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Wayne Terwilliger

TheOldMole Dec 07 2005 11:48 AM

You have to read [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/07/sports/baseball/07terwilliger.html] this article in the NY Times[/url] on long-time minor league manager Wayne Terwilliger. I remember the Twig from his Dodger days -- no one else here will, except possibly my fellow oldtime MFS, and maybe not even him. But this will make you feel good about baseball, America, and humanity.

Edgy DC Dec 07 2005 12:00 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 07 2005 12:49 PM

First-base coach is the best job in baseball. Bullpen coach is easier, but they're away from the action and their tenures don't typically last as long. Wayne is also the father of Sideshow Bob and Sideshow Cecil.

MFS62 Dec 07 2005 12:33 PM

Mole, I remember him enough to remember that his nickname was "Twig". The "leetle grey cells" are still working. (Well, some of them) Later

Valadius Dec 07 2005 12:34 PM

There've been articles on him popping up for the last 2 years or so.

G-Fafif Dec 07 2005 03:30 PM

From one of the absolutely GREATEST baseball books ever written, The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book by Brendan C. Boyd and Fred Harris (published in 1973): ]Everybody remembers Wayne Terwilliger. But nobody can remember exactly why. Wayne was the perfect utility man. He couldn't hit his hat size, but he could field every position. He wouldn't help you out very much, but he wouldn't embarrass you either. He had a a good disposition, was always sober, and liked to pitch batting practice -- in other words, a manager's dream. He also looked like a utility man -- he had a utility man's face, a utility man's build, and a utility man's outlook on life. And certainly no one could argue the fact that he had a utility man's name. He always looked to me like the sort of guy you might send for to unplug a drain in a large apartment house. Of course, what made it even better was that he played with some of the worst Washington Senator teams of the early fifties, teams consisting of entire rosters of utility men.

Edgy DC Dec 07 2005 03:40 PM

I always considered the 2003 Tigers to be the closest thing to an all-Utiltiy man squad I've seen, though Joe Torre's Mets were pretty damn close, with Jack-of-All-Traders like Elliot Maddox, Joel Youngblood, and Alex Treviņo playing way too regularly. Doug Flynn also, I guess.

MFS62 Dec 07 2005 03:48 PM

A Tiger fan friend of mine still refers to the guys as Shane Fucking Halter. With the Tigers (as with McEwing with the Mets), he ended up playing fairly regularly. But he incurred the wrath of Tiger fans because he wasn't quite good enough to be playing every day. And yes, there were a lot of other players who played many positions for those 03 Tigers. Later

metirish Dec 07 2005 03:48 PM

Nice piece , certainly an interesting life.

Valadius Dec 07 2005 03:54 PM

I remember years ago grousing that the Mets either traded Shane Halter or let him go because I wanted to see him play shortstop for us.

metirish Dec 07 2005 03:59 PM

That Tigers team was bad, but looking at the link and the position players were young, as was the pitching.Still 43 wins..ouch. edit:...that 62 team had alots of young players too... http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1962.shtml