How a Father and Son Learned to Love Baseball Again

269 Pages·2013·1.4 MB·English

by  Gullo Jim

T
$23.00 £15.99 $26.50 CAN
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continued from front fl ap
T R A D I N G
Rather than wait for an offi cial explana- T H E MOV I NG STORY
A
tion and apology from Major League Baseball
of how a father and his young son
that would never materialize, Jim and Joe set
recaptured their love of baseball — a
out to fi nd their own answers. They traveled M A N N Y
D
the country from coast to coast, from Spring winning testament to why the game
Training contests to major and minor league
matters and how it can still bring us
games — speaking with players, prospects, and
I
“ Trading Mannyy should be required reading for anybody associated with Major League together in spite of itself
managers while tracking down the legends
How a Father & Son
Baseball, including players, managers, trainers, GMs, union leaders, and, especially, the
and ghosts of baseball’s golden age. And one N
day they discovered an aging but dedicated Commissioner. This is the story of what it’s like to be a fan, to worship players as kids Learned to Love n recent years something hasn’t
prospect who would become not only a true do, but then to grapple with learning that your heroes are human. Jim Gullo and his son
been quite right with baseball. Ask Jim
role model for Joe, but also the unlikely inspi- take readers on a journey that underscores the challenges not only of growing up in the G
Baseball Again Gullo: he’ll tell you even a seven-year-
ration to lure both father and son back to the so-called ‘Steroid Era’ but, even more so, of refusing to fall out of love with the game.” old kid knows it. In December 2007,
game they loved. —mark fainaru-wada,
coauthor of Game of Shadows just as Jim’s young son Joe was beginning
By turns humorous, heartbreaking, and
to develop a true passion for the game, the
inspiring, Trading Manny tells the story of “A ny parent who sees a dream inside the heart of their child will exhale that someone has aa rrr bombshell news of players’ steroid use made
their journey back to baseball — how along fi nally tried to express the shattering effects of baseball’s inability to teach from its fail- LL ddd it clear that America’s pastime wasn’t what
the way Joe traded his idol Manny for a more ings. Jim has attacked it head-on, with both raw honesty and fatherly tenderness.” t e it claimed to be. Suddenly, Jim found him-
worthy hero, and Jim discovered something —doug glanville, ESPN analyst and author of The Game from Where I Stand BB se llll self struggling to answer questions from Joe
invaluable about being a father. that had nothing to do with batting averages
“ Sometimes it takes a child’s vision for adults to see clearly. In Trading Manny, Jim Gullo or World Series champions: “What are steroids?
M
and his wise-beyond-his-yyyyyyeeeeaaaarrrrrssss ssoonnnnn Joe, seek answers...Why did players do this to the Who was using them? Wasn’t it cheating?
j i m g u l l o ’ s
game we love? And can wwwwwwwweeeccccoooommmmeee bbbbbbbbbbbaack to the game after this time of rampant cheating Why weren’t the players who got caught
writing has appeared in Sports
and disregard for our naaaaaatttiiiooooonnnnnaaaaalllllpppppaaaaassssssttttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeee? Trading Mannyy helps us all through the tough suspended or punished by baseball?”
Illustrated, Premiere, Islands, A
While Jim searched for the right answers
Saveur, and other publications. times we whoollloooovvvveeeeee ttttttttttthhhhhhhhhheeeeeeee gggggggggggggggggaaammeehhaadd tooggggggggggggggggooooooooooo through.”
He is the author of several —dale murphyyy,,,,, and Major League Baseball dithered, Joe took
ttttwwwwoooo------ttttiiime National League MVP
books and guidebooks and matters into his own hands: he removed the
andd FFFoouundeeeeeerr oofftthheeIIIWWWWWon’’tt Cheat Foundattion N
lives in Oregon. Find him at players who had been named as likely drug
www.jimgullo.com.
users from his prized baseball card collection
and created a cheaters pile. Then he created a
N
different category of suspected “juicers” to keep
da capo press
an eye on. He took these players’ posters —
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
even the poster of his favorite slugger, Manny
Y
www.dacapopress.com
Ramirez — down from his bedroom walls. The
steroid scandal had clearly hit home.
Jacket design: George Restrepo, Rest Design
Jacket photograph: © Ronnie Kaufman/CORBIS J I M GULLO continued on back fl ap
Author photograph: Joel Sackett
0306820175-Gullo_Layout 1 12/12/11 3:53 PM Page i
TRADING MANNY
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Also by Jim Gullo
Just Let Me Play: The Story of Charlie Sifford
Fountain of Youth: A Novel
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T R A D I N G
M A N N Y
How a Father and Son
Learned to
Love Baseball Again
JIM GULLO
DA CAPO PRESS
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
0306820175-Gullo_Layout 1 12/12/11 3:53 PM Page iv
Copyright © 2012 by Jim Gullo
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor,
Boston, MA 02210.
Designed by Linda Mark
Set in 11 point Electra by the Perseus Books Group
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gullo, Jim, 1957–
Trading Manny : how a father and son learned to love baseball again /
Jim Gullo
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-306-82017-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)—
ISBN 978-0-306-82102-8 (e-book)
1. Baseball—Corrupt practices—United States. 2. Baseball players—
Drug use—United States. 3. Doping in sports—United States. 4. Anabolic
steroids—Health aspects—United States. I. Title.
GV877.5.G85 2012
796.357640973—dc23
2011032070
First Da Capo Press edition 2012
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com
Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in
the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more
information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus
Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or
call [phone], ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected].
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To Joseph Frank and Michael Frank,
Joseph Neil and Henry James—
nice work this day, boys; time for a meal.
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0306820175-Gullo_Layout 1 12/12/11 3:53 PM Page vii
CONTENTS
preface • Baseball Cards 1
part one: The House That Juice Built
one • Joe 7
two • What the Cards Said 17
three • No Comment 25
four • Still the King 30
five • Gorilla Food 36
six • Every Frog Is Spotty 41
seven • Enough Needles to Go Around 47
eight • The 33 Million Reasons to Take Steroids 56
nine • My Eternal Shame over Omar Vizquel 62
ten • Eighty Pounds in a Week 67
eleven • Abject Humiliation 76
twelve • 104 More Cheaters 84
thirteen • Jamie Moyer’s Changeup 97
fourteen • Back to the Bushes 107
vii
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viii Jim Gullo
fifteen • “I Don’t Want to Talk About Steroids!” 114
part two: Journey Back to Baseball
sixteen • Robbing My Father 127
seventeen • The Worst Sport in the History of Baseball 132
eighteen • Gas Is Up and So Is Manny 144
nineteen • If It’s Not Broken 149
twenty • Dear Manny, Part Two 156
twenty-one • Weiser 164
twenty-two • Gynecomastia 178
twenty-three • The Sad Story of Taylor Hooton 189
twenty-four • Do This for the Game 202
twenty-five • Ball Four 209
twenty-six • Joe Meets the Garfoose 214
twenty-seven • Crazy Louie 228
twenty-eight • Bottom of the Ninth 238
Afterword • Seasons 245
Acknowledgments 253
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TRADING MANNY