Saturday, February 12, 2011
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Chuck Tanner, the popular manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates' most recent championship in 1979, died Friday, just days before his beloved team was about to open spring training, which he often excitedly called "the best time of the year!"Mr. Tanner was a lifelong resident of New Castle, where he died at his home in hospice care after a long illness. He was 82.
He will be best remembered for overseeing the Pirates' World Series triumph against the Baltimore Orioles, taking the final three games after trailing the best-of-seven series, 3-1. That group adopted the Sister Sledge song, "We are Family," and, while first baseman Willie Stargell was the clubhouse leader, Mr. Tanner was its father figure.
Mr. Tanner's mother died in New Castle before Game 5, just as that series looked darkest, and Mr. Tanner told his players: "My mother is a great Pirates fan. She knows we're in trouble, so she went upstairs to get some help."
Kent Tekulve, that team's closer, recalled the scene on that Sunday morning at Three Rivers Stadium.
"We knew Chuck as our manager, but we also knew how close he was to his family," Mr. Tekulve said. "We knew this was a powerful loss, and we're sitting there in the clubhouse not knowing what to say to the man. And most of us, we were pretty good at having something to say. It was a brash group. Not this time."
Then, Mr. Tanner entered and said his brief piece.
"We're all sitting there feeling sorry for him," Mr. Tekulve continued. "Well, that gives you a focal point. It's still not going to be easy, but, all of a sudden, all this other stuff didn't seem so important. We could just go out and play ball."
True to Mr. Tanner's annual exclamations about spring training, hope always seemed to spring eternal in his world, according to those who knew him best. He was unfailingly upbeat, smiling and offering hugs rather than handshakes to those who greeted him.
"I played for a lot of managers in my time, and I never knew anyone who treated people like Chuck," former reliever Grant Jackson said. "He's a man I'll never forget, because the things he taught me will always be with me."
"Chuck was a people person," former catcher Manny Sanguillen said.
Mr. Tanner's effect resonated with current players, as well.
"From the moment I met the man, he made me feel like I was on his team, like he was rooting for me," second baseman Neil Walker, a Gibsonia native said. "When I was toiling in the minors, I had doubts in myself. But he was a person who forced me to believe in myself, he wouldn't let me get down."
Mr. Walker paused.
"He was the leader of a big family and, in his own way, he was still continuing to manage by guiding all the young ballplayers who would sit and talk to him. In spring training, he'd come into a room, and he would command attention just by his presence. What I remember his message being most was to believe in yourself. He also said that you had to have a pride in what you did, in how you carried yourself and played the game. That sticks with me, every single day that I play this game."
A 10-letter standout in baseball, basketball and football while at Shenango High School -- where the baseball field is now named for him -- Mr. Tanner reached the major leagues as a player in grand fashion: He homered in his first at-bat April 12, 1955, with the Milwaukee Braves, and he did so on the first pitch, just the second player in baseball history to achieve that.
Mr. Tanner's career as an outfielder spanned 1955 to 1962, also including stints with the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels, batting .261 with 21 home runs in 396 games.
But his greatest impact on the sport, by far, came in managing four major-league teamsfrom 1970 to 1988, beginning with the Chicago White Sox, then a year with the Oakland Athletics. The Pirates acquired Mr. Tanner in a trade involving a manager -- only the second in major-league history -- from Oakland for catcher Manny Sanguillen. He remained in Pittsburgh until 1985, after which he finished his managerial career with three seasons in Atlanta.Mr. Tanner's overall managerial record was 1,352-1,381, and it was 711-685 with the Pirates. That victory total ranks third on the franchise's all-time list. Only Fred Clarke (1,422), Danny Murtaugh (1,115) and Jim Leyland (851) had more victories.
Among Mr. Tanner's many memorable quotes about his profession is this: "I don't think a manager should be judged by whether he wins the pennant, but by whether he gets the most out of the twenty-five men he's been given."
Mr. Tanner's death touched people around the world of baseball.
Bud Selig, Major League Baseball's commissioner, issued a statement: "Chuck spent his life serving baseball in a variety of roles, and I am particularly glad that in recent years he returned to the Pirates, the club with which he will be forever linked. I extend my deepest sympathy to Chuck's sons and the entire Tanner family, as well as to his many fans in Pittsburgh and throughout our game."
"Rest in Peace Chuck Tanner," the legendary former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda posted on his Twitter account. "I loved you like a brother. You taught me a lot about managing, and I always appreciated it."
Most of Mr. Tanner's time at the Pirates' helm was successful, with six winning seasons out of the nine, plus the championship. But it ended badly, with the team finishing the 1985 season 57-104 and several of its players dragged into what became known as the Pittsburgh Drug Trials for baseball. Seven men -- all outside the team -- were convicted of selling drugs to baseball players, many of whom testified in exchange for immunity.
Mr. Tanner testified he had no more than cursory knowledge of such drug issues, but Dale Berra, a shortstop at the time, contradicted that by testifying that Mr. Tanner warned him to stay away from drug dealers.
The Pirates fired Mr. Tanner and, as he would later state, "I would've fired myself."
After managing in Atlanta, Mr. Tanner spent 11 years in the Milwaukee Brewers' baseball operations, then five in Cleveland. But -- and this tells maybe more about Mr. Tanner's allegiance than any tale -- he often wore a Pirates cap through his time scouting for the Indians.
When Frank Coonelly became the Pirates' president in late 2007 and Neal Huntington the new general manager, among Mr. Huntington's first moves was righting that wrong and hiring Mr. Tanner as a senior advisor.
Mr. Tanner had an active role in his first two years on that job, attending top-level meetings with Mr. Huntington's staff and lending his voice to key personnel decisions. He also was a fixture at spring training in Bradenton, Fla., roaming from field to field and offering first-hand assessments of players. That contribution diminished along with his health in the past year, but he remained in constant touch with the Pirates.
Mr. Huntington has lost both his senior advisors -- Bill Lajoie died in late December at age 76 -- in the past two months.
"Chuck was a truly special man who gave so much of himself to those with whom he came in contact," Mr. Huntington said. "My early memories of the Pirates organization are of Chuck's teams, the way they played the game and the genuine affection they seemed to have for each other. This made an impression on me and never did I imagine that I would have a chance to work with Chuck himself."
Anytime Mr. Tanner was introduced to a crowd at PNC Park, most recently with the reunion of the 1979 team two years ago, he was greeted with the loudest ovation.
"Chuck was a class act who always carried himself with grace, humility and integrity," Mr. Coonelly said. "While no one had a sharper baseball mind, Chuck was loved by his players and the city of Pittsburgh because he was always positive, enthusiastic and optimistic about his Bucs and life in general."
"Chuck always took a bit of extra time to pull me aside, put his arm around my neck and tell me what was was going well, and what was going wrong," team owner Bob Nutting said. "His passion for the game and for the Pirates ran through every conversation we had. He set a high bar, he expected much from me and the organization, and he reinforced my personal commitment to restore the Pirates to their historic greatness."
A month after Mr. Tanner served as an honorary coach in the 2006 All-Star Game at PNC Park, he was devastated by the death of his wife Barbara -- "my best friend," as he called her -- that August. But he was back at work before long, along with the familiar smile.
Mr. Tanner is survived by four sons: Mark, Gary, Brent and Bruce.
"The Tanner family would like to express their sincere thanks to friends, fans, and the entire baseball community for their thoughts and prayers during Chuck's recent illness," said Bruce Tanner, formerly a coach with the Pirates and now a scout with the Detroit Tigers. "He will forever be remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather to his family, and a good friend to every life he touched. In baseball we will remember his eternal optimism and his passion for the game."
The Pirates and the Tanner family have asked that, in lieu of flowers, contributions are made to The Chuck Tanner "We Are Family" Fund' c/o Pirates Charities, 115 Federal St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212. The fund will annually present an award to the Pirates' minor-league employee who best exemplifies Mr. Tanner's enthusiasm.
There will be a public viewing for Mr. Tanner at the Cunningham Funeral Home in New Castle next Tuesday, 4-7 p.m.
Dejan Kovacevic: dkovacevic@post-gazette.com. Find more at the DK on Pittsburgh Sports blog on PG+.
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'Fam-a-lee' blessed with Tanner
Saturday, February 12, 2011
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Keith Srakocic/Associated PressMembers of the 1979 world championship Pirates together with the World Series trophy before the Pirates' game on August 22, 2009. From left to right, top row, Omar Moreno, Bruce Kison, partially blocked by Chuck Tanner, Kent Tekulve, Bill Madlock, wife of the late slugger Willie Stargell, Margaret Stargell, Don Robinson, and Rennie Stennett,, Bottom row right to left are Dale Berra , Mike Easler, Grant Jackson, Steve Nicosia and Phil Garner.
Go ahead, feel sorry for former Pirates manager Chuck Tanner's family and friends, for anyone, really, who knew the man at all. They suffered a terrible loss Friday when Tanner died at 82. Their world won't be the same, won't be quite as bright, quite as gentle, quite as kind.
But, please, don't feel sorry for Tanner. That's the last thing he would want. It's probably inaccurate to say he eagerly awaited death, although he surely must have had some of those longings during his rough times the past few weeks. But he certainly wasn't afraid of death. He stared it down and saw the positives in it, which is exactly the way he treated his amazing life every day as he lived it.
"The nurses couldn't believe how relaxed I was," Tanner said in May 2007, talking about the surgery he had a few weeks earlier to fix a life-threatening bleeding ulcer. "I told them I had it made. If God takes me, I'll see Babs. If not, Babs will look down on me and help me recover."
I'm thinking Tanner would say Friday was a pretty terrific day.
What a reunion he and Babs -- his wife of 56 years -- must have had. He cherished every day they spent together before her death in August 2006, after a decade-long battle with a variety of health problems. Everyone should be so lucky to have such a soul mate.
But Babs Tanner was pretty fortunate, too. Everybody who knew the couple said the same thing: If you had to be sick, you couldn't ask for a better, more devoted, more loving caregiver than Tanner. His wife's struggles wore him out, mentally and physically. But he never once complained. It wasn't just because it was his husbandly duty to care for her. It was the right thing to do.
Tanner did the right thing as much as any man I've known. He was, simply, the kindest, most decent person I've met in sports.
The world would be such a better place if everyone had Tanner's attitude. Talking baseball now, if the Pirates lost eight games in a row, he would insist that really wasn't all bad because a winning streak certainly was around the corner. If one of his players were in an 0-for-25 slump, he would tell you his breakout game would be that night. If you didn't know him, you would think he was phony. No one could be that positive all the time, right? But he was 100 percent genuine. He was the real deal.
I always have believed that Tanner was the big reason the Pirates came back from a 3-1 best-of-seven deficit to win the 1979 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. That team is remembered as Hall of Famer Willie Stargell's "We Are Family" team. But make no mistake, Tanner was in charge. Never once did he back off from his prediction that the Pirates would keep battling and take the series in seven games. He demanded it, actually.That wasn't a completely happy time for Tanner. His mother, Anne, died on the morning of Game 5. But he never brought his sadness into the clubhouse. He refused to allow his players to lose focus. He was so happy for them, so proud of them, when they did come back to take down the Orioles in seven. Then, when they and the rest of Pittsburgh planned for a victory parade to honor what's looking more and more as if it will be the last world championship baseball team for our city in our lifetime, he went home to New Castle to bury his mom.
And, no, Tanner never complained about feeling short-changed in any way in the greatest moment of his baseball career.
Tanner was fiercely loyal to those '79 Pirates even if many let him down badly in the next few years. It didn't matter if a player all but quit on him because of problems with the front office or left the team in a huff because he didn't feel as if he were being used properly or was involved in bringing cocaine and drug dealers into the Pirates clubhouse. They still were his guys -- damn it -- and he always would be there for them.
Years later, Tanner would say if his life depended on one game he would give the ball to left-hander John Candelaria, who had such bitterness toward Pirates management that he publicly referred to general manager Harding Peterson as "Bozo." Tanner lobbied long and hard for pitcher Bert Blyleven to make the Hall of Fame even though Blyleven left the Pirates briefly early in the 1980 season -- an excusable act of selfishness -- because he didn't like how Tanner pulled him from games. (I'm sure the news Jan. 5 that Blyleven was elected to the Hall brought one of the final big smiles to Tanner's face). Tanner always said he was blessed to manage the great Dave Parker even though Parker got caught in the cocaine mess, which led to the infamous Baseball Drug Trials in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1985 and assured that Tanner's era with the team would end in disgrace.
Tanner claimed he never knew about the cocaine, although the fallout from the drug trials hurt him badly. If he made a mistake, it was treating his players like men and expecting them to act in kind. They didn't always live up to his trust.
But that didn't stop Tanner from loving his players. "They were such tough, tough guys," he said. They had climbed the baseball mountaintop together, remember? Tanner was a big man physically, but he was a much bigger man as a person. He was way too big to hold a grudge.
Tanner loved seeing the players at the '79 team reunions. This isn't exactly a breaking news story, but they loved seeing him, too. Phil Garner, his old second baseman, managed the National League team in the 2006 All-Star Game at PNC Park. He made sure that Tanner was in the dugout in uniform that night as his honorary captain. Tanner considered it one of his greatest thrills in baseball.
"I've had the greatest life in the world," he told me during that May 2007, interview as he looked around the family room of his home, which he had converted into a shrine for Babs.
"How many guys can say they won a World Series in their backyard? How can that happen to a kid from Shenango?
"I've been awfully blessed and awfully lucky."
Sure, Tanner was.
But so were and are the people who knew him well, who knew him at all, actually.
All of us are better because he was in our life.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.
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Former Pirates manager Chuck Tanner dies at 82
By Rob Biertempfel, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Chuck Tanner never wanted to be judged by how many games he won as a Major League Baseball manager. To him, what mattered was getting the most out of the 25 players on his roster.Tanner, 82, died Friday in his hometown of New Castle, Lawrence County. He had been ill and in hospice care.
He bonded the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates into the "We Are Family" crew and managed them to the World Series title, staging one of baseball's greatest comebacks to upend the favored Baltimore Orioles in seven games.
"Chuck loved the game," said former outfielder Mike Easler, who played for Tanner in Pittsburgh from 1977-83. "He knew how to get the best out of each player. That's why we won."
Born on July 4, 1928, Charles William Tanner displayed an upbeat, can-do attitude, even when facing long odds. He toiled for nearly a decade in the minor leagues, then homered on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues. He never quite reached everyday status as a player but found his niche as a manager.
"We will remember his eternal optimism and passion for the game," said his son Bruce Tanner, a Detroit Tigers scout and former Pirates coach.
"For my generation, when you think of the best times in Pirates baseball, Chuck Tanner comes to mind," Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown said. "He's an iconic figure in the organization. I rank him up there with (Danny) Murtaugh, (Bill) Mazeroski, (Willie) Stargell, Honus Wagner, Pie Traynor and those guys. In my mind, he's a Pirates hall of famer."
As a wiry teenager in 1946, Tanner signed his first pro contract with the then-Boston Braves. He spent nine years in the minors, including four in the early 1950s as a slick-hitting outfielder with the Double-A Atlanta Crackers.
He finally cracked the then-Milwaukee Braves' roster in 1955 and made his major league debut in the season opener against the Cincinnati Reds. With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Tanner pinch-hit for pitcher Warren Spahn. He hit a solo home run off right-hander Gerry Staley, sparking a three-run rally that lifted the Braves to a 4-2 victory.
Tanner played parts of three seasons with Milwaukee. He also spent time with the Chicago Cubs (1957-58), Cleveland Indians (1959-60) and California Angels (1961-62). In his eight-year playing career, he hit .261 with 21 homers and 105 RBI.
When he signed with the Braves out of Shenango High School in the late 1940s, Tanner said, team officials marked his birth year as 1929 to make the outfield prospect appear to be one year younger.
The falsity became fact. The back of his Topps baseball card lists 1929 as his birth year, as have countless reference sites from past Pirates media guides to Baseball Almanac, a baseball encyclopedia website.
"I was born in 1928," he told the Tribune-Review in 2009. "They did that with every one of their players. But they're not the only team. I didn't do it. They did it."
It wasn't until Tanner went into managing that he made his mark. In 19 seasons, he had a .495 winning percentage (1,352-1,381) and earned a World Series ring.
"He was the best manager I ever had," said former Pirates outfielder Lee Lacy, who played for four major league teams over 16 years.
Tanner managed eight years in the minors before being hired in 1970 by the Chicago White Sox. The team finished second in the American League West Division in 1972, and he was named manager of the year. Three years later, he was fired after a fifth-place finish.
Tanner managed the Oakland A's in 1976, then was traded to the Pirates for Manny Sanguillen and $100,000.
"The first thing Chuck did was bring me back to Pittsburgh," Sanguillen recalled with a chuckle. "It was my dream to finish my career with the Pirates."
In each of the first two years under Tanner, the Pirates finished second in the rugged National League East. In 1979, they won 98 games, held off the Montreal Expos and captured the division by two games.
After sweeping Cincinnati to claim the NL pennant, the Pirates faced the Orioles in the World Series.
"We were down three games to one, but Chuck came in and said, 'OK, let's get 'em tomorrow. We can get 'em. We can do it,' " Easler recalled.
On the morning of Game 5, Tanner's mother died. Rather than go back to New Castle, he remained with the team, saying his mother would have wanted him to do his job.
The Pirates won that night, then took the next two games to win their fifth World Series.
"Chuck was a fierce competitor who knew how to get his players' attention and maximum effort," Pirates President Frank Coonelly said. "As a result, Chuck earned the respect and admiration of his players."
Back-to-back last-place finishes in 1984 and '85 ended Tanner's tenure in Pittsburgh.
His final year coincided with the Pittsburgh drug trials that involved several of his players.
Tanner landed in Atlanta in the following season, but the Braves struggled to last-place finishes in the NL West in 1986 and '87. When the team started the 1988 season 12-27, Tanner was fired for the third and final time. He had offers over the years to return to managing but never accepted.
"I hated to see him go to Atlanta," former Pirates third baseman Bill Madlock said. "He was such a huge part of the city of Pittsburgh. Chuck meant so much to the Pirates organization."
From 1992-2002, Tanner worked as a special assistant to the general manager in Milwaukee. He also scouted for five years for the Cleveland Indians. In 2008, the Pirates hired him as a senior adviser to the general manager, a job he held until his death.
"Chuck spent his life serving baseball in a variety of roles," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "I am particularly glad that in recent years he returned to the Pirates, the club with which he will be forever linked."
Until last year, when illness began to restrict him to bed rest, Tanner was a frequent visitor to PNC Park during the season. He attended spring training workouts in Bradenton, Fla., where he found time to talk with younger players.
Even later in life, he was a father figure for the Pirates family.
The Pirates yesterday announced the creation of the Chuck Tanner "We Are Family" Fund. It will present an annual award to the Pirates' minor league staffer who best exemplifies his optimism, enthusiasm and work ethic.Visitation will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in Cunningham Funeral Home, 2429 Wilmington Road, New Castle. The funeral service will not be open to the public.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, a contribution be made to the "We Are Family" Fund in care of Pirates Charities, 115 Federal St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
Reaction To Tanner's Death
Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm (via Twitter): "We lost an unbelievable man today in Chuck Tanner he will be missed by all. I loved every conversation I was able to have with him. RIP"
Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda (via Twitter): "Rest in Peace Chuck Tanner. I loved you like a brother. You taught me a lot about managing, and I always appreciated it."
Former Pirates relief pitcher Grant Jackson: "He did outstanding job as far as handling us, keeping us as a team and keeping us as a group, as the name goes, 'We are Family.' He will always be in my mind."
Former Pirates relief pitcher Kent Tekulve: "Everyone else said, 'Oh, he's too skinny. Don't pitch him too much.' But he said just the opposite (about me). He said he gets better the more he pitches. ... He didn't tell me what to do. He trusted me to do it."
Bruce Tanner, Chuck Tanner's son: "He will forever be remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather to his family and a good friend to every life he touched."
Former Pirates infielder Phil Garner (pictured with Tanner at right): "You knew that if you were on the team, you were there because Chuck wanted you there. So there was a sense of, 'I don't want to disappoint Chuck.' We talk about him being a great motivator, and he was because he was always positive and upbeat. But he never had to kick you in the butt to get you to do something. You wanted to do it for him."
Former Pirates third baseman Bill Madlock: "Chuck was always the same. I saw him years later, at fantasy camps and the All-Star Game, and he hadn't changed. He was still the same, happy-go-lucky guy."
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Ex-Pirates remember Chuck Tanner as a father figure
By Jerry DiPaola, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Mike Easler was slumping at the plate, another three or four strikeouts from a trip to the minors.Five years later, Lee Lacy was little more than a utility man dreaming of becoming an everyday major league player.
In both cases, Chuck Tanner stepped in, infused confidence in the players and helped change the course of their careers.
Easler helped the Pirates win the 1979 World Series and hit .338 a year later. Lacy became one of the best hitters in the National League in 1984.
When Tanner died Friday in New Castle at age 82, Easler and Lacy were among those who wiped away tears to celebrate the life of the last Pirates manager to win a championship.
"He was one of the great guys of all-time," said Jim Leyland, who followed Tanner as Pirates manager in 1986.
Easler broke out of his slump briefly in 1979, hitting a pinch-hit home run against Mets pitcher Skip Lockwood and adding another a week later against hard-throwing Craig Swan.
"Chuck said to me, 'You are the Hit Man,' " Easler said. "When Chuck said that, I was like, 'Thank you, Lord,' because I knew he believed in me."
Lacy credits Tanner with making him one of the most marketable players in baseball in the 1980s.
"He gave me my first opportunity to be a regular player," Lacy said by telephone from Los Angeles, where he works with young people on behalf of the Dodgers. "He enabled me to further my career, which was always a big dream of mine. Chuck enabled me to be an everyday player. Chuck said I had all the tools."
Lacy, who joined the Pirates in 1979 at age 31, was largely a part-time player until Tanner made him a regular outfielder for the Pirates. He ended up finishing second in the National League behind Tony Gwynn with a .321 batting average in 1984. During the ensuing offseason, Lacy signed a four-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
"If it wasn't for Chuck Tanner, I would never, ever have had that opportunity," Lacy said.
Lacy called Tanner "a father figure, especially for me."
"If I had a problem, I could always come to him and talk to him about any personal problems that were going on in my life," Lacy said. "Chuck was way before his time. He was a players' manager. Nowadays, you have to be a players' manager to manage. His concern was always about his players."
Former Pirates relief pitcher Grant Jackson called Tanner "one of the finest men I ever met, on the field and off the field."
"I played for quite a few great managers — Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch — then came Chuck Tanner," Jackson said. "I learned lot from him, not just from how to play a game but how to treat people."
Former Pirates pitcher Steve Blass said Tanner never wasted a moment of his life.
"When I think of Chuck, I think of the gift of time and how Chuck has used the gift of time so wonderfully," Blass said. "We only have so much. He has given his time on so many occasions. I don't know anybody who used his gift of time any better than Chuck Tanner has."
Leyland said he and Tanner became best friends when both were scouts for different teams early last decade. He visited Tanner a month ago at a New Castle hospital.
"He was sharp as a tack," Leyland said. "But he was weak, and he was tired. You could tell he had had enough.
"This is a sad one. But he wouldn't want us sitting around talking about it. This is a celebration of life, not mourning (a death). He wouldn't want people moping around. This is a life that should be celebrated."
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Tanner's way was caring, yet stern
By Rob Biertempfel, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Saturday, February 12, 2011
By being simultaneously old school and ahead of the curve, Chuck Tanner created the template for the modern major league manager."He was ahead of his time, as far as relating to players," former Pirates outfielder Lee Lacy said of Tanner, who died Friday at age 82. "He really was a players' manager."
Yet Tanner also set boundaries.
"He loved the players. He loved the game," said Phil Garner, another member of Tanner's 1979 World Series champs. "But Chuck also understood human nature. If something wasn't good for the team, he would stop it. He wasn't afraid to grab you by the neck, either."
When Garner was hired to manage the Milwaukee Brewers in 1992, the first thing he did was call Tanner for advice. From his playing days, "Scrap Iron" knew Tanner could be tough when necessary.
One of Tanner's rules was rookies don't criticize veterans. Rookie pitcher Don Robinson learned that lesson after jawing at Bill Robinson on the team bus in 1978.
"Chuck physically pushed Donnie down in the seat and said, 'Don't you ever get on a veteran again,' " Garner said. "You wouldn't see a manager do that today. It just wouldn't happen."
Tanner managed four teams over 19 seasons in the majors. He worked nine years in Pittsburgh and went 711-685.
Those who mourn him will vividly recall his ever-present smile and boundless optimism. Lacy remembers the sound of two clapping hands as Tanner confidently stalked the dugout after the Pirates fell behind 3-1 in the Series against the Baltimore Orioles.
"His message to the team was that we were still in this thing until we were mathematically eliminated," Lacy said. "We would go out and play each and every game as if we were top and not behind."
We know how that turned out.
Baseball was still in its tough love era when Tanner got his first skipper's gig in 1970 with the Chicago White Sox. Many managers were buddy-buddy with their teams' stars and ignored the other guys on the roster.
"But with Chuck, if you were on his team, you were his guy," Garner said. "It didn't matter if you were the 25th guy or the first guy, he loved you the same. And you felt that.
"I always felt like I was Chuck's favorite guy. But I bet if you talk to the other players, they'll tell you the same thing."
I did. The players responded just like Garner said they would.
"I played for a lot of great managers," said four-time hitting champ and three-time All-Star Bill Madlock. "(Sparky) Anderson. (Tommy) Lasorda. Billy Martin. Whitey Herzog. But Chuck was the best all-around manager and person I ever played for."
His peers felt that way, too.
"He was a model manager — one of the guys everybody respected," Jim Leyland said. "All the young managers had respect for him. He made you feel you were the best manager who ever managed."
Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown smiled as he talked about watching Tanner interact with the fans.
"Off the field, nobody that I can think of in my lifetime made me feel better about myself than Chuck Tanner did," Brown said. "And he did that with everybody. After a conversation with Chuck, you'd feel better about yourself. There was a glow about Chuck Tanner, almost literally."
Garner said Tanner "was ageless in his ability to touch players." Even well into his 60s and 70s, Tanner connected with 20-somethings.
"Chuck was a good friend of mine," Pirates second baseman Neil Walker said.
Walker grew up Pine, and being just 25 years old, he is too young to remember Tanner as manager during one of the Pirates' golden eras. But Walker understands what Tanner meant to the team and the city.
"To me, personally, he was always a big fan," Walker said. "He always pushed for me. He was somebody I looked up to. When he talked, I listened. He was a great person. He was very dear to me and my family."
Would the Pirates be a different franchise — their legacy perhaps not quite as glittery — had Tanner not come to town? Walker pondered the question for only a moment.
"Yes, I think so," Walker said. "The Pirates were fortunate to have him as part of the organization."
As was all of baseball.
Read more: Analysis: Tanner's way was caring, yet stern - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_722599.html#ixzz1Dki2gZCC
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