02/23/05
Frick Award winner Coleman: Baseball should fess up to steroids
NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME
By Dean Russin
Sports Editor
Hang a star on this one.
Or maybe just put an asterisk next to it.
About three hours after winning the 2005 Ford C. Frick Award on Tuesday, San Diego Padres announcer Jerry Coleman did something Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi refuse to do.
He answered questions about steroids.
"When you’re 37, 38, 39 and you have the greatest years of your career, something’s wrong," said Co[an error occurred while processing this directive]leman, 80, who beat out nine other candidates for baseball’s highest broadcasting honor. "No player in history ever got better after 35."
Former New York Yankees All-Star Coleman addressed a handful of steroid-related questions without hesitation during a brief teleconference set up by the Padres. He dodged none, bringing a perspective to the hottest topic in baseball that only a 41-year veteran of the broadcasting field could.
"When I become emperor, the first (violation) would be a one-month suspension; the second time, one year; the third time, you’re done," Coleman said. "I would not pussyfoot around."
Coleman, best known for his catch-phrases "Oh Doctor!" and "Hang a star," went on to say that baseball needs to step forward, admit that steroids was a part of the game and put an asterisk next to any record achieved as a result of their use.
"The home runs hit by Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds — it’s very possible there was steroid use," he said.
When asked how anyone could prove allegations of steroid use, Coleman said: "They’ve already got (evidence). Bonds rubbed cream on his leg and said he didn’t know what it was. Rubbing players down is the trainer’s job, not the player’s."
A moderator then redirected the line of questioning, asking the two reporters actively participating in the teleconference to focus on the Frick Award.
Coleman did more than enough during his career to earn the award and that respect Tuesday.
"Frankly, I was startled and didn’t really expect it," Coleman said of becoming the 29th broadcaster to win the Frick Award since 1978. "I got there because of my peers. There’s not a finer thing that can happen there. It’s a true honor."
A native of San Jose, Calif., Coleman played infield for the Yankees from 1949-57, with the bulk of his time spent as a second baseman.
Coleman appeared in six World Series and batted .263 in 723 career games. He earned Rookie of the Year honors from the Associated Press in 1949 and was the World Series’ MVP in 1950.
Coleman earned an American League All-Star honor in 1950, when he finished with career-highs in at-bats (522), hits (150), games played (153), runs (69), RBIs (69), walks (67) and batting average (.287). That same season, former Oneonta resident Jim Konstanty was a National League All-Star and won the NL MVP as a right-handed starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Coleman’s baseball career was interrupted twice because of military service as a Marine pilot. He flew 120 missions during World War II and Korea, receiving two distinguished flying crosses, 13 Air Medals, three Navy citations and the title of lieutenant colonel.
Three years after his last major league game, Coleman made his broadcast debut in 1960 on CBS television’s Game of the Week. In 1963, he joined a Yankees radio team featuring Mel Allen and Red Barber — who shared the first Frick Award — and Joe Garagiola and Phil Rizzuto. Garagiola won the award in 1991.
"I worked in the Yankees front office for three years and traveled over 200 days a year," Coleman said of the seasons before he turned to broadcasting. "It was devastating for my family."
After six seasons with the Yankees, Coleman moved to southern California in 1970 to serve as host of the Angels’ pregame show. He also anchored evening sportscasts for KTLA-TV.
In 1972, Coleman became the voice of the Padres in the club’s fourth season. He left the broadcast booth in 1980 to become field manager for the Padres, a stint that lasted one year after Coleman guided the club to a sixth-place finish.
"We started out last on opening day and we held that position all year long," Coleman said. "People say, ’You guys had three Hall of Famers on that team (Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith and Rollie Fingers).’ Yeah, but the other 20-some guys couldn’t play."
Coleman, part of the CBS Radio Game of the Week through 1997, returned to broadcasting for the Padres in 1981 and has been a staple there ever since.
During that time, Coleman developed his trademark phrases. He said Tuesday he lifted "Oh, Doctor!" from conversations with Casey Stengel, a Hall of Fame manager selected by the Veterans Committee in 1966.
"He used to include it in conversations," Coleman said of Stengel, nicknamed The Old Perfesser. "He’d always say, ’Oh, Doctor’ this and ’Hey, Doctor’ that.
"Hang a star came from thinking of something exciting to say," he continued. "We had a spelling test every Friday (in grade school). If you got all 20 right, you got a gold star. I never got a gold star."
Coleman ended up at the head of the class, anyway.
Now a resident of La Jolla, Calif., Coleman will be honored July 31 at the Clark Sports Center during the 2005 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Coleman joins 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner Peter Gammons and Baseball Writers’ Association of America electees Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg as this year’s induction honorees. Veterans Committee selections, if any, will be announced March 2.
"I think if you hang around long enough, something good will happen," Coleman said. "I love what I do. What can I say?"
The National Baseball Hall of Fame contributed to this report.
FORD C. FRICK AWARD RECIPIENTS
