Mayo sees 'Whiz Kid' in grandson

Richie O'Brien reminds him a lot of Phillies' great pitcher Robin Roberts.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Jack Mayo sees some "Whiz Kid" in his grandson, pitcher Richie O'Brien Jr., a recent Boardman High graduate who has a baseball scholarship to Bowling Green State University. But it's not his grandfather. It's Robin Roberts.
"I look at Richie O'Brien and I see Robin Roberts," said Mayo, who along with Roberts were members of the Philadelphia Phillies' "Whiz Kids" of the 1950 season, called so because they were the youngest team in baseball to that point.
"He has the same type of attitude as Robin Roberts," Mayo said. "He is cool under fire. If the bases get loaded, it doesn't bother him. That's what Roberts used to do. I saw that in Robby and I see it in him."
Mayo, 81, a Boardman realtor who played six seasons for the Phillies as a utility player and helped them win their first National League pennant since 1915 in 1950, called Richie Jr. "a competitor like Roberts. He is just that kind of kid. Nothing bothers him. I see him as being a real good college player and maybe beyond."
O'Brien, the son of Susan (Mayo) and Rich O'Brien, is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-handed pitcher who achieved a two-year record of 14-4 with the Spartans, including 7-1 this past season.
Tough in the clutch
"I've seen a lot of [Richie's] games at Boardman when he pitched. That's why I said that with the bases loaded and two outs, he's good under fire, and that's a criterion of a good solid pitcher," added Mayo, who was an outfielder and left-handed batter for the Phillies.
He played 139 games and batted .212 ( (51-for-240) with two doubles, one triple and one homer, and a .275 slugging percentage. His best season was 1952 when he batted .244 in 119 games.
Mayo, a native of Litchfield, Ill., played baseball at Notre Dame and was captain of the team as a senior in 1947 when he also graduated.
Mayo said he became friends with Roberts in college and knows his pitching style very well.
"I played against Robin when he was at Michigan State and I was at Notre Dame. We played in the same summer league in Vermont," said Mayo, also noting that he roomed together with Roberts when they played for the Phillies.
"Richie Ashburn's parents got a place for him and I lived with him along with Robin Roberts, Charlie Bicknell, four or five of us," said Mayo, noting that Roberts and O'Brien have similar pitching styles.
"Robin Roberts never had a curveball. He was a fastball pitcher hitting the corners at all times," Mayo said. "[Richie's] fastball is his best pitch. He has a good curveball and a slower pitch off the fastball."
Roberts pitched 19 years in the majors, including 14 with the Phillies, and compiled 286 wins, six straight 20-win seasons, including 20-11 in 1950. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
But Mayo said he can't compare his grandson to himself.
"I was an outfielder. I was real fast. He's a different type of player, a pitcher," said Mayo, who operates Mayo & amp; Associates Inc. and is married to Jennifer (DeChicco), his second wife. His first wife, Patricia (McCabe), died eight years.
Mayo recalled the final game of the 1950 season when the Phillies beat the Dodgers to win the National League pennant and make the World Series against the New York Yankees.
"Dick Sisler hit a home run that won the game and I went in for him in left field in the last inning. I went in to play defense," Mayo said. "Then [Roy] Campanella hit a stinging line drive and I caught it.
"I probably was the fastest guy in the big leagues at the time. It was because of my speed that I caught it."
In three World Series games
Mayo said he played in three of the 1950 World Series games against the Yankees.
"I pinched-hit in first game and stole second but I was not brought in. We lost 1-0 on [Joe] DiMaggio's homer," Mayo said. "I pinch-ran and then got in as defensive replacement" in the other two games.
Mayo said his main assets were speed and defense, especially speed.
In fact, he said that once he was asked to replace a horse to race against Olympian Barney Ewell in between a Phillies' doubleheader, because a horse could not be found for the fans' entertainment.
"I jumped the gun but tied him," said Mayo, who called his major league years "a super enjoyable part of my life. I liked the camaraderie. Then I got into real estate and I've been in it for the last 50 years."