The Baseball (lager Has Ears

By Gary Deckelnick [BabyBull/KCS-0994] Contributing Editor

ITwas a lazy August day and the Philadelphia Phil - to talk to me and it wasn't fair to other people who liesbaseball team, with the divisiontitleall but wanted to use the channel. So I changed it." clinched, were having fun in pre -game practice. Dave His second handle was Captain Hook, a baseball Cash, an all-star second baseman two consecutive years, term used to describe a who changes was trying his hand at while a newspaperman frequently. It's the nickname of , the interviewed , the team's regular shortstop. manager of the but also could apply Terry Harmon, a utility infielder, was the hitter and to , who pilots the Phillies. he lofted a towering fly somewhere near third base. By the time this is in print, however, Cash's name Mike Cash converged will be changed again. That is getting fairly well known until Schmidt called for the ball. Cash's reply caused and if Cash is anything, it's courteous to other CBers some smiles among the writers close enough to hear who want to use the airways. him. "Ten -four, goodbuddy," answered Cash as he "It's hard to keep it a secret because I use the radio backed off the ball. so much," explains the second -baseman. He auto- His reply should not have surprised anyone because matically turns it on during the 15 minute drive fom Cash, like many other members of the Phillies° and his home in Cherry Hill, N.J., to in like many players, is a CB bug. Philadelphia. But playing with CB radio just happens to be a little When he's at the park, of course, he can't be on the more difficult if you also play for a major league base- air but his 8 -year -old daughter, Carmen, uses the set ball team. at home. And she is not shy about telling listeners who "My first handle was the Baseball Player," recalls her famous daddy is. Cash. "But people asked me if I really was one and I Cash is not only famous, he is the spiritual leader of would tell them. It got so there was a lot of kids trying the Phillies. He was acquired from the Pittsburg Pirates in 1973 for Ken Brett, a local hero. His first *This season Cash is with the Montreal Expo's, but he's problem was overcoming the wrath of fans angered still CB'ing. by the trade. During the 1974 and 1975 seasons, he played in every game and batted at least .300, the standard of excellence for major league ball players. But that was not his real value. He had come from Pittsburgh, a team used to winning, to Philadelphia, a team that had never won a and which had won only two pen- nants, the last in 1950. "He taught us how to win," said Larry Bowa, the once moody shortstop who has become almost insepar- able from Cash. After the trade was made, Cash called Bowa and the two agreed to meet in spring training early to practice making plays. In the two years before Cash arrived, Bowa .250 and .211, the

98 June 1977 S9 For Information About Our Advertisers ...