"If patience is a virtue, we will be a very
virtuous club."--Birdie Tebbetts, Cleveland Indians manager, when asked
how long he intended to stick with his large crop of rookies, quoted in “They Said It,” Sports Illustrated, May 27, 1963
Birdie Tebbetts was nothing if not a
realist and a prophet, since the Indians concluded that season with a 79-83
record, landing them in sixth place, 25 ½ games behind the pennant-winning New
York Yankees.
The Indians skipper was a baseball lifer given to
speaking his mind. Few scouting reports could ever top this one he submitted
once: “Major league stuff and a great arm. Screwy in the head. Eliminate head
and I recommend him. Get good surgeon.''
His words also had a way of being borne out again over
time, as during his playing days, when he dismissed his 1950 Boston Red Sox
teammates as ''moronic malcontents'' and ''juvenile delinquents.'' After his
experience with Josh Beckett's ugly little clubhouse clique last year,
poor Terry Francona couldn’t agree more, I bet.
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