Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 127

allowing him to see friends and relations, and he took the job. The Blues finished seventh in the eight team league in 1945.

“Every manager wants to throw himself off a bridge sooner or later, and it's very nice for an old man to know he doesn't have to walk fifty miles to find one.” - Casey Stengel on the proximity of the Bay Bridge to the Oaks' stadium.

Although there was no major league managing vacancy Stengel could aspire to, the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League had fired their manager, and approached Stengel. The baseball played in the PCL was close to major league level, and the league featured many aging big leaguers finishing their careers. Also attractive to Stengel was that the league had three teams in Southern California, allowing him to spend more time at his

home in Glendale. Up until that time, the club had won only one pennant, and was something of a weak sister to its cross bay rivals, the San Francisco Seals. But owner Brick Laws believed Stengel could mold the players into a winning team.

The Oaks finished second in the league behind the Seals in 1946, winning the first round of the playoffs against Los Angeles before losing to San Francisco in the finals. They finished fourth in 1947, beating San Francisco in the first round before losing to Los Angeles. Stengel managed the Oaks for a third year