OF ALL THINGS

Long-time Richmond Braves’ trainer Sam Ayoub celebrated his 89th birthday last Friday (Nov. 10). Among the many calling to wish him well was Dusty Baker, who played for the local AAA franchise (1970-71) en route to becoming a guaranteed Hall of Fame inductee. 

 He recently resigned as manager of the Houston Astros after taking them to three straight World Series … winning it all in 2022. Most accounts followed the party line, saying Baker, 74. retired ... but he has told anyone who asks that isn’t necessarily so. 

 So why did the former outfielder who played for Atlanta and the LA Dodgers for most of his 19 major-league seasons leave the Astros? For the record ... some of his reasons included fan behavior and ongoing negative feedback from social media. 

 It says here he walked away because of front-office meddling with day-to-day operations … which we’re told has become modus operandi throughout MLB. It’s no secret Baker clashed with Astros’ general managers, past and present, over personnel decisions. Also, here was one of the game’s icons being told how to make out his lineup by some bean-counting, analytics-driven, know-it-all suit. It was more than any self-respecting man like Baker, three-times manager of the year and only skipper to take five different teams to divisional titles, could take.

 “It’s going on everywhere now … and has been for a while … a changing of the guard,” he told us shortly after Houston beat Philadelphia for the championship two years ago. 

 To make matters worse, he was “rewarded” by hands-on franchise owner Jim Crane with another one-year contract. Baker said all the right things at the time … but he had to be steaming. 

 Ayoub, by the way, lives in a retirement home in Chesterfield County and his mind remains as sharp as ever. You should hear him reminisce about the old days … like the time Atlanta signed sore-armed pitcher Luis Tiant and sent him to Richmond in 1971.

 The right-hander apparently was nearing the end of what had been a nice but unremarkable career. Tiant was here a month when the parent club decided to release him despite Ayoub’s suggestion to wait a bit longer. “I begged them: ‘Give me two more weeks,’” he said. “I knew [Tiant] still had a lot left in him.” 

Signed by the Red Sox, Tiant, who will be 83 next week (Nov. 23), spent eight seasons in Boston where he became a fan favorite and later was inducted into the team’s hall of fame. In all he played 19 years in the major leagues, 12 after being sent to Richmond under the care and feeding of Ayoub.

 DESPERATE IN the face of a 3-9-1 start that included a loss to the woeful San Jose Sharks, the Edmonton Oilers, consensus preseason choice to win the Stanley Cup, fired coach Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with … AHL Hartford’s Kris Knoblauch whose only NHL previous experience was a handful of games during the COVID 19 epidemic. 

 Why Knoblauch, who was twice passed over by the parent New York Rangers? Simple, really. He coached Oilers’ star Connor McDavid in junior hockey, and management apparently figured it had tried everything else to win a championship why not try this before McDavid bolts for another team in search of a Stanley Cup? 

 Knoblauch is the fifth coach since McDavid was drafted No.1 overall in 2015 … and his hire was met with, shall we say … ho-hum response in Western Canada. He arrived with a not-well-publicized reputation for allowing his players to make the same mistakes over and over. 

 In other words, Knoblauch, 45, said to be a nice guy, isn’t much of a disciplinarian. That helps to explain why Edmonton also brought in former Oiler defenseman Paul Coffey, said to be a no-nonsense type, to be assistant coach. 

 ANOTHER MEMBER of the “Anti-Bill Belichick Fan Club” surfaced with a vengeance recently when Mary Frances Koslowski called the embattled New England Patriots’ coach “rude” and “a cheater” as well as “mean” in a Boston Globe article. “I hope he never wins another game,” she said. 

To which husband (since 1993) Marv Levy said, “We’re going to have Fran run some extra wind sprints.” No question he wasn’t pleased by her fiery remarks … even if, deep down, the former William & Mary, Kansas City Chiefs, Montreal Alouettes and Buffalo Bills coach probably agreed.

 Levy, 98, living in Chicago and still getting around (with the help of a walker), is best known for taking the Bills to a record-four straight Super Bowls … and losing all of them. Surely you remember – or at the very least heard of – Scott Norwood’s induction into the Hall of Shame when the kicking specialist from James Madison U., was wide right with a field goal that gave the New York Giants the 1993 championship they didn’t deserve. 

 The Patriots are 2-8 and might not win another game for Belichick, who has won eight Super Bowls but reportedly is on his way out in New England. The San Diego Chargers or your Washington Commanders are said to be his likely new employers … that is, if he decides he’s had enough (which isn’t likely). 

 Levy retired when he was 72 and, at the time, Belichick was quoted as saying he thought “Marvelous” Marv stayed around too long. “I’m not going to be coaching into my 70s,” said Belichick, who is now 71 and previously admitted he spoke out of turn and owed Levy an apology. 

 FINALLY … If you remain unconvinced college athletics aren’t out of whack, check how much Texas A&M will pay Jimbo Fisher NOT to coach football anymore … $77,000,000. Correct: Seventy seven  MILLION. That’s more than absurd. It’s downright stupid, ridiculous, dumb, criminal, etc. Pick one … or all of the above. 

 Until next time ...