When I was with the Orioles, we were tied with the Red Sox one year on the last day of the season and we were playing for second-place money. My father and I spent the majority of it eating in the machine room on the portch. Weaver had history with Haller; years earlier, hed publicly said Haller shouldnt be allowed to call Tigers games because his brother, Tom, was their backup catcher. Funny, they don't remember that once in a while I got a hit. 16, 2003Remember Cust, the left-handed slugger who had a productive four-year run with Oakland in the late 2000s? But I learned how to handle a good staff with Baltimore and ended up being the everyday catcher for 10 years. Dempsey's dad was a Vaudeville actor and his mother was a Broadway star. He did this a few more times in his career, once in '82 at Milwaukee with a Robin Yount jersey on, pretending to be Yount hitting a homer. Dempsey joined the Air National Guard in 1969, which allowed him to continue playing for much of the summer and he played well back in the Midwest League, hitting .364 in 151 at-bats. Nfl Colts. Basketball Players. Hes had that singular focus since he was a youngster growing up in California and starring in local Little and Pony Leagues. 3.4K views, 33 likes, 5 loves, 3 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Here's to the Night: Rick Dempsey has officially been dethroned as the king of the rain delay. We could have sold it, split the money and been very happy., Rick Dempsey while with the Los Angeles Dodgers.(Getty). The hard way. At Bakersfield. Knowledgeable. The Orioles potential superstar battery got off to a great start in their first spring pairing. I knew at that point they just wanted me to come in and quit so they didnt have to pay me but I refused to do that. Included in that group are Jeff Suppan, Sean Gilmartin and Ryon Healy. He was a yeller and a screamer and he beat the fundamentals of the game into you. That was that.. "Yeah, sure you did!". Nov 18, 2011 73 Dislike Share Save TheHalocodplayer 8 subscribers This montage was shown during a Boston Red Sox rain delay back in 1983. That was one of the saddest days for me ever. Then, after a while, I pretty much came to terms with the fact that were developing here. This is what were going to do, I told him. Source: Okrent (1985), Nine Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game, p. 246. Red Sox rain delay montage with Rick Dempsey - YouTube Explore. Which is why such a swing of emotions unfolded when Indians center fielder Brad Komminsk seemed to take a home run away from Ripken Jr. on this September night at Memorial Stadium, only to have his momentum carry him over the center-field wall. It started to rain and everyone left the field and when they covered it up, there was one baseball on the tarp. Dave Skaggs #8 gets a hand from Eddie Murray #33 and Rick Dempsey #24 during the World Series at Three Rivers Stadium on October 1979 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this conversation. He did get a pair of September callups but they were mere cameos. I sat there crying asking myself is this what its come to? Just e-mail your list of the 12 greatest L.A. Dodgers, ranked in order, to houston.mitchell@latimes.com. His sense of humor during his playing career was renowned, and he was famous for his "rain delay theatre" performances, in which he emerged from the dugout in stockinged feet onto the tarpaulin covering the infield during a rain delay and pantomimed hitting an inside-the-park home run, climaxed by his sliding into home plate on his belly on the wet tarp, all to the raucous delight of the soggy fans. Verified account Protected Tweets @; Suggested users The Rise of Rain Delay Shenanigans - Slate Magazine People who heard him say he was great. But as she often did, Morganna stole the show. 31 - RickDempsey, Friday Bird Droppings: Where Adley and Grayson put on a show. Not available on OpenTable Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable reservation network. The next year I went to Wisconsin Rapids and didnt hardly play at all. Now that is entertainment! I went out to home plate and pointed to the stands and everyone started to cheer, as if I had already hit the home run. Baseball Players. So, he left and 40 minutes later he came back and said you made the club. Football League. [7] He was a durable player, only going on the disabled list twice in his career. While playing for the Dodgers in 1990, he became involved in a brawl with Phillies' center fielder Lenny Dykstra, who took exception to Dempsey's fraternization with the home plate umpire. In 1995, Dempsey worked as a field reporter for ABC's coverage of the All-Star Game from Texas.'. 2. 1. They wanted me to stay but they said I wasnt going to play. The ones that provided levity and laughs, and for those reasons, went on to live forever. Handled pitchers well, loved to slide on wet tarps during rain delays. Loved it! You could tell he was in his element. Worked three years in Philly at Comcast covering the Phillies minor leagues and doing weekly TV spots. Rick McCormick About Work No workplaces to show College Studied at California State University, Fullerton Class of 1985 High school Went to Corona del Mar High School Photos See all photos Others Named Rick McCormick See more Others With a Similar Name Trinity Mccormick Rusty McCormick Anastasia McCormick Angel Drop Sarah McCormick Lisa McCormick Uploaded: 25 Jul, 2010. Nfl Football Players. He managed at Bakersfield in the Class-A California League to a 10th-place finish in 1993 before guiding Albuquerque of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League to a title in 1994 and a fifth-place finish in 1995. Claire called me a few years ago and asked me if I wanted to do a talk with him at the Oakmont Country Club, Dempsey said. Dec 11, 2006 17,921. Shortly after completing the lone no-hitter of his career in an 8-0 win over the As, Palmer was accused of poor baserunning by Judge Robinson, despite the fact that hed finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI as well. \"I got tired of the same old stuff.\"About 45 minutes after the game was to have started, Dempsey ran onto the tarp and slid across the infield. The long-time Baltimore catcher, however, proved over the course of his career, which encompassed parts of four decades, that he was more than one of baseball's most memorable characters. The crowd gave Dempsey a standing ovation. Whenever I think of Dempsey as a player, two memories come to mind: his rain delay routine and his 1983 World Series MVP. Rick Dempsey was a catcher for 24 MLB seasons and MVP of the 1983 World Series in which the Orioles beat the Phillies. He played both ends of a doubleheader the next day. The mark Rick Dempsey left was to be forever tied in with rain delay theatrics as he basically invented the genre (go to the 4:42 mark ): If YouTube had existed at the time it would have. These guys here are just babies. Last call: Rick Dempsey's rain delay extravaganza Articles by Rick Dempsey's Profile | The Post Game Journalist | Muck Rack Pinterest. To Dempsey, baseball, and Bakersfields place in it, is not a humorous matter. $269.99. From that point on, every time it got gray or cloudy everywhere we went, one of the team officials would call me up and say, "Can you do your pantomime of Babe Ruth?" Baltimore became the first visiting team to win Games 3, 4 and 5 since 1961, when the New York Yankees did so vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field. After his playing career ended, Dempsey became a minor league manager in the Los Angeles Dodgers organisation, winning the 1994 Pacific Coast League championship with the Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes. Boog, Brooks, and Frank, Mid 1960's Orioles | Orioles baseball, Famous The Orioles were 1-23 (yes, you read that right) at the time, having returned home to Fantastic Fan Night at Memorial Stadium after what was statistically the worst start in baseball history. The coaches thought I might run a four-minute mile by the time I was a senior but I said no, I wanted to be a right fielder when I was a junior.. Babe Ruth used to be with the Red Sox. He has established a kangaroo court that levies fines on players for unacceptable actions. He was the first of four players from Crespi Carmelite to get drafted and is one of nine from the school to reach the Major Leagues. Which leads to this piece on Rick Dempsey's rain-delay entertainment: Theyre just learning.. Wayne Bryant. He played under Orioles manager Earl Weaver starting in 1967. Now Dempsey as an "O's Extra" announcer? Your email address will not be published. Martin made quite the impression on the 19-year-old catcher, one that remains as vivid for Dempsey as it was 54 years ago. New York came calling, Dempsey said. 5. Jack Cust goes swimmingAug. Spent eight years at MLB.com, more than half of that as the Mets beat writer. Then, in the late 1980s, he moved over to play near his familys home in Agoura Hills, becoming a lovable and laughable Dodger Stuntman. He helped the young pitchers, kept the clubhouse loose and won games by driving in a run once in a while. Rick Dempsey: What Inspired His Rain-Delay Theatrics. But whatever, he's Rick Dempsey. When I was a kid, 'This Week in Baseball' hosted by Mel Allen would occasionally. The son of two former vaudevillians, he had a knack for performance, and was particularly renowned for his Baseball Soliloquy in Pantomime. It was a comic turn hed occasionally perform during rain delays, stuffing his uniform with padding and prancing around a soggy tarpaulin performing exaggerated parodies of hitters, pitchers, umpires. Before disappearing into the dugout, Lowenstein reassured them hed be OK by hoisting his torso and both arms airborne in sudden, triumphant fashion. The new spot is named after Orioles fan favorite and 1983 World Series MVP, Rick Dempsey. One of baseball's great characters and the son of vaudevillians, Rick Dempsey was fond of stuffing towels under his jersey and doing an impression of Babe Ruth during rain delays. They quarreled over how to pitch to batters and over virtually any other subject. But Sparky never did it. He has been teaming with Jim Hunter and Tom Davis during this time hosting the "O's Xtra" pre- and post-game shows on MASN 30 minutes before and immediately after each game. I said, "No. [citation needed]. Whenever I think of Dempsey as a player, two memories come to mind: his rain delay routine and his 1983 World Series MVP. "Players Swap Memories of Yankees-Orioles 10-Player Trade", "Rick Dempsey Looks Back on his 24 Seasons as a Big League Catcher", 1979 American League Championship Series at Baseball Reference, Rick Dempsey post-season batting statistics, "Rick Dempsey: His Career Survives Fires of Combat", "You're Looking at One for the Ages Here", Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rick_Dempsey&oldid=1132443572, Florida Instructional League Twins players, American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela, World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, September 23,1969,for theMinnesota Twins, September 27,1992,for theBaltimore Orioles, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 8 January 2023, at 22:38. His buddy Munson would die in a plane crash on Aug. 2, 1979. The Hall of Fame pitcher played all of his 19 years in the majors with the Baltimore Orioles, winning three World Series. Dave Duncan [the starting catcher] got hot and started playing well, so they stuck with him. Rick Dempsey Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac Rick Dempsey Stats Rick Dempsey was born on Tuesday, September 13, 1949, in Fayetteville, Tennessee. You know what I'm going to do? When we got back to Baltimore, I was dropped off at a hotel on I-695 and went to the desk to get my key. Not only that, but the teams and Major League Baseball said they didn't want players running around on the tarp because somebody could get hurt and cost someone a lot of money. [6], For the next ten and a half seasons, Dempsey would remain as the Orioles' starting catcher. So, I went back out to the tarp and did Babe Ruth hitting the homer. I loved it at eight years old and told my mother I wanted to be a professional baseball player, Dempsey said. Rick Dempsey was a catcher for 24 MLB seasons and MVP of the 1983 World Series in which the Orioles beat the Phillies. Storm Davis, John Shelby, and series MVP Rick Dempsey would reach the 1988 World Series, Davis with the Oakland Athletics and Shelby and Dempsey with the Los Angeles Dodgers . Loved it! Major League Baseball Stadiums. It seemed to Dempsey that the team was usually leading when Dupree came in and trailing by the time he came out. The Comedic Stylings Of Rick Dempsey Published on 5/9/2007 by GC When Gary Thorne is the one embarrassed at your poor choice of words, something has gone horribly wrong. Dempsey was a darn good catcher too, mostly with the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. The clubhouse is right underneath the seating section, so it was deafening when people starting kicking their feet in unison and yelling my name. Can he keep it up? The end, however, was near. In a 24-year career, Dempsey played in 1,765 games, accumulating 1,093 hits in 4,692 at bats for a .233 career batting average along with 96 home runs and 471 runs batted in. Consider his "rain delay theater" a blend of both, and one of the more famous comedy bits in MLB history. ThePostGame - Wed, 19 Apr 2017 . What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? Weaver managed the Orioles from 1968-82 and 1985-86. [11][12] Dempsey posted a .385 batting average along with a .923 slugging percentage in the five-game series, and won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award, one of six catchers to have won the award. Jones antics in Detroit bring back memories of Baseball Soliloquy in Pantomime, http://www.youtube.com/v/13dUZTSf_lM&hl=en, Thanks to the Tigers Todd Jones, shown in the rain delay video above, this weeks Flashback Friday could only be about one thing: Rick Dempseys Baseball Soliloquy in Pantomime.. No wonder television wanted him. Autograph - Q&A Segment . Jones' antics in Detroit bring back memories of "Baseball Soliloquy in Pantomime", Thanks to the Tigers' Todd Jones, shown in the rain delay video above, this week's Flashback Friday could only be about one thing: Rick Dempsey's "Baseball Soliloquy in Pantomime.". Dempsey was, too, when he earned a late-season call-up to the Minnesota Twins at age 19. Even better than that were his rain delay antics. He was very outspoken and he told me just hustle and play hard for me every day and youll have nothing to worry about. We got to the World Series and I caught the last pitch and gave him the ball. In Baltimore it was hard to break the ice, Dempsey said. One punch. At 7 p.m., I was still sitting there. Covered a Mets-Astros doubleheader in 1987 and never looked back. This video of Hagy conducting chants from the top of the home dugout, while more than 50,000 fans chanted along with him, speaks to the cult hero appeal he held. But Dempsey is also remembered as the man who turned rain delays into interpretive theater. He was hooked on baseball and had been so since an early when he began listening to Vin Scully on Dodger broadcasts as an 8-year-old. It ended when the second baseman and right fielder pulled up short on a fly ball between them. There was a chopper to the mound and he was on third and Im thinking I cant block this guy. People remember those gags during the rain delays, Dempsey says, toweling off in his office after catching in the bullpen. I went to Fred Claires office. Dempsey moved behind the plate for his senior season and hit a team-leading .466 to earn All-Camino Real League honors. He eventually came out and I said Im sorry Mr. Claire, I never give up on anything, dont make me do it now. Dempsey, a catcher . More from Best Of News - Page 2182 - CBS News We didn't know if we were going to play the game or not. If you ever saw it, youd never forget it. Gambling problem? Some day, Dempsey hopes, they might say the same thing about him as a manager. Duration: 35s. With the worst record in professional baseball. He had the best record in the league at throwing out base stealers, and had mastered the rest of a catchers defensive repertory as well. His teammates and members of the opposing team would stand in the dugouts and applaud with the fans, especially when Dempsey concluded his routine with a mammoth belly-flop slide into home plate on the infield tarp, his momentum carrying him for yards, a rooster tail of rainwater behind him.