Just....No
When I was a kid in the 70s, Steve Garvey was a perennial All-Star, part of the Dodgers’ long-tenured infield—which also included Ron Cey, Bill Russell, and Davey Lopes—a home run slugger, a gold glover, an MVP, and he played in a National League record 1,207 consecutive games. And yet, Don Sutton saw right through his carefully cultivated, All-American boy image.
Details about their clubhouse fight were hard to come by when it happened back in 1978, but today they’re as easy as googling “Garvey Sutton fight.” Apparently, Don Sutton was quoted by a reporter as saying that Reggie Smith, not Garvey, was the Dodgers’ real MVP, and that Garvey was merely a Madison Avenue facade. Garvey then confronted Sutton about this in the clubhouse, Sutton confirmed that he said it (and apparently threw in a remark about Garvey’s wife, to boot) and then the fireworks began. From that moment on, Don Sutton has always been aces in my book.
My disdain for Garvey—contempt is not too strong a word, really—was solidified forty years ago this month. The Dodgers had finally broken up their infield, and three of the four former members were competing against each other in the 1984 National League Playoffs. Bill Russell, on the other hand, was the only one who stayed in Los Angeles for the duration of his playing career.
I feel the need to point out that since there was only one round of competition in each league before the World Series began in those days, referring to them as the “League Championship Series” or “LCS” wasn’t done in those days. It was a short best-of-five series, and then the winner in each league moved on to the best-of-seven World Series.
Lopes and Cey were with the Cubs that year, and Garvey played for the Padres. It was in Game 4, with the Cubs holding a 2 games to 1 lead in the series, where Garvey came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth against Lee Smith, with Tony Gwynn on first base, and hit a home run which won the game and forced a deciding Game 5 the next day. I wrote something about this moment and why I hated Garvey for it a dozen years ago, and I’ll stand by those words today. But let’s say that Steve Garvey rates a bit lower than pond scum, the coronavirus, and MAGA on my list of least favorite things, even after all these years.
And I’ve been good, up until now, with keeping politics out of my Substack. I’m an outspoken political person, as even a cursory glance at anything I’ve ever written online will attest. But here, I’ve tried to take a different path. Baseball doesn’t need to be political, or so I would hope, except that this is an election year and Steve Garvey, a few months before he turns 76, has decided that his career as a ballplayer somehow qualifies him to serve in the United States Senate. I would link to his campaign’s website for proof, but I don’t want to create the possibility of directing anyone to his webpage, so I’ll just link to this story about it, instead.
Herschel Walker’s football career didn’t qualify him for a Georgia Senate seat, and my hope is that Garvey will fare no better at the polls next month. At his current age of 75, Garvey’s already lived about as long as Don Sutton did when he passed away three and a half years ago. A six-year Senate term is a long time to serve, and Garvey would find himself older at the end of that term than President Biden is at this point in time. And I would only be surprised if nobody has brought this up before now.
One of the appeals being made on Garvey’s website is “Donate $6 to #6.” I wonder how many people have gone along with that request, but even one is too many. In fact, maybe his opponent, Adam Schiff, can use an extra $6, instead. I suppose there’s one way to find out.
Whatever your political leanings are be sure to VOTE, either on or before November 5. America is for all of us, but only if we care enough to take part in it.
Until next time….