https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/...cARTMyzEDe3EpwdZxtcRlleS3dcbRIq127CaQWI0JOM7I
By Kurt Streeter
May 3, 2021
Johnny Bench remembers them well.
They were his peers, his idols, his friends.
And now they are gone, 10 greats from the Baseball Hall of Fame, lost in a terrible stretch of just over a year — more death for the game’s hallowed hall than at any similar span in its 85-year history.
Ten greats, who now exist only in memories: at bat, in the field and in the dugout.
During a year of widespread misery, and in a world still struggling against a virus that has killed millions, how do we make sure that these players are not forgotten? There is no one better than Johnny Bench to help us commemorate their lives.
The longtime Cincinnati Reds catcher, named one of baseball’s four greatest living players at the 2015 All-Star Game, Bench isn’t just a member of the Hall of Fame’s inner sanctum. He is a baseball oracle, a conduit between the game of today and the major leagues of the 1960s and 1970s. He either knew, played with or played against all of the 10 Hall of Famers who died within the recent stretch.
“I understand the warranty runs out on all of us, and that it’s what we all have to face,” Bench, 73, said on a phone call from his Florida home last week. “But to have this many great players, this many close friends die in such a short span. …”
He paused.
“It started with Al,” he said, his ordinarily unwavering voice bending with sadness.
Spring of 2020. That’s when Bench discovered that the Detroit Tigers great Al Kaline was struggling.
Kaline broke into the major leagues at age 18, in 1953. At 20, he was the American League batting champion. In 1968, he led his Tigers to a World Series title. Bench, like so many others in his generation, grew up in awe of Kaline’s prowess at the plate and skill in the field.
Early last year, “I called and called him, and I didn’t get an answer,” Bench said. “I called again, no answer. Then he called me back because we always talked a lot, and he said: ‘John, I was in the hospital for 10 days. I just want you to know, I love you, man.’”
Kaline died soon after, on April 6, 2020.
Months went by and the coronavirus pandemic intensified. Then, on Aug. 31, Tom Seaver died of complications from Lewy body dementia and Covid-19.
MUCH MORE AT LINK ABOVE
By Kurt Streeter
May 3, 2021
Johnny Bench remembers them well.
They were his peers, his idols, his friends.
And now they are gone, 10 greats from the Baseball Hall of Fame, lost in a terrible stretch of just over a year — more death for the game’s hallowed hall than at any similar span in its 85-year history.
Ten greats, who now exist only in memories: at bat, in the field and in the dugout.
During a year of widespread misery, and in a world still struggling against a virus that has killed millions, how do we make sure that these players are not forgotten? There is no one better than Johnny Bench to help us commemorate their lives.
The longtime Cincinnati Reds catcher, named one of baseball’s four greatest living players at the 2015 All-Star Game, Bench isn’t just a member of the Hall of Fame’s inner sanctum. He is a baseball oracle, a conduit between the game of today and the major leagues of the 1960s and 1970s. He either knew, played with or played against all of the 10 Hall of Famers who died within the recent stretch.
“I understand the warranty runs out on all of us, and that it’s what we all have to face,” Bench, 73, said on a phone call from his Florida home last week. “But to have this many great players, this many close friends die in such a short span. …”
He paused.
“It started with Al,” he said, his ordinarily unwavering voice bending with sadness.
Spring of 2020. That’s when Bench discovered that the Detroit Tigers great Al Kaline was struggling.
Kaline broke into the major leagues at age 18, in 1953. At 20, he was the American League batting champion. In 1968, he led his Tigers to a World Series title. Bench, like so many others in his generation, grew up in awe of Kaline’s prowess at the plate and skill in the field.
Early last year, “I called and called him, and I didn’t get an answer,” Bench said. “I called again, no answer. Then he called me back because we always talked a lot, and he said: ‘John, I was in the hospital for 10 days. I just want you to know, I love you, man.’”
Kaline died soon after, on April 6, 2020.
Months went by and the coronavirus pandemic intensified. Then, on Aug. 31, Tom Seaver died of complications from Lewy body dementia and Covid-19.
MUCH MORE AT LINK ABOVE
