Beanballs

When Greg Maddux was a rookie, he was told that he’d be sent back down to the minors if he didn’t win his start against the Padres. He was winning 4-2 but needed to finish another inning to get credit for the win. Then Padre pitcher beaned Cub Andre Dawson, clearing the benches. Veteran pitcher Rick Sutcliffe went to Maddux in the dugout and told him to get the next three Padre hitters out to qualify for the win, then in the inning after that Greg could hit a Padre batter if he wished. Maddux said no – and went out and hit the first batter he faced. Maddux was thrown out of the game. He was sent to the minors – for the minimum 15 days. Then he was called back up to the majors, and never went back down.

After the Braves traded Dale Murphy to the Phillies in the late 1980’s, the Braves and Phils were engaged in a beanball war. After another Braves batter was hit, manager Bobby Cox told young Tom Glavine to hit the first Phillie batter in the next inning. Glavine threw three inside pitches to Murphy, who backed out of the way of each pitch. Glavine hit Murphy with his fourth pitch, and immediately headed toward the Braves dugout, knowing correctly that he’d be thrown out of the game.

Braves chairman Terry McGuirk’s wife Nancy is a member of Marsh’s class at Peachtree Pres. Last week McGuirk bought a penthouse condo in Palm Beach for $5.9 million. McGuirk is a member of Augusta National, and serves on the International Olympic Committee’s Radio & TV Commission. Good work if you can get it.

Marsh would always ask me about the Braves. Not sure when Ceil got close to Myra, but it did seem like that when we were teaching Lang’s grade in Sunday School, Ceil had Myra come sit in on her girl’s class once or twice. Not sure. Then years later the Marshes were close to the Ewings, and we were with the Marshes at a couple of their gatherings. Bob did visit us at Piedmont when Will was born.

Marsh: this long obituary was printed up in booklet form and handed out at the service.  Said that as a young pastor he typed out his sermons, then took to the streets, running around town with the sermons in hand to memorize them, so he could preach from the pulpit without notes. As usual I was oblivious to the machinations of when Marsh stepped down at SPdL. The obit called it burnout, in part.

The obit gave a website where Marsh posted his writings: https://anchorss.org/bobs-blog/ - the Anchor Sunday School  class at Peachtree Pres where many former SPdL members migrated: Jim Phillips, Marby Rainer, the Leinz’s, the Lindsay’s, the Scott’s, the Johnston’s, etc. Dan Hayes is listed as a member.

Some time after Marsh had left SPdL he arranged to use an extra Peachtree Road Race number that I had. This was before cell phones, but we managed to find each other in the huge crowd. I almost didn’t recognize him, as he sported a bushy goatee.

Luke 11:33-36 The Lamp of the Body

33. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but on a stand, so those who enter may see the light. 34. Your eye is the light of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad your body is full of darkness. 35. So be careful so the light in you isn’t darkness. 36. If your whole body is full of light, without any darkness, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp gives you light.