Word: alston
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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When he was hired on by the old Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953, one New York newspaper headlined: ALSTON (WHO'S HE?) TO MANAGE DODGERS. The question was understandable. Walter Emmons Alston's entire major-league playing career-as a fledgling first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936-had consisted of going to bat exactly once and ingloriously striking out. As a manager, he had labored in the obscurity of the minor leagues for 13 years. Now, 20 seasons, six pennants and four World Series championships later, the wonder is not only his longevity but the fact...
Though remarkably consistent in the won-lost department, Alston himself is a collection of inconsistencies. He is primarily known as a conservative strategist; yet he has a way of calling for a suicide-squeeze play or a double steal when it is least expected. He claims that he would like nothing better than a set lineup; yet he has been freely platooning his players for years. He says that he believes in treating players like mature adults; yet he has been known to invite troublemakers into the alley for a fistfight and to break down the hotel-room doors...
...league. The Dodgers, who were expected by many experts to finish no better than third in the National League's tough West Division this season, have pulled away to a comfortable 6-game lead. Last week they seemed well on their way toward building the best record in Alston's 20-year tenure...
...Babes of Summer represent the third phase of Alston's career with the Dodgers. Phase I began in Brooklyn when he inherited from Charlie Dressen a club of sluggers led by Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges and Duke Snider. Back then, explains Alston, "it was simply a matter of playing it close to the vest until one of your big guns broke up the game with a home run." Phase II came after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and had to rely on speed and pitching to make up for their gradual loss of gun power...
...says Alston of Phase III, "we have the Mod Squad, the kids we are trying to integrate with the veterans while getting them to settle down and learn the game." Those lessons are to be found in "the book"-The Complete Baseball Handbook, an exhaustive 567-page tome co-authored by Alston and Recreation Author Donald Weiskopf that details everything from the construction of diamonds to the art of stealing catchers' signals...