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In the 1950s, Leo Durocher and his wife Laraine Day hosted a 15-minute Show when he managed the New York Giants interviewing other players, managers, and even the commissioner of baseball.
Leo was always a controversial player and manager. You can take a deeper dive into his career and listen to other interviews, games he played in and highlights on This Day In Baseball:
LEo's Page - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/leo-durocher-page/
• This Day In Baseball - Learn more about the players, teams and seasons
Classic Broadcasts are old-time broadcasts that have been put together from various sources. Many are found on the Internet Archives in a raw form.
If you wish to take a deeper dive, that includes:
Scorecards, Rosters, Newspaper Clippings. All members can jump over to : www.vintagebaseballreflections.com and join the membership platform
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0:00
folks welcome to vintage baseball
0:02
Reflections I am Tom the baseball
0:04
Nostalgia guy bringing you these
0:06
treasured pieces do you miss the good
0:09
old days of listening to baseball
0:10
through radios it was a classic Pastime
0:13
that stood for decades and shaped how we
0:16
cherish baseball in our heroes these
0:19
stories are from a moment in time that
0:21
were heard by fans just like you they
0:24
are uncut unfiltered simply here for you
0:28
to enjoy so I just want you to enjoy
0:30
this reflection on baseball history
0:37
from day to the Rocher to yoasted double
0:40
play with the Rocher and day
0:43
with their guest edios here's another
0:46
chapter of double play with the Rocher
0:48
and day
0:49
[Music]
0:52
welcome to another visit with baseball's
0:55
most exciting and controversial couple
0:57
Lorraine day and Leo de Rocher with
0:59
their guest for today Mr Eddie Yost
1:01
right now let's listen to Leo and his
1:03
guest Eddie Yost of the American League
1:05
there seems to be a slight difference of
1:07
opinion over the qualities of the two
1:09
leagues you know as well as I do Eddie
1:11
that we've got a better League than the
1:13
American League that's all every man to
1:15
his own opinion but I know we don't have
1:17
too many 220 hitters
1:22
a little bit about the league
1:24
oh there you are you see how much you
1:27
pay his attention to me too
1:30
well well poor Leo just can't seem to
1:33
win an argument with a guest who
1:34
remembers his old 220 batting average
1:37
but let's start batting a fountain with
1:39
this message
1:44
and now back to double play with
1:46
durocher and day friends I'd like
1:52
double play tonight before we get into
1:55
this first letter I want to ask you what
1:57
is the third baseman toughest play of
1:59
the uh well the Sizzler that's hit right
2:01
at him or The Swinging bump well no let
2:03
me tell you just a minute Eddie is the
2:06
leadoff batter you always hit eight now
2:09
let any answer there we go again at
2:10
eighth business 220. you're the one who
2:13
hit eight not I go ahead all right well
2:15
I believe it's the uh swinging front and
2:18
also when the runner is on first and
2:20
second and the funk plays instead that's
2:23
the situation the fun play is coming up
2:25
nobody out you have a tough decision to
2:27
add to either go in and get the ball or
2:29
wait for the pitcher to come across and
2:31
make the play at third base all right
2:33
you're so smart go ahead what is a
2:35
swinging button well dear when you
2:37
played it was any time you hit the ball
2:39
but when Eddie Yost and anyone else say
2:41
this when they take their regular
2:42
swinging stance and Pops the balls all
2:45
right see reading those books again
2:49
third baseman like it is and all of our
2:51
wonderful guests well let's get to the
2:53
first question this is from Gerald Evans
2:55
Newport News Virginia and Gerald wants
2:57
to know he says out of the ballpark I
2:59
often hear fans yell to the batter bow
3:02
off the bad one this is what I hear too
3:04
when they used to put Daddy's thank you
3:07
well he says is it possible for a batter
3:09
to do this and if so why does he do it
3:12
why doesn't he just let the bad ones go
3:14
and get a base on gold well it's all
3:16
according to the type of energy is if
3:19
he's uh like Yogi Bear for example he
3:21
might go after those bad ones when he
3:23
has a couple strikes on him and follow
3:24
him off probably get a good pitch or he
3:27
might even hit a bad pitch
3:29
but fellas uh like stanky and myself
3:32
we've developed the skill of letting
3:34
those bad pitches go and having them
3:36
become balls rather than falling off and
3:39
having a strife and he's one of the best
3:41
in baseball at it I know but when stanky
3:43
played for me I know that uh stanky's
3:46
theory was that if you needed a run or
3:48
if he had to get on face uh he'd get up
3:51
to the plate and he then barely took two
3:53
strikes he'd stand there and he'd creep
3:55
up close to the plate and he crouched
3:57
down and if he ever got the pitcher
3:58
three and two uh invariably he would
4:01
wind up getting a walk because when the
4:03
pitcher just aimed the ball and fired
4:05
right down through the middle Eddie had
4:07
purposely
4:08
just pull the bat around and file it
4:10
down Third Base he didn't try to hit the
4:12
ball very deliberately pull it foul uh
4:14
until the pitcher finally threw him a
4:16
bad one until he could get a base on
4:17
ball what do you mean he would fall off
4:19
the good one that's right well uh it's
4:22
it's pretty hard to fall off the bat
4:24
ones uh some of your greatest hitters in
4:26
baseball were what is known as Eddie
4:28
will tell you fat ball hitters Yogi
4:30
Berry is one when Joe medrick was a
4:31
player they always said if you would
4:33
wait until you got a good one you'd hit
4:35
400. oh Magic hit 375 hitting the bad
4:38
ones and he may never hit a good one I
4:40
don't know I I like the color that
4:42
swings the bat he may uh he may have hit
4:43
220. yes I know I used to win till I got
4:46
the good ones and I was in the bench the
4:48
Umpire said that'll be all Eddie you
4:50
know um in the National League it seems
4:53
that uh all the clubs hate to go into
4:55
Brooklyn to play they say that not only
4:57
are you playing against the Brooklyn
4:59
team which is a pretty powerful Team
5:01
every man scares you to death when he
5:02
comes up to the plate but you're also
5:04
playing against it oh you ought to know
5:06
about this please I guess about thirty
5:09
thousand fans who are especially for
5:11
Brooklyn of course and I understand in
5:13
the American League that's all the teams
5:15
hate to come into the Yankee Stadium to
5:17
play now is this true well I personally
5:20
love to come to New York because uh this
5:22
is my home I live over in Queens but as
5:25
far as the rest of the team is concerned
5:28
I really can't say but I do know the
5:30
Yankees played good ball at home they do
5:32
very well and I maybe it's just
5:34
Cleveland and Boston that hates to come
5:36
into they don't do very well there why
5:39
is it do you think it's the same reason
5:40
that everybody well I think that
5:41
everybody
5:42
well just a minute who said we dreaded
5:45
to go into Brooklyn all the players on
5:47
your team oh well then they're keeping
5:49
himself we seem to do pretty good in
5:52
Brooklyn and I don't think anyone dreads
5:53
it I think the Yankee Stadium is such a
5:55
large Park and it's a pitcher's Paradise
5:57
there's a lot of room they let them hit
5:59
the ball in the Outfield and uh I think
6:02
the fellas who are pull hitters like
6:04
Eddie is a Deadpool hitter and uh yeah
6:07
yeah you must hit Right Down the Line
6:09
well that's baseball and you must hit
6:11
the ball down the line the stadium if
6:13
you hit it straight away while you're a
6:14
big easy out like you are on the Polo
6:16
Grounds there's so much space out there
6:17
well is there any part that you don't
6:19
like to play in it Washington is about
6:21
the only ballpark that I really don't
6:24
like playing in is because I am a full
6:27
hitter and in the fence out there is 408
6:30
feet away it's pretty difficult to hit a
6:33
home run out there all right hit two or
6:35
three out there Eddie every day you know
6:37
me yeah nothing for me to hit the qual
6:39
down that line absolutely right it's
6:41
nothing if I had two swings
6:43
nothing all clubs like to play in their
6:46
home park better than they do in the
6:47
room I think right now we should let our
6:49
buffer get in a few pitches
6:54
now back to double play with Leo
6:56
durocher and Lorraine day well let's go
6:59
to this question standing by Vincent
7:01
King early I imagine that's how he
7:03
pronounces his name Wilmington Delaware
7:05
who says uh is there any rule or is it
7:08
absolutely necessary that a player must
7:09
serve an apprenticeship in the minor
7:11
leagues before advancing to the majors
7:13
I'd very much appreciate your answer
7:14
well we know that that there is no rule
7:17
about it because we have bonus players
7:18
and players that come directly out of
7:20
college into baseball but you yourself
7:22
you didn't serve in the minus right I've
7:26
heard Leo would say he thinks players
7:28
should serve in the minors and I heard
7:30
that you wrote a letter to the
7:31
commissioner once requesting this he
7:33
sends you down to the miners to play now
7:35
this is an unusual story I think he's
7:37
probably the only ball player in the
7:39
entire history of
7:41
ball playing of baseball that has ever
7:43
written a letter requesting to be sent
7:45
to the minor well I didn't know that
7:46
Eddie had come right out of sand a lot
7:48
of semi-professional ball and they're
7:50
right in the major leagues and I
7:51
certainly would like to hear that I came
7:53
right out of college in 1944 where I
7:55
played with ralphranca one of your
7:58
performance pitchers and uh and I went
8:00
into the Navy in 45. did you pitch in
8:03
the Navy yes
8:07
I played uh I played baseball up at
8:10
Samson New York
8:16
did he have that foam ball in the Navy I
8:19
imagine he did he won about eight games
8:21
for us and didn't lose
8:23
and uh the next year I went to
8:25
Bainbridge was uh which was 46.
8:28
I was discharged and uh
8:30
July and joined the Washington ball Club
8:33
finished out that season with him and
8:35
then um
8:36
in the spring of 47
8:39
I came to spring training with the
8:41
Washington ball Club but Mr Griffith had
8:43
plans of sending me to Chattanooga I
8:46
didn't care I thought it would be a good
8:47
idea to go because I hadn't had too much
8:50
experience and I didn't think I was
8:51
ready
8:52
so he had to get waivers on me and he
8:55
couldn't do it the couple of teams
8:57
claimed me and then he thought that if I
9:00
wrote a letter to the commissioner
9:03
and I agreed with him that we might be
9:06
able to uh you know you wouldn't have to
9:08
get waivers if it was up the individual
9:10
ball player so I did write a letter to
9:12
the mission commissioner Chandler who
9:14
was the commissioner at the time he said
9:16
no dice so I had to remain with the ball
9:18
club and about after a month I broke
9:22
into the lineup and
9:23
I've been playing ever since well I
9:26
think Rex Barney was another one who
9:27
requested to be sent out to uh yes of
9:30
course Rex uh lost his confidence and
9:33
couldn't get the ball over the plate and
9:34
he had hit a few players and he had lost
9:37
all confidence in himself and he wanted
9:39
to go down to a lower league
9:41
classification and see if he couldn't
9:43
regain his confidence in Poise and uh
9:46
come back to the major leagues again but
9:48
uh to go back a number of years I know
9:50
several players in the olden days you
9:53
just very seldom come out of college or
9:55
school and went right into the major
9:57
leagues I know Frisch did it but Joe
9:59
medwick served four years in the minor
10:02
leagues before he come up to the major
10:03
league and Marty Marion who was one of
10:06
the game's greatest shortstops was eight
10:08
years in the minor leagues
10:12
and stanky was a long time in the minor
10:15
leagues let me ask you this question
10:17
that you have a great first baseman like
10:19
Gil Hodges or like our own Whitey
10:21
Loughman and you have a fine young first
10:24
baseman in the minor league it's awfully
10:26
tough on this fella to get up to the
10:28
major leagues because when is Whitey
10:30
Laughlin going to be through Flames as
10:31
far as I'm concerned I hope Whitey
10:33
lockman is never through playing first
10:34
baseman New York Giants and we have a a
10:38
a very fine Prospect uh playing now in
10:41
the minor leagues in the precipitous
10:43
League uh I just don't uh know whether
10:47
that is a detriment to him or not uh
10:49
that there is a fine first baseman on
10:51
the parent Club in Whitey lockman
10:54
well get a break to come up he may not
10:57
get a break to come up with the parent
10:58
Club but there are other clubs who are
11:00
more than interested in Tookie Gilbert
11:02
that's the boy we're thinking of and uh
11:05
they have a phone already sound of the
11:08
South trying to make deals with us for
11:10
Tookie Gilbert and if we get together
11:12
and say whitey lochman is good for five
11:14
six seven eight ten years at first base
11:17
we will deal Tookie Gilbert to another
11:19
major league club and he will get his
11:20
opportunity to play yes but don't you
11:22
think that maybe a boss is going to say
11:25
but what if something should happen to
11:27
fight a lockman let's hope nothing ever
11:29
happens but you have to protect yourself
11:31
you can't you've got to find young
11:33
prospects you cannot sell uh take a
11:36
chance on something happening to whitey
11:37
and then having no one I know of no uh
11:40
manager or owner who cried because he
11:43
had too many good ball players I'm not
11:45
talking about the manager or owner I'm
11:47
talking about the ball player how tough
11:49
it is on the ball player so I'm on the
11:51
ball player but I'd like to have a lot
11:52
of them I wanna I hope I have a lot of
11:54
them you're not going to get me to say
11:57
that I don't want good ball player I'm
11:59
not asking you to say that you got all
12:01
the football players all I'm saying is
12:02
isn't it tough on Tookie Gilbert to
12:04
belong to the New York Giants when we've
12:06
got Whitey lachman who is playing such
12:07
as sensation he can't outplay Whitey
12:10
lockerman that's my answer oh this is
12:12
the way it always is I'm sure we get
12:13
into a big argument he always wins and I
12:16
never get any offers to manage a club
12:18
it's pretty tough isn't it she second
12:21
guesses me every night don't worry it
12:23
does him good to keep things Sharp you
12:26
know what I mean well Eddie has been
12:28
wonderful having you on our show and uh
12:31
I'm sure the fans enjoyed meeting you as
12:33
much as I have because I had never met
12:35
you up until the show and I hope that I
12:37
can see you play sometime
12:41
yes I hope that we can get another world
12:43
series with you and I've seen you play a
12:45
number of times Eddie and all I can say
12:47
is good luck and really give it to him
12:50
and have a real good year thank you and
12:52
thank you Ben for being with us we'll
12:54
see you next week same time same station
12:55
so long
13:01
[Music]
13:04
you've been listening to another chapter
13:06
of double play with baseball's most
13:08
exciting couple Lorraine day and Leo de
13:10
Rocher today Lorraine and Leo had as
13:12
their guest Eddie Yost
13:14
join us when again it's time for double
13:17
play with Leo dirosha and Lorraine day
13:19
plus another Big Time guest star
13:22
double play is produced by Marty Martin
13:24
directed by Ted Kneeland and is a mar
13:26
test production
13:34
foreign
13:39
[Music]
13:47
[Music]
13:58
[Music]
14:04
foreign
14:12
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