Sparky

"I got a kick out [it] when they used to say baseball is dying . . . I hate to break the sad news to football, but nothing will ever take the place of baseball. When it goes bad, call me, because I won't be around, but I can be reached under the ground."

As the Mets, thankfully, search for a new manager, I want to acknowledge the passing of a legendary one.  Sparky Anderson died last week.  He managed the great Reds teams of the 1970s, leading the Big Red Machine to two World Series titles.  He later managed the Tigers, who won the World Series in 1984, thereby becoming the first manager to ever win the World Series in both leagues.  He was passionate about baseball and his obvious joy for the game was infectious.  He clearly loved and respected his players.  Indeed, after the 1994 players' strike when teams brought in "replacement players" for the 1995 preseason, Sparky refused to manage them -- the only manager to take such a stand.  At his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in 2000, he was typically humble:  "I got good players, stayed out of their way, let them win a lot and then just hung around for 26 years."