(Photo: Batboy, Bert Padell and Yogi Berra)

In life you must do something that you love.
That was the motto that Bert Padell lived by.
Who was Bert Padell?

He was known as the accountant to the stars. You’re asking me– why I would care about an accountant? Well besides the fact that he represented Madonna, Jay Zee, Robert Deniro and so many others, he was also a philanthropist.

The thing that I loved the most about Bert Padell was the fact that his first job in life was that of a New York Yankee Batboy.   After reading many of my stories you know how sensitive I am about Yankee Batboys.

Just recently, I wrote a story about Sheriff Errol Toulon and another about Luis Castillo and his work with kids in the Bronx.  There are so many success stories about former batboys. The foundation that the Yankees gave all of these kids date back to the days of Babe Ruth and his personal bat boy Ray Kelly, who would  grow up to become very successful in life.  The same can be said about Bert Padell. I first met Bert back in 1981 when he was the accountant for Yankee outfielder, Lou Piniella.

Naturally, he loved the fact that I was a member of the “batboy fraternity” so we had a lot to talk about and a lot of comparing notes. The one argument we had that day was the fact that when he was a bat boy he had Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra and I had Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson. We laughed a lot about that one because there was no way that I was going to let him tell me that his two guys were better than Reggie and Munson. I gave him a good argument and because of that he said that I should have been a lawyer.
Bert always told me that with all of his success, being a Yankee Batboy was always the greatest job he ever had. That is the one true thing that we agreed on.

Bert never forgot where he came from and for many years he would visit many hospitals with some of his celebrity clients and bring the sick kids presents that he bought himself.

Bert always inspired me that way. It’s sometime that has always been a part of the Yankee tradition dating back to the days of the Babe.
Bert Padell was so popular with his clients that one of them (112 & Biggie Smalls) actually included him in the lyrics to one of his very big rap hits, “Only You”

Bert Padell died at the age of 87. He will be missed by so many people. Black and white, rich and poor. Bert was a nice man that always had time for myself and everyone else when we needed it.

It was never about business, it was always about the thing we loved the most–The Yankees and of course being a Yankee Batboy.

Rest in peace Bert. You lived a good life and you helped a lot of people.

Diamond Dust…

Today I am also saddened by the passing of my priest and big time Yankee fan, Father Richard Gorman.  The last time we spoke he was excited about making a trip to visit the Yankee spring training camp and get a first glimpse at the 2018 New York Yankees with our dear friend and chairman of The Cristian Rivera Foundation, John Rivera.  I also lost my cousin Hector (Luisito) Perez to this crazy flu virus that is all over this country.  If you haven’t gotten your flu shot, get it now.

In the song “Beautiful Boy” , John Lennon  says

“Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans.”

Isn’t it the truth?  At midnight Friday I was talking to my oldest son Jon-Erik talking about plans for the next couple of weeks. Last year as a police officer he helped deliver two babies. We were talking about the fact that I would be at a ceremony where they are going to honor him. We talked about the fact that he was looking forward to going to spring training to see this great Yankee team. At Four in the morning the phone rang and the caller ID showed his number. When your son is a police officer, this is never good. So, I took a deep breath and said,”What happened?” He initially said, “I am ok. I’m at the hospital. A drunk driver plowed into me while I was writing a ticket. Thank God I was in my police car.” I asked him, “Are you sure your ok?” He said, “Yes and that he wanted to tell me before I saw it on the news.” I asked him if he wanted me to come to the hospital but he told me that his mom Barbara and her husband Jerry were already there. I told him to call me when he left. After we hung up I put on the local television station and within the hour they showed the accident and my son being rolled out on a stretcher. They showed the drunk driver’s car completely totaled. When I saw this I had to call him and as crazy as it sounds, he was already back at the police station doing his report. The next day, he was telling me about how sore his neck and back were.

I prayed a lot this weekend, thanking God for sparing my sons life this weekend. At one point,  I got a text from my ex-sister in law ,Carmen Webb, saying “God is Good!” I couldn’t agree with her more!

I told Jon-Erik that now he must deliver the message about drunk driving. Also, not to waste time being angry with the driver of the other vehicle. Hopefully she can get help with her problem so that it doesn’t happen again. When you look at the pictures of the accident you can see how horrible this could have been. With that being said,  as a parent I urge all other parents out there to please speak to your children about drinking and driving. It doesn’t matter how old they are, they are always our children. I feel terrible for the young lady that injured my son because now her life is pretty much ruined forever in so many ways.

This is not the first time that someone that I love was involved in this type of accident. One that all of you do remember was the Great Yankee Manager Billy Martin who died in a drunk driving accident. Billy was like a father to me and I have never gotten over it. I couldn’t imagine if my son, an innocent bystander, had lost his life because of this craziness.

I will only say that we must all be responsible for ourselves and for those that we love so that we don’t become a statistic.
I am grateful that I can pray to God tonight and thank him for my son being okay and that he is a part of the master plan. Now I can still go the his ceremony where he will meet the babies that he helped bring into this world and of course we have to see the new murderers row (The Yankees) in Tampa.

If you are a parent please do yourself a favor and listen to John Lennons song ‘Beautiful Boy.’ Then give your kids a hug. If they are away, then give them a call or text just to let them know how much you love them. Remember that in this crazy beautiful life nothing is guaranteed NOTHING !

Last week there was a horrific fire in the Belmont section of the Bronx. Thirteen people vanished in the blaze. Families destroyed forever.

When something like this happens, if you’re human, then you want to help any way that you can.

If you are Chazz Palminteri and you grew up in that neighborhood then it really hits home.

Knowing Chazz the way that I do, it did not surprise me that he would get together with his friends, film legend Robert De Niro and music icon, Tommy Mottola, to do something to help.

The three are producers of the great Broadway play, “A Bronx Tale.” That being the case, they decided to give four dollars from every ticket sold to help victims that live in the building.

I have known Chazz and Tommy Mottola for a long time, and very aware of their friendship with De Niro and again, I am not surprised by this wonderful gesture.

I have always found Chazz to be a very humble man that I can always go to for help with anything and the brother is always there. Chazz and Mottola have never forgotten where they came from.

The other day I was sitting down with Chazz Palminteri having the greatest cappuccino in the world at Gino’s Pastry on Arthur Avenue then we started to walk the streets in the Belmont section of the Bronx and as Chazz started to stare at the buildings I could see how much this man loves this neighborhood. To think that there was a fire here that destroyed some lives and some buildings, I know really hurt him badly.

I have always been a lover of the arts and to say that I idolize these three men would be an understatement.

Many times when you meet your heroes, they sometimes tend to disappoint us.

I can guarantee you that this is not the case with these three men.

New York is very lucky to have them in our great city.

They just don’t live in New York, they really care about our city.

Most people are aware of Chazz’s great love of the Yankees and as you can see by Mottola’s picture, he too is a big time fan of the Bronx Bombers, as is De Niro.

They say actions speak louder than words. In the case of these three men, their actions are very much appreciated.

I guess this is just another Bronx Tale.

You have just agreed to a multi-million dollar contract with baseball’s most elite team, the New York Yankees. You would think there would be a big celebration. But in the case of Dellin Betances, his way of celebrating is by hanging out with the poorest kids of the Dominican Republic.

On Saturday and Sunday, Dellin was seen along with Yankee catcher Gary Sanchez and former Yankee Starlin Castro and their longtime mentor, Nelson Cruz, hitting the kids ground balls, fly balls and in Dellin’s case, pitching batting practice. If you know Dellin Betances, then you know that he has never forgotten where he came from. If he was in New York, he would be at a batting cage working with kids in the Bronx.

Nelson Cruz, whose parents are educators, is considered in baseball circles as a true humanitarian. I had the great fortune of honoring him at the United Nations several years ago for his work in Venezuela. He flew in powdered milk when Venezuela lacked milk for its young.

When you ask Dellin about why he cares so much, he provides the example about the way that Nelson and others have been and the fact that this is part of being a Yankee.

Starlin Castro was not a Yankee for long, but he understood that being philanthropic came with wearing the pinstripes.

Dellin is excited about the upcoming baseball season and is grateful that the organization has put its trust in him and treated him with the type of respect that he has earned.

In July of 1979, the captain of the New York Yankees, Thurman Munson, was sitting in the dugout, his mind in deep thought. A young, nice looking black kid, the Batboy walked into the dugout then decided to give Thurman his privacy so he started to walk away. Thurman noticed this and asked the boy to come sit next to him. “Are you enjoying your time here with the Yankees?” Thurman asked. “I really am Mr Munson.” the Batboy replied. Thurman said to the boy, ” When your time with the Yankees is over, use this experience to help others.” One month later, The Captain of the Yankees would die in an airplane crash. Almost forty years later, Errol Toulon, that Batboy, would make history…

Today was the inauguration of the 67th Sheriff in the history of Suffolk County. Today also marked the first time that an African American was voted into that position. The governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo said, “It took a person like Errol Toulon to be able to break down those barriers.” Governor Cuomo also said that the people of Suffolk county understood the fact that Sheriff Toulon was truly someone special and someone that was willing to give his heart and soul in order to do all of the right things for the people of Suffolk County. Errol Toulon is someone that is not going to be afraid to challenge the MS 13 and other gangs that have been terrorizing parts of Long Island.

When Errol Toulon walked up to the podium today, one of the first things out of his mouth was the following, “I’ve come a long way from being a batboy for the New York Yankees and having a catch with Reggie Jackson.” The auditorium erupted with cheers which made me feel extremely proud because I know that this is something that would have made George Steinbrenner even prouder.

To be sitting next to my son Jon-Erik, who is a police officer, a union delegate and also helped with the election process, made me understand how important the Sheriff is and how important it is to have the right man in this position.

I later had the opportunity to talk to both Governor Cuomo and Errol Toulon Sr. who said to me how great that Errol’s career started as a batboy for George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees, they said that it really was the foundation for the things that he (Errol) accomplished later in life. It was great to see the Toulon family who have done such incredible things in law enforcement throughout the years and have literally helped to make New York a safer place. Governor Cuomo said that one of the things that he and Errol have in common was the fact that they were able to follow in the footsteps of the incredible work that both their father’s had done. (Errol Sr. was a giant in corrections and of course Mario Cuomo was the Governor of New York)

When I went up to Mr. Toulon Sr. to see if he remembered me from the Yankee days, the first thing he said was, “I remember you and appreciate the things that you do.” To say that I felt extremely humbled would be an understatement.

I worry about my son, Jon-Erik every day when he is working. I also know that he has two other brothers that are getting ready to join the Suffolk police force and I worry for them also however, it is comforting to know that their leader, Errol Toulon, is there to guide them and all the people of Suffolk County.

In closing, as I have said in other stories, I am always proud of all the batboys throughout Yankee history who have grown up to become great citizens. The Yankee organization should always feel very proud.

 

It’s Christmas and I am driving back from a party for kids that come from a shelter.

My dear friend, Dan Quintero, from the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club always helps me to put this together along with donations from a lot of my dear friends from the Yankees and Alfred Zaccagnino, a pal that I grew up with and who understands what being poor is all about. He may be successful now but he has never forgotten where he came from.
Like me, Alfred lost his mom last year and is going through his first Christmas without her.

I’m also going through my first Christmas without my Dad. I also lost one of my idols this year, Gene Michael. I would usually be having lunch at this time with “the Stick” and Ken Fagan, an Air Force veteran and very dear friend.

When I got into my car after the event I started to cry uncontrollably. I guess I was feeling sorry for myself and feeling sorry for all those kids from the shelter and what they had to go back to and the fact that I’m also limited as to what I can do for them.

I decided to put on the radio to distract myself. All of a sudden, a song came on that I had not heard in many years called “I Believe” by Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic. It touched every emotion that I was feeling at that moment and I honestly believe that it came on to deliver a message to me. The words were very profound and right on the money and all of a sudden my tears turned from deep sadness to a true form of understanding. I went from having a tough time catching my breath to being able to breathe again.

While being caught in crazy traffic because of the Christmas rush, I got a call from my son Jon-Erik who as most of you know is a police officer. He had received a call the evening before that a couple was in trouble on the road, a mother was going into labor. Jon-Erik and police officer, Michael Schneider, were first on the scene and had to assist in delivering the baby. It was a beautiful little girl. What’s incredible in the song, “I Believe” is that there is a verse in the song that says “every time I hear a new born baby cry it tells me I believe.” In life, everything is for a reason. Baseball Hall of famer, Reggie Jackson, is Jon-Erik’s God father. If he is known as Mr. October for his World Series exploits, then Jon-Erik and Michael Schnieder should be known as “Mr. December” for their wonderful effort in helping to bring a new life to this world. The Suffolk County Police Department, Jon-Erik and Michael should all be very proud and always remember the Christmas of 2017.

If that’s not enough, I must tell you that another great friend of mine Tony Melendez, the head of the Bronx Hanks Yanks, our youth baseball organization, was walking home from the baseball facility when he saw an object in the street. It turned out to be a puppy all covered in snow, shaking profusely and was headed out in the street. Like the athlete that he used to be, he ran out onto the street and grabbed the little dog before it got run over by a car. Tony and his wife Jessy cared for the puppy for two days until they found its rightful owners. I must add that when Tony and Jessy gave the puppy back they cried like babies but they made themselves honorary God parents and volunteered to babysit when needed. We gave a nice Christmas party to the kids at the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, a party at the TM Baseball Academy, the home of the Bronx Hanks Yanks.

At the start of the party, an amazing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner was sung by Brandan Hernandez, a Hank’s Yanks player from the Bronx. He has also performed for the past three years at the US Open. The great Willie Randolph was at the party and gave his heart and soul to the kids. Also present was Dom Scala, former Yankee bullpen catcher from the World Championship teams of the 70s. We even brought in former Yankee batboy and Bronx resident Luis Castillo who talked to the kids about the greatest time of his life and how great the Yankee players made him and all bat boys feel. Rich Mancuso, the terrific boxing writer and analyst, was there with up and coming boxer Jeffrey Gonzalez, who showed the kids some of his moves. The event was televised on Bronx Net and Manhattan Cable. For one night all of the kids felt like stars. A special thank you to all the parents who brought in food to feed everyone and all the companies that donated toys for the kids. A special thank you to Hank and Julia Steinbrenner for always being there and to the whole Yankees organization for giving the Bronx and the city of New York a reason for always feeling proud.

If there are people out there that may be going through a difficult time at this time of year then I recommend that you listen to the song ‘I Believe ‘ by Elvis Presley. It will help.

Merry Christmas to everyone and as my wonderful friend Jose Feliciano has been saying for so many years, Feliz Navidad.

When your as blessed as me, having worked for the New York Yankees for over 44 years,  you get to meet a lot of famous people. Some great, some not so great. Some nice, some not as nice. People from the world of Stage, screen, television, sports and politics. I come from such humble beginnings so I find it a true privilege to meet many of these individuals who have accomplished so much.

Since the time I started with the Yankees at the age of seventeen, I was into the TV shows like the Brady Bunch, Happy Days and of course the Partridge Family. My long time pal, Aris developed his first “man crush” to Keith Partridge, who’s real life name was David Cassidy. When the Yankees went to the 1977 and 1978 World Series to play the Dodgers, myself and the other bat boys met a lot of the kid actors in Hollywood. (One of the Batboys actually got to go on a date with Joanie from Happy Days.) I remember Greg from the Brady Bunch being very cool and even though he was rooting for the Dodgers, he was very excited about meeting Mr October, Reggie Jackson.

One experience that I will never forget was when David Cassidy came to one of the games and created a nightmare for security at Dodger Stadium because he had purchased his own ticket and  they didn’t know that he was coming.  At this time, he was actually as big as Elvis. We got to meet him by the clubhouse area because his dad, the actor Jack Cassidy, had been friends with Billy Martin. David could not have been more cool—just a nice kid who actually liked baseball. Even though I would never see him again, I never forgot that wonderful experience in LA.

The last few years, I had heard that he had some issues with drug and alcohol abuse and I wished that I would have tried to reach out to possibly help him since I have the arsenal of friends that I do in the field-but unfortunately I didn’t. Like me, he recently lost his mom to dementia. Like me, he lost his best friend and went through the true pain of losing your mother and knowing that you will never see her again. Two days ago, a neighbor of his told me that he had been very ill and his organs were shutting down and yesterday I heard that David Cassidy had died at the age of  sixty seven. For me, I feel that it is much to soon to lose anybody, let alone David Cassidy. I write this piece to say thank you to a person that helped make my childhood a little bit better. With the passing of time we naturally loose a lot of people in the sports and entertainment world and we take a lot of them for granted. Even though they make a lot of money and are adored by millions, that wealth sometimes comes with a price and a lot of times they just don’t know what that price is.

That day in 1977 I asked him who was he rooting for and he said,” I lived in New York as a kid, who do you think?!”

Two of the greatest players of their generation and maybe the all time very best at their positions are Ozzie Smith and Robbie Alomar. Both won ten or more gold gloves, were on ten or more All Star teams, World Championship teams and both knew how to win.

I spent some time with Ozzie on my ESPN Deportes 1050 radio show right after the Hall of Fame announced the players that are eligible this January.

I have known “The Wizard of Oz” for most of his career. We got to know each other through our mutual friend Joe OKs, the owner of Portabella, the men’s clothing store to the baseball stars, and for our shared admiration of George Steinbrenner. Ozzie understood the Boss’s contributions to the game and became a fan because of it. One thing I love about Ozzie is the fact that he really understands all the little idiosyncrasies about baseball and also understands why the game is so important to our society.

I asked Ozzie who he would vote for if he had one vote. He quickly responded by saying,” Omar Vizquel. Omar was a magician with the glove, he was the best that I ever saw.” I asked Ozzie if that included himself and Ozzie laughed and said, “No comment.” I told him that I would let him off the hook. Ozzie also added that if you look at Omar’s stats, his numbers compare to most shortstops in the Hall of Fame.

After the Wizard, Roberto Alomar came on the show.

I have known Robbie since he was seven years old. We are literally like brothers and extremely honest with each other about everything and anything. He is one of my sons godfather.

The first question I asked Robbie was if he had a vote for the hall of fame would you vote for Vizqual. He said, “No question about it, Omar was the best short stop that I have ever played with. Omar made me better and I like to think that I helped make him better. Every night in Cleveland it felt like the people were waiting for Omar and Me to put on a show.”

Robbie said, “Omar was an extremely good teammate. If someone would ever have something bad to say about Omar then I would really have to question that person. That’s how good a person he is.” At that point, I said to Robbie, “So your saying that he was better than Ripken?” Robbie laughed and said, “Apples and oranges.” “Ozzie and Omar were the two best I’ve seen defensively and Ripken and ARod were two of the best offensively.” Robbie added that Omar became a terrific hitter right before his eyes.

Whatever happens at the announcements for the Hall of Fame next month, I just hope that the voting committee gets this one right because besides being more than worthy, the three new letters (HOF) after his name will make him one of baseballs great ambassadors. But then again knowing Omar, I know that he already is.

This Saturday you can listen to Omar Vizquel at 12pm on ESPN 1050am IMPACT!

During my years as a Yankee batboy I got to meet and work with a lot of kids that were very proud to put on the Yankee pinstripes. As batboys we were  made to feel like a part of the team by most of the players.  The harder we worked, the more the players made us really feel at home. We had kids of all types, black, white, Latin, skinny, fat, rich, poor, some had even been gang members but the Yankees had no idea. Some of the players knew but said that as long as they stayed cool and out of trouble, they were ok with it. One security officer even went so far as to tell George Steinbrenner about one of the kids.  The boss asked the officer if the kid had done anything wrong while working for the Yankees and the officer said “no” and the Boss told him to mind his own business.

A lot of these batboys, I’m proud to say,  went on to do great things with their lives. One batboy, Thad Mumford, went to Hollywood to become an award winning writer for the famous TV Series called Mash. Another, Seth Herbst, would become one of the biggest gynecologist in America. Hector Pagan would become one of the most celebrated DEA agents in America. Joe D’Ambrosio would go on to work with some of the biggest acts in music including the Eagles. And then there’s John Blundell, who became the head of PR for Major League Baseball.

I mean the list goes on and on and the Yankees aren’t even aware of the incredible foundations that they had created for so many of these kids. I know that I have the life that I have today and can be proud of my kids because of the first job in my life- a Yankee Batboy.

Another one of these batboys was a kid that I would meet in 1979 by the name of Errol Toulon. Errol was an African American kid from the Bronx. Errol looked more like a baseball player then any batboy that I had ever seen. Plus he had a nice Afro hairdo. (Not as nice as mine but nice.) He also loved to put on his uniform and just stare at himself in the mirror. He never knew it but I use to tell Thurman Munson that he was staring at himself again and Thurman would say –looking good kid with a big smile and Errol never knew that we were teasing him. Thurman was always close to the batboys and I remember him always patting Errol on the back. Unfortunately, Thurman died that August 2nd but would leave a wonderful impression that Errol would carry with him to this day. Bobby Murcer also made a big impression on Errol and years later when Errol would battle Cancer, Bobby would reach out to try to encourage him to keep fighting. (It’s ironic that Bobby would die of cancer a few years later.) I asked Errol which Yankee touched him the most and he said,” Willie Randolph.” I asked him why and he said that because they were closer in age they probably talked more as well as having more in common. When Errol went to college he always wore Willies number, 30, on his baseball uniform.

When Errol finished school, he worked twenty five years as a  corrections officer at Rikers Island. He retired, moved to Long Island and started a whole new career.

My son, Jon- Erik Negron, is a police officer and union delegate for the Suffolk County Police Department. As a teenager he was a batboy for the Cleveland Indians.  During the recent elections he asked me if I knew someone named Errol Toulon. I told him that if it’s the same guy that I’m thinking of then he used to be a Yankee Batboy.

Yesterday it was announced, after a close race, that Errol Toulon will be Suffolk County’s new sheriff. (When someone overheard that he was a batboy during the Jackson/ Munson era, they said that if the public knew this during the election then Errol would have won by a landslide. Everyone laughed.)   Errol has become Long Island’s first African American non judicial countywide elected official. After the results were announced, Errol said.”Clearly voters heard my message of what I want to bring to the sheriff’s office.”  “ I hope that any individual, no matter what race, ethnicity or gender, if they pursue their dreams or their goals they can achieve anything they want.”  Errol looks forward to combating gang violence and the opioid epidemic and introducing a re-entry program for those leaving county jails. The New York Yankees should be proud that this all started at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, it’s beautiful to come to the realization that the batboy has become BATMAN.