Shuba covers all the bases in talk to Curbstoners

Joe Torre and Joe Girardi will fit right in as the new
manager of the Dodgers
and Yankees, respectively.

By GREG GULAS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BOARDMAN — The World Series is barely a fading memory, but baseball talk was still fresh and on everyone’s mind Monday as former Brooklyn Dodger star George “Shotgun” Shuba addressed the Curbstone Coaches’ membership during their weekly meeting at the Blue Wolf Banquet Center.

“The Boston Red Sox had a great run this past year and for them to win two of the past four World Series titles is quite an accomplishment. Keeping them together, however, will be an offseason challenge for the team, most especially for general manager Theo Epstein,” Shuba said.

Shuba, best known as the player who shook Jackie Robinson’s hand at home plate in the latter’s first-ever professional game (in 1946 while both were members of the Montreal Royals) and the player who hit the first pinch-hit home run for the National League in World Series play (1953), played seven years in the majors, all with Brooklyn.

He appeared in three World Series and helped the Dodgers to the 1955 title, their only crown while the team was still based in Brooklyn.

He was rather candid when asked about the team’s move to the West Coast.

“It was the best decision that owner Walter O’Malley could have made, yet one for which the Brooklyn fans will never forgive him,” Shuba stated.

“All Mr. O’Malley wanted from the city was a little help in order to upgrade Ebbets Field and the area surrounding the park. When his plan was met with resistance and opposition, especially by New York City Construction Coordinator Robert Moses, a contingency plan was hatched.

“The city of Los Angeles offered him a suitable amount of land for a stadium and its surroundings and San Francisco did the same for Horace Stoneham, owner of the New York Giants who was also having trouble upgrading his antiquated stadium, the Polo Grounds.

“That is when the west coast ended up with two major league teams and the rest as they say is baseball history,” Shuba added.

Shuba is forthright when he says that there are two glowing omissions on the Baseball Hall of Fame legend.

“For helping to change the face of baseball and by taking the chance on moving his team out of Brooklyn, especially looking at the success that the franchise has enjoyed since the move, Walter O’Malley belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” he said. “Same goes for Marvin Miller. It was through his efforts that the players unionized and began to get their fair share of the profits. Many believe to this day that players in all the professional sports are overpaid. Players can reply by saying look how much they helped the club make over the course of a season,” he said.

Shuba feels that Joe Torre will fit right in as the new manager of the Dodgers, but also feels that Joe Girardi is just as good a fit as the new skipper of the Yankees.

“Joe Torre is a Brooklyn boy who understands the history of the team while [Joe] Girardi is a Yankee who understands what is expected of him as the man in charge of baseball’s most storied franchise,” he said.

Addressing a question about player contracts and free agency, Shuba quickly pointed out that Alex Rodriguez and the other free agents this year are well worth what is negotiated for them by their respective agents.

“We didn’t have agents back when I played and many of the stars were held at bay by the ownership. Many of the tactics used by management were underhanded, to say the least,” he said. “A guy like Alex Rodriguez will make a lot of money for the team that signs him so he deserves his fair share of the pie as well.”

The thing that Shuba will really miss after next spring, however, is that of Dodgertown; the team’s spring training facility which has been located in Vero Beach, FL since 1948.

“They’ve called Dodgertown and Holman Stadium their spring training home for 60 years now. It’s a very special place and one that has a soft spot in your heart whether you are a Dodger player, coach, administrator or just a fan,” he said. “The move to Arizona in time for the 2009 spring training season will be awkward to many, but it is a move that makes a lot of sense for many, many reasons.”

Next week, former big league player and manager Chuck Tanner will be the guest speaker.