Baseball's oldest bird dogs refuse to give up the hunt

[Migrant Redbird]

Found this while trying to locate the Orioles article which was supposedly in yesterday's USA Today.

USA Today article

.... They are baseball's oldest talent evaluators, a group of major league scouts born in the 1920s, whose observations remain valuable, even if their salaries have never adjusted for inflation.

"They claim we're the backbone of baseball," says scout Phil Rizzo, 78, of the Seattle Mariners. "Well, (bleep) it, then prove it to us. Treat us with respect. I'll tell you in plain English, if there were no (bleeping) scouts, there would be no baseball."

.... "If it were about the money, we never would have gotten into baseball in the first place," says New York Mets scout Harry Minor, a native of Long Beach. "I got $6,000 my first year in 1960, and I make $8,000 now. But you know what, I've got it made. They pay for my health insurance. I get a $600 car allowance....."

"These are the guys that should be revered in the game," says New York Yankees vice president Gordon Blakely. "It's a shame they're not. We should be doing everything possible to keep them around, not shooing them off.

"They're legends, and always will be."

.... Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi, son of the late Buzzie Bavasi, a longtime team executive, perhaps has shown more admiration for veteran scouts than anyone. ("No one has done more for the older scouts than he has," says Washington Nationals assistant GM Mike Rizzo, son of Phil Rizzo).

"These guys aren't charity cases," says Bavasi. "I hire them because they're good. They have the experience, and they all know the tricks."

.... Dave Garcia, 87, former manager of the Angels and Cleveland Indians, no longer can read or write his name with his eyesight, but still shows up to work at 4:30 every afternoon for each San Diego Padres home game, watching the games from a handicapped seat.

.... "I may be an old man," says Garcia, "and my mind is not as good as it used to be, but it's still pretty good. That's why I get upset when I hear these announcers say that someone has made the greatest play they've seen. They were saying that (St. Louis Cardinals outfielder) Rick Ankiel's throws last week were the best ever. Come on. I don't mind them praising guys, but you ever hear of Roberto Clemente, Rocky Colavito, Ollie Brown and Cito Gaston?

"People talk about how great A-Rod is. I saw him strike out four times in a game this year. I never saw Joe DiMaggio strike out four times in a month. And to say Albert Pujols is better than Stan Musial? It shouldn't bother me, but it does because nobody brings up players in the past....

Pujols better than Musial? I can't recall any Cardinals fan making that claim -- yet. What we've said is that Pujols has the potential to be the greatest player ever -- just as A-Rod does and Griffey did -- but Albert will need another 8-10 years of healthy production before he begins catching up with Musial's 22 season career. At this point, Albert's in Albert Belle territory. (He's 97 home runs behind Belle as of last night.)

It's not a terrible gig, if you really enjoy watching baseball and have other sources of retirement income. Work part time 6-8 months a year, doing something that you love, with your travel and medical insurance paid -- I can't think of a better job to have in my declining years.