Published: October 03, 2006 05:58 pm            

Former Yankee shares message of success

GAINESVILLE, Texas — He may be a retiree from professional baseball of more than 40 years, but a legendary second baseman said he gets as many phone calls to give speeches as he ever did playing major league ball.

Amid stories of famous hits and Yogi Berra quotes, former New York Yankee Bobby Richardson drove home some points about his Christian faith at the Power Lunch.

Though a second baseman is known for his defensive plays, Richardson, now 71, is perhaps best known for hitting a reluctant grand slam in the 1960 World Series.

“I tried to bunt ... then I tried to hit the ground, but a fast ball came in, and I was surprised,” Richardson said, of his most memorable moment when asked by a fan at the Power Lunch.

His fame was well-known in Gainesville, his face appearing in children’s baseball card collections and his name used on the Little League fields.

Mike Martin, a Gainesville resident, said when he was about 11 years old he played second base and remembers Richardson’s name as a metaphor for success.

“My dad was a big baseball fan,” Martin recalled. “When I did well playing second base, he’s just say, ‘that’s just like Bobby Richardson,’ as in ‘you did really good.’”

Raymond Root, Gainesville resident, had Richardson sign the card bearing his likeness in an old album of cards he found in his mother’s house from the ’60s. Richardson noted he had a couple of the original photos in his possession that were depicted in baseball card form in the album, including one of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig together.

Richardson has enough renown to land him in several halls of fame, but he said he was glad to have his name written somewhere other than this world.

He recited a poem from memory called “God’s Hall of Fame,” attributed to Walt Huntley.

“I tell you, friend, I wouldn’t trade

My name, however small,

That’s written there beyond the stars

In that celestial hall,

For all the famous names on earth,

Or glory that they share;

I’d rather be an unknown here,

And have my name up there.”

Richardson stressed the importance of sharing one’s faith, as well as “living it out.”

“It’s important to be in a church where the word of God is preached. It’s important to have family devotionals ...” Richardson said.

Devotionals were also a part of his ministry during his years as a player, and he said he stressed three concepts — “One, the problem is sin; two, the Bible has the answer in Jesus Christ; and three, the Bible demands a decision.”

He said pitcher Steve Hamilton and batter Bobby Murcer were among those who became Christians after being asked the question “What will you do with Jesus Christ” at a devotional meeting in a Chicago hotel.

Richardson said at age 30 he faced another important decision in his life and considered retiring from the Yankees, but stayed an additional year on request. He said playing professional baseball required 102 day schedules in New York and 81 of those days on the road. His family, who lived in Sumter, S.C., visited him during the summers.

He said being away from family, and facing many temptations of sin, is challenging. During an interview Monday, Richardson said at one time he was considered a rarity for proclaiming Christian values in baseball, but now it is not so uncommon.

“In baseball, especially with all the traveling away from home, you’ve got to be accountable, or you get in big trouble,” he said.

He said organizations such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes and similar groups have sparked a rise in professional athletes who identify with Christianity. Today, many of the players attend Bible studies, prayer meetings and even accountability groups regularly.

“That’s not unusual in the baseball world today, you just don’t read about it,” Richardson said.

He said he was president of Baseball Chapel for 10 years, which offers devotionals to players on Sundays. He said attendance was between 10 and 20 at the chapel meetings then, though it has since experienced an increase in attendance.

His spiritual life was well known among his fellow players long after his release from the Yankees. According to the Baseball Biography Project Web site Mickey Mantle’s widow, Merlyn, asked “the Preacher” (Richardson) to deliver the eulogy at Mantle’s funeral service in 1995. Richardson read a poem a decade earlier at Roger Maris’ funeral, which was repeated at Mantle’s.

Richardson said he has been a Christian since 14, when he made what he said was his most important decision — to follow Jesus Christ. He became a Christian after his preacher from Grace Baptist Church visited his family on a Sunday afternoon and shared the gospel message. He and his family are now members of Cross Point Baptist church in Sumter, N.C.

Richardson said he tried politics during the ’70s, having been asked by President Gerald Ford to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1976.

He lost by about 3,000 votes in a post-Watergate Democrat sweep, despite his popularity and a fund raiser featuring Gene Autry.

“I hate to say this because I lost,” he said at the meeting, drawing laughter.



* * *



Richardson struck out a mere 243 times in his entire 12-year professional baseball playing career. In that time he earned five Gold Gloves (1961-65), was a .266 lifetime hitter, reaching .300 twice and leading the American League with 209 hits in 1962.

Richardson produced many record batting performances in the World Series.

In 1960, Bobby drove in 12 runs (a record 6 in one game), and became the only Sport magazine World Series MVP ever named from a losing team; the next year he had nine hits in a five-game series; and in 1964, he rapped out 13 hits.

Though Richardson hit .301 in 1959, the singles hitter was not one of the Yankees’ major offensive threats. An exception was his sensational performance in the 1960 Word Series, which won him series Most Valuable Player honors.

He batted .367 with 11 hits, a grand slam, and eight runs scored. He set World Series records with 12 total RBI and six RBI in game three. He accomplished this feat despite the fact that he had driven in only 26 runs during the regular season.

In 1961, he tied records for a five-game series with nine hits and 23 at-bats. He also hit .391 for the series. He dramatically ended the 1962 Series when he caught Willie McCovey’s line drive throw. The play saved the Yankees’ 1-0 victory over San Francisco.

Ralph Houk, who took over the Yankees, from Yogi Berra in 1961, wanted to go with a set lineup. He used Richardson every day and placed him at the top of the batting order. The combination of leading off for the best offense in the American League and not walking much allowed Richardson to lead the American League in at-bats each year from 1962-64. He set a record with 692 at-bats in ’62. That year his 209 hits were the American League high. He batted .302 and finished second to Mickey Mantle in Most Valuable Player voting.

On June 24, 1962, he tied a major league record by coming to bat 11 times in a 22-inning game against Detroit.



Andy Hogue writes for The Daily Register in Gainesville, Texas. Marvin Hogan contributed to this report.

        

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