Silver Scouts
May 31st, 2008
Found an interesting story about men still scouting in their 70s and 80s: Baseball’s oldest bird dogs refuse to give up the hunt.
The term “bird dog” is used to label members of a loose network of part-timers who keep their eyes open for talent overlooked by the full-time scouts. They’re typically not staff members on the organizational payroll. Most of them are college and occasionally high-school coaches who have never played or coached in professional baseball.
As such, I think it’s a bit misleading to use this descriptor for these older scouts, many of whom were professional ballplayers and/or full-time staff in their younger days. For example, Dave Garcia was longtime minor-league ballplayer, and later, an MLB manager for the California Angels (1977) and Cleveland Indians (1980-82). A few years ago I met him here in Salt Lake: he was watching some 3rd base prospect from UCLA.
After the Angels released Darrell Miller and most of the scouting staff, Garcia got picked up by Buddy Bell and the Colorado Rockies. Garcia said Bell always saved a spot on the roster for his old manager, which allowed Davey to collect benefits and some change. I noticed that when Bell moved to Baltimore and then Kansas City, so did Garcia. I’d wondered what happened to Davey when Bell retired and found this news story on the Internet. Bye for now!
Entry Filed under: Game of Life, Major League Baseball
2 Comments Add your own
1. Angela Jones | June 6th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Well, I imagine that even if they weren’t employed to be scouts they would still want to pursue undiscovered talents for the sake of the game. I mean, you don’t sit there scouting for 20-something-years and not fall in love with baseball.
But might I add that the blog looks great!
2. BeesGal | June 6th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Angela-san, Irasshai! Welcome and thanks for visiting!
You hit the nail on the head with your observation. I asked Davey why he was still doing this (back when he was a youthful 70-something) and he replied, “What else would I do?” His wife had passed away just a couple years earlier and he admitted the job responsibilities kept the loneliness at bay. When he moved to the Rockies, he sent me a quick note saying that he was concerned getting back into a uniform again, “I don’t want to look like some FAT geezer.”
Later he sent me the photo posted in the blog. Heck, I hope I look this good at 60, much less 70!
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