Читать книгу Rage. The Legend of "Baseball Bill" Denehy онлайн

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Two Giants players, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, took a particular interest in me. I wanted to say to them, “If you like what you see, you could have had me. I had one of the best games of my life, and your scout Carl Hubbell didn’t bother to show up.” But I didn’t say it.

Every time the catcher would throw the ball back to me, I’d turn around and go back to the mound, and I could see Mays and McCovey moving from the batting cage, getting closer and closer.

After I was finished throwing, I went into the Mets clubhouse, and I got to meet Mets manager Casey Stengel, who talked so fast I couldn’t understand most of what he said. He was chattering away, and I was nodding and thinking, What the fuck is this guy saying?

Casey was talking a mile a minute and shuffling his feet; he was funny and entertaining. I was only able to understand, “Listen, we don’t have any super pitchers, so if you sign with us, you can get here within two years.” I thought about my previous offers to play.

Several months earlier, the Chicago Cubs had offered to sign me for $75,000. Another prospect was involved. In short, he got the job and the money, and I didn’t.