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

60 страница из 92

You motherfuckers, I thought to myself, I’ll show all of you.

ssss1

ssss1

I WAS A STARRY-EYED EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD FLYING FROM

The purpose of the Instructional League was severalfold: A young pitcher on a major league roster might go down there to learn another pitch; a young major league hitter might go down there to learn to hit to the opposite field; and for top prospects in the minor leagues, it was a chance to get some excellent instruction and compete against high-caliber players.

Because my father insisted that the Instructional League be put in my contract, I would be the only player without a single inning of pro experience.

When I got there, I was surprised and shocked to see that there were several pitchers who could throw as hard as, if not harder, than I could. And they had more polish, because they had played some Single-A ball.

When I walked into the clubhouse, I was met by Eddie Stanky, the head of the minor leagues for the Mets. Eddie had been a star second baseman for the New York Giants under another shit-stirrer manager, Leo Durocher. Stanky took one look at me, and the first thing he said to me was “You’re fat.”