Elliott: Devon White never forgot his sandlot coach, fans won't forget his catch
A call from Bruce Eagel, son of Devon White’s former sandlot coach, took us back to a day at Yankee Stadium and memories of the gazelle-like centre fielder, who won five Gold Gloves.
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Checking the missed calls last week I saw two from the 917 area code.
Not recognizing the phone number, I knew it was from New York, the city that never sleeps.
So, it must be someone important right?
I dialed the number ... and it went something like this:
“Thanks for calling back Bob, you got my message?”
“No, I’m like the cool kids -- I don’t listen to messages. I call people back.”
“You wrote a story about my father and I’ve lost the story ... it was from 1993.”
“Well, I’ve written a lot of stories about father’s since 1993, who was your father?”
“Devon White’s coach ...”
“I remember now ... I spoke to your father on the phone as Bob Sheppard announced Devon’s name in the first inning and your father explained how tough a guy he was and asked why he was ‘sitting in my living room with tears running down my cheeks.’”
“Yes, that was the story.”
It was Bruce Eagel on the phone. His father Bill Eagel, White’s first coach, was a reason the smooth centre fielder made the majors and helped the Blue Jays win the 1992 World Series over the Atlanta Braves. (White also won in 1993 as the Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies and again in 1997 when the Florida Marlins beat Cleveland.)
Bill Eagel passed in 2004. His son, Bruce, attended a White autograph signing session at Fordham.
“I stood there, looked at Devon and asked ‘who do I look like?’ He guessed my father and we must have hugged for five minutes.”
White, now a minor-league coach with the Blue Jays, confirmed the story, but didn’t think that the hug was that long. White reminded Bruce of the column I wrote about his father.
Bill, who coached “ice hockey” at Pelham, Scarsdale and Byam Hills over the years, asked me how the story came about.
Well, that was a long time ago but as best remember I had asked White if he ever saw his old coach one day at Yankee Stadium. He said that indeed he was going to see him the next day and give him a check to cover the cost of this year’s new uniforms. I asked if I could come and White said yes.
A time was set for the next morning to meet in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt on 42nd. By passing another night at Runyon’s, I was there in the lobby. White was not. So, either I was late or White left early.
Arriving early in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse I asked White “so what’s the deal?” He gave me Bill’s phone number. And I timed the call for a few minutes before first pitch so both the coach and I could watch White’s first at-bat together.
I had to look up the box score as to remember White’s first at-bat. Rickey Henderson led off the game with a ground ball single between short and third off ex-Blue Jays lefty Jimmy Key. Then, up stepped White. Key struck him out swinging and he did the same to future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, before getting Joe Carter on a liner to right.
The Yankees scored the winning run in the seventh off Al Leiter, in relief of Juan Guzman. The winning run scored as Wade Boggs and Danny Tartabull walked, Dion James singled and Paul O’Neill beat out a possible 3-6-3 double play for a 5-4 win.
Key pitched a complete game for his 13th win, while the loss levelled Leiter’s record at 6-6. White was 0-for-3 reaching when hit with a Key pitch and scored on a Tony Fernandez triple. The loss cut the Jays lead to one game -- with a 63-47 record -- ahead of both the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees.
White will mostly be remembered by Toronto fans for his catch against the centre field wall in Game 3 in 1992 Series snaring David Justice’s liner jumping into the wall. White then threw the ball to 2B Roberto Alomar who threw to 1B John Olerud to try to double up Terry Pendleton, but Pendleton had already been called out for running past Deion Sanders. So Olerud threw across the diamond to 3B Kelly Gruber who chased down Sanders, dove and clipped him on the heel with his glove. However, the umpire, adjudged Sanders safe. Umpire Bob Davidson admitted it was a missed the call, costing the Jays the second triple play in Series history.
I’ll remember White for two things ...
A) Asked why he never dove for balls, he answered was “because I don’t have to.”
B) when Troy Tulowitzki, David Price et al arrived at the 2015 trade deadline suddenly the Jays went from playing .500 ball to a 43-18 finish the Jays went from the best team in the AL East, to the best in the majors to the best ever -- according to talk radio. The request for a story was to get someone from the 1992-93 team to compare it to the Jays 2015 team. Cito Gaston would not touch the question. Few others. White and I sat at a table in the press box behind home plate. He danced and did the soft shoe. He got up to leave ... walked about 10 feet where he could see the opening and banners in centre field. White said, “Look as soon as this team has done what we’ve done (won back-to-back) I’ll gladly discuss things ... position by position, lineup to lineup, starting pitcher to starting pitcher, bullpen to bullpen.”
What a perfect answer. The Jays still have not won since 1993.
Originally published Thursday Aug. 5, 1993
By Bob Elliott
NEW YORK _ By his own admission 5-foot-10, 200-pound Bill Eagel is a tough taskmaster as a coach. On the ball field, he screams at kids and sometimes comes close to “smacking them.’’
“I’m a tough guy, right?’’ he said, the way native New Yorkers finish statements with question marks. “So how come I’m sitting in my living room, I can hear P.A. announcer Bob Sheppard say one of my player’s names on the TV and tears are running down my face on to my shirt and I’m a wreck?’’
The reason is simple. In his living room watching TV, the 77-year-old Bronx sandlot coach is watching Devon White -- or Dev, as Eagel calls him.
For four summers Dev played for Eagel’s teams at Allenton and Van Cortland Park. Dev came early to practice, chased foul balls, took orders, learned, took batting practice after games and was yelled at.
“He’s almost like my son,’’ says Eagel, his voice cracking somewhat. ‘’He never fails to call and always remembers my birthday.’’
White left the Blue Jays’ Manhattan hotel early yesterday afternoon for the Bronx and a visit to Eagel’s house. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, White grew up in Washington Heights, one borough over from the Bronx. “I wouldn’t even drive through that area now, it’s so bad,’’ said White.
Yesterday there were laughs, not tears.
White and Eagel remembered when the Jays’ present-day centre fielder was a 15-year-old shortstop. One day, White forgot to back up the pitcher with a man on third when the catcher threw the ball back to the mound.
“Bill called time and told me to sit down,’’ said White. “I mean, out of the game for not backing up. I almost quit that day.’’
Eagel was quick with the hook if his kids didn’t pay attention. Discipline was important.
“As soon as it happened, he knew he’d made a mistake,’’ said Eagel. ‘’He looked to see if I’d noticed. I was out of the dugout. He told me later he didn’t know if he was going to get punched or he should start running.’’
White is one of three major-leaguers - former Expo Ken Singleton and reliever Roy Smith (currently with Triple-A Buffalo) are the others - who played for the Eastchester Athletic Club during Eagel’s 53 years in sandlot.
While Singleton and Smith were gifted athletes at first sight, White was not.
“First time I saw him, he was a small, snivelling, skinny little 14-year-old, but he was a kid that wanted to play,’’ said Eagel.
In the fall tryouts were held and White was there. Eagel took his name and phone number. The first indoor workout was in February.
“It was a miserable, icy night and roads were covered with sleet,’’ said Eagel. “I was debating whether I should go to the school. Finally, I decided to go, just in case someone showed.
“There on the doorsteps of the locked school was Dev. He was the only player who showed and he had icicles hanging off his eyebrows.’’
Eagel took White into his car to warm up the youngster, who had made the half-hour trek from Washington Heights. Then they went to a restaurant.
“I remember when we left, I said to him, ‘Well, Dev, if you can come out on a night like this, you can play for Bill,’” Eagle said.
So White played. And he learned. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Angels in 1981.
“I still have letters where Dev wrote he couldn’t hit the curve ball, he was down, he was coming home,’’ said Eagel. “I’d get on the blower and yell, ‘You come home and I’ll kick your ass from Allenton Park all the way to Idaho Falls or Danville.’
‘’One night last year I’m watching Toronto play. I called him in Kansas City and chewed him out for trotting to first on a high fly.’’
A while back, the Eastchester A.C. had a reunion. More than 200 former players were on hand. But Eagel didn’t get the biggest standing ovation. It was reserved for his wife, Beatrice.
“When you think about it, my wife is really something,’’ he said. “To put up with games Saturday and Sunday, two games during the week and two practices ... how did she do it?’’
These are tough times in the struggling borough of the Bronx. But when Dev White is in town for a series, life is a little better for Bill and Beatrice Eagel.