* Review: Yankee for Life

September 12, 2008

My 40-Year Journey in Pinstripes, by Bobby Murcer with Glen Waggoner (Harper, 2008)

Sept. 8 marked Bobby Murcer’s big league debut. That, coupled with his recent passing, makes this an appropriate time to discuss his autobiography.

Yankee For Life was a tough one to get through. Not because it was badly written — not at all — but because of the hopeful message that was virtually negated when Murcer died on July 12 following his battle with brain cancer.

I was shocked by the news upon my return from vacation abroad. I read Richard Goldstein’s write-up in the Times almost with anger, having been under the impression that Murcer was on the mend, that his return to the booth was almost imminent. Instead I felt almost cheated by his passing.

Murcer had the misfortune of being proclaimed the next Mickey Mantle. Indeed, they shared commonalities: both from Oklahoma, both beginning their careers at shortstop before switching to the outfield. But just as anyone following in the footsteps of a Ruth or DiMaggio faced a lot of pressure, Murcer could not live up to the hype, made more dire in the years when the Yankees were on the downslide.

His story seems too good to be true in an era when players make the headlines almost as much for their antics off the field than on. But Murcer’s style is engaging with just the right amount of self-deprecation.

Of course, people in his profession spend many more years with the appellation “former major league player” and he described the unlikely transition from Yankees pinstripes to the pinstriped suit of his next job: broadcaster.

Murcer freely shares his feelings with the diagnosis and treatment of his cancer, which makes Yankee for Life all the sadder since the reader knows how this will turn out, while the authors — at that point, at least — did not. When Murcer writes about a future that will never come, I dare the most cold-hearted, cynical fan to keep from getting misty-eyed.

I had the chance to speak to Marty Appel, the long-time public relations director of the Yankees, whom Murcer singles out as one of the really good guys in the sport.

Appel was Murcer’s first choice as co-author, but was involved on another book project. He did, however, handle the press for Yankee for Life.

“Bobby was our hero, he was our pin-up boy and we asked so much of him,” Appel recalled in a telephone conversation. “He was 19, a year out of high school, but he was all we had so [manager] Ralph Houk said, “Go out there and be yourself,’ and the PR department was saying, “Go out there and be Babe and Lou and Joe and Mickey.’ So we placed so much on his shoulders.”

Appel acknowledged that Murcer was “a very good player, but he wasn’t going to be a Hall of Famer,” and that the he did well despite the unafri pressure put on him by the fans and media. “And more than that, he was such a terrific regular guy…. and that’s why we became so close. Even when he was struggling with the cancer, he and Kay — who’s just as great — would put out periodic e-mails to their friends with updates. And they wouldn’t use “‘blind carbon copy’; they would “CC” the whole list and there was hardly any celebrities or baseball people there. It was all just regular people like you and me he met along the way.”

Murcer briefly shared the scene with Mantle and Roger Maris when he came up at the end of 1965, going through some lean years as the Yankees were on the downswing. “So much was on him and there was no one hitting behind him to protect him, so he wasn’t seeing good pitches.” Nevertheless, Murcer had some excellent seasons: An All-Star for five consecutive years, a Gold Glove winner, leading the league in runs scored and total bases (1972), on-base percentage (1971), and finishing in the top-ten for MVP three times. “He maybe surpassed the natural gifts he was given,” Appel said.

Murcer’s transition to the booth was surprisingly smooth, considering it happened on one day’s notice, winning over the audience with his relaxing twang. “New Yorkers always like [his] kind of accent,” Appel noted. “That’s why Mel Allen and Red Barber were so successful. But he also had the good fortune to break in with [Phil] Rizzuto, who always made everybody terrific on air because Phil had no ego, he didn’t try to monopolize the booth, and he really let the person be himself; that was Phil’s gift.”

Appel issued a statement on behalf of the family about three weeks before Murcer’s death. “If you read between the lines, you knew things weren’t good. But there was some optimism to it, and I think people who read through it quickly thought he was recovering.”(I guess I was one of those people.)

In the book, Murcer’s emotions were refreshingly honest as he described what he was going through, mentally, physically, and emotionally. “He always knew the cancer was the kind what would come back,” said Appel. “So it was a death sentence he was living with.” As with many cancer patients, it was the complications from treatment that eventually led to Murcer’s death.

Despite the illness, Murcer relished his appearances at signings after the book came out on May 20 to coincide with his 62nd birthday.

“He was so great at those, because he had nothing in the tank. He was just so fatigued and cold and yet he stayed until he signed the last autograph because the fans were making him feel so good and he was just appreciating so much their kind words. And when someone would say to him that they had cancer in their family, and wishing him well, especially if they’d say, ‘God bless you, Bobby,’ he’d stand up and hug them. It was really special to watch.”

“His last year was a gift,” Appel said, “Because in that last year he really felt the love, he really felt everybody’s affection for him and so many things were said about him. We should all go out that way.”

Read a sample chapter of Yankee for Life.

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