Word: murtaugh
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...into competent major-league players by dint of hustle and dedicated study of every detail of their trade. As of last week the two men had parlayed their baseball know-how into the managerial success stories of the 1960 season. In the National League, onetime Second Baseman Daniel Edward Murtaugh, 42, was manager of the pennant-bound Pittsburgh Pirates (TIME, June 13). In the American League, onetime Catcher Paul Rapier Richards, 51, was manager of the pennant-contending Baltimore Orioles (TIME, June 6)-win, lose or draw the year's most exciting team. Taken together, Murtaugh and Richards show...
...Want." When Murtaugh sits on the bench among his Pirates, he is the classic domineering manager. He peers dourly at the diamond from beneath a black hedgerow of eyebrows. His nose is splayed flat, his beard would discourage a blowtorch, a corner of his mouth leaks tobacco juice. But Murtaugh is in fact a gentle ogre who sips milk after a game, claims he never touches the hard stuff, and keeps his hairy hands off the Pirates. Murtaugh realizes full well that overmanaging would cramp the egos-and crimp the play-of the bunch of oddly assorted personalities...
...Murtaugh lets his starting pitchers try to work themselves out of trouble instead of jerking them at the first long hit, loyally sticks to the same, starting lineup. Says Pirates' General Manager Joe L. Brown, son of the chasm-mouthed comedian: "Dan never pushes the panic button." With little raw power in his lineup, Murtaugh has revived an oldfashioned, single-slapping brand of baseball, leniently lets his players flash the sign for the hit-and-run whenever they see a chance. "Murtaugh lets us use our own judgment," says Hoak, "until it proves to be bad judgment. For instance...
Last week Pittsburgh was plastered with signs reading "Beat 'Em, Bucs," switchboard operators at grimy Forbes Field were greeting callers with "First-place Pirates!" and the solid old baseball town that had waited patiently for a winner since 1927 was running a virulent case of pennant fever. But Murtaugh just kept his Pirates playing percentage baseball, told newsmen to find stirring quotes elsewhere ("I'm no good at answering questions"), and declined to say a single word about the pennant. One frustrated reporter finally asked Murtaugh if he would admit Easter would fall on Sunday next year...
Faced with this polyglot group, Manager Murtaugh is wise enough to stay in the background, build his regulars' confidence by leaving them in the line-up through slump and surge. Murtaugh is the soul of tact when he walks out to relieve a pitcher. His standard remark: "It's one of those days. We'll get you a little help." This season Murtaugh himself is not sure why his Pirates have rebounded so well from last year's disappointing fourth-place finish. "You never know why they do good," he says. "You can only be grateful...