The 22nd Annual Joe DiMaggio Legends Game was held at Ft. Lauderdale Stadium yesterday on what could best be described as a "beautiful day for baseball."
Despite some early traffic snarls (the Pro Bowl practices were held across the street at Lockhart Stadium the same morning), hundreds of fans turned out to see some of the legends of the game take the field once more and this time for a very good cause.
According to Kevin Janser, the VP and Executive Director of the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation, money raised today will go to support the creation of a new, free standing Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. For anyone who has had to use the services of JDCH, you know what an excellent job they do and the commitment to the south Florida community is second to none.
And that is what we heard from most of the former major leaguers, this is the one event they try not to miss each year because of what Joe DiMaggio meant to them and the JDCH means to our community. In an era when sports figures only make headlines for the wrong reasons and too often "nicknames" bear tainted innuendoes, it was great to see "Blue Moon," "Baby Bull," "The Crow," "Big Boy" and "Spaceman" doing the right thing.
Of course there was also some baseball and some great stories. Fritz Peterson told me about the day he won his 20th game, pitching in Fenway Park on the last day of that season. Phil Linz played his harmonica and Mickey Rivers and Oscar Gamble talked about their work with at risk youths. Ron Swoboda, a New Orleans native told me his pick for the Super Bowl (guess who dat he is picking?) and Minnie Minoso stole the show signing autographs for a couple of hours before the game.
Once the game started, I found myself in the stands sitting with the family of Orestes Destrade. They spent most of the game having him bring baseballs back and forth from the NL dugout for more autographs until he was so worn out he climbed into the seats for some ice cream and water.
If there is any question whether baseball still has some youth appeal, it was dispelled by the faces of all the kids screaming for the autographs that their dads probably wanted even more.
Here are some pictures from the day, look for video on uVu later this week.
Update: Thanks for the advice from The Morning Sift:
Photos: Top to Bottom 1) Ron Bloomberg, 2) L-R Oscar Gamble, Mickey Rivers, Tony Gonzalez and Amos Otis, 3) Ron Swoboda, 4) Jackie Hernandez and Minnie Minoso
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