Fritz Peterson has prostate cancer for the second time. Unfortunately, it's not a best-of-seven series.
He owns the lowest Yankee career ERA at the old Stadium. He won 20 for a team whose infield went by the names Cater, Clarke, Michael and Kenny. He was one of the few ballplayers who treated Jim Bouton kindly after the tell-all best-seller "Ball Four" hit the stores.
Of course, he's remembered for none of that. He's famous for "wife-swapping" with teammate Mike Kekich, though they also switched dogs and kids. "Play me or trade me," Johnny Carson joked. The nation laughed and passed judgment. Kekich's got the Ken Phelps side of the deal; they split up. Peterson (far right) got the Jay Buhner; they stayed together to this day. But his career tanked, perhaps because he was booed in every AL city.
He went on to be a blackjack dealer in a casino, a boozer and -- of course -- after all the sinning, what else can he be but an evangelical?
He's self-published his memoirs. It's called "Mickey Mantle is Going to Heaven." Joe Lapointe of the Times interviews him today.
I believe Yank fans are distinctly different from their Redsock counterparts in one basic strand of DNA:
We always forgive.
Our hearts -- however enraged over yesterday's loss -- always maintain a soft soft for the old guys, be they stars or bums. Seriously. Do the Redsocks have an old-timers day?
Fritz Peterson. Woah. What memories.
What a life.
He owns the lowest Yankee career ERA at the old Stadium. He won 20 for a team whose infield went by the names Cater, Clarke, Michael and Kenny. He was one of the few ballplayers who treated Jim Bouton kindly after the tell-all best-seller "Ball Four" hit the stores.
Of course, he's remembered for none of that. He's famous for "wife-swapping" with teammate Mike Kekich, though they also switched dogs and kids. "Play me or trade me," Johnny Carson joked. The nation laughed and passed judgment. Kekich's got the Ken Phelps side of the deal; they split up. Peterson (far right) got the Jay Buhner; they stayed together to this day. But his career tanked, perhaps because he was booed in every AL city.
He went on to be a blackjack dealer in a casino, a boozer and -- of course -- after all the sinning, what else can he be but an evangelical?
He's self-published his memoirs. It's called "Mickey Mantle is Going to Heaven." Joe Lapointe of the Times interviews him today.
I believe Yank fans are distinctly different from their Redsock counterparts in one basic strand of DNA:
We always forgive.
Our hearts -- however enraged over yesterday's loss -- always maintain a soft soft for the old guys, be they stars or bums. Seriously. Do the Redsocks have an old-timers day?
Fritz Peterson. Woah. What memories.
What a life.
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4 comments:
At the risk of being sincere, I remember Fritz from my days as a Yankee fan growing up in central NY state. He won 20 games with a 2.90 ERA in 1970 and had 17 wins and a 2.55 ERA in 1969.
Boy those were some bad offensive teams - Cater, Clarke, Michael and Kenney and the OFs weren't much better. (Actually they were better - Roy White and Bobby Murcer were pretty good.)
Best wishes to Peterson and his family. I hope his last days are peaceful with family and friends close by.
Wow, I forgot about Kenney.
That was a *very* bad team. It is sad when Celerino Sanchez is a step up when you rescue him from the Mexican league.
I repeat dadlak's best wishes to the entire family.
Celerino Sanchez....another blast from the past.
Autographed copies of Fritz new book is available at WWW.MINTPROS.COM
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