Bill Dickey, who played on eight pennant-winning Yankee teams, seven of which won the World Series, was buried Monday in Little Rock, Ark., and it occurs to me this last baseball season may have been somewhat of a joy for him.
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Offensively, it was the Year of the Catcher. Eight catchers, including both Chicago receivers, Rick Wilkins of the Cubs and Ron Karkovice of the White Sox, hit 20 or more home runs, possibly the most powerful offensive display by that position.
The others were Mike Piazza of the Dodgers, who led with 35; Chris Hoiles, Orioles; Mike Stanley, Yankees; Mickey Tettleton, Tigers; Darren Daulton, Phillies; and Mike Macfarlane, Royals.
Many catchers can hit and those who hit usually can’t, catch. Dickey, who died Friday at the age of 85, did both. He had a glorious 17-year playing career, all with the Yankees: a .313 lifetime batting average with 202 home runs and 1,209 runs batted in. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954.
The only time he led the league, in any category, was in 1931, when he handled 751 fielding chances without an error or a passed ball, still the one-season major-league record for defensive excellence.
“Bill Dickey learned me his experience,” said Yogi Berra when he was breaking in with the Yankees.
Dickey had a brief career as a manager. He was also a coach with the Bronx Bombers and, for many years after that, a scout. And, of course, he had a good eye for catchers. Once, when asked what he looks for in a catcher, he replied:
“I’m interested in knowing if he’s a good dancer.”
“I brought that up once on the air, when I was doing a Mets game,” Tim McCarver recalled Monday. A former catcher, McCarver has been a broadcaster for the last 14 years. “Ralph Kiner picked up on it and said when he was playing, some of the players used to take dancing and fencing lessons to improve their mobility and hand-eye coordination.”
McCarver, who was strong defensively, knew Dickey well.
“He scouted me when I was in high school,” said McCarver who grew up in Memphis, Dickey’s scouting territory. “We became good friends. He was a fisherman. Fished all the rivers around Memphis. I don’t think he was Catholic, but every Friday, he’d bring fish over to my family.
“He told me things I’d never heard before. He never talked about hitting. Once, he gave me a list of 10 things a catcher must do. The one that stood out was to be the pitcher’s best friend, to stand up to him when you thought he was wrong and to pat him on the back when he was down.”
I asked McCarver if he agreed with my belief that with the exception of the pitcher, the catcher is the most important player on the team, more crucial than a slick-fielding shortstop.
“I’ve said that many times,” McCarver replied. “When people hear me say that, they say, `Sure, you’re defending what you did for 20 years.’ Maybe that’s true. But you can’t refute the logic of it. If pitching is such a big part of the game, then the catcher is No. 2 because he’s working with the pitcher. That’s the most important thing catcher does, communicating with the pitcher. But you can’t see that.”
I mentioned that Joe Garagiola, another former backstop, once said nobody ever cheers the catcher when he blocks a pitch in the dirt with the tying or winning run on third base.
“There should be some statistical category for that,” McCarver said in agreement. “It’s worthy of discussion. We’re in a world of numbers, to an overwhelming degree. A catcher doesn’t have to hit 20 home runs and drive in 80 runs to be effective. That’s the mentality of the fans and some of the media. Some of the general managers and managers feel that way, too.
“I’m not saying you can carry a guy hitting .140. When Randy Hundley was playing for the Cubs, Leo Durocher didn’t care what Randy hit. Randy’s value to the team was behind the plate, not at the plate. That distinction should be made today but unfortunately it isn’t.”
Does he miss catching?
“When Doc Gooden was having his big year in ’85, one of the frequent questions was, `Don’t you wish you were young enough to be behind the plate?’ I said, `No.’ People just don’t realize how difficult it is. It’s gruelling.
“I never thought it was enjoyable, but you do get lot of satisfaction. You can go 0-for-4 and if a guy pitches a good game, you’re part of it. There’s more satisfaction in that than going 3-for-4 in a losing game.”
It must have been a life of considerable satisfaction for William Malcolm Dickey.
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