[ifspuds]

Aftermath of a Tragedy
by Langford Thomason
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The shock of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on the morning of April 4th still reverberates through the nation. In many circles of our society, the mourning over the senseless loss of a man devoted to equality continues unabated, but perhaps few places quite like the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse, a place that, for Asa Booker, has become a refuge from the ugliness of the American underbelly.

The greatest active Negro star and possibly the greatest to play in the major leagues, Booker's profile among the average American skyrocketed back in 1962 when he won a controversial Batter of the Year award over John Degal, who had been traded midseason to the San Francisco Giants. At the same time, Booker became a public face for the civil rights movement, marching with Rev. King in the summer of 1963 in Booker's home town of Birmingham, Alabama. Booker's production tailed off that season, especially after the explosion at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where four girls were killed, acquaintances of Booker and his family.

Asa Booker continued to participate when possible in the civil rights movement, though he remains to this day reluctant to discuss his involvement in public, preferring to keep his public statements confined to his simple presence, a presence that has become even more powerful as his baseball career continues to build toward a strong Hall of Fame candidacy. Always a target for vile commentary from hate-filled members of American society, Booker has now become the target of the worst sort of threats in the wake of Rev. King's untimely death.

Death threats directed not only at the quiet, dignified ballplayer, but his Negro teammates Ray Eshelman and Fletcher Jones have flooded the team's mailbag, threatening mortal harm not just to these men, but their families. These threats have been made before, but with King's assassination, they've taken on a new intensity, tied directly to the tragic events of April 4th. Through it all, Booker and his teammates have let their actions on the field be their response, taking the high road, as difficult as it has been to do so. True to form, Booker has refused to discuss the threats he's received, but his teammates have taken up the cause for him. "I don't know how he manages to put on that uniform every day and keep playing at that level," said third baseman Ben Trome. "We had that swing through Atlanta, and Gorin wanted to keep him on the bench for the first game, just to keep things calm, but Book wouldn't have any of it. Stole a base, had a pair of hits even though he came in as a pinch runner in the 9th."

Cap Marcrum gets an earful of the epithets flung toward his outfield mate. "You wouldn't believe the things that get yelled at him. It's all I can do to keep from going into the stands myself. I can't imagine how he can ignore it all. It's bad everywhere. The south, the north, the midwest, California. Nowhere's safe."

Except the Pirates clubhouse. The closeness bred by the team's recent successes has only amplified the family atmosphere, providing a haven from the harshness of the evil side of humanity that so many feel free to express in these troubled times. "I'll be the first guy to stand up for Cannonball," said Shannon Richardson, who hails from the state of Georgia and has experienced racial tensions first-hand. "He means everything to this team. He's the engine that drives us all. Any one of these cowards hiding behind anonymous mail's invited to come talk to us face-to-face. We'll gladly make an example out of them."

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May 16, 1968
Overall Record: 21-12, 3rd place, 2 games behind Houston

Top Hitter: Ben Trome suffered through a dismal April, but has been hotter than a blast furnace in May, hitting .415/.475/.736 with 4 homers and 15 RBI and now leads the team in OPS.

Top Pitcher: George Adkison remains one of the best pitchers in the entire league, and here's why: he's 5-2, 1.89 in 76.1 IP, with a 0.93 WHIP and more than a strikeout an inning (80 total, tops in TWB).

Injury News: Nothing of note.

Development News: Again, nothing of note. The core of the team is between 28 and 32, and we don't have much of a minor league system any more, so that's not a surprise.

High Points: The offense is slowly warming up and guys are starting to pop the longball, a strength of the team last season. Asa Booker picked up his 2000th career hit and has a good shot at hitting some significant milestones this season: 200 career HR (needs 13 more), 600 SB (needs 20 more), 300 doubles (needs 1 more) and 1000 RBI (needs 70 more).

Low Points: We're in third place. But not too far behind.