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Johnny Keane

by Michael Ceraolo

I had been in the Cardinals organization
as a player, a coach, and a manager
for most of my adult life,
but when they got rid of Bing in August ’64
I sensed I would be the next to go
if we didn’t win the pennant
My hunch was confirmed a few weeks later
with reports of Gussie meeting with Durocher
The Yankees were going to fire Yogi
if they didn’t come back and win the pennant,
so I was open to their backchannel overtures
You know what happened:
the Yankees won the flag but fired Yogi anyway
after we beat them in the Series
Gussie decided to give me a new contract,
but at the press conference to announce it
I handed him the resignation letter
I had been carrying around for weeks
and a few days later took the Yankees job
Biggest mistake of my life:
I was a Cardinal and should have stayed so
I wasn’t cut out for New York or the Yankees,
they fired me early in the ’66 season,
and I died within a year

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Bob Gibson

by Michael Ceraolo

Managers do make a difference
Not in the way sportswriters thought,
by making brilliant strategic decisions
to outwit the opposing manager;
the difference was instilling confidence
by treating us as human beings.
On the Cardinals the change
from Solly Hemus, an old-school racist,
to Johnny Keane, one of the best human beings
I was fortunate enough to meet,
was dramatic for me, Curt,
and the rest of the team, even Stan
Without that change there would have been
none of the October heroics I became known for,
because we wouldn’t have made it to October

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Verlander

By James Finn Garner

Verlander
Doesn’t pander or meander
Just zeroes in like a salamander
(A monstrous one chased by Newt Scamander)
Take a gander at that wily right-hander
Tougher than Lysander
The Astros commander
Verlander

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Ralph Terry

by Michael Ceraolo

Going from the Yankees to Kansas City officially
was a trade between two big-league teams,
but everyone knew it was more like
being farmed out, with return certain
if the player developed sufficiently,
which is what happened in my case
After my return I experienced
the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat
before that became a sports catchphrase,
both times in a Game Seven:
giving up the walk-off to Mazeroski,
two years later shutting out the Giants, one-nothing
Later, in retirement,
I qualified for the pro golf tour
I think I’m still to this day
the only former major leaguer to do so