RIP Dick Williams

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/hall-of-fame-baseball-manager-dick-williams-dead-at-82/2011/07/07/gIQAdUCW2H_story.html

I'm not going to lie to you -- he was tough to deal with as a manager.



Roger Kahn had an anecdote in "The Boys Of Summer" where he was sitting at a bar with Williams, who lamented, "There must be something wrong with me. The last five girls I screwed, two was colored, one was Mexican, one was Filipino and one was Jewish." Then, realizing that Kahn was Jewish, he added, "And you know what? The Jewish girl was the best lay."

RIP.

 

Gotta love any guy who would tell his owner to shove it after winning back-to-back World Series titles ... especially when that owner is Charles O. Finley. Never a dull moment with the A's of the mid-70s. RIP.

 

Met Williams only once, at an MLB party. He was charming and told stories, but then, we'd both been drinking. Seminal moment of his career has to be Game Three of the 1972 Series, when he pantomimed a big argument in a mound conference ordering the pitcher to intentionally walk Johnny Bench, then the pitcher throws it right down the middle for called strike three.

 

Having dealt with him on only a very limited basis as a visiting manager for two or three series, I always referred to him as "the appropriately named Dick Williams."

 

A great manager. RIP

 

Yeah, the crap he put up with with Charlie O. was ridiculous. Then, A-hole Finley kept him from accepting the Yankees job.

Kicked the Red Sox into shape and got them to a World Series. Covering the Mariners, I can tell you he and Dave Niehaus enjoyed their pops together.

He could be an immense jerk, but the guy was a winner. RIP.

 

Called Williams for an interview when I was in Las Vegas a few years ago. He yelled at me for ten minutes about how I got his number and then hung up.

RIP.

 

Why they went for that generic Brewers-esque look instead of going retro when the opened Petco still baffles me.

 

There wasn't a thing wrong with those Cubs roadies, either.

 

For a manager who had a reputation for being tough, he also stood up to Finley when the Mike Andrews incident took place at the '73 World Series. That, according to Williams, was the final straw.

And as a kid, seeing this guy screaming and yelling used to scare the heck out of me.

RIP.