Throughout 1993, the play-by-play team never mentioned "O Holy Cow: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto." Now and then, Tom Seaver suggested that Phil sounded "poetic," but Rizzuto didn't bite.
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In September, with the Yanks out of the race, WPIX invited us to do a half-inning live with the Scooter. We'd pitch the book to every fan in captivity.
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The editors were ecstatic, aside from one concern: Peyer said he was going to ask what Phil thought about the Catholic Church pedophilia scandal.
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We met Phil before the game. He shook our hands. He thanked us. He said he didn’t understand the book, because in his opinion, poetry should rhyme. Peyer encouraged him to rhyme, when possible. Phil nodded.
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We sat behind home plate with the players’ wives. It started to sprinkle, so we ordered beers. Our editor encouraged us to "go slow." The rain intensified. We did, too. When the game was called, our editor was the most disappointed and relieved guy in New York.
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They never rescheduled us. Peyer never asked about the scandal. That’s show biz. That's life.
It is too bad that Mr. Peyer never got to ask Phil about the pedophilia practices of the catholic church.
ReplyDeleteScooter's answer would have raised some eyebrows, I think. And maybe he would have led a protest to eliminate the hypocrisy and lies that have protected the
vested " touchers " for all the centuries past.
But one technical comment; I don't think it is a "scandal." I think it is a common business practice.
The "scandal" enters the lexicon only after the guys with the robes and pointy hats are caught.
Love that hypocrisy.
P.S. How many priests are sleepaway camp boyscout leaders?
- Cardinal Richelieu
Thanks for this. I'd forgotten about my plans for Scooter. I guess the rain saved me.
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