FRANKLY SPEAKING
by Frank Crocitto

Sure, Ted Williams, Dimaggio, Johnny Mize, they had eyes. They’d follow that ball in. No matter how fast, no matter what stuff they put on it spit, anything. They were real hitters. Ahhh, you people don’t know. But I’m gonna tell you. I used to be some hitter when I was young. They used to call me Home-Run Baker. Right, Vinnie? You heard them. Right? My father was a baker. They used to call me The Baker. I don’t like to say anything about it. Vinnie will tell you. I don’t talk about it to nobody. People think you’re bragging. I’m not the kind of guy who brags. But I was some hitter. It was my eyes; I had the eyes. Plus I was strong. Look at these forearms. I’m getting fat now, but I used to be strong.

You hear these announcer guys on television. Ever hear them? They study the pitchers and they figure out what they’re going to throw a curve, fastball. I never did that. I never tried to figure nothing. I’d just hit the ball. No matter where it was, I’d follow it, always had my eye on it. It didn’t make any difference whether it was high or low, inside, outside curve, drop, butterfly. One time I hit the ball on a bounce! Yeah, on a bounce. It came in bounced about a foot in front of me and I scooped it up like I was playing golf. Just like that. I had the eyes then. You know how I used to land up? You know how Babe Ruth used to look after he swung? Legs crossed? That’s the way I used to land up. Like a corkscrew. Like this. I was some hitter. I used to like them right up here— shoulder-high. Oh ho, Oh how I I used to grab a hold of those. I loved them when they were this high.
We used to play up here. You know where 70th and 10th Avenue cross. Right there, there used to be a field there. Clay Field they used to call it. I remember the time at Clay Field I had to hit against this guy, Cowboy. That was his name. I mean that’s what they called him. He was bow-legged and he liked to wear a sombrero. Cowboy! He was some pitcher. Remember Dazzy Vance? Ever hear of Dazzy Vance?! Dazzy Vance used to have a fast ball—a fast ball with wings. This guy was faster than Dazzy. Faster than Dazzy Vance!

One day I was upstairs in this place playing poker. I was all dressed up—silk shirt, nice fancy pants. I used to be a great dresser when I was young. Ask Vinnie, he knows. We went into the candy store just yesterday and that woman there told him “Your uncle used to be some dresser when he was young.” Right, Vinnie? She remembered. I had money in those days. Well, I was sitting up there, all dressed up, playing a game of poker. I had a big cigar in my mouth. And I hear behind me these guys arguing. They were gamblers. “Ahh, Baker’s good but he can’t hit Cowboy!”
“Never mind about Cowboy,” the other guy goes, “Baker can hit him!”
So these guys were arguing. I didn’t pay no attention. I’m playing poker. I like to concentrate when I play. These were big gamblers, I tell you. These guys used to go to a ball game and bet on everything. Whether the pitch was going to be a fast ball or a curve ball—if it was going to go to the second baseman, the short-stop or what—if the pitcher was going to strike him out—if it was going to be a fly ball or a grounder. Thousands they used to bet. These guys were big gamblers.

The next thing I know they want me to get up. I wanted to play poker. But they’re slipping money in my pocket. That’s why I always had plenty of dough. I won so many games for those guys. They’d always stick money in my pockets fives, tens, twenties. Always plenty, plenty of money. And when I had it I used to treat people everybody. I wasn’t cheap. I hate cheapskates.
So, they take me out of there and we go down to Clay Field. In five minutes there was a whole crowd around. They had all the fielders and a catcher, an ump, too. I don’t know where they came from. There was a mob. They were betting I couldn’t get a hit off Cowboy in four times up. Can you picture this? This guy Cowboy was cool. He took all his time. Well, I walked over to the plate. I rolled up my cuffs. I got in the box. And the first pitch! I didn’t wait. The first pitch! I got hold of it and—whooom, and that ball went sailing. It was a low one. I’ll never forget it. It came in low and when you get a hold of those they sail. They go higher and higher. I used to like to watch them go. I used to get a thrill out of it. The ball used to get that small. It went way over the houses. I’ll never forget it. I rolled down my cuffs. All that was in my mind was to get back to the game, you know what I mean? That’s why I didn’t wait. I wanted to get back upstairs.

I could have been a professional. The Yankees wanted me. They signed me up. I was going to go, but my mother cried and cried when I was supposed to go down to spring training. We were close. I was her only son. Vinnie knows. It broke my heart. I couldn’t go. I loved my mother, God rest her soul. If I would’ve went I would have been a great ballplayer. One of the greats. I was a natural. I would have been in the Hall of Fame.
I’ll never forget the time, there was this guy Tomasullo. You think you got pitchers now. He was better than them all; he was better than Cowboy. I know you don’t believe me, but I’m telling you the truth. I never lie. Nobody could hit him. We were playing up at Yankee Stadium. You know how they used to go around with a tape measure and measure Mickey Mantle’s homers. Well, I hit a home run that day. I hit three home runs. We beat them three to two. I’ll never forget it; I hit three home runs off Tomasullo. I beat him by myself. They didn’t have stands in Yankee Stadium like they do now. In those days there was just the bleachers and in left field there was this fence and you could see out into the street and you could see the elevator. You know, the subway. You could see the trains go by.

I hit a ball. I hit a ball that day. I can still see it. It took off. They had these two outfielders, both brothers. These guys could run, too. They could run from here to 14th Avenue in a second. Speed demons. I forget their names. They were playing up against the fence. They had their backs to it like this. They knew I could hit the ball. Well, this one took off—high, high, over the trees, over the houses, over the elevator. I’ve never seen anything like it. This one went way past the elevator! Six, seven, eight hundred feet, I don’t know. I swear on my mother, may she rest in peace. May I drop dead on the spot if I’m not telling you the truth. When the game was over Tomasullo came over to me. He said, “I never seen anything like you, Baker.”

Maybe God speaks to me. I don’t know. And some people say I don’t listen. But I listen. I think God told me what I said to my son. I told my son, “Your son is going to be famous.” I’m talking about my grandson, Nicky. Remember, Vinnie? You were there when I told him. He’s gonna be famous. My grandson, he’s going to make it. What I couldn’t do he’s going to do for me. Mark my words. You should see him. My son plays with him all the time. He’s only six years old but he’s got the stuff. I know, because I know baseball. You should see the cuts he takes. He ends up after the swing like this. Like Ruth and me. He’s strong, too. I’ve never seen anything like it. That goddamned kid is going to make it! I’m telling you.