Two Expos greats and a Giant reflect on a life in baseball

Baseball Hall of Famers Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Juan Marichal reflect on their lives and playing careers in a trio of memoirs.

Originally published February 19, 2014 at Fansided Radio:

When one travels the halls of Cooperstown, they will only see two plaques that honor players from the Montreal Expos, Gary Carter and Andre Dawson. This was at a time when the Hall of Fame made the choice for which cap a player or manager goes into the Hall upon induction. If that was still the case, there would be no doubt that Vladimir Guerrero would be the third to be inducted with an Expos cap but nobody knows what he will wear.

Carter and Dawson both came up with the Expos and wear the Expo cap in the Hall but had they had their way, it would have been with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, respectively. Carter was in the first year of a seven-year deal, which would have likely led to his staying with the Expos for his entire career, but was traded to the New York Mets. Dawson’s contract expired so he became a free agent and joined the Chicago Cubs for a massive paycut with incentives. It led to a few years playing at the Friendly Confines before finishing up a Hall of Fame career with the Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins, where he serves as a special assistant.

In his memoir, Still a Kid at Heart: My Life in Baseball and Beyond, Carter writes of the ups and downs of his life in baseball. He writes extensively of how catchers make the best managers in the game and how, after his playing career ended, he wanted to be a big league manager.

Carter reflects on how he came the first player at Shea Stadium asked to make a curtain call and the 1986 World Series, including a Game 6 that is known for a ball going through Bill Buckner‘s legs. Having an itch to do something as he wasn’t managing in baseball, Carter started a foundation that raised money for leukemia. There was also his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2003, a day that he shared with his one-year Los Angeles Dodgers teammate, Eddie Murray. For a player that had similar stats to Carlton Fisk, Carter had to wait a few more years before finally getting the call.

As with any baseball memoir, Carter shares his thoughts on the future of the players in the game and the important people that he met in his lifetime. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without tackling the steroid era.

Dawson penned his book, If You Love This Game…: An MVP’s Life in Baseball, in 2012 after Carter’s passing.

In his first year with the Cubs, the outfielder won the NL MVP award–one accomplishment on his way into the Hall of Fame in 2010 after spending nine years on the ballot. Dawson has spent all but maybe a few seasons of his life working in baseball as a player or special assistant. Dawson spends so many pages writing about his life with the Cubs because that’s the team he associated with the most as a player. Playing on the AstroTurf in Montreal was not the best thing for his knees, which had chronic pain dating back to high school, so Dawson felt at home on the grass in Wrigley.

Dawson shares what it is likely to constantly play through pain at such a high level. Of course, having been a teammate of Sammy Sosa, briefly, he shares his thoughts on the steroid era of baseball.

Playing for the Cubs, Dawson was there for the early years of Greg Maddux‘ Hall of Fame career as well as Ryne Sandberg‘s early years in baseball.

In Juan Marichal: My Journey from the Dominican Republic to Cooperstown, the Giants pitcher shares his life story.

As hard as it is to believe, Juan Marichal won the most games in the 1960s. He had a unique pitching style with his high leg kick as he delivered the ball from the mound to the plate.

Of players that grew up in the talent-rich Dominican Republic, Marichal was the first to play in an All-Star Game and the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Marichal was a trailblazer in his era. It was at a time when minorities were just really getting the chance to play baseball professionally in the major leagues. The Giants were one of few teams that realized what kind of talent was in the Dominican at the time as they signed many Latin American players. Until he joined the Giants at spring training, Marichal had never dealt with racial discrimination in his life. He eventually learned English as he dealt with a number of obstacles along his journey.

Marichal grew up on a farm in the Dominican and in the late 1950s, he was enlisted to play for the Dominican National Team. This paved the way for Giants scouts to notice him.

While in the minor leagues, he grew homesick, which was not helped by the fact that Indiana was not the best place to be at the time in the late 1950s.

The Giants star shares his perspective on life as a Latin ballplayer in the 1960s and what it was like to have played on a Giants roster that featured the likes of Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, and Gaylord Perry. Had there been a DH at the time, Cepeda would never have been traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cepeda and McCovey were natural first basemen and not the best outfielders.

He looks at the up and downs of his 16 years in the majors. One can’t talk about Marichal without talking about his epic 16-inning pitching duel with Atlanta Braves Hall of Famer Warren Spahn. Spahn was 42 and Marichal was 25 when they pitched an epic game. Neither would be pulled unless the other pitcher was taken out. The next day, Spahn gave Marichal pointers when it came to his arm.

Marichal spends a chapter writing about one of his biggest regrets, a fight with Dodgers catcher John Roseboro. This story is also told in John Rosengren’s newest book, The Fight of Their Lives: How Juan Marichal and John Roseboro Turned Baseball’s Ugliest Brawl into a Story of Forgiveness and Redemption.

Marichal explores what the influx of Dominican talent in MLB means to not just baseball but his home country. He also reflects on stereotypes, steroids, and the state of baseball in the 21st century.