Columns

I got to spend some time with Aroldis Chapman on the phone this weekend. He just got back from the Latin Grammy’s this weekend in California and said, he had a blast. He says he is living the American Dream. He became an American citizen this year, and with winning the World Series and everything that has followed, he didn’t get a chance to vote, however he looks forward to voting next year.

He says, that he is proud of being a world champion and was very happy to be able to contribute to the success of the Chicago Cubs. He said that 2016 turned out to be a the fantasy for him and getting traded to the Yankees was great because as most Cubans know, the Yankees have always been Cuba’s team.

“The organization treated me first class,” he said, “And the fans were like no other.” He also said, Chicago fans are great but there is something about a Yankee fan that is hard to explain. I asked him straight out, if the Yankees were his preference in the free agent market and he said, “I would love to be a Yankee again.”

I said, then why can’t we just make it happen? He responded by saying, “This is business and the Yankees know that.” He does say that he knows that the Yankees were there when he was going through his difficult legal difficult problems last Winter.

“They took a chance on me,” he said, “and I will always be grateful.” I got to spend a lot of time with this young man and I must say that he was always respectful and descent.

Major League Baseball is entertainment. We are in the entertainment capital of the world. Like Elvis, Sinatra or in the Steinbrenner era of Reggie, New York deserves to have Chapman and his 105-mile fastball.

I know that the Yankees would love to have him back for the fans and will do all they can, however as I told Chapman it takes two to tango.

Ray Negron can be heard every Sunday on his show “Impact” 0n 1050 am ESPN Deportes from 11 am to 1 pm and read on Newsmax.

This is the 10th anniversary of my first children’s book, The Boy of Steel. The book was about a boy who had cancer and loved baseball, and the Yankees. The inspiration came from my many visits to hospitals with players that were loved so much by so many of these kids. Believe it or not, the very first visit to hospitals and schools that I did on different occasions where with Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson and Billy Martin. Billy was wonderful because he never liked planning anything. He just did it spur of the moment. He felt that he was blessed because his kids were healthy, especially his son Billy Joe. This was what George Steinbrenner loved about Billy.

The Boss was the same way.  He could be very busy in his office and if I had a kid with me that would want to meet him I would never hesitate to bring the kid into his office. Some of the people that worked for him would go crazy because I would do that but Steinbrenner always felt that the kids were more important and he would say.” I am the Boss.”  I love that about him. I’m sure that is why his kids are the people they are today.

I remember Billy Martin and the Boss coming back from a hospital visit with a New York big shot named Bill Fugazy, who set the visit up. They just couldn’t get enough of those kids.  I asked Billy why and he said, “We’re Yankees, that’s what we do.”  I never forgot Billy saying that and years later when I produced an animated film called Henry & Me with Joe Avallone and Reveal Productions, I had the line used by Richard Gere who played Lou Gehrig in the film.

One of the most wonderful people that I have known in this game, from the standpoint of giving back, was Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer. He was tireless and very giving. Like Munson and the rest mentioned, he had a very big heart. It is ironic that Bobby would die of cancer at the age of 62.

I will never forget Mariano Rivera befriending another young cancer patient named Jack Szigety Jack’s chances of survival at the time were slim yet 12 years later Jack is a senior at Notre Dame.

This past spring, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and our community relations director in Tampa, John Szponar, introduced me to a young man named Daniel Wilson. Daniel was a freshman in high school and through a mandatory checkup, discovered that he had thyroid cancer. Daniel went through a very extensive procedure, including a nine hour surgery at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia.  He had a tube down his throat and he fought like a champion. To say that he was at spring training, I would call it a miracle. That is what these kids are.

I will never forget when I walked him onto the field, one of the first players to come over to him was Dellin Betances. When Dellin put his hand on him, Daniel just broke down and cried. He was so happy to be meeting his hero, he just couldn’t believe it. Reggie came over and heard Daniel’s story and they became instant best friends. Willie Randolph, Goose Gossage, Mark Texiera, a true champion in making Daniel feel welcome.

Not since Billy Martin has a Yankee manager been as giving and caring as Joe Girardi.  Like Billy, you could just go up to Joe and let him know the situation and nine times out of ten, he will do his best for the individual. When I told him about Daniel not only did he come over and talk to him but he had Daniel walk the lineup card out to the umpires and let Daniel stay in the dugout to help him manage for two innings.  That’s who Joe Girardi is. I’m proud to say that I know him.

Daniel, like Jack, is healthy again and doing the fun things that boys his age are supposed to do like playing baseball etc. I wish that all of the stories with the kids I meet turn out this well but unfortunately they don’t.

My very dear friend David Jurist and his family just lost their daughter Eileen.  Eileen battled cancer for many years. To David, she was his princess and if you know her you would understand why.  She was and will always be very beautiful. David has and will always help to battle pediatric cancer.  David and his wife, Alice have done so much for Hackensack University Medical Center in the same way that Yankees team President Randy Levine and his wife Mindy are always there for Sloan Kettering.

I will never forget a young Robinson Cano who was always going to the hospital to visit the kids. One day as I was driving him to the airport to go home after a long season, and we still had about three hours to kill, Cano said.” Let’s stop off at Sloan and visit some of the kids.” It was about 8:30 in the morning so I called the hospital to let them know. I think they thought it was a prank because they called Randy Levine who called me on the other line. Randy asked if I was trying to get to the hospital with Cano.  I said.” Yes” and we laughed. He appreciated that Cano cared so much. That is why today Cano has the Robinson Cano Pediatric Physical Therapy Suite at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Today we have Gary Sanchez and a whole new generation of Yankees that will continue a tradition that was actually started by Babe Ruth.

As Billy Martin once said, “We’re Yankees. This is what we do!”

Ray Negron is heard every Sunday on ESPN deportes 1050am at 11am and his column appears on Newsmax.

“The Boss” The Real One, (George M. Steinbrenner) not Bruce Springsteen would have extended his hand to try and help America by helping to guide and in turn support out new President.

I was a kid. from the streets of New York . I was used to seeing people get hit on the head with bottles, pipes, and on some occasions I even saw some people stabbed or shot. I was born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn. I was raised with Jewish, Blacks, Latin, and Italian kids. My parents finally moved us to Queens New York in an area known as Springfield Gardens.

It was a whole different world. I did not have to worry about being stabbed or shot anymore. When I went to work for the New York Yankees as a batboy, I started to meet a lot of very interesting people. For whatever the reason, the owner, George Steinbrenner always introduced me to a lot of these people.

He used to tell me, that is is important to get to know these guys. At the time, I never really knew why. I was just happy that “The Boss” thought enough of me, a dark Spanish kid with an Afro hair due to have me meet these distinguished individuals.

“The Boss” always used to tell the story of how he caught me in the streets and gave me my first job. I remember meeting the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former President Richard Nixon, real estate moguls (The Fisher Brothers) , Cary Grant, and countless stars from all fields.

One person I remember was a very young and energetic real estate guy that “The Boss” liked a lot. I remember when he introduced him to me and he said, “Ray lives out in Queens also.”

That real estate guy was Donald Trump.

You could tell that Trump was a true fan of Mr. Steinbrenner. He would listen to every word that “The Boss” had to say very intensely and almost like a student with his professor.

I remember throughout the years being in the office of “The Boss.” His secretary Joanne would say, “Trump on Line 2.” The Donald would call for advice all the time. It’s funny that I saw a lot of the same mannerisms in Trump that “The Boss” had.

As time progressed, I saw the strong ego develop in Mr. Trump when I would see him come to Yankee games in the Bronx. But he was always a gentleman!

When Trump was doing his reality show, he used to use the line “You’re Fired” all the time which had been a famous Steinbrenner line. I remember asking “The Boss: if he had given Trump permission to use it. Steinbrenner laughed and said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

After “The Boss” died, I would periodically run into “The Donald” at many charity events run by Lenny Caro who at the time was the President of The Bronx Chamber of Commerce and then Chief Community Relations Officer at Mercy College.

Many of these events supported all types of minority issues including my own youth baseball program which I ran with Hank Steinbrenner that helped many Black and Latino kids stay in school and play baseball.

I remember having a quiet moment with Trump last year. He asked me, “How is it for you at the Yankees now that The Boss is Gone?” The way he asked the question, and how he stared into my eyes I knew the interest was real
and I really appreciated the sincerity.

The other day some reporters who knew about the fact that “The Boss” had a relationship with Trump said that Steinbrenner would have voted for Hillary Clinton.

Well I would say, these people did not know George Steinbrenner. So saying that was just a far fetched guess on their part. George Steinbrenner, as many know, was a great patriot and he would always do what was best for America.

Whether it was Clinton or Trump, his respect was for whoever was sitting in the Oval Office. I am very sorry that George Steinbrenner isn’t alive because he would have been a very positive influence in Trump’s preparation for the White House.

And, I guarantee you that many of the negative issues that came out, in my opinion they never would have. However we will never know for sure. When I heard that there would be a protest down 5th Avenue , I decided to act like a true journalist and walk about 20 blocks to feel what the protest was all all about.

What were the people that were marching really thinking? Were their hearts in the right place? I found that that there were a lot of people that really care about this country and really want what’s best, and I was proud of them for that. However, I also found a lot of people that just wanted to start trouble.

Thank God that the New York City Finest, the police really did an outstanding job of keeping order. At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, Donald John Trump is our 45th President.

As Hillary Clinton said in her concession speech, “We must accept the result and look to the future.” We have to give Donald Trump a chance to try and make America the wonderful place that it’s supposed to be,

I know, “The Boss” would have said we have to give him enough rope to hang himself. And if he doesn’t, then America truly will be great again.

Ray Negron is heard every Sunday on ESPN deportes 1050am at 11am and his column appears on Newsmax.

October 27th is a day I will never forget. I would go to the Krauss Funeral Home to see my mom. I knew that when I saw her laying there it would really put a finality to the situation.  My wonderful mom was really gone.

My whole life, the one person that would never die was my mother, Jenny. She was my Superman, or in this case, Superwoman. She was not afraid of anything or anyone. IN my mind, she would always be there.

I was supposed to be at the funeral parlor at 2 p.m. I arrived at 1:45. Two of my closest friends, Charlie Santoro from the YES Network and Richard Gere were already there with my other very close friend Russell Hernandez.  Richard Gere would say “Why are you late?” and we laughed.  All my friends made it easier for me. They understand my great bond with my mom. I never hugged so many people in my life. Some of them two or three times. My buddy Alfred Zaccagnino sent flowers so tall that it almost touched the ceiling. My mom loved flowers and Alfred knew that. I told him that he should not have spent so much money on them. He said that I should mind my business because she deserved the best.  I loved all the flowers, however I couldn’t help notice how beautiful the flowers from Randy Levine, the New York Yankees team president were. When I thanked him, he responded by saying that it was an honor. Some of my cousins ran over and asked, how did Aunt Jenny know Frankie Valli? I responded by saying I think it was more like he knew her.  Frankie and his band sent incredible flowers.  Knowing my mom she would have said let’s take them home. Frankie was in town performing on Broadway with the Four Seasons, so I knew there was no way he was going to be at her wake.

October 27th is a day I will never forget. I would go to the Krauss Funeral Home to see my mom. I knew that when I saw her laying there it would really put a finality to the situation.  My wonderful mom was really gone.

My whole life, the one person that would never die was my mother, Jenny. She was my Superman, or in this case, Superwoman. She was not afraid of anything or anyone. IN my mind, she would always be there.

I was supposed to be at the funeral parlor at 2 p.m. I arrived at 1:45. Two of my closest friends, Charlie Santoro from the YES Network and Richard Gere were already there with my other very close friend Russell Hernandez.  Richard Gere would say “Why are you late?” and we laughed.  All my friends made it easier for me. They understand my great bond with my mom. I never hugged so many people in my life. Some of them two or three times. My buddy Alfred Zaccagnino sent flowers so tall that it almost touched the ceiling. My mom loved flowers and Alfred knew that. I told him that he should not have spent so much money on them. He said that I should mind my business because she deserved the best.  I loved all the flowers, however I couldn’t help notice how beautiful the flowers from Randy Levine, the New York Yankees team president were. When I thanked him, he responded by saying that it was an honor. Some of my cousins ran over and asked, how did Aunt Jenny know Frankie Valli? I responded by saying I think it was more like he knew her.  Frankie and his band sent incredible flowers.  Knowing my mom she would have said let’s take them home. Frankie was in town performing on Broadway with the Four Seasons, so I knew there was no way he was going to be at her wake.

The next day was the burial. As we were pulling out from the funeral parlor ironically the radio was playing the Jose Feliciano hit, “Light My Fire”. It made me feel so proud that Jose had wrote a song for my mom when she was in the hospital entitled “ Si Yo Me Salgo de Aqui (If I get out of here)”. It’s a song about what she would do if she ever got out of the hospital. My mom loved music very much. A lot of people didn’t know that about her. Her favorite past time was sewing. My childhood friends Hector and Ivan reminded me how she was always whistling and humming as she sewed.

After the burial everything has been a blur. My buddy Richie Canata, an original member of the Billy Joel Band honored my mom by playing a “New York State of Mind” for her. He told the audience that Jenny was looking down on us.  Every time I hear that song I will think of her. Thank you Ritchie!

Saturday I was in a complete fog. I was just driving around to anywhere and nowhere. I was just listening to music when my phone rang. It was Craig Pilo, Frankie Valli’s drummer and just a real good guy.  He told me to get to the Lunt-Fontanne theatre and meet Frankie and Robbie Robinson backstage before the show.  I picked up my great friend Aris and we rushed to Broadway.  When we got there we met with Frankie in his dressing room. Then we went back stage. Frankie and the band said a wonderful prayer led by Robbie Robinson which honored my mother Jenny.  At that point as the group was going on the stage they took a picture of my beautiful Jenny on the stage with them. Can you imagine my mom on stage with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I sat backstage. I said to myself what an incredible once in a life time seat. Frankie and the band were better than ever. My mind was playing tricks on me because even though my mom was not a dancer I could almost see her dancing to every song that Frankie sang. When Frankie got to the song, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” I knew that it was for her. I listened to the words carefully, “you’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you, you’d be like heaven to touch, I want to hold you so much. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with tears of joy for my mom and sadness for me. I never thought that I would miss my mom, my greatest teacher, so much, but I do. It was such a beautiful moment on stage that it was almost like the ending of a great movie and I decided that it was time to let go, walk out of the theatre and to my next stage in life.

Because of Frankie Valli and his whole organization, I got to see Jenny on Broadway before finishing her trip up to heaven. That night, I had a dream or at least I thought it was a dream. My mom arrived in heaven, Jesus and Frank Sinatra in a white tux were at the pearly gates. A beautiful orchestra behind them started to play the music to the wonderful song, “All The Way”, and Mr. Sinatra, looking about 30 years old sang it only like he could. As soon as he completed his song, he led my mom to his right where heaven’s philharmonic orchestra was, and all of a sudden there was Elvis looking only like Elvis could look and he sang, “The Wonder of You” to my mom. She was so happy. She got even happier when all of a sudden all of the people that she knew on earth came running to her. Her parents, brothers, aunts, uncles, friends. She even got to see some of my friends. I am sure you know who I’m talking about, and yes with all his fighting, curse words, and kicking of umpires, Billy Martin is there too! At that moment, Nat King Cole and his daughter, Natalie, came over to Jenny and told her that the greatest time ever is there an now. However, remember that for the people that you left behind, you will forever be “Unforgettable.”

I want to thank everyone from the bottom of the hearts of my sisters, Naomi and Nancy, our pop Ciro,  and all the grandkids for the tributes that were paid for a very nice person: the original Jenny from the block.

I was recently sitting down with my nephew Michael. He was telling me about his love for soccer and that the first toy he can remember was a soccer ball. He has been playing organized soccer since he was four years old. He is 12 years old and feels the love of the sport now more than ever. As we spoke, he was looking at different pictures. I instantly noticed one of little Michael and his dad standing with one of the most recognizable figures in the world, the great soccer star, Pele. If you know anything about sports, you know that Pele is the Babe Ruth of soccer. I asked Michael what he knew about Pele and he was able to tell me a great deal about this legends accomplishments. Michael told me that he had his instructional videos at home and has read some of Pele’s books.

I asked him if Pele was his hero. Michael thought for a moment then said,”No, my hero is my Dad.” I told him that I thought it was great that his dad was his hero and told him that I thought every kid should think that way about their parents. I told him that I was proud of him. When he walked away I decided to Google his dad and I was shocked at what I was reading.

Michael Windischmann was on the 1988 USA Olympic Soccer team and was captain of the 1990 USA team in the World Cup. Professionally Michael played in the major indoor soccer league and the American soccer league. In 1989 Michael Sr. was the US Soccer Athlete of the Year.

I’m only allowed about 750 words and need double that to talk about his great career. When I read in Wikipedia that Michael Windischmann was inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame I can only say,”Wow.” To be in the same Hall of Fame as the great Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia etc. tells me that Michael has had a great career.

With all of his very hard work Michael’s dreams came true. I asked Michael Jr. if his dad’s heroics were the reason why his dad was his hero and very maturely he responded by saying,” My Dad is my hero because he is always there for me, he does for me, he tries to give me everything I need. He has always been my best teacher when it comes to sports, especially soccer.” Then added,”Most importantly my Dad is truly my best friend. I know I will always be a better athlete and a better person because of Dad.”

Ventura “Jenny” Perez Negron Was a 4’10” black, Puerto Rican woman who was very proud of her color and her culture. She was a very fearless person. As a mother, she was like a lion who would do anything to protect her cub. When her first husband, my biological father, beat her, kidnapped me, took me to Cuba and left me there, she stopped at nothing to raise the money to buy two airline tickets to go into Cuba at a very turbulent time to go and get her son back by herself.

When she brought me back to America she would always say that it would be you and me against the world. We would move from the Bronx to Brooklyn, New York where I would meet a grocery store worker. He took a strong liking to me. My Aunt Olga Perez would babysit me every day while my mom would go to work. She would take me to this bodega, where Cirilo Negron worked, to get her daily groceries. One day as I was sitting on the front stoop of our house with Aunt Olga, Cirilo walked by on his way home. He saw me and stopped and said “How would you like to come by my house and play catch.” At that moment my mom was standing right in back of him, just getting home from work. My aunt Olga had told Mom how kind Cirilo had been to me. All of a sudden my mom kiddingly startled and said to Cirillo, “Well if you take my son home you’re going to have to take the mom.” That was the start of a relationship that lasted for over 50 years.

In her youth, my mom was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Her inner beauty could never be surpassed by anyone, with the possible exception of God. She once told me that when she married Cirilo she didn’t really love him but she could tell how much he cared about me. That was the motivating factor in her eventually falling in love with him.

My mother would go back to school to get her education and become a teacher for the Board of Education. She would be a leader in the parents and teachers Association and always voiced her opinion on all important causes. She helped Cirilo start a very nice grocery store business in the decade of the 60s. It was called “Ciros Food Center” She and Cirilo would have two daughters, Nancy and Naomi.

Nancy would be like Cirilo, very nice and very mellow. Naomi more like Jenny, strong-willed, always ready to explode. But Jenny was the total package. She was for me, the perfect mom. She knew how to give love like no other and she was also a very strict disciplinarian. She always gave me enough rope to hang myself, however when the rope reached the end, she would give me some of the best ass kickings ever. She was never afraid of anyone. I remember during the 1960s when the black power movement started to really take off, she was at a PTA meeting. Talk got very heated between the parents and the teachers. As my mom was speaking someone said to her, “You don’t know about these issues you are Puerto Rican.” My mom screamed out, “Do you see my skin, it’s blacker than yours.” At that moment I said, “Mom please don’t.” I was scared because it was only me and her. But mom being mom she went to the next level and said, “And how would you like my little foot up your ass.” I said “Oh my God!” However everybody started laughing hysterically. Here was my tiny mother challenging the whole PTA, not even realizing that in her own way she actually brought everyone together with her courage. Or maybe she did know.

My mom had five brothers that she was so proud of that it was ridiculous how much. But I have to admit so was I. My Uncle Chris was in the Army, My Uncle Joaquin was in the Navy and my Uncle Roman was a Marine. My Uncle Hector was a golden gloves boxer and Champion, and my Uncle Vincent was in the book printing business. Uncle Vincent wasn’t a soldier or athlete but he was famous for always picking up beautiful women.

My mom had me hang out with my uncles at different times. She wanted me to learn from all of them, both good and bad. My Uncle Hector developed a very bad drug problem and my mom would use this situation to knock it into my head how bad drugs were. As in adult, this would help me in dealing with Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. My mother was also a very good negotiator. She had Cirilo adopt me as his son. She told my biological father that he wouldn’t have to pay child support if he agreed to this.

My new father, Cirilo, was the happiest person I have ever seen that day in court. I was happy too because I knew what a great man Cirilo was. I also knew how much he loved my mom. The thing that I love most about my mom was how proud she was of me when I was a Yankee bat boy. Mom and Cirilo only came to one game, but that’s all they needed to see. They met George Steinbrenner only once. I think my mom really liked him because he reminded her of her own father who was a very tough church minister, a no-nonsense kind of guy. She knew that there was a special bond between Mr. Steinbrenner and me and she loved it because she felt that the Boss would always watch out for me.

By the time I wrote my first two books, my mother was showing strong signs of Alzheimer’s but she was still mentally strong enough to enjoy and feel proud of my accomplishments. All of my accomplishments in life I owe to her because she was my foundation, my strength, she taught me how to be a parent. When she was a teacher she had me come to her school and talk to the kids and tell them what it was like to be a Yankee bat boy.

I cannot ever repay my mom for what he she has given me. This essay doesn’t even scratch the surface. When I used to watch her interact with her own mother, it was more like they were sisters. I used to say that when I had kids I wanted to have that kind of relationship with them. I think I do.

Yesterday my Mom died. She battled Alzheimer’s for almost ten years. It is such a horrible disease because to see someone so strong become so childlike at the end–it’s just devastating. My poor sisters had the very tough duties of caring for my mom until the very end. My father Cirilo cared for her until he got very sick. Last month he was given his last rights but refused to die. Now this poor man has to live out his last days without his best friend Jenny. Maybe that was his master plan. Maybe he just didn’t want to leave her behind. More questions that I will ask when I get to the other side.

The bottom line is that Jenny Negron was the most incredible woman that I have ever known. My God what a heart she had.

I have always been a dreamer and all she ever wanted was for me to follow my dreams. My whole life has been a magical mystery tour of which could not have happened without the incredible hopes and dreams that my mother, my friend, my soul had for her son. For her daughters.

Arrangements for Ventura “Jenny” Perez Negron

Reposing at Krauss Funeral Home
1097 Hempstead Turnpike
Franklin Square, NY 11010

Visiting Wednesday 2-5pm and 7-9pm

I was recently watching the MLB network, Bob Costas was interviewing Reggie Jackson. Costas asked Reggie if he regretted not being friends with Thurman Munson. Knowing Reggie the way I do, I could tell the question bothered him. I was curious about how he would respond. All of a sudden Reggie said, “There was a guy back then that’s still with the Yankees today. His name is Ray Negron and he set up a lunch, put me and Thurman together and we talked it out.”

I felt very proud of the fact that Reggie felt it was that important. Thurman was a very important person in my life as much as Reggie has been. Had Thurman lived, he would have been the godfather to my first son, Jon Erik. No slight on Reggie, it’s just that I knew Thurman longer.

It was a long and difficult summer, between Reggie and Billy going at it in the Fenway Park dugout, and Munson and Lou Piniella talking the Boss into letting Billy Martin keep his job.  In the middle of all of this, the Son of Sam was going crazy killing so many young girls and we lost the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.   But by September, we were slapping the Red Sox around like we owned them. Reggie and Thurman were getting along glowingly and the team just jelled. It was about being World Champions.  It was a little scary when we got to the playoffs because it took all five games and Reggie wasn’t even starting game five but had a big hit as a pinch hitter.

Thank God for Sparky Lyle, because he would have pitched nine innings if Billy asked him to. He pitched 4 1/3. After that you know what happened. We beat the Dodgers in six games and Reggie would hit three home runs in game six.

The first home run was a vicious line drive off Bert Hooten into the right field seats. I would tell bat boy and my best friend, Hector Pagan that no one had better get in front of that ball because it would go through their chest. After Reggie rounded the bases, I told him to take a curtain call but he wouldn’t do it. After he hit the second one, again on the Fast pitch and another vicious line drive, I asked him to take a curtain call and again he declined, saying that the fans had not backed him when things had become rough for him this season. I said to him,” If you hit a third home run, you will take one then right?”  He saw how insistent I was and said. ”You’re crazy but I’ll do it.”   Well in the bottom of the eighth inning I had to go to the bathroom real badly and Reggie was leading off the inning but I just couldn’t wait. I figured that there was no way that he was going to hit the first pitch out. I thought that the Dodgers pitcher Charlie Hough would at least waste one pitch. I was wrong. As I was putting my zipper down, Reggie was hitting the first pitch out into the centerfield bleachers. By the time I finished peeing Reggie had rounded the bases, shook batboy Joe DiAmbrosio’s hand and stepped into the dugout and into bedlam. If you see the old footage you see me going to his ear, telling him that he promised a curtain call if he hit a third home run. He finally did it and it was great.  The fans really went nuts. That was the real birth of the curtain call as we know it today.

After the celebration, Thurman Munson would give Reggie a new name, Mr.October.  As Thurman was walking out the door he stopped, look at Reggie and said” You sure put on a great show Mr. October.” Reggie said, “Wow what a great name.” and Thurman said, “You can keep it.” Reggie said, “Thanks.” And they gave each other a big smile, the kind of smile only true friends give each other.

The next day we had a great parade. The Boss was so proud. New York belonged to him that day and he deserved it. Only George Steinbrenner, the PT Barnum of baseball, could have put a team like this together. Seeing Reggie and Billy Martin sitting down together with their arms around each other was one of my favorite Yankee moments. I guess because I knew it wouldn’t last. It was beautiful while it lasted and I actually have a picture of them, in that moment, hanging in my living room.

At the baseball writers dinner years later, Reggie told the capacity crowd he didn’t want to take the curtain call, but I made him do it. That was Mr. October’s way of patting me on the back and I always appreciated him for it. Billy, Thurman and, of course, the Boss always had my back that way too. I guess I was just a lucky kid who was able to get love and give love to four of the greatest guys ever associated with Major League Baseball.

If George Steinbrenner were alive, he would probably be advising Donald Trump on how to deal with Latinos in New York and America as a whole. I know for a fact how much Trump respected the Boss, as did most politicians and very powerful businessman. Trump would surely have the Latino vote because he would listen to Mr. Steinbrenner. Then they would celebrate at my favorite Latin restaurant in New York, a place called El Nuevo Caridad. I have been going there since it opened. The name “El Nuevo Caridad” is the name for the Cuban Saint known as the virgin of charity.

To this day, I don’t know how I met the owner of the restaurant, Miguel Montas, but feel like he has always been in my life. Whenever Latin players come to the Yankees and they want to eat Latin food, we would go to El Nuevo Caridad. Soon the restaurant was simply known as “Miguel’s” located on 191st Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue in the Washington Heights section of New York.

It became the post-game hang out for most Latin and a lot of American players that craved a good Latin meal. Miguel would become a big brother and a father figure to a lot of the players, both Yankee and Mets, as well as players from out of town teams. When Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were going through their low points, I was able to hang out there with them and Miguel always had a wonderful, common way of talking to them. When Roberto Alomar was going through his tough times I introduced him to Miguel and to this day, El Caridad is Roberto’s first stop in New York. What’s really funny is that when I first drove Robbie there, he wouldn’t come out of the car. He thought he was going to be bothered by the people and he wasn’t sure if the neighborhood was safe. Robbie was wrong on all accounts. He found out that the food was incredible and when he sat in the restaurant, he saw that everyone was treated like a king, whether you were a Hall of Famer or a plumber.

I remember having a meeting with the Boss at his hotel. At the time, I believe it was the Carlyle Hotel. I remember the Boss and the great piano player Bobby Short sitting together. They were very good friends. When Short asked me if I was Puerto Rican I said yes and Cuban. Mr. Short asked me how long had I worked for the Boss, Mr. Steinbrenner screamed out,” Too long.” and we laughed. I told Mr. Short that I had been trying to talk the Boss into going to a Spanish restaurant for a while and Mr. Short said,” Come on George, you’ve got to go.”

As we were driving up to the stadium, I’ve been telling the Boss about Miguel and how great he had been to our players. The Boss knew the pulse of the city. He knew that a lot of important people were always telling him bad places where his players shouldn’t go and Miguel’s place wasn’t one of them. At that moment Mr. Steinbrenner decided to pay a visit. The Boss could be that way.

Always expect the unexpected.

When we walked in, Miguel lost his cool. He started to scream that the Great One was there Miguel was literally shaking. To Miguel, George Steinbrenner was bigger than life. For Miquel there could never be a more important person to step into his restaurant. He had the Boss sit at a corner table and he sat with him the whole time that we were there. Miquel had all sorts of food brought to the table, even though the Boss kept saying that he wasn’t hungry, he sure did eat a lot.

This meeting reminded me of when Joe Scognamillo, the owner Patty’s Italian restaurant, would stay right at Frank Sinatra’s side as the chairman of the board ate his meal. Just like Joe, only Miguel would touch the Boss’ food. Steinbrenner and Miguel talked very intensely. The Boss asked Miguel to please watch over his players and Miguel promised that he always would. The Boss told Miguel that even though he was known as a very tough and difficult man he really loved his players and his team.

By the time the meeting with Miquel was over the restaurant was packed with neighborhood friends. However, they never bothered the Boss once they just stared and smiled. These people would never disrespect Miquel by bothering the Boss. The Boss tried to pay but Miguel wouldn’t have it. I explained to the Boss that the rest of his life Miquel can say that he cooked a meal for the Boss “El Chefe.” The Boss told Miguel, that if there is anything he could ever do for him, to let Ray know. Miguel whispered something in my ear, the Boss asked what he said to me. “Mr. Steinbrenner, Miguel wants to know if he could take a picture with you.” The Boss laughed and said,”let’s do it.”

Mr. Steinbrenner had Miguel visit him on several occasions at his office. I used to laugh inside because it was like watching the Godfather, everyone would go to pay their respects. After meeting with Miguel, the Boss took time to meet many of the Latin people from the community and would always take pictures with them because he knew that was important to them. Miguel would later tell me that meeting with Steinbrenner was one of the most important days of his life. He said that his sons were so proud of their father that it brought tears to his eyes. “Mr. Steinbrenner made me feel like I was an individual that mattered in the society.”

Miguel says that the day Mr. Steinbrenner died he cried all day and did not come to work. “I will always cherish the memory of my friend George Steinbrenner,” he said. “Brian Cashman has come to my restaurant on occasion and it makes the neighborhood people happy to know that like the Boss Brian Cashman has a soft place in his heart for us.

“We even had Alex Rodriguez buy hot lunches for neighborhood kids and Alex acted like he was the chef.”

Thanks to Mr. Steinbrenner and the Yankees, Miguel says, “I have a lot to be grateful for.”

The Yankees also are very lucky to have a friend like Miguel.

Where is the ring?

Andrew and Heather are a very sweet couple that met online. A phone relationship started which led to a dating situation which led to love. Love led to Yankee Stadium. Heather is the Yankee fan of the couple and future family.

Within a year of meeting, Andrew felt that the stadium was the perfect place to spring the question. He made arrangements to be able to get engaged in Yankee Stadium. Cameras were all set. The scoreboard asked the magic question “Would you marry me?” As Andrew opened the little box with the engagement ring in it, the ring shot out of the box. To Andrew and Heather’s shock, it disappeared into the crowd or so they thought.

All of this was captured on the scoreboard, radio, and television.

As Brett Gardner came to bat, he literally stepped out of the batter’s box. I’m sure he was distracted. Knowing Gardner I would call it concerned.

As fate would have it, something shiny came from Heather’s cuff of her pants and as Gomer Pyle from the old TV series would say surprise, surprise, surprise. The engagement ring was right there all along. A good catch by Heather without even realizing it.

All of a sudden as Heather held up the ring the whole stadium started to cheer. You could even see a smile on Gardner’s face. The whole time it was wonderful to see the concern on the faces of all the Yankee fans.

The fans in that section, where Heather and Andrew were sitting, did everything they could to help find the ring. As Mr. Steinbrenner would always say, the greatest fans in the world are Yankee fans. That that night they proved it.

I was the first person to interview them for my radio show. A nice story, not your usual cheasie story that you find in page 3 in most papers. I also found Heather and Andrew to be two very nice and decent people.

I told them that I was going to air the interview on my radio show called Impact which airs every Wednesday at 6 PM and on WPAT930AM.com or WPAT 930 on the AM dial. My producers were very excited about the interview because the story was really going viral. They were all set to play it very big. Just before the show a funny thing happened,

Andrew called me and he told me that Ellen DeGeneres wanted to fly them to LA to do her show and give many gifts, as a wedding present. However, it would only happen if Ellen has the exclusive. Andrew explain this to me and I could hear the panic in his voice. I told him that I would hold off until after the Ellen show. I told my producers of my agreement with Andrew. They told me, no let’s play it on right now. I told them that I gave him my word and won’t be a part of some sleazy nonsense.

Last night, I had Andrew and Heather on the show and we talked about the wonderful excitement that these two kids are going through. I must add that while watching the Ellen show, I was so happy to see that the Yankees sent some very nice gifts for them and they are going to bring Andrew and Heather to the stadium next season as their guests. As usual very classy.

As the Boss would say, more Yankee magic!

It’s not fair for anyone to compare Jeurys Familia to Mariano Rivera.

Rivera was a baseball god and a baseball immortal. He was something that we will never see again.

Another closer that never got his due was Sparky Lyle. He was the first great closer in the Steinbrenner Championship Era. A bull dog, who more than anyone that ever closed a baseball game was never afraid of anything or anyone.

In the 1977 playoff game against the Kansas City Royals, he was willing to pitch 4.2 innings to get the Yankees to the World Series that led us to a World Championship versus the Dodgers.

That, ladies and gentlemen, will never happen again.

By the way, Lyle won the Cy Young award that year. Not even the great Mariano Rivera did that.

What I am saying is Familia is one of the finest relief pitchers in all of baseball. He saved over 50 games and that tells me for a Major League relief pitcher, he more than did his job. He was more than dependable and always ready, willing, and able to take the ball.

Mr. Familia also happens to be one of the finest individuals in all of baseball. I have gotten to know him this year and found him to be a true gentleman. Baseball is very lucky to have him.

When he gave up that home run vs. the Giants to lose the National League Wild Card game, my heart fell to my stomach. However, let’s remember this is Major League Baseball. Rich Gossage, who happens to be in the Hall of Fame, gave up home runs in big playoff games also. That’s why they call it the Major Leagues: the very best of the very best.

Congratulations Mr. Familia on a very fine season.

Just because I said you will never be Mo or Sparky doesn’t mean you can’t become Familia.