The reception was thinning out Thursday night in Las Vegas. It was off to the side of the arena where the conference was being held, and most of the room had already gone. Jake and I were standing there talking with Alejandro, who had taken care of us all week.
Alejandro nodded toward a man at the edge of the room. Older fellow, handlebar mustache, an A on his shirt. He figured it was an old ballplayer of some kind and guessed Auburn. He had no idea who he was pointing at.
I knew exactly who it was.
Rollie Fingers. Three World Series rings with the Oakland A’s, back to back to back, seventy two, seventy three, seventy four. Hall of Fame. I was twelve, thirteen and fourteen years old for that run, and those A’s were my team. Vida Blue. Catfish Hunter. Reggie Jackson. And the guy with the mustache.
We went over and introduced ourselves and he could not have been more gracious. He told us he came up as a starting pitcher and was not much of one, until a manager moved him to the bullpen. He told us he made twenty nine thousand dollars in 1973, the year they won it all. Charlie Finley, the owner, gave him a thousand dollar bonus for the season. Rollie told him to pound sand. Twenty nine thousand in 1973 is a couple hundred thousand today. He and Reggie Jackson came up together, same age, and they are still friends fifty years later.
We talked for a good while. Jake enjoyed it as much as I did, and he was not born when any of it happened.
When I got home I looked him up, because I only knew the Oakland years. World Series MVP in 1974. First pitcher in history to three hundred saves, and he held the all time record when he retired. Seven All Star games. In 1981, with Milwaukee, he won the MVP and the Cy Young in the same season as a relief pitcher. Almost nobody has done that. In 1982 he pitched hurt most of the year, saved twenty nine games, and then his arm gave out before the World Series he got them to. They lost in seven without him.
That is the man who was standing by himself at the edge of the room while everybody else was inside taking pictures of the people on the stage.
Keep the faith. God bless America.
Jeff