As the calendar turns to March, it's more than just Spring Training and warmer weather—it's also National Reading Month. At KinersKorner.com, we're took a deep dive into our treasure trove of past interviews with authors and former Mets to celebrate. In this edition of the Mets book club, we shine the spotlight on "Rage: The Legend of 'Baseball Bill' Denehy," co-authored by Bill Denehy and Peter Golenbock, released on April 8, 2014.
Bill Denehy, the man whose 1967 Topps rookie card is a collector's gem, signed with the New York Mets straight out of high school for a $20,000 bonus. His career took off with the Auburn Mets in 1965, leading the league in wins. But as fate would have it, his trajectory intersected with emotional turmoil, personal injury, and addiction—a narrative he courageously unfolds in his candid memoir, "Rage."
In an interview I had with him when the book was released, Denehy shared the powerful opening lines of his book: "I'm blind, and my beloved baseball has made me this way." This declaration traces back to a fateful night in 1967 when he faced the San Francisco Giants and Juan Marichal with a newfound, performance-enhancing substance. Describing the moment, Denehy recalls, "Back in 1967, I had an 0-4 record, and I was pitching on a Wednesday night against the San Francisco Giants and Juan Marichal." The challenge was monumental, facing off against a formidable Giants team led by the legendary Juan Marichal. Before the game, Yogi Berra, who at the time was part of the Mets coaching staff, approached Denehy with a bit of advice: "Yogi was one of our coaches, he came up to me, he handed me my warm-up ball, and he said, okay, go out there and pitch us a shutout and gain us a tie. We didn't expect to score against Marichal that night."
"As I was leaving the locker room," Bill recounted, "one of my teammates, Don Cardwell, came up to me and he said, here, take this little pill. Actually, it was a pretty good-sized pill. He said, also, "add three feet to your fastball."
In the innocence of 1960s baseball, drug education was not on the radar, and Denehy, a 21-year-old pitcher, saw no reason to question Cardwell's gesture. "I was 21 years old, very naive," Bill admitted, "we didn't have any kind of drug education back then. There was no reason to believe that Don Cardwell, who was a tremendous competitor and a fabulous teammate, would be giving me anything that would be disastrous to me, so I took it."
As the narrative unfolded, Bill vividly described the tangible effects of the mysterious pill. "And as I started walking down the tunnel into the bullpen underneath the stadium," he recounted, "I could feel right away I was getting a little heebie-jeebies. My adrenaline was really flowing hard, and the first couple of tosses warming up, boy, I knew that I had a special extra fastball that night." That game also included Denehy's first time facing Willie Mays. Recalling this memorable encounter, Denehy shared, "I should start off by saying the first time I faced Willie Mays, the first pitch I threw him, Jerry Grote, who tended to be a kind of gruff catcher, nice guy off the field, but a pretty gruff catcher on the field, gave me a sign to knock him down, and we knocked Willie down the first pitch I ever faced him, then struck him out." The intensity continued as Denehy faced Mays again. "The second time up, I struck him out again, and when I struck him out that second time, I felt this almost like a stabbing feeling in the back part of my shoulder, and I walked right off the mound," he recounted. Concerns about his arm's condition led to a series of x-rays, which, despite not revealing significant structural damage, prompted his placement on the disabled list.
The turning point came in a game against the Atlanta Braves, where the strain on his arm intensified. Despite a successful outing, Denehy confessed, "I hurt my arm... I went back in September and saw Dr. Peter Lamont, and he gave me the first of my cortisone shots, and he actually gave me two that day."
This marked the beginning of a staggering journey with cortisone injections. Denehy recounts, "From that first two shots I got with Dr. Lamont in New York, I ended up with 57 shots in 26 months." The toll on his body was immense, leading him down a path of addiction and eventual blindness.
Reflecting on those desperate times, Denehy shed light on the lack of information and choices he had: "You never did that back then. You trusted your team physician. There was no second opinions. There was nothing... They never gave me the option of having a choice in it."
He bared the emotional struggles that followed, touching on the isolation and frustration he experienced: "It was too bad they didn't send a voodoo doctor down with me." This desperation led to a series of events, including a procedure where dye was injected into his shoulder, revealing a tear that had gone unnoticed.
Transitioning from the serious challenges faced by Bill Denehy in his baseball career, the book does share some light moments, including one involving Tug McGraw, renowned for his wit, as well as Kevin Collins, Hank McGraw, and Terry Christensen. Bill shares a humorous recounting of the notorious "Jaws in the Pool" prank. "So as you might have noticed, all the guys that you mentioned were Irish. We were kind of called the Irish Mafia because we all hung around together and kind of all got in trouble together," Embarking on a Saturday night escapade without a curfew, our mischievous quartet, famously dubbed the Irish Mafia for our shared Irish roots and penchant for trouble, set the stage for a legendary prank. Cruising through Fort Lauderdale, indulging in the delights of various establishments well into the wee hours, our journey took an unexpected turn when Tug spotted a marina sign. Curiosity piqued, Tug suggested a detour. Pulling into the marina, we discovered a sizable, lifeless shark hanging by its tail, a catch from some earlier expedition. Tug, ever the instigator, inquired about its fate. Learning it would be bait for a future fishing trip, he boldly asked, "Can we have it?" Persuading the owner with tales of our fishing aficionados and Mets affiliation, we secured the shark, awkwardly protruding from our trunk, and journeyed back to Homestead."
"Our prank's unsuspecting target? Joe McDonald, the early-rising head of our minor leagues and a dedicated morning swimmer. Seeking to inject some amusement into Joe's routine, we strategically placed the lifeguard stand in the pool's deep end, almost submerged. Atop this aquatic perch, we positioned the shark, envisioning Joe's surprise encounter with "jaws" upon his morning dive.
The twist in our plan unfolded when an unwitting senior citizens' bus, sharing our penchant for early swims, encountered our creation. Their startled reactions added an unexpected layer to our prank. Upon arriving at the ballpark, Joe, ever perceptive, gathered us and, with a knowing gaze, declared, "I know that you guys did this. I know you did it."
Despite Joe's insistence, we maintained our innocence, vehemently denying any knowledge of a shark in the pool. Threats of exhaustive running were met with steadfast denial. As Bill Denehy wryly notes, "We never did, but, um, we really enjoyed what he called putting that shark in a pool." The lack of YouTube in those days spared us from the viral fame that would undoubtedly accompany such antics today. The tale of "Jaws in the Pool" remains a testament to the Irish Mafia's camaraderie and penchant for unforgettable escapades.
We also delved into the core message of Denehy's memoir—beyond the triumphs and tribulations of his baseball career. It unearthed a deeply personal struggle with addiction and the consequences it wrought on his life. Denehy emphasized the link between his addiction and the unrelenting physical pain he endured. He revealed, "I became addicted to painkillers... with all the cortisone shots I got... that caused the fragility of my eyes and caused me to go blind."
His narrative illuminated the broader issue of drug addiction in sports, emphasizing the importance of proper medical care and decision-making. Dennehy issued a stark warning: "If you're hurt, don't play too often... It's only the start of what could be a horrendous spiral into drugs and addiction."
In the concluding moments of the interview, Denehy touched upon the broader societal impact of addiction, sharing insights gained from his journey through recovery: "The main thing is, if you're hurt, if you're hurt, do not play too often... Don't do it."
As the interview unfolded, Bill Denehy's narrative served as a poignant reminder of the multifaceted challenges athletes face—both on and off the field. His memoir, "Rage: The Legend of Baseball Bill Denehy," invites
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