More '74

Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors on their first championship in 40 years. The Warriors went 23-12 in the last four months of 1974, and they won 11 of 15 in November. They were much hotter this season, going 25-5 by the end of the calendar year! I might add some individual player stats to this entry sometime.

This summer is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, awarded to the Soviet capital October 23, 1974, by a vote of 39-20 at the 75th IOC session. The same session confirmed the selection of Lake Placid as host city for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Vancouver having withdrawn earlier in the month.

While transferring files to my new external hard drive, I decided Thursday it would be a good time to look at some library books that were almost due. One of them was The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (N.Y.: Free Press, 2001), and the following caught my eye because the year was 1974. It tells of an El Paso second baseman, Jerry Remy, who wonders if he'll ever be a major leaguer. Dave Garcia, the Diablos' manager, started a conversation that went something like this.

DG: Listen, do you know who is playing second base for the Angels?
JR: Denny Doyle.
DG: Who runs better, you or Denny?
JR: I do.
DG: Who throws better?
JR: I do.
DG: Who hits better?
JR: I do.
DG: Well then, you're going to the major leagues.

The next year, Doyle was traded to the Red Sox only to be released in 1978, as once again Remy replaced Doyle as second baseman. Remy played in the '78 All-Star Game to begin a seven-year run with the Red Sox after three with the Angels. As I looked things up for this entry, I learned he's now doing color commentary on NESN, but this May he was too ill for a road trip. Also, due to financial trouble, his restaurant near Fenway Park was closed for a time in March before being sold, and another location in his native Fall River was also sold later in May. He was back in the booth by June, though. Hope things are going better!