Yesterday, the New York Yankees spent the afternoon in Sarasota, Florida playing the Baltimore Orioles. Rather than drive an hour to watch the Bronx Bombers, I decided to spend the afternoon with Yankee Co-Chairman, Hank Steinbrenner and just hang out and talk about baseball and talk about life, after all didn’t a great prophet once say, “Baseball is life”

Well, maybe it wasn’t a prophet but it was someone that truly loved the game like I do and millions like me.

When I got there, I asked him what he was doing and said that he was watching Wagon Train. Since I love old western television shows, I wanted to ask him if I could watch the old television classic but I didn’t because he wanted to talk about this year’s team and how excited he is about the possibility of having a new “Murderer’s Row.” Hank likes having Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton batting back to back in the lineup and he loves the advancement of Didi Gregorius at shortstop and how he has advanced as a hitter. He loves how Gary Sanchez is maturing as a player and as a man. Hank asked me what I thought about Aaron Boone and I told him that if he was anything like his dad, Bob, who I considered a great leader in baseball as a player and manager, then Aaron would be just fine. Hank told me that Boone’s knowledge of the game really came out with his skills as an analyst during the ESPN television broadcasts.

We then talked about Hank’s younger days in baseball and the fact that he really enjoyed his time with the legendary manager Billy Martin. He told me about the great charm that we both knew Billy had. Billy thought that Hank would make a terrific owner someday and he (Billy) said he looked forward to working for him. Unfortunately, we all know that Billy was killed in a car crash on Christmas Eve of 1989. I asked Hank who he thought the best manager was of his time and he said, “No question, it was Billy Martin.”  Hank said, “Billy was always two innings ahead of the other managers and always made the game fun.”  Ironically, at this moment I told Hank that Reggie Jackson, who is like a big brother to Hank and Hal, was in the hospital for emergency surgery after taking a fall at his hotel and hurting his knee. Hank asked to get Reggie on the phone so that he could make sure that Mr. October was alright.  When Hank got him on the phone Reggie sounded very weak and was in a lot of pain. Hank told him to just get well and they would get together soon. Even though he was in a lot of pain, you could tell that Reggie was so very happy that Hank had called him.

At that moment, I said to Hank, “Since you are feeling like Mother Teresa, our long time equipment manager Lou Cucuzza had just undergone bypass surgery and is back in the Bronx recuperating.” So, just like clockwork, Hank said, “Get him on the phone so that I can wish him well.” The phone rang and the tone was to the music of the old western movie The Magnificent Seven. Lou answered and I said. “Hank wants to talk to you.”  I was almost afraid that Lou would have a heart attack because it’s very rare for him to get a call from Hank or Hal Steinbrenner. Again, Hank was very nice to one of his employees in their time of needing emotional support. Lou was very happy for the call and told Hank, one of his boss’s, that he would be ready by opening day.  It was nice to see true appreciation from both sides of the fence, the employee and the employer.

It was a real pretty day in the Tampa Bay Area so we decided to take a walk outside.  We talked about another one of our favorite subjects, music.  We talked about great guitar players and the great drummers and the fact that Ringo Starr was a better drummer then the credit that he has received. Hank also told me that Ringo was his Dad’s favorite Beatle. I had to chuckle at this because I couldn’t even imagine George Steinbrenner being a Beatle fan.- I know that he loved the great Frank Sinatra. Like Sinatra, Mr. Steinbrenner got to really appreciate some of the Beatles later works. Hank even told me a wonderful story about him and his dad going to a Beatles concert in Cleveland. All of these years later Hank can still feel the anticipation and excitement of waiting for the Beatles to take the stage. He said that George Harrison was pushed onto the stage by the other Beatles and the crowd went crazy. I asked him if his dad went crazy and Hank laughed and said, “I don’t remember.”

Hank had so many wonderful stories but I’m only allowed 700 words so I guess we will have to sit down again with this very cool cat at another time. The Yankees and New York are very lucky to have Hal, Hank and the entire Steinbrenner family guiding our fabled team.

I once saw the movie, The Pride of The Yankees. In the film there was a scene where Babe Ruth and a young Lou Gehrig visited a sick boy at a hospital. Babe Ruth promised to hit the little boy a home run. The little boy turned to Gehrig as Babe Ruth was leaving the room and asked the young Yankee if he would hit a homer for the sick boy. Gehrig asked, “Why would you want a homer from me when you already have the great Babe Ruth hitting you one?” The boy looked into Gehrig’s eyes and said, “Just because it’s you.” With that, Gehrig knew that he had no choice but to try his best to hit one for the little boy, but in return, he made the boy promise that he would do everything in his power to get well. Lou Gehrig told him that there isn’t anything you can’t do if you try hard enough. Well Gehrig homered and the little boy walked out of the hospital on his own free will. True story.

Eighty five years later, I received a call from a lady named Sally Cook, who is a volunteer at an organization called, Project Sunshine. Project Sunshine is a nonprofit that provides in-hospital programs and activities to young patients and their families facing medical challenges.

Sally was calling about a little girl named Alyssa and some other kids at a hospital in Manhattan and she asked me if I could bring a Yankee to visit the kids and read some children’s books to them. I asked the youngest Yankee, Brett Gardner and initially he said, “Those kids don’t want me, they want a Jeter or Mariano Rivera.” I told Brett that because he was closer in age to the kids they would really appreciate him so nervously he agreed. He actually read one of my books. “One Last Time: Good-Bye to Yankee Stadium” with Babe Ruth’s granddaughter. And he read “Hey Batta Batta Swing” written by Sally Cook. He was great and the kids didn’t want him to leave. This one little girl named Alyssa gave Brett a bracelet as he was walking out he turned to her and thanked her. He said, “If there is anything I can ever do for you let me know.”  She said,” There is.” He asked,” What is that?” And she said, “Would you hit a homerun for me tonight?”  Brett told her that he wasn’t a home run hitter but she asked him to please try anyway. He smiled at her and told her that if he played that evening he would try and then said,” Try to get better so that you can get out of here soon.” They both agreed.

The tough part for Alyssa was that she was suffering from a heart disease and had been waiting for a heart for quite a while. The last thing that Brett said to Alyssa was keep fighting.

When Brett got into my car he turned to me and said, ‘This is a nice mess you got me into. I don’t think I’m playing tonight.” I laughed and said, “Things always have a way of working out in the Yankee Universe. If you don’t play just remember that you made so many kids happy today.” He said, “I guess you’re right,” I could tell that he was bothered about not possibly coming through for Alyssa.

When we got to the ball park his name was not in the lineup card. The first thing that Brett did when he got to his locker was to hang Alyssa’s bracelet in a very prominent spot in his locker. That night, Brett sat on the bench and watched as we played the Minnesota Twins thinking that he was not going to get into the game and would disappoint the little girl. All of a sudden in the third inning something crazy happened- Johnny Damon, one of the nicest guys on the team who never argues about anything, got into an argument with the umpire about a called third strike and he got thrown out of the game. Manager Girardi told Brett to take over in left field.

When Brett came to bat in the seventh inning he hit a fly ball to left field that one way or another went past twins left fielder Denard Span and rolled all the way back to the wall and the extremely fast Brett Gardner circled the bases for an inside the park homerun!  The stadium went crazy and I have never seen a bigger smile on Brett’s face. When the reporters crowded by Gardner’s locker, they could all see Alyssa’s bracelet. Brett explained the significance of the bracelet and gave the credit for his great game to Alyssa.

The Miracle didn’t end there. I received a call from Sally Cook, before I left the ball park that night that a heart was found for Alyssa. I couldn’t wait to run back to the locker room to tell Brett. He was just about to walk out when I caught him and broke the news to him. You would have thought that Alyssa was one of his own kids. That’s how happy he was.

This is exactly the reason why I love what I get to do. It started with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and it continues 95 years later with Brett Gardner, CC, Didi and all of the Baby Bombers.

This is the ten year anniversary of that very special game and Alyssa’s new heart.  I sat down with Brett to talk about that miraculous day.  I will post our Q&A tomorrow so stay tuned!

When you’re talking about Yankee championships, they mention the fact that there was always a great center fielder — DiMaggio, Mantle, and Williams. There was always a great catcher– Dickey, Berra, Howard and Munson. And the second basemen weren’t too shabby either — Lazzeri, Martin, Richardson, Randolph, Soriano, Cano.

In 1974, exactly one year after George Steinbrenner purchased the New York Yankees, he made the one trade that would make the team competitive. He already had a great catcher in Thurman Munson and a terrific centerfielder in Bobby Murcer. The Boss had his General Manager, Gabe Paul, work some magic to get second baseman Sandy Alomar from the California Angels. With Alomar the Boss would say, “Now we can make a run at the pennant.”  He was right because we stayed in the race until the next to last day of the season. Two seasons later, the Yankees would get Willie Randolph from the Pirates in one of their all-time great trades. The best thing about this trade was that the Boss decided to keep Sandy Alomar around for the season as a mentor to Randolph. It’s no coincidence that Alomar’s son is the great Roberto Alomar, baseball’s greatest second baseman.

Throughout the years, the Yankees have always brought back all of these greats, who have had wonderful careers, to teach the next generation of players. This camp is no different. They have a young player by the name of Gleybar Torres who is a natural shortstop, but because we already have Didi, Torres is more than happy to try to play second base. And the Yankees are very fortunate that the two professors here at spring training are Alfonso Soriano and probably the greatest second baseman in Yankee history, Willie Randolph.  The things that Sandy Alomar taught his son, Roberto, he had taught Willie, who in turn passed it along to Soriano and Cano and is now teaching Torres.

In spending time with Gleybar, he tells me the transition has been easier because of how generous Willie and Alfonso have been with their time. Willie has emphasized the mechanics of going at the ball and the times at which you have to stay back on the ball. Alfonso, who also was a natural shortstop, was taught by Willie Randolph how to play a quality second base. Alfonso smiles sometimes because what he teaches Gleybar are the things that he learned from his mentor, Willie Randolph.

I’m happy to report that Gleybar happens to be a pretty sharp kid, who understands and appreciates what being a Yankee is all about. He knows the history of the Steinbrenner brand and what The Boss represented, and he is proud to wear the Yankee uniform.

Torres recently received a message from Omar Vizquel, Venezuela’s greatest middle infielder and a future hall of famer, which said “I hope you make Venezuela proud because someday you will be one of the great players to have come from Venezuela and I will always be rooting for you.” When told of that message, Gleybar said, “I guess I have no choice but to be one of the best and I’m very proud that someone like Omar Vizquel would acknowledge me this way.”

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look up in the sky. It’s a bird ,it’s a plane, it’s Superman. No I meant Brian Cashman.

As we all know, at Christmas, he climbs the side of buildings for charity, but his real job is building Championship teams for the New York Yankees.

I sat down with the long time Yanks general manager and we spoke about the upcoming season and how he has created such excitement in New York for the first time in years.

Ray Negron / Brian Cashman Interview

Negron: Brian Cashman, New York Yankees General Manager, now Brian number one how are you?

Cashman: I am doing great. The weather is good; we have healthy players, and exciting times.

Negron: Now Brian is this probably one of the most exciting spring trainings you have ever had?

Cashman: It’s hard to say because we’ve had a lot of great players, a lot of great teams before so hopefully I can at some point add a team like this to that level of conversation, but you know we are down here working that out right now to see if we can emerge into that level.

Negron: They say that you’ve built a rock star atmosphere with this ball club, how do you feel about that?

Cashman: I hope the expectations; we are able to meet those. I mean that’s what this is all about it’s trying to put together something special and then letting it play out that way and we are excited about the buzz, we certainly got everyone’s attention by years of hard work by a lot of people and hopefully we can deliver on what everyone is hoping for.

Negron: There has been a lot of criticism about the fact that baseball has become 40, 50, and over as far as fan perspective. I did a walk around the ballpark, I am seeing a lot of younger fans this year more than any other years, what is your opinion on that.

Cashman: Well I know last year with what Aaron Judge and Sanchez and Severino amongst others were doing created a great deal of buzz and interest- I saw nothing but old and young obviously rallying around the type of athletes that are wearing those Yankees uniform, so that’s exciting enough. I don’t believe that there is an area of the younger generation not buying into baseball, that’s not what I see. It’s our job to make sure we put a great product on the field that people want to come see, young and old.

Negron: With so much attention going to the two twin towers, Stanton and Judge, I see that other guys are stepping up. I saw where a guy like your short stop Didi Gregorious was going into the stands and talking to the fans and signing extra autographs is that something that, in an essence, you have put to these guys or are the guys doing this on their own?

Cashman: Oh that’s something that comes on their own. We have a lot of high quality people. They understand the importance of the fans and giving back and putting forth their own time and they do that all the time. That’s how they’re wired, that’s credit more to their parents than the Yankees because we inherit that goodness that they already had in them. We are thankful for it; it’s one of the attractive traits that I’m sure our scouts bought into when they had a chance to drill down on these guys, not just their performance but them as people. They are hitting homeruns in the ballpark and hitting homeruns off the field with how they relate with everybody.

Negron: On ESPN Desportes people have asked about different situations, different players that you bring into for spring training, the retired guys. One guy that I noticed when he gets here, he goes into the stands, he really embraces the people, is Nick Swisher. Do you have an essence to pick guys that you feel that were going to be the most fan-friendly?

Cashman: I mean we are looking for nothing but people that realize that it’s a privilege to wear this uniform and find a way to contribute to the efforts that we are putting forth and allowing this team to be all it can be. And that’s on both sides of the ball, meaning the players in that locker room, how to best prepare them, and then also how to create a fan-friendly atmosphere. Nick Swisher for instance gets all aspects. He understands what this game is about, to play on the field and the fans in the stand as the same time, he’s a special one. We’re lucky that we’ve got him. He goes down as one of our better trades that we’ve ever made. And he is one of the reasons why I have a ring on my finger, which is 2009 the most recent one, it’s because of his contributions. He’s nothing but positive energy at all times and we want that. We want people to come in here and lift us all up and take us to a new level and Nick Swisher is one of many that are trying to do that.

Negron: Last thing- fans don’t always understand what’s really going on inside the clubhouse and the decisions that management has to make. Very difficult decision for you I’m sure was the Girardi-Boone thing and yet in one week I have noticed how the fans have taken to Boone and how Boone has taken to the fans without ever really managing and the people are really digging that which is an important trait for Yankees managers

Cashman: Well I mean our fans are excited about this club and I think they rallied heavily around Joe Girardi at all times and I think they’re going to do the same for Aaron Boone. Listen, Aaron is going to be leading this club on that field and finding a way to set those lineups everyday and to plug our pitching on a daily basis and they want him to make every decision right as we do too in the front office. He’s going to have their support; there will be some push back along the way as our previous managers knows as every manager has to deal it. It’s a tough job, it’s an impossibly difficult job but we think we’ve picked a good one. We relied on the team process to allow us to pick a great one before and we’re hoping we have a great one now. It’s nice to know where spring training is a great atmosphere where everybody can find a nice, loose, and relaxed way to go about their business, because the games don’t count yet but once they do it’s lights, camera, action, and obviously the pressure gets increased a little more or a lot more depending how things go.

Negron: I went to an event just before spring training started and you had Gleyber Torres there and he was signing autographs, this was on a Saturday afternoon in New Jersey, and then next to him was your manager Aaron Boone. The one thing that I was able to report to the people at ESPN Desportes was, “que el savilla habla espanol” that Aaron Boone was actually able to speak in Spanish to Gleyber Torres and I found that actually pretty cool, did you know that?

Cashman: Yes, I mean he’s obviously gifted. He’s extremely smart; he obviously can speak some Spanish. His imitations of people, their mannerisms, and their physical walks have you second to none. He’s a smart, very sophisticated individual and he’s got a very calm presence about him. I think we’ve run into a tremendous baseball person. His family back ground is well documented from his brother playing to his father playing in the big leagues to his grandfather playing in the big leagues so the family is one of the all-time families of baseball and I think we’re fortunate to have him here.

Negron: I’m very excited about this ball club; I’m very excited about what you have done, and congratulations, early.

Cashman: Thanks, we’ll see what happens.

Last week I received a call from Bobby Rossi, who arguably is Florida’s top music promoter and heads all show events a Ruth Eckerd Hall. He told me that Frankie Valli will be performing his 30^th show at Ruth Eckerd Hall and is going to be honored by the City of Clearwater. This is the all-time record for any performer at the venue.

As most people know, Rossi and his family have been long time friends of mine through our mutual love of Bobby Murcer and the New York Yankees. Bobby also knows that Frankie Valli is my all-time favorite musician, singer, performer, whatever you want to call him, he is the man.

Rossi told me that on the record breaking night he wanted to do something special for Frankie.

I asked Rossi what was planned and he told me that he was going to have Mayor George Cretekos give Frankie the key to the city and that a street outside of Ruth Eckert Hall would be name after Sir Frankie. It would be called “Frankie Valli Alley.”

Rossi, knowing my passion for Frankie and his band members, asked me what gift we could give to Frankie. That’s a though one because what do you give a man that you think has everything? So I asked my friend Aris, a retired corrections officer who Hank Steinbrenner calls “the man of mystery” because in his crazy, sometimes crude ways. Aris always seems to have all the answers!

Aris asked me who Frankie’s hero outside of music was and I told him Joe DiMaggio. Within 24 hours Aris came up with a real flannel Joe DiMaggio shirt. (How did he do it I have no idea.) Did he get it from Hank Steinbrenner, who knows Aris is usually the person I go through when I need to talk to Hank?

The bottom line is, it was a beautiful gift and it looked even better when Rossi had it framed. Now, who were we going to get to make the presentation?

Rossi and I agreed that the presenter had to be special because we wanted to do this on stage and we wanted to really surprise the audience and it was important for Frankie to really love it. I spoke to Frankie’s musical director, Robby Robinson, for some ideas. Finally, I asked myself, what is it that I love the most about Frankie Valli? His class and his dignity, the way Frankie loves and is loved. With that being said I Immediately thought of Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph. They are what class and respect are all about, they were loved by their teammates and George Steinbrenner thought so much of them that he made them Co-Captains.

When I went to them individually to ask if they would do it, they responded almost as if they were scripted, “Are you kidding I love Frankie.”  Guidry said. Willie Randolph said, “I grew up on Frankie Valli and the four Seasons, I would be honored.” Well the night could not have gone any better, with the exception that Craig Pilo, Frankie’s drummer, was wearing a Boston Red Sox cap so I decided to embarrass him in front of the audience of predominantly Yankee Fans by telling him that he had to remove that cap. Frankie and the crowd agreed so off went the cap as the audience roared. Mayor Cretekos gave Frankie the key to the City and then I introduced Willie and Guidry to the totally sold out arena. It was quite touching to hear Guidry and Willie tell Frankie that they loved him. Knowing Frankie as long as I have, I thought that he was really moved by these two Yankee icons sharing the love. The Ruth Eckerd Hall audience just couldn’t get enough of the love that that was being given to a man that is so deserving, Frankie Valli. It was also so beautiful that the love of the Yankees helped make the night that much better. After the show, the party moved back stage and I wish we could have brought the audience with us but there just wasn’t enough room. By the way, I didn’t know that Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph could dance like they did last night. A special thank you to Japanese baseball scout, Richard Seko, for flying in from Los Angeles to fulfill his dream of meeting his hero Frankie Valli. Some people say that sometimes it’s not good to meet your heroes however in Richards’s case, his scouting report on Frankie reads, “Frankie Valli is a super star in every way possible.”

In the immortal words of Frankie Valli, “Oh What a Night”

Additionally, Ray can be heard Saturday and Sunday on IMPACT on ESPN Radio 1050am talking baseball and entertainment. His writes a weekly column for NY Sports Day, Newsmax And Baseball America.  A powerful and inspirational speaker, he passionately shares his amazing journey, revealing his experience with the Bronx Bombers, special relationship with Steinbrenner and what it was like to hang around some of baseball’s greats.

For more information about Ray please check out his website batboyhelps.com

In the spring of 1998, I received a phone call from Bobby Rossi who is responsible for scheduling all of the incredible talent at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida.

Bobby told me that the godfather of soul, James Brown, was going to be performing at the arena and that Mr. Brown really wanted to meet Dwight “Doc” Gooden. When I told Doc he was very excited and thought that l might be pulling a prank. We arrived at Ruth Eckerd Hall early so that we could watch the sound check.

I was amazed at how totally in control Mr Brown was of everything that was happening on stage and in the arena. It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head. At one point, I pulled out an instamatic camera that I had in my pocket and at the flash of an eye Mr Brown stoped everything,  turned around and in his famous voice screamed out, “No pictures.!” I was shocked and Doc just couldn’t stop laughing, which made it even more embarrassing. Then, in a flash he was back to rehearsing his song “This  is a Mans World.” After the rehearsal we were escorted to Mr Brown’s dressing room. The first thing that Mr. Brown said was “Did I shake you up?” I said, “You sure did!” Doc again went into a laughing attack which made me the center of Mr. Brown’s jokes.

Mr Brown Enjoyed talking to Gooden about the fact that when he was young he was also a pitcher. He said that he could have been as good as Satchel Page, the famous Negro League pitcher. At this point,  Doc and I looked at each other because we hear things like this all the time. Mr Brown even went through some pitching motions that Doc thought were pretty impressive–Mr Brown was actually a very good athlete. He had to be in order to able to do some of the moves that he did on stage. At one point the three of us sat alone in his room and talked about the “demons” that the two of them had dealt with and would always have to deal with, their drug addiction. What they talked about I will leave up to Dwight to share with you if he ever cares to.  I will say that Mr Brown was quite sincere.

Mr Brown and I stayed in touch up until his death. I became very close to his manager through his love of baseball and I was always able to hook them up with tickets whenever they were in town.

Mr Brown and I had another thing in common,  our great fascination for Elvis Presley. Mr Brown loved Elvis like a brother. He used to tell me some incredible stories about times that they spent together and I just couldn’t get enough of the stories.  For me, the best story the one about the song, “In the Ghetto”  The song was written by the artist Mack Davis, who had a pretty good singing career in his own right. When Davis gave it to Elvis,  his people thought that he (Elvis) shouldn’t do it. They thought that the song and its message maybe should be delivered by a black singer. This really bothered Elvis because when it came to this subject he was different from a lot of his friends and always went out off his way to help many African Americans. So Elvis called Mr Brown and Mr Brown told Elvis that he and only he should sing that song and deliver the message. That song was received well by all people and wouldn’t you know that it would be Elvis Presley’s last number one song. Mr Brown was very proud of Elvis and what he did with that song. Mr Brown also told me that when Elvis Presley died it was one of the worst days of his life and he said that other than the people that lived at Graceland, he was the first person there upon hearing the news. He said that most people never knew how close they really were and told me that the only arguments they had were over who knew more Gospel songs. He said that no one respected Elvis as much as he did and vice versa.

Baseball has afforded me the luxury of meeting some of the greatest stars of all time. This being the end of Black history month, its my honor to share my story of one of the truly all time great entertainers. I thank God that through his interest in Dwight Gooden, I was able to know him enough to say that he was a very good man and an incredible talent. This World was lucky to have him.

James Brown, The Godfather of Soul!

Additionally, Ray can be heard on weekends on IMPACT on ESPN Radio 1050am talking baseball and entertainment. His writes a weekly column for NY Sports Day,  Newsmax And Baseball America.  A powerful and inspirational speaker, he passionately shares his amazing journey, revealing his experience with the Bronx Bombers, special relationship with Steinbrenner and what it was like to hang around some of baseball’s greats.

For more information about Ray please check out his website batboyhelps.com

I recently received  a call from Mead Chasky, the sports memorabilia guru, to tell me that Lou Piniella had a stroke.

When I heard this news it really startled me. Lou Piniella is not supposed to have a stroke, Lou Piniella is one of the strongest most wonderful, most caring athletes that I have ever known. A true mans man.

When I was a Yankee batboy in the 70s, Lou was truly one of the leaders of the pack. He was the one that was always very consistent in his relationship with all of the players. When there were issues, Lou was never afraid to extend his hand to help. When the Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson feud over a magazine article happened, Lou masterfully and quietly helped diffuse the situation as best he could. He never had to pick sides because he was loved by all in that “animal house, Bronx Zoo” clubhouse. He was Thurman’s brother, a son to the Boss and a little brother to Billy Martin. I must add that to say that the respect that Sweet Lou and Mr. October had for each other was great would be an understatement. To see Lou and Catfish Hunter joke around with each other was a great treat and to hear Lou and Oscar Gamble go at it verbally was the greatest show on earth. Next to Billy Martin, no one had a bigger temper than Sir Sweetness, yet no one was more loving than Sweet Lou.

He was so giving of his craft as a hitter. He could be in the shower with some of the other players after a game and in the nude he would go into his batting stance to show another player how he could improve his hitting approach.

Thurman and Bobby Murcer loved Lou so much, but then again everybody did.

When Billy Martin would not bat Reggie Jackson fourth in the lineup, it was Lou and Thurman that went to the Boss so that he could talk to Billy because Lou felt it would be better for the team if Reggie batted fourth. While sitting in Steinbrenner’s room, Billy Martin could hear them talking from the hallway and banged on the Boss’s door. The Boss told Lou and Thurman to hide in the bathroom but Billy found them hiding in the shower. Things did work out and Billy did finally understand and Reggie did start to hit again and carry the team through the World Series. Lou and Thurman should have been given honorary psychology degrees for their clubhouse work.

There are so many wonderful locker room stories that if you were not there you wouldn’t believe. So many of them involving Lou.

I will never forget that my very first road trip with the Yankees was in 1974. We went to Chicago. I had an uncle there that I was very fond of by the name of Quino.  I met him at a fancy pizza place and while sitting there, Lou walked in. He saw us and came over to say hello. It was ironic that these two men would meet because one of the reasons I loved Lou Piniella was because he reminded me so much of my uncle Quino. We ended up eating pizza together and just talking about life. My uncle was not a baseball guy at all and he had never  played but his life as a navy guy and a part time actor in Hollywood made for interesting conversation. Of course Lou Piniella was and always will be one of the most interesting people that you would ever meet.

Last week, I went to visit Lou at his charity event. I was afraid of how Lou was going to look after his stroke. I got there early and waited. Lou finally walked in, our eyes met and I could not help but to smile in relief. The first thing that  I did was hug Lou and give him a kiss. I have to say that Sweet Lou never looked better, still one of the most handsome Yankees ever. The first thing that Lou said to me was that he had a stroke but that he was feeling just fine. Lou has never been the kind to sugar coat anything so this was a wonderful relief.

Through  all of this craziness, Lou was still working with his charity which helps abducted children, kids that have been kidnapped and tortured. He is a part of a company called “Score International.” They help children all around the world with offices right here in Tampa. You can find out more by visiting the web site scoreintl.org

I am proud to say that I have known Lou Piniella for over 45 years and proudly say that he has been one of my true role models growing up. He is one of the strongest, most passionate men that I have ever known.

Lou Gehrig once said that “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth”

Well, I have to disagree because I know that I will always be the luckiest man on the face of the earth…. I got to love and be loved by men named Munson, Murcer, Jackson, Martin, Steinbrenner and of course Sweet Lou Piniella.

Additionally, Ray can be heard on weekends on IMPACT on ESPN Radio 1050am talking baseball and entertainment. His writes a weekly column for NY Sports Day,  Newsmax  And Baseball America.  A powerful and inspirational speaker, he passionately shares his amazing journey, revealing his experience with the Bronx Bombers, special relationship with Steinbrenner and what it was like to hang around some of baseball’s greats.

For more information about Ray please check out his website batboyhelps.com

Yankees and Baseball Belong to the Kids Again

As I walk around this year’s spring training camp at George M. Steinbrenner field, I can’t help but smile. The reason being that there are so many kids running around. There are actually more kids than adults, which has not been the case during the last few spring camps for all of baseball, not just the Yankee camps.

Leave it up to the Yankees to lead the pack in being the pied pipers and bringing the kids back to the game. After all, it is the kid’s game. I walked around and I can see the excitement in all of the kids’ faces.  I asked them, “What is the best part of this Yankee mania?” and the kids replied. “Some of the players really make me feel special and the autographs are awesome!”  What I loved was that even though so many of them are enamored  with the whole Aaron Judge / Giancarlo Stanton phenomena with home runs in batting practice, they truly love and appreciate how the other players like Didi Gregorius are going out of their way to make the kids feel special.

After batting practice, Gregorius could be seen near the stands signing autographs and talking to the kids. Spring coach Nick Swisher was Nick Swisher, he jumped into the stands and signed for young and old alike. The kids also love the fact that the Yankees have so many young players competing for jobs. It reminds me of when I was a kid and the Yankees had a very young Bobby Murcer and an even younger Thurman Munson in in spring training of 1969. Because of those young players, that spring I fell deeper in love with the Bronx Bombers.

I met 12 year old Ken Frank from West Chester, New York.  Ken loves the Yankees because Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge didn’t ignore him even though Ken understands that the players are here in Tampa to prepare for the season. Sanchez even took the time to sign some autographs. I must also add that during the week there were over 130 kids from the Hank’s Yanks baseball organization. Ages ranging from six thru eighteen. There are even kids from Tokyo Japan here. They represent J R East Railway Company (makers of Japan’ Bullet train, the fastest train in the world) Through a translator, I was told that everything pertaining to baseball starts with the Yankees and this year’s team has brought great excitement even in Japan.

Many parents like the fact that Aaron Boone looks like a young kid out there and that he is showing such enthusiasm with his players. I asked them how they could tell and some parents responded, “My kids can tell.” (From the mouths of babes)

I guess if the kids feel this way then Brian Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner and the Yankee Organization knew what they were doing

Additionally, Ray can be heard Saturday and Sunday on IMPACT on ESPN Radio 1050am talking baseball and entertainment. His writes a weekly column for NY Sports Day, Newsmax and Baseball America.  A powerful and inspirational speaker, he passionately shares his amazing journey, revealing his experience with the Bronx Bombers, special relationship with Steinbrenner and what it was like to hang around some of baseball’s greats.

For more information about Ray please check out his website batboyhelps.com

If you are a true baseball fan and you hear someone ask, “Is there a doctor in the house?” Then you know they are talking about Dwight “Doc” Gooden. In New York, he was referred to as Dr K., one of the most beloved sports figures to ever play in the sports capital of the world.

No matter what problems Doc has confronted, you always wanted to believe in him. When he was with the Mets and he had his issues, whether you were a fan, a player, or his employer,  you  never wanted to give up on him because you felt so close to him. People of that era have always said that Doc was the most generous celebrity of that time. He would literally give you the shirt off his back. When he was making his millions, he took care of all of his family and quite a few of his friends. That’s just who he was. When he heard that there was someone in need because of bad luck, Doc just felt that he had to help. This is not me telling a “lollipop” story, this is me just telling it like it is about a guy that has fallen down on many occasions and like many of us, manages a way to get back on his feet.

Today the good Doctor is found in St. Petersburg Florida participating in Spring training as a pitching coach. He was hired as a special instructor to work with the pitchers for a team from Japan called J.R. East. They are a part of the Japanese industrial league, which is basically Japan’s minor league.

J.R.East is the company that makes the bullet train, the world’s fastest train. It’s no coincidence that Gooden used to ” own” arguably the worlds best fastball.

However,  the reason the J.R. East wanted Gooden was not because of his fastball, but because of “lord  Charles” which was the nick name for Dr. K’s curve ball. Imagine being a hitter waiting for Gooden’s one hundred mile an hour fastball and being surprised by his incredible curveball instead. In 1984 thru 1986 Dr. K was considered baseballs best pitcher and every time he started a game, Shea Stadium was usually full. The one thing that most people don’t know about Gooden is that he happens to be a very big baseball fan and has always had a hunger to learn as much as he can about the game. When working with the great pitching coaches he just couldn’t suck in enough information. Between Mel Stottlemyre and Billy Connors and other pitching “gurus” he feels that he really has learned as much as anyone could possibly learn -plus the fact that he had this God given talent.

When J.R.East manager Tetsuo Horii was told by team advisor Richard Seko that maybe they could get Gooden to work with the pitchers, Horii couldn’t have been more excited. Pitching coach Koji Yamamoto has also been very excited with Dr. K’s tireless work ethic when it came to the young pitchers. Even though Gooden doesn’t speak Japanese, his communicating skills in showing pitching grips and arm angles became just as effective. To see the faces of the young pitchers when they see Gooden’s approval after successfully delivering pitches that Dr K had taught them makes for a warm moment. Even though these players are young, they have learned the legend of Dr K and love to have him there.

J.R.East will be playing games against several independent teams at Walter Fuller Baseball Center and Huggins Stengel Park, which was the spring home of The New York Yankees from 1925 till 1960 and of course the spring training home of Doc Gooden and the New York Mets. Naturally, this is almost like a homecoming for Dr. K so this weekend Shawn  Drouin, head of the St. Petersburg Tasco teen program (which is the same youth program that the great Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner used to visit back in the nineties) at Huggins-Stengel Field and Rick Kriseman, the mayor of St.Petersburg, will be retiring one of Gooden’s Mets Jerseys.  It will be placed in a closed off original locker from the original locker room never to be worn again. After the ceremony,  Gooden, along with manager Horii, hitting coach and former 13 year major league veteran Luis Alicea, and some of the players will be conducting a baseball clinic for the area youth. Former home run champion Dante Bichette and Japanese home run champion and Rays announcer, Orestes Destrade will also participate. Thanks to J.R.East and Doc Gooden, Baseball is alive and well in St.Petersburg – One day at a time.

Additionally, Ray can be heard on weekends on IMPACT on ESPN Radio 1050am talking baseball and entertainment. His writes a weekly column for NY Sports Day,  Newsmax And Baseball America.  A powerful and inspirational speaker, he passionately shares his amazing journey, revealing his experience with the Bronx Bombers, special relationship with Steinbrenner and what it was like to hang around some of baseball’s greats.

For more information about Ray please check out his website batboyhelps.com

I have known Goose Gossage for 45 years and have been friends with him for 40 years. To say that he is one of the toughest guys I have ever known would be an understatement.

I saw him go after Cliff Johnson, one of the meanest looking Yankees ever,  because Cliff said that he felt that he hit him in the National League like he owned him. When Cliff said that he sure did say that and some other choice words, Goose proceeded to break his hand on Cliffs face. Fight over.

To say that Goose is one of the sweetest Yankees ever would also be an understatement. In 1981 when I was getting married, Goose came over to me in the locker room and apologized because he couldn’t come to my wedding but he went out of his way to find out what I would need in my house and made sure that it was delivered to my home before the wedding.

I saw him call George Steinbrenner  “fat man” in a fit of anger and in the next breath,  tell him how much he loved him, and you can be guaranteed that Goose loved the Boss very much.

Gossage has always been a very kind and generous individual who always treated his teammates, black and white, like they were his biological brothers.

Pete Sheehy, the wonderful equipment manager during that era, who as many of you know was also there during the days of Babe Ruth, used to say that Gossage had a personality as close to Babe Ruth as any player he ever had.

From anything I have ever heard from Pete and many of the Babe’s family members, I would have to agree. The one difference is that in public after his career, the Babe would never have insulted a Yankee official in the Media the way Goose insulted Brian Cashman. I know this for a fact. When Babe Ruth wanted to manage the Yankees and he was declined because he was asked how he could manage the Yankees if he couldn’t manage himself, he was very upset. Reporters tried to “egg” him on so that he would  rip the Yankees in the press but he wouldn’t do it. One reporter even asked him if he was mad at baseball after all that he (the Babe) had done for the game? The Babe said,  “How can I be mad with baseball after all that this great game has given me.”

Like Goose, I consider myself an old school guy, however I have to understand that with the passage of time all things must change and there isn’t much that we can do about that.

Baseball is still the greatest game in the world. Goose has to live up to his responsibilities of being one of the games most loved personalities who is looked up to by parents who are telling their kids who Goose Gossage was and is.

These kids don’t need to see the kind of statements that the Goose made to the media this week.

I spoke to quite a few of Gossage’s former teammates and they hope that as time passes this too shall pass- for life is much to short to waste on this.

Let’s not forget that we just buried our beloved teammate, Oscar Gamble on Friday. I can guarantee you a million dollars that Oscar would trade places with all parties right now.

Goose, I hope that you let this go because Yankee fans love the Goose Gossage that I love.  You know who that guy is.

Oscar Gamble, you rest in peace my dear brother.

Additionally, Ray can be heard on weekends on IMPACT on ESPN Radio 1050am talking baseball and entertainment. His writes a weekly column for NY Sports Day,  Newsmax And Baseball America.  A powerful and inspirational speaker, he passionately shares his amazing journey, revealing his experience with the Bronx Bombers, special relationship with Steinbrenner and what it was like to hang around some of baseball’s greats.

For more information about Ray please check out his website batboyhelps.com