Out At Home

"Out at Home" is a book written by Milt Pappas. I recently had the opportunity to meet him during a Friday evening game at Clinton, Iowa. Naturally I took advantage of the opportunity to buy a copy of his book and have him personally sign it for me. He was also kind enough to sign a few cards for me as well. I highly recommend the book.

Mr Pappas' career spanned 3 decades, starting in the late fifties and taking him into the seventies. He pitched in four organizations, beginning his career with the Orioles and moving on to pitch for the Reds, the Braves and the Cubs. Mr. Pappas is very outspoken and opinionated, which makes the book a fun read. He talks about negotiating his first professional contract and the difficulties players had before the days of agents and free agency to get a fair deal from management. A notable exception was the Cubs, At that time they were run by the Wrigley family rather than the Tr ibune corporation and they treated the players like part of their extended family. He also talks about his involvement as a player-representative for the MLB Players union. He says that this might have shortened his career, as it gave him the reputation as a radical to some owners. Like so many players he believes that he still had some good seasons left in him when he was forced to retire. He talks of the joy of coming up to the majors, the excitement of being a young pitcher with the Orioles back when everyone was chasing the Yankees, the class of Brooks Robinson, the partying with Jim Gentile, and the trade that took him to Cincinnati for Frank Robinson. He really never felt that he got a fair trade from the Reds fans, who thought they got the raw end of the trade, especially when Robinson went on to have an MVP season. He talks about his time with the Braves as well.

Milt Pappas isn't sparing in his self-analysis either. He's honest about his infidelities, citing the easy accessibility of women to ballplayers and the months away from home as natural catalysts leading to it. His first wife turned to alcohol to cope and found that the alcohol soon had a hold on her. He blamed himself for this. When his wife disappeared he really went through some tough times. His in-laws were adamant in acusing him of having her done away with. The uncertainty of her fate gnawed at him for five years until her van and her body were recovered in a pond just four blocks from their home. The discovery of what happened (just a tragic accident) removed the burden of suspicion from him, but five years of certainty took its toll on him. Milt is very outspoken, castigating today's players for their greed and for their lack of knowledge of the history of the game and for how little today's players care about the plight of older players whose pensions are minimal. One can't argue with much of what he says regarding these subjects.

With 209 wins and a no-hitter to his credit, Mr Pappas is bitter that he hasn't received more Hall of Fame consideration. He compares his statistics to Hal Newhauser, Don Drysdale or Sandy Koufax, all of whom are enshrined in the Hall. I believe personally that Mr. Pappas, although a very good pitcher, didn't tower above his contemporaries enough to realistically justify enshrinement. I'm a long-time Twins fan, and I believe that far far stronger cases can be made for Jim Kaat, who not only won 283 games in his career, but spent much of his early career with sub-par Senator or expansion Twins teams. Not only that, but he was the first pitcher to set the standard for fielding his position, winning nine Golden Gloves. Or lets look at Jack Morris. The fact that he was the winningest pitcher in the 80's testafies to his dominance, and his masterful 10 inning shutout of the Braves in the 7th game of the 1991 World Series is as memorable a feat, and far more a sustained individual effort than Maz' home run, which arguably put him in the hall. Lets be brutally blunt here. If Morris or Kaat pitched on the East or West Coast they'd have plaques hanging in Cooperstown already.

But, off my soapbox and back to Milt Pappas. He charged $20 for his book when I saw him in Clinton. I understand that if you write to him he'll send you information about ordering his book. I don't know what he chareges to order it by mail from him, but if the book intrigues you, you might care to write to Mr Pappas at: 502 highlington Court/ Beecher IL 60401. I really enjoyed the book and am sure that you will too.

That's all for now. Till next time, have fun with the hobby. I sure do.

~ Rich Hanson