When Charles Finley brought the A’s to Oakland, he hired Joe DiMaggio as Executive Vice President, coach, and public relations man. Apparently, Joe set down some firm ground rules before coming on board with Finley. Specifically, he refused to work the baselines; reserved the right to decline invitations to banquets, supermarket openings, and other functions he did not wish to attend; and wanted most of his goodwill time to be spent at the park so his free time would be left open. DiMaggio parted on good terms, explaining he wanted more time to golf and fish.
Many people downplay DiMaggios’ role as more of typical Finley antics, a claim which no doubt is partly true. However, as one would imagine, a presence such as DiMaggios’ does not go unnoticed. It was DiMaggio who taught Joe Rudi to turn his back on a fly ball, resulting in one of the most famous defensive plays in World Series history.
DiMaggio worked an hour every day with the young Reggie Jackson, teaching him how to make contact. To quote DiMaggio; “Reggie is still green as grass, we’ve just got to bring his talents to the surface. They’re all there, no question.”
In 1967 a young Sal Bando changed his batting crouch which resulted in a .192 batting average in 47 games, an injury, and a demotion to single-A Vancouver. Joe D. provided the tip which pulled the future star out of his struggles. “I was getting jammed on everything, then Joe D. told me to close up my stance,” said Captain Sal who anchored the championship A’s at third base from 1968 to 1976.
DiMaggio witnessed one of the proudest moments in Oakland Athletics history. After Catfish Hunter threw his famous perfect game, on May 8, 1968, DiMaggio was asked about the performance. “Just two words,” he said, “A masterpiece.” Joe also experienced the early days of the color uniforms which were uncommon in baseball at the time. Add to this the colors, Kelly Green and California Gold, and one can understand why DiMaggio took some ribbing from fans.
Few people, however, remember the most famous move which DiMaggio made while with the A’s.
Before the start of the 1968 season, while things were tumultuous in preparation for the A’s first season in Oakland, DiMaggio was wandering around the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum checking out the new facility and the views it had to offer when he noticed that the view of home plate was obscured from view in portions of the upper deck. Oakland officials fixed the problem by moving the infield further out from the backstop; a move which resulted in the largest foul territory in the Major Leagues, and which pleases pitchers and frustrates hitters to this day.
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Wow, this was a great and very informative post. I never knew DiMaggio had anything at all to do with the A’s back in those days. Very cool stuff.
-Bill
Wow — I’d forgotten all about the DiMaggio era with the A’s. And, I was stunned by the part about DiMaggio complaining about the obscured view from the upper deck. I think of him as someone who didn’t care much about the fans and their experience. Great post!
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Didn’t know about DiMaggio’s stint with the A’s. Great read!
Who are all the players in this picture? I see Bando, Monday, Jackson, Rudi, DiMaggio and ?
Snippets like Di Maggio at A’s are really interesting as is the reason for the large foul territory. As a long distance (Scotland) baseball fan, so much of the info and stats available is almost overpowering – bite sized pieces of info like this are entertaining and easy to digest. Cheers.:)
Hey – Gary – this is Dan P from Chipalatta.com. I did not know that Joltin Joe had anything to do with the A’s. I guess it makes some sense, since he had big time ties to the Bay area – he was born in Martinez which is on the Oakland side of the Bay. He played for the SF Seals in the Pacific Coast League and had a 61 game hit streak there – long before his 56 game steak with the Yanks. He also married Marilyn Monroe in San Francisco.
That gem about why they have the huge foul territory is something I had never heard before. Cool
Hey, Dan…glad you stopped by. Everything you said is true and many people don’t know these facts. Hell, I didn’t even know it until I read about it in some random book! Thanks for the comment.
Loved reading this. My father glowed whenever he spoke of Joe DiMaggio, having spent time with him when my dad covered the A’s. He was a true gentleman.
That’s great to hear, Anne. Thank you so much for the comment. 🙂