Chapter 27: Spring Training

Sun, Mar 1, 1970

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”

― Albert Einstein

Back at it! We made it through Camp, now for the Spring Training Games. I can’t wait to see how things would work out.

There were 17 Teams in 1970’s Grapefruit League, so we would be Playing 16 other Teams, meaning we would be Playing 32 Games, Home & Away.

1970 Grapefruit League Teams

1. Miami, FL- Baltimore Orioles (Miami Stadium) (13,000 Seats) 2301 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL. (1959-1990)

2. Ft Lauderdale, FL- NY Yankees (Ft Lauderdale Yankee Stadium) (8,000 Seats) 1401 NW 55th St, Ft Lauderdale, FL (1962-on)

3. Pompano Beach, FL- Washington Senators- 2nd Gen (Pompano Beach Park) (4,500 Seats) (1660 NE 10th St, Pompano Beach, FL) (1961-1971) (the 2nd Gen Washington Senators moved to Dallas, as the Texas Rangers, in 1972)

4. West Palm Beach, FL- Atlanta Braves (W Palm Beach Municipal Stadium) (4,200 Seats) (755 Hank Aaron Dr, West Palm Beach, FL) (1963-1997)

5. West Palm Beach, FL- Montreal Expos (W Palm Beach Municipal Stadium) (4,200 Seats) (755 Hank Aaron Dr, West Palm Beach, FL) (1969-1972)

6. Vero Beach, FL- LA Dodgers (Dodgertown) (6,500 Seats) (3901 26th St, Vero Beach, FL) (1953-2008)

7. Cocoa Beach, FL- Houston Astros (Cocoa Sports Center) (5,000 Seats) (500 Friday Rd, Cocoa, FL) (1964-1984)

8. Orlando, FL- Minnesota Twins (Tinker Field at the Tangerine Bowl) (5,000 Seats) (287 S Tampa Ave, Orlando, FL (1936-1960-Washington Senators-1st Gen) (1961-1990-MSP Twins)

9. Winter Haven, FL- Boston Red Sox (Chain-of-Lakes Stadium) (7,000 Seats) (500 Cletus Allen Dr, Winter Haven, FL, at Cypress Gardens) (1966-1992)

10. Lakeland, FL- Detroit Tigers (Joker Marchant Stadium) (4,900 Seats) (2301 Lakeland Hills Blvd, Lakeland, FL) (1966-on)

11. Tampa, FL- Cincinnati Reds (Al López Field) (5,000 Seats) (next to Tampa Stadium) (4201 N Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL) (1960-1987)

12. Clearwater, FL- Philadelphia Phillies (Jack Russell Stadium) (7,000 Seats) (800 Phillies Dr, Clearwater, FL) (1955-2003)

13. St Pete, FL- STL Cardinals (Al Lang Stadium) (7,200 Seats) (180 2nd Ave SE, St Pete, FL) (1947-1997)

14. St Pete, FL- NY Mets (Al Lang Stadium) (7,200 Seats) (180 2nd Ave SE, St Pete, FL) (1962-1987)

15. Bradenton, FL- Pittsburgh Pirates (McKechnie Field) (2,000 Seats) (1611 9th St W, Bradenton, FL) (1969-on)

16. Sarasota, FL- Chicago White Sox (Payne Park) (4,000 Seats) (2050 Adams Ln, Sarasota, FL) (1960-1988)

17. Ft Myers, FL- Kansas City Royals (Terry Park) (900 Seats) (3410 Palm Beach Blvd, Ft Myers, FL) (1969-1987) (Artificial Turf, like at KC Royals Stadium, in Kansas City)

Preseason Game 1= Home vs Baltimore Orioles

We start at Home, then we go on a 5-Game Road-Trip. The Orioles were due to Win the World Series in 1970, before I Bought the NY Yankees that is. We Won 3-2.

It was cool to see the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson, 32yo, at work at 3rd. He was like a Vacuum, if a Ball came close, he sucked it in. Our Campy was just as good though, & he was only 22yo, so we had our 3rd Baseman for years.

Other greats on the Oriole’s I got to see Up Close & Personal, were: Pitcher Jim Palmer, 24yo, Infielders: Davey Johnson, 26yo & Boog Powell, 28yo; & Outfielder Frank Robinson, 34yo. We had already Traded for Don Baylor, 20yo, from the Orioles.

I loved our little Stadium in FLL. The more I was around it though, the more I wanted to Reclad it in Googie Style. It would really stand out.

We would redo the Grandstands, as well as Cover the Bleachers in Googie Style baby! I’d have it done before next years Spring Training. We’d have plenty of time to Get ‘er Done! We’d keep our Ticket Prices low too, to get the Fans back. We would consider adding Seats, as we were soon to Max it’s Seats out.

Mon, Mar 2, 1970

Travel Day

Today I helped Start 4 Companies. I had 4 other Partners, & we would soon be called,

The Top-5

1. Bill Paley, 68yo “BP”

2. Harry Helmsley, 60yo “HH”

3. David Rockefeller, 54yo “D-Rock”

4. Warren Buffett, 39yo “WB”

5. Me, 18yo, (but with a 60yo+ Mind) “Pug.”

The 4 Companies were:

1. HBO. We would Partner with Time-Life, 50%-Time, 50% shared by the Top-5, meaning we would each get 10% of HBO. I would get David Geffen, 26yo, to be its CEO. Time-Life will be great for Content, Structure & Management. Time-Life’s HQ was across 6th Ave from CBS’s HQ & Radio City Music Hall. NBC & ABC were also HQ on the Same Block of 6th Ave. It was a TV Block.

1. ESPN. I would lure Roone Arledge, 38yo, away from ABC-TV Sports. I’d give him a $1,000,000 Signing Bonus, as I wanted him immediately to be the CEO of ESPN. We would Broadcast all 162 NY Yankee Games, Live via Cable, starting in 1970. We would Air Classic NY Yankee Games too. Then we would Run Classic CBS Sports Games on ESPN.

We’d have to wait on Chris Berman though, as he was only 14yo in 1970. He grew up in Greenwich, CT, so we’ll reach out to Chris, & see if he would like to be a Paid Intern, at 14yo!

We would Air Sports Center at 8am, Noon, 6pm & 10pm. We’ll give ‘em da fax.

1. MTV. Bill Graham, would be the CEO, rightly so. Bill Lang would be the COO. We’d have Sister Channels, MTV & VH-1.

I always thought they had them back-assward though. Video Hits-1 should have been for the Videos that MTV became famous for. MTV should have been the Channel to Broadcast Live, & Recorded Live Concerts. We were Filming as many of the best Concerts that we could. The Groups would thank me later for Saving their Past greatness. We would Broadcast Music Films too, new & old. The 1st would be Woodstock: The Film.

1. CableVision, would have exclusive Cable-TV Rights for the NYC Region: NYC: Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens & Staten Island; plus: Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut & parts of Pennsylvania. It would allow all to see our new Channels.

D-Rock, Harry & I, let Bill Paley & Warren Buffett, each buy 20% of the NY Yankees. That way, the NY Yankees became part of Top-5’s Assets. Each of us Owned 20% of the NY Yankees. For our 20%, each of us Paid $2,000,000 in Cash.

We knew that only .48% of Homes could get Cable in 1970. There were 4,500,000 Homes with Cable, out of a Total of 93,000,000 Households, in 1970.

The FCC had put Restrictions on Cable in the Past, due to pressure from CBS, NBC & ABC. Cable would start to Takeoff in the mid-1970’s, when most of those restrictions were lifted. Bill Paley was now going to pressure the FCC to, Back the Fuk Off, now, in 1970. He would convince ABC & NBC to embrace Cable too, as it was coming, whether they liked it or not. Why not be a big part of it, from the start?

We wanted to get firm Roots down now, in 1970. Who cared if few people Watched at the start, as most Content was collecting Dust on Shelves anyway, so why not Air it. We could always Re-Broadcast the Content again later, when we had a larger Audience.

Our NY Yankee Games were already being Broadcast in NYC, on WPIX-TV, which was owned by the Tribune Company, which also Owned the Chicago Tribune & WGN-TV. WGN, Aired the Chicago Cubs’ Games.

WGN, & Ted Turner’s TBS, were the 1st, to Broadcast MLB Games, Live on Cable, in 1976. We would begin in 1970, beating them to it.

We would also create Operation Prime Time, in 1970, not in 1976, when it happened in Ralf’s time. OPT combined the best Independent TV Stations in the USA, into a Single Consortium. We’d do it ASAP, again speeding up Cable-TV.

OPT was Started by Al Masini in 1976. Al was 31yo in 1970. I’d reach out to him to see if he wanted to be our CEO!

With our own Channels added, this is a partial List of the OPT TV Stations. There were a total of 56 of them, in the USA, as well as Mexico & Canada.

We would Carry their Channels on the OPN Network, the 4th TV Network, but this time on Cable. They would share Independent TV Shows & Content. The best part though, would be Broadcasting their Home Team on their Channel, but this time, Nationwide on Cable. Their Teams would become famous over time, as the Cubs & Braves did, due to being in everyone’s Homes everyday. My New York Yankees would become the most famous of all.

These are the TV Stations we would get to Broadcast their local MLB Team’s Games on their Channel, also including our new Big-3, ESPN, HBO & MTV:

1. ESPN

2. HBO

3. MTV

4. NYC = WPIX. (They already carried the Yankee Games) (Owned by Tribune Co)

5. Chicago = WGN (carried the Cubs’ Games) (Owned by Tribune Co)

6. Atlanta = TBS (carried the Braves’ Games)

7. Philly = WTAF (we’ll get them to carry the Philly Games)

8. Pittsburgh = WPXI (we’ll get them to carry the Pirate Games)

9. Washington DC = WDCA (we’ll get them to carry the Gen 2 Senator Games)

10. Boston = WNEV (we’ll get them to carry the Red Sox Games)

11. Baltimore = WBAL (we’ll get them to carry the Orioles Games)

12. St Louis = WPLR (we’ll get them to carry the Card Games)

13. Cincinnati = WKRC (we’ll get them to carry the Red Games)

14. Cleveland = WUAB (we’ll get them to carry the Indian Games)

15. Detroit = WKBD (we’ll get them to carry the Tiger Games)

16. Milwaukee = WVTV (we’ll get them to carry the Brewer Games)

17. MSP = KSTP (we’ll get them to carry the Twin Games)

18. Kansas City = WDAF (we’ll get them to carry the Royal Games)

19. San Fran = KTVU (We’ll get them to carry the SF Giant Games)

20. LA = KTLA (we’ll get them to carry the Dodger Games)

21. San Diego = XETV (We’ll get them to carry the Padre Games)

We’ll add & change some over time, but we just helped MLB go National, via Cable. Now to get Cable in everyone’s Homes ASAP. As it stood, we would be Broadcasting, via Cable, 18 MLB Team’s Games.

We would get CableVision started ASAP, as we needed NYC up to speed. Mostly for the Yankee Games, but it’s where most of us lived & loved too. We embraced NYC, so we wanted to share great new Content with our Friends & Employees.

We would use the best current Equipment, knowing it would soon be replaced with newer & better Equipment. Others Failed when Starting Cable Systems, due to poor Financial Backing. We had the Resources to Fund it easily.

Fibre-Optic Cable had been available since 1965. We’d find out the best options, then Mass-Produce the Equipment needed, just like we were doing with the Propane s/o Equipment.

We would offer Full Cable, Free, for the 1st Year in each area completed, just to get Folks in the Habit of Watching us. The Revenue we would give up, would be minuscule, so let ‘em Watch Free, the 1st Year.

We would never let Cable get as expensive as it became in Ralf’s time. As Ralf, I had given up on Cable, as it was over $100 per Month, but I hardly watched it. There were 100’s of Channels, most of them crap.

We would Carry great Shows too. Sure, we would repeat some Content, but much less & with much better Content than in Ralf’s time. It would be easy to do, & with very little Cost to us, at 1st. When we grew, we would gladly Pay Higher Royalties, on the Content we Broadcast.

HBO: Fights, Films, TV Shows, Concerts, Sports, Specials, Comedy Documentaries, etc.

Films on HBO: Citizen Kane; The Maltese Falcon; North by Northwest; Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid; The Graduate; Dr. No; From Russia with Love; Goldfinger; Octopussy, etc. All “A” Films, no “B” or “C” Films would be forced on the Cable Subscribers, like we had to put up with in Ralf’s time. Back then, they Broadcast the same shitty Films over & over. No Programming imagination. They were afraid to Pay Royalties for Better Films. BS, utter BS. Ya’ gotta Spend Money, to Make Money.

CBS on HBO: (26 great TV Shows on a Rotation. No shlock, except built in) (we would Broadcast them in Chronological Order, from the Pilot on, like they were originally shone)

1. The Ed Sullivan Show (1949-1971). (Ed was 68yo, in 1970)

2. Father Knows Best (1949-1954, on Radio) (1954-1960, on TV)

3. I Love Lucy (1951-1957)

4. Make Room for Daddy (aka: The Danny Thomas Show) (1953-1964)

5. Lassie (1954-1973)

6. The Honeymooners (1955-1956)

7. Gunsmoke (1955-1975)

8. Have Gun Will Travel (1957-1963)

9. Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963)

10. Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963)

11. Rawhide (1959-1965)

12. The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

13. My Three Sons (1960-1972)

14. Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

15. Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966)

16. Mister Ed (1961-1966)

17. Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971)

18. My Favorite Martian (1963-1966)

19. Petticoat Junction (1963-1970)

20. Gilligan’s Island (1964-1967)

21. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964-1969)

22. The Munsters (1964-1966)

23. Get Smart (1965-1970)

24. Green Acres (1965-1971)

25. Hogan’s Heroes (1965-1971)

26. Mission Impossible (1966-1973)

Tue, Mar 3, 1970

Preseason Game 2= at Atlanta Braves, W Palm Beach, FL.

The W Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, was the Spring Training Home to both the Atlanta Braves & the Montreal Expos. It held 4,200. Today we Played the Braves, Winning 8-2.

This was our 1st Road-Trip. We were using Buses, Propane-Fueled of course.

I especially enjoyed hanging out with Hank Aaron, 35yo. What a cool guy. Pitcher Phil Niekro, 30yo, was great too, we should make a Play for him. Hoyt Wilhelm, 47yo, was another Pitcher for the Braves I recognized. Hoyt Played from 1952-1972!

Infielders in knew were: Clete Boyer, 22yo & Orlando Cepeda, 32yo. Dusty Baker, 20yo, was in the Outfield.

Without Reggie Jackson & Campy in the Lineup, we weren’t as good as we would be later. The Atlanta Braves would have a Record of 76-86 in 1970, ending in 4th Place.

The West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, was OK. It held 4,200, & had Blue Seats & a White Serrated Roof.

We were Staying a couple Nights at a great Hotel at the North End of Palm Beach. The Breakers Hotel & Golf Course, had just been Bought by HH & Sean. HH for Harry Helmsley, representing H&M Properties, Sean Connery for Bond Golf.

All of us got in a Round or 3. There were 2 Courses, both challenging. The Breakers really epitomized Palm Beach Lux.

Wed, Mar 4, 1970

Preseason Game 3= at Montreal Expos, W Palm Beach, FL. We lost 6-5.

I only recognized a few Names on the Expos: Infielder Ron Fairly, 31yo; & Outfielders Rusty Staub, 25yo & Boots Day, 22yo. They weren’t that good, & would go 73-89 in 1970, coming in Last Place, 6th.

Thur, Mar 5, 1970

Preseason Game 4= at LA Dodgers, Vero Beach, FL. We lost 7-4. The Dodgers finished with a record of 87-74, ending up in 2nd Place, in 1970.

After the Game, we made a Trade though. We Traded for Maury Wills, 37yo, #30, with the LA Dodgers. Maury had just started his 2nd stint with the Dodgers, & had a few good years left. He was another Speedster. He would be our Lead-Off Batter.

He wore #30, but Nolan Ryan already had that #, so Maury said he’d switch to #20.

We couldn’t resist Trading for Maury, as most Shortstops can Play 2nd Base too. Until Trading for Maury & Campy, we were short a True 2nd Baseman, or for that matter, a true Shortstop, so Maury would be a plus.

Once we could Trade for Campy, we would have 2 Shortstops & no 2nd Baseman, but as I’ve said, most Shortstops can Play at 2nd pretty good. We would let the 2 of them figure it out. We needed both Maury & Campy to Play everyday though. We needed their Bats & Fielding. Both were really Fast, as both consistently were tops in Stolen Bases.

Others on the Dodgers I recognized:

Pitchers: Claude Ostend, 30yo, Jose Peña, 27yo & Don Sutton, 24yo.

Infielders: Steve Garvey, 21yo, Jim Lefebvre, 27yo & Ted Sizemore, 24yo.

Outfielders: Bill Buckner, 20yo, Willie Crawford, 23yo, Willie Davis, 29yo & Manny Mota, 31yo.

Me thinks the Dodgers were pretty good.

Dodgertown was cool. The Dodger Fans really Traveled, making it a Hot Ticket. Dodgertown held 6,500, but it could have been doubled, & still there would have been Fans w/o a Ticket.

There were a total of 8 Ballfields, 4 in a Cloverleaf Pattern. The Seats in the Main Stadium were Blue & White, with a big white Dodger script written behind Home-Plate.

Fr, Mar 6, 1970

Preseason Game 5= at Houston Astros, Cocoa, FL. The Cocoa Sports Center, held 5,000. It was an OK Stadium, but nothing special. We lost 3-2. The Astros went 79-83 in 1970, coming in 4th.

Before the Game, we Traded with the Astros, for Pitcher Joe Bouton, 30yo. He had just Written, Ball Four, & was already getting Shit about it from Baseball Purists. Fuk ‘em. I was gonna Protect him from the Assholes, just as I was doing for Curt Flood & Dick Allen. Jim was also on the 1962 NY Yankee Team, that last Won the World Series. Jim was a Rookie that year.

I wanted Jim for his Pitching, as he would Play for another 8 years. But, just as much, I wanted him to be my Pal “Inside Baseball,” one that would tell me the Truth. I needed him to bounce my ideas off of. Lee MacPhail, Billy Martin, Jim Bouton & I would became the Inner Circle. Billy Martin was on that 1962 Yankee Team too, & remembered the Brash Rookie, Jimmy B, as Billy called Bouton. They got along great, with Billy welcoming Jimmy B, as the new Yankee Players’ Union Rep. I liked the name Jimmy B, asking Bouton if I could use it too. He laughed & said “Asshole” also worked.

Those still on the Astros I recognized:

Infielder Joe Morgan, 26yo.

Outfielders: Jesus Alou, 27yo, Jim Beauchamp, 30yo & Cesar Cedeno, 18yo.

Sat, Mar 7, 1970

Preseason Game 6= at Minnesota Twins, Orlando, FL. Tinker Field at the Tangerine Bowl, held 5,000. The Twins would Finish 1st in the West, in 1970, going 98-64. We still beat them 7-5.

They weren’t kidding, being at the Tangerine Bowl, as the Outfield butted up near the Outer Wall of the T-Bowl.

I recognized:

Pitchers: Bert Blyleven, 18yo & Luis Tiant, 29yo,

Infielders: Rod Carew, 24yo, Harmon Killebrew, 33yo, Minnie Mendoza, 35yo & Cotton Nash, 27yo.

Outfielders: Jim Nettles, 22yo & Tony Oliva, 31yo.

They had a Coach named Buck Rodgers, 31yo, too. They were stacked.

After the Game. we Flew back to FLL in our Twin Otter, leaving the Buses to Deadhead back. It took a couple Shuttle Flights, but we wanted to get home ASAP. It was about an Hour Flight, but a 3-Hour Drive.

It had been a good test though, as we saw many ways to Lesson the Load, On the Road.

Sun, Mar 8, 1970

Preseason Game 7= Home vs Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers would go 79-83 in 1970, coming in 4th. We lost, 7-2.

Those on the Tigers I recognized:

Pitchers: Mickey Lolich, 29yo, Denny McLain, 25yo & Joe Niekro, 25yo.

Outfielder Al Kaline, 35yo.

Mon, Mar 9, 1970

Travel Day

We chilled around Pier 66’s Pool, enjoying just hanging out. We had some intense Fußball Matches too, as with Curt Flood, these guys had Lightning-Fast Wrist Action.

Tue, Mar 10, 1970

Preseason Game 8= at Baltimore Orioles, Miami, FL

It was a little over an hour, from Pier 66 to Miami Stadium. We Bused it again, an easy Trip. I had Beach Boys’ Car Songs Playing, just to get them Revved-Up.

The best thing about Miami, were the Cuban Sandwiches, especially the Medianoche, on an Egg roll. It was best when Pressed, while Cooking on a Griddle. I would make sure to have them included at Pier 66, as well as all my other Places.

I did the same thing with the Huge Corned-Beef Sandwiches, from Carnegie Deli, in NYC.

We’d just Fly them in Fresh each day, from their Restaurant. Chances were, that we’d have a NetJet nearby, that could get them dispersed to all our Places. Both Sandwiches were worth the effort. We’d have other items that needed distributed too, so we’d have Care Packages for all our locations Daily.

Wed, Mar 11, 1970

Preseason Game 9= Home vs Philadelphia Phillies

Dick Allen’s old Team. The Team that Curt refused to Report to. Tension City. We lost 7-4.

Thur, Mar 12, 1970

Preseason Game 10= Home vs Cincinnati Reds

We Won 6-5, in 10-Innings. We almost Called the Game a Tie, but Lou hit a Tripple in the Bottom of the 10th, driving in Thurman from 1st.

Fr, Mar 13, 1970

Preseason Game 11= Home vs Chicago White Sox

We Lost 6-2, a boring Game.

Sat, Mar 14, 1970

Preseason Game 12= Home vs Kansas City Royals

Another ho-hum Game. We Won 3-2, but I was itching for the Games to Count.

Sun, Mar 15, 1970

Preseason Game 13= Home vs LA Dodgers

Maury enjoyed hanging with his old Dodger Teammates, inviting them to Pier 66’s Pool after the Game. Oh, we Won 6-5, like it mattered.

Mon, Mar 16, 1970

Travel Day

Our 2nd Big Road-Trip, this one a 9-Games, in 9-Days, Trip. We Flew the Team to Winter Haven, meeting the Buses already there. They would Bus the rest of the way.

Tue, Mar 17, 1970

Preseason Game 14= at Boston Red Sox, Winter Haven, FL

Chain-of-Lakes Stadium was a 7,000 Seater, in Winter Haven. It was part of Cypress Gardens, really lushly Planted, with zillions of Flowers. We Won 6-5.

When I scanned Boston’s Roster, one name called to me.

Bill Lee, 23yo, was a Rookie on the Red Sox, in 1970. He had come up, mid-1969.

Bill would soon be called Spaceman. He was known for not being shy about stating his opinions on controversial issues: School Busing in Boston, Chairman Mao, Population Control & Greenpiece.