however, is still the same.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Files reveal late Yankees owner blamed lawyers for Nixon donation


Files reveal late Yankees owner blamed lawyers for Nixon donation
5/9/2011 4:15 PM ET
George Steinbrenner, who served as the principal owner of the Yankees for 37 years, died Tuesday.
Newly released FBI documents revealed that George Steinbrenner assisted the agency in two investigations and shed new light on the illegal corporate contribution that Steinbrenner made to President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign in 1972, The Associated Press reported on Monday.
The late Yankees owner assisted the government on matters of national importance, according to the documents. One memo released Monday described a probe in which Steinbrenner, who died in July, assisted in an "undercover operation" that ultimately led to an arrest, prosecution and conviction. The other investigation was described as a "sensitive security matter."
The FBI deleted the specifics about the two probes before releasing the file on Steinbrenner. A separate document revealed that Steinbrenner assisted the bureau from 1978-83, and a memo from 1988 indicates that he offered the use of Yankee Stadium for the staging of more than 500 gambling raids against a major organized crime syndicate in New York. Another location was ultimately chosen for the raids in question.
In addition, the documents showed that Steinbrenner blamed inadequate legal counsel for the $25,000 donation to the Nixon campaign that led to him pleading guilty in 1974 to both a conspiracy to funnel campaign contributions to politicians and to making "false and misleading" claims about the contributions. Steinbrenner was also sanctioned for trying to coerce the testimony of employees of his shipbuilding company.
That series of events had a wide-ranging set of repercussions. Steinbrenner, who had acquired a majority stake of the Yankees in 1972, was fined $15,000 as part of his plea bargain and subject to further sanctions by Major League Baseball. Bowie Kuhn, the Commissioner at the time, suspended him for two years.
"Attempting to influence employees to behave dishonestly is the kind of conduct which, if ignored by baseball, would undermine the public's confidence in our game," Kuhn wrote in a 12-page ruling.
The suspension was later reduced to 15 months. In an unrelated case, Steinbrenner was later banned from day-to-day operations of the Yankees by Major League Baseball in 1990 in response to his dealings with reputed gambler Howie Spira. That sanction lasted three years, with Steinbrenner reinstated as managing partner in 1993.
Steinbrenner sought a presidential pardon in 1979 and the newly released FBI documents indicate that he told officials he would not have made the contribution to the Committee to Re-elect the President if he knew it was illegal. Steinbrenner, according to the documents, said his attorneys should have been more thorough in their research.
Another FBI memo, which was acquired after the AP and other organizations made a request under the Freedom of Information Act, indicated that Steinbrenner thought of his conviction as an "embarrassment." Steinbrenner was ultimately pardoned by the next President, Ronald Reagan, in January of 1989.
The FBI also released Steinbrenner's application for a pardon, which contained a detailed explanation of his side of the story. Steinbrenner said that the conviction hurt his business and limited his participation in civic and charitable affairs. Furthermore, he argued that a pardon would "permit me to contribute more of my services to the community."

Monday, May 2, 2011

The story and career of George (SNUFFY) Stirnweiss - Update

March 18, 2011



TO:        Children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, Yankee teammates, fans, et al of George Stirnweiss



RE:  The story and career of George (SNUFFY) Stirnweiss



         In the pantheon of major league baseball greats a number of them played for the New York Yankees: Babe Ruth, Lou Gerhig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, et al.  These players were memorialized in the old Yankee Stadium and their careers are again remembered in the new stadium’s Memorial Park.  These players are also in baseball’s Hall of Fame and have had books written about them and movies made of their careers.




            There was another Yankee great, George, Henry, (SNUFFY) Stirnweiss whose story and career, in many ways, rivals the players mentioned above. But his story and career have been mostly forgotten both by the Yankees and major league baseball in general.  Very much like one of his Yankee predecessors, Lou Gerhig, Snuffy’s life had a tragic ending when he died in 1958 at the age of 39 when a New Jersey Central Railroad commuter train on which he was riding ran through an open bridge into Newark, NJ Bay.  A total of 40 people died in that wreck. Possibly by few other players in the history of major league baseball.  Here is a summary of what Snuffy accomplished that season: he led the league in these offensive categories:


Batting average, on base %, slugging %, at bats, runs scored, hits, total bases, triples, extra base hits, times on base, runs created, stolen bases (12 offensive categories). There are some detractors who note that 1945 was a war year therefore the categories in which Stirnweiss led the league in 1945 should be marked with the infamous *.  But it should also noted that while it is true that 1945 was a war year, it should also be noted that in 1945 there were close to 1,000 players in the American League but only Snuffy was able to accomplish what he did.  And in addition to these offensive leaderships, and he and teammate Frankie Crosetti led the league in double plays. In one of his years with the Yankees, 1945, he had a season which is unmatched by any other Yankee and




 One would have to go back to the 1911 season to find a comparable record when the immortal Ty Cobb batted .420 and led the league in most everything; he was the terror that pitfchers feared and shortstops and second-basemen feared when he was about to come sliding into 2nd base.  But, baseball in 1911 and 1945 were entirely different games. 


           
In 1946, George was voted the Sid Mercer Memorial award as player of the year by the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association.  Some previous award recipients were: Dixie walker, Ted Williams, Joe Di Maggio, Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, and Lou Gehrig.



            In 1948 with only five errors tallied against him in 141 games, he set a major league fielding record with a .903 average


.  In that same year, George was named major league baseball’s Father of the Year.  George often said he was more proud of that award than any other he had ever received.


            Again in 1948 with only five errors tallied against him in 141 games, he set a major league fielding record with a .903 average.


            This is quite a record for a player who never was even placed in nomination for the Baseball Hall of Fame, much less elected.


            Snuffy’s life had one major tragedy, the train wreck in which he was killed, and a few minor mishaps which destroyed his professional reputation.



            The Central Railroad (CRR) of New Jersey on which Snuffy and 39 other people died in the wreck on September 15, 1958 was in serious financial difficulty.  For just the first six months of that year the railroad was facing an operating deficit of close to two million dollars. For the entire year of 1957 it had only $140,000 operating profit from its passenger services and freight.  Drastic measures had to be taken to keep the company out of bankruptcy. Among the cost cutting actions taken was to eliminate the very large expenses that were needed on various safety features.  One of these features, the so-called ‘dead man’s switch’ which was the subject of much discussion at the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) hearing after the wreck. The switch is a device which shuts off power to the engine if the engineer becomes disabled.   In its testimony at the ICC hearing the railroad claimed it didn’t need this switch since it always had a second man (a fireman) in the engineer’s cabin.  But when the cabin was recovered from Newark Bay, only the body of Mr. Wilburn, the engineer, was found; The assigned fireman, Peter Anderson’s, body was found in another part of the train.  The railroad could offer no reason why Anderson was not where he was assigned to be.


            One of the minor mishaps in 1945 over which he also had no control was the decision by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).  This organization which consists mainly of the newspaper writers in the cities where major league baseball is played.  Each season they select the player to be given the “Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.  Along with the CyYoung award given to pitchers the MVP is a prestigious honor which players hold in great regard.  In 1945 the BBWAA awarded the MVP to the Detroit pitcher Hal Newhouser.  Newhouser had won 27 games that year and led his team to the American League championship and winning the World Series.  There is little, if any, conflict with this choice.  But the BBWAA also gave 2nd place in the award to another Detroit player, Eddie Mayo who led the league in absolutely no category even giving him 7 votes for 1st place.  In contrast, Snuffy Stirnweiss was assigned to 3rd place.


                                                                                                                                                            And then to heap insult on to injury in another dishonor placed on Snuffy by the BBWAA was in regard to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Election to the Hall is accomplished in two steps: (1) after having been out of baseball for five years, a player may then be placed on the ballot for election. He shall remain on the ballot for five years or until he receives a minimum of 75% of the voters.  Unless the player is elected during one of his five years of eligibility, his name shall be removed from subsequent ballots.




            Snuffy first became eligible for election to the Hall in 1957, but then died in 1958.  The election rules allow a player who was previously eligible for election but then died before he become ineligible shall be eligible for being placed on the annual ballot for his full five years




             It may be interesting to look at the names of a few of the players who were nominated for election by being placed on the ballot during the years when Snuffy was also eligible for such placement; each one received at least one vote for election.  BUT Snuffy could never make to the list to join such notable players as:  Kiki Cuyler, Eppa Risney, Nick Altrock, and Art Nehf.  Just another example of the BBWAA in action. 




The BBWAA action in the 1945 MVP voting along with their record in the Baseball Hall of Fame, could easily raise the possibility of some bias and/or prejudice by these writers in regard to Snuffy Stirnweiss.  At least I believe it could be so..
 . 


It’s quite likely that I’ve gone on much too long with this diatribe in which I’ve likely exhibited MY bias and prejudice towards Snuffy.  I hope I’ve built a case for my feelings.




It is likely that I’ve lost a number of readers by this point; yet I do have to offer one more bit.  It is quite apparent that there might be two Snuffy’s: My Snuffy and the one seen by the BBWAA members.




So, let me provide this statement, which I hope, tells the story of:


    WHO WAS THE REAL SNUFFY STIRNWEISS?   

Who was the real Snuffy Stirnweiss?  There was the Snuffy that

Had so many friends at Fordham Prep and The University of North Carolina.  There was the Snuffy Stirnweiss that millions of Yankee fans worshiped as their baseball hero.  The best way to learn about him is to listen to his many friends talk about him.
            There was Fr. Matty O’Rourke.  He and George were virtually inseparable friends during all of their days at Fordham Prep.  There wasn’t anything they didn’t do together.  When Snuffy needed help with his studies, which was quite often, Matty was there to lend a helping hand when Calculus became too much of a chore during the middle of football season.  Although it had been sixty years or more, others spoke just as lovingly of their memories of Rabbit, as he was known during his Prep days.

            One has only to listen to UNC President Erskine Bowles in several letters he wrote about how George is remembered at the university.  He is still in the university sports hero status at the level of Charlie Justice
            The statement made by George Steinbrenner: iii regarding Snuffy’s career: “Stirnweiss never received the accolades his performance demanded.  iwhich George deserved, Hopefully, your book will change that, and he will rightly receive his due. Of course there is some percentage of the millions of fans who saw him play who would remember him as do I..

          But it is the Snuffy who is remembered by his teammates in basketball, baseball, and football, who after all these years have gone by, can still remember him at the end of every game running as fast as he ever did on the football field to get to the opposition teammates.  Regardless of whether he was on the winning or losing team, everyone he could get to was given a warm, congratulatory handshake and a slap on the back (hugs weren’t the thing in those days).  And he had words for them too.  Probably some thought this was just grandstanding or showing off, but those who thought this didn’t know the real Snuffy.

          He couldn’t have been more sincere when he said to a player who may have been the “enemy” just a few minutes earlier, “Great game.  You have a wonderful team”.  George had only love and admiration for those on the other side of the field.  It wasn’t in his nature to behave in any other way.  And he felt exactly the same way about his fellow teammates; and he told them often.  And, those who knew the real Rabbit Stirnweiss knew his every word was sincere, earnest, and heartfelt.


          It is probably best summed by again by Fr.Matty O’Rourke who was devastated when he heard of his friend’s death, especially since he wasn’t able to be at his funeral.  It may have been close to sixty years since Snuffy’s death, but when Matty said to me: “I still miss George.  He IS my best friend.”.  He couldn’t have been more in earnest.  There were tears in his voice.


            It has been an effort of over three years to get the story of George Stirnweiss told.  My research began with visiting with members of his family in New Jersey, followed by visits to Fordham Prep in New York, and the University of North Carolina.  Of course I’ve spent countless hours searching the internet for what ever I could find.  I have an e-mail file with close to 200 contacts with anyone who could tell me more about Snuffy.  And every bit of these tasks was a true labor of love.  I do not regret one minute spent in this work, even though I’m not much closer to getting his biography published, despite having sent the document to Acquisition Editors at close to 100 publishers.  I came  ”close” with only two (no point in telling that story).  But, now age and health are bringing me close to the end of my being able to continue without some help (I’m starting my 84th year and inflicted with Parkinson’s Disease, and several of the usual afflictions of an octogenarian: high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, hearing loss, macular degeneration in one eye (I’m a virtual Cyclops), et al.  But I always tell myself, as I do others complaining about “old age”, that growing old might not be much fun, but it’s infinitely better than the alternative.


            At one point, for about a year, I was working with an agent who made considerable effort to find a willing publisher.  I know she was highly motivated because her getting paid was dependent on getting the book published.  Although she was not successful in her efforts, when she quit, she did leave me with one piece of advice: “find a friend inside a book publisher” the chance of getting a submissions editor to read a unsolicited document for a biography about a relatively unknown baseball player are slim.  But, working from the inside at the start will greatly improve your chances (**)


            I most definitely am not seeking help with any of the aforementioned ailments since I’m already seeing too many physicians and taking 31 prescription medications daily.  Thank GOD for the help I get from the VA and Medicare with the costs of all this medical assistance.

            The help I urgently need is with making some effective contacts inside the world of book publishing. ** My hope is that there is a Snuffy friend who has a friend or a friend who has a friend inside some book publisher.  Most publishers specialize in what they print: cookbooks, fiction, self- help books, etc.  I am asking to publish the book as a paperback, gift-book that is a somewhat6 easier category to crack.


            If you can help, please contact me via my e-mail: 
                          Patmack27@comcast.net


            Even when I use my VA hearing aids, I don’t function very well on the phone, but I can manipulate an e-mail message to enable me to read it.

REGARDS,

Pat