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Amos
Otis
Exclusive
interview by Harold
Friend
Website: Suite101
Editor's Note: Joe Gillespie from
NbO
Baseball has been kind
enough to help us get in touch
with some of baseball's greatest
players. This month we talk to
Mr. Amos Otis who played for 17
seasons on 3 different teams.
Originally drafted by the Boston
Red Sox in the 5th round of the
1965 amateur draft, Otis later
became a star on first great
Royals team, the 1976 AL West
champs.
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Name:
Amos
Otis
Position:
Outfield,
Third Base, First
Base
Born:
April
26, 1947 Mobile,
Alabama
Career
span: 1967-1984
Teams:
New York
Mets, Kansas City
Royals, Pittsburgh
Pirates
Career
highlights:
Otis won
three Gold Gloves and
three times was named
Royals Player of the
Year. He tied for the
American League lead in
doubles his first full
year, 1970, and led in
1976. In 1971, the
speedster stole five
bases in a September 7
game and captured the
league stolen-base title
(52). In 1975 he tied an
AL record by stealing
seven bases in two
consecutive games. He
starred on four Kansas
City division champions.
When the Royals won
their one AL title, he
led all players in the
1980 World Series with
11 hits. He left the
Royals in 1983 as their
all-time leader in
several offensive
categories, including
runs, hits, and
RBIs.
Major
awards: All-Star
in 1970-73, 76, Gold
Glove winner in 1971,
73-74.
Click
here for complete
Baseball-Almanac.com
bio.
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AMOS
OTIS AND NOLAN
RYAN
were two of the most promising
young players the "Amazing Mets"
had in the late 1960s. Both
played for the Mets in the
miracle year of 1969 and both
went on to have great careers
with other teams. We recently had
the pleasure of speaking with
Amos Otis about baseball, which
is a most enjoyable and
enlightening experience. Mr. Otis
spoke about many fascinating
things that happened to him
during his career and ended the
conversation with an anecdote
that illustrates the rapport,
camaraderie, and rivalries that
exist among major league players.
The incident
occurred while Mr. Otis was with
the Royals and Mr. Ryan was with
the Angels. Ryan and Otis used to
holler at each other in a good
natured way after each was traded
from the Mets. As Ryan was
warming up in the bullpen for his
start the next day, Amos walked
over and said, "I'm gonna bust
your ass tomorrow." Without
missing a beat, Ryan told Otis
that he was going to throw him
nothing but fastballs and strike
him out four times. To make it
interesting, a $20 bill was
somehow involved (there is no
betting in baseball).
The next day Ryan
struck out Otis his first three
times up, all on fast balls. Mr.
Otis recalled that he hit a few
fouls, but that was all. As he
was going up to face Ryan for the
fourth time, Amos heard Hal
McCrae yell that it looked at if
Ryan had him. Otis stepped into
the batters box and Ryan got
ready on the mound. The first two
pitches, of course, were fast
balls. Amos managed to foul them
off. It was not a good situation.
But then, Ryan stepped off the
rubber and walked around the
mound. He fiddled with the resin
bag and turned his back on the
batter. Otis' mind was racing.
"He not only wants to strike me
out. He wants to make me look
bad." Amos Otis got set again.
Ryan stepped back onto the
rubber. He didn't need a signal
from the catcher. He threw one of
the nastiest of his nasty curve
balls but Amos Otis was ready. He
waited on the pitch and hit a
screaming line drive back at
Ryan, who barely leaped out the
way. Otis rounded first and held
on with a single.
After the game
the two met. Nolan took out a
twenty dollar bill and a pen. He
wrote on the Federal Reserve
Note, "To Amos Otis, a punch and
judy hitter." They both laughed.
Now to the rest of the
conversation...
Most fans
probably don't know that you were
first signed by the Red Sox. What
is the background on that
signing?
I
was drafted out of high school by
the Red Sox in 1965, which was
the first year of the draft. The
Mets had given me a tryout that
spring and Eddie Stanky, who was
a Mets scout, said that they were
going to draft me but the Red Sox
sneaked in.
What were your
reactions when the Mets drafted
you the next year?
The
Red Sox left me unprotected
following the 1966 season and the
Mets drafted me and sent me to
Triple A ball for
1967.
You were an
outfielder "by trade," as Lindsey
Nelson used to say, but the Mets
tried you at third base. What
were some of the challenges that
you faced playing third
base?
Not
really. I was a shortstop
originally and played all
positions in high school. The
Mets wanted me to play third
base. In 1969 they had Cleon
Jones, Tommie Agee, and Ron
Swoboda in the outfield. I was
supposed to be the opening day
third baseman that year but Gil
Hodges, the Mets manager, thought
that I would be too nervous and I
didn't play. I really wanted to
play centerfield, not third
because I had been an All-Star
centerfielder in the minors. I
was one of the fastest players on
the team so why did they want to
put me a third base? Finally, I
played three games at third in
Philadelphia, got a lot of hits,
made one error, and that was it
at third base for the
Mets.
You were part of
a trade that is rated as the best
in Kansas City Royals history and
one of the worst the Mets ever
made. What were your reactions to
leaving the Mets?
I
was watching the Today Show when
Joe Garagiola announced that Amos
Otis had been traded to the
Kansas City Royals, along with
pitcher Bob Johnson, for third
baseman Joey Foy. I was caught
off guard but it was December 3,
1969, which is my father's
birthday, and he said it was for
the best. I went from the team
that had won the World Series to
an expansion team that had just
finished its first
season.
As the Royals
centerfielder, you won three Gold
Gloves, making many catches, some
spectacular, one handed. You were
among the outfielders who
popularized the one handed catch.
Why didn't you use two
hands?
I
had always caught using two hands
but we had an outfielder with the
Royals named Pat Kelly, who was
Cleveland Browns' star running
back LeRoy Kelly's brother. Pat
used to get nervous trying to
catch a fly ball. His hands
started to shake and he dropped
too many of them. I told him to
wait for the last second and then
catch the ball with one hand. He
was successful. Using one hand
let me get rid of the ball
faster. Sometimes, when I had to
be sure, I would use two hands.
It was actually Rico Carty who
started catching with one hand
the year before.
In 1971, you
stole 5 bases in one game. Please
tell us about it.
It
was the first time in 44 years
that someone stole 5 bases in a
game. I beat out three infield
hits and stole second each time.
Going to the bottom of the
seventh, the score was 3-3. With
two outs and no one on, I hit a
line drive single to center,
stole second, stole third, and
scored the eventual winning run
when catcher Darrell Porter threw
wildly to third trying to throw
me out.
The following
season, with Nolan Ryan on the
mound, you stole home in the
fourth inning, scoring the game's
only run in a 1-0 Royals win. It
was just the second time since
WWII that the only run in a game
was scored on a steal of home.
How does an attempted steal of
home compare to an attempted
steal of second or third?
Stealing home is
different. It is unusual.
Stealing home against Ryan was
more important because it was
Nolan. After that, he always
threw as hard as could when he
faced me. In that game, John
Mayberry, a left handed batter,
was up with a 3-2 count. They
changed the pitch from a curve to
a fastball. It was low and inside
to Mayberry and I scored
easily.
Many fans and
scouts are impressed by hard
throwing pitchers such as Nolan
Ryan and Ron Guidry yet pitchers
such as Greg Maddux and Tommy
John also have great success. Who
were the toughest pitchers you
faced?
I
was a breaking ball hitter. I
liked facing finesse pitchers
because unless you got to a hard
thrower early, he usually got
stronger as the game went on. In
1973 I hit 26 home runs and 15 of
them were off breaking balls or
change ups.
The 1977 and 1978
Yankees defeated the Royals in
the playoffs on their way to
their 21st and 22nd World
Championships. How good were
those Yankees teams?
We
played the Yankees in 1976 and
Chambliss beat us with the home
run but we were just thrilled to
be in the playoffs. In 1977 I
thought that we had a better team
but we lost but in 1978 I thought
the Yankees had the better
team.
Who was the best
manager for whom you
played?
I
don't like to rate them. To me,
they all were the best. Almost
every manager I played for won a
World Series. Jack McKeon last
year, Whitey Herzog with the
Cardinals in 1982, Bob Lemon with
the Yankees in 1978, and Gil
Hodges with the Mets in 1969 all
won it. Jim Frey came so close in
1980.
This past season,
many Yankees players and most
Yankees fans considered beating
the Red Sox in the playoffs to be
the most important goal of the
season. How did the Royals feel
in 1980 after beating the Yankees
in the playoffs but then losing
the World Series to the
Phillies?
Winning the World
Series is the ultimate goal. 1980
was a heartbreak because we led
in each of the first five games
but the Phillies kept coming back
on us and when we lost Game 5, we
went into Philadelphia trailing,
three games to two. We got 10
hits off Carlton in Game 2 but we
couldn't hold a 4-2 lead going
into the eighth. You don't get to
Carlton like that too often. He
pitched a much better game and
won Game 6. It was
disappointing.
Mr. Otis, it was
a real pleasure to listen to you.
Your memory is amazing and I am
sure it helps fans recall things
they thought they had forgotten.
Thank you very much.
You
are very welcome and feel free to
discuss baseball with me
anytime.
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