Jun 05 2017 08:13 PM
Re: RIP Jimmy Piersall 1929-2017
Even teammate Tim Harkness seems to have lost his patience. Little recalled is that Carl Willey was throwing what would ultimately be a two-hit shutout.
He's shown rounding third at right, as coach Ernie White, third baseman (and also recently deceased) Ruben Amaro, and umpire Vinnie Smith stare in apparent disbelief. On the left, he's shown kicking at a Yankee fan who went after him, as an NYPD blue is torn between his love of duty and his fear of spikes
[fimg=750]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.72906.1313825515!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/gal-hated-piersall-jpg.jpg[/fimg]
Why would a fan go after him? Because Yankee fans hated him, owing back to a brawl with Billy Martin. It's easy to forget that Billy Martin was a folk hero (and popular with young ladies) because he was a little battler, and they saw him as a victim. The fact that he started most of his brawls was a lost point. Here he sends a knee into Piersall's solar plexus.
[fimg=400]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ff/13/35/ff1335b1b6ea4f9437a8c9937e9f8396.jpg[/fimg]
He took his own team's part as a bench-jockey. Is he here riding the other team's pitcher to help his team out? Perhaps riding an ump for squeezing his pitcher?
Nope, he's riding the official scorer for crediting Rod Kahehl with an error.
And lest it be forgotten, he sported movie star good looks. He was a rare ballplayer who was better looking than the actor who played him. He could have been a Cuban bandleader with that chin.
