Mel Didier

[spats]

So sorry to hear about the passing of Mel Didier today. I met Mel a few years ago at a Fall League game in Phoenix. We chatted for awhile about baseball and prospects...he was a wealth of knowledge and his stories are legendary. I asked where i could get a copy of his book "Podnuh Let Me Tell You A Story" and he mentioned that they were all sold out. The next day I'm sitting at the game and Mel walks over and hands me a signed copy of his book.

I saw him the next spring in Dunedin and he remembered my name and had time to chat even though he was evaluating at the time. We crossed paths a few times since, either in Phoenix or Dunedin and it was always a pleasure to talk to him. Any fan of baseball should read his book. In it he chronicles how he was indirectly responsible for Kirk Gibson's famous home run off of Eckersley. He pre scouted Oakland and knew that Eck usually threw a back door slider with a full count. He related this to the Left-handed batters and the rest is history.

R.I.P Mel.You will be missed. The baseball world has lost a legend and a true gentleman.

[BTS]

Don't know much about him, but was he still working for the team at 90?

[spats]

Don't know much about him, but was he still working for the team at 90?

 

He was in Dunedin this spring at 89...baseball was his whole life. He was basically an advisor for the last few years and the Jays would send him out to evaluate certain players. He was a true throwback...no tablet, no gun, just paper and pencil and a keen eye.

[BTS]

He was in Dunedin this spring at 89...baseball was his whole life. He was basically an advisor for the last few years and the Jays would send him out to evaluate certain players. He was a true throwback...no tablet, no gun, just paper and pencil and a keen eye.

 

That's crazy. Being able to do what he loved to the age of 90 is a life well lived.

[Brownie19]

Words cannot express the value you bring to this board Spats. Thanks. I now have a book to go read.

[spats]

Words cannot express the value you bring to this board Spats. Thanks. I now have a book to go read.

 

Thanks. It's a great read going back to his days with the Expos. If you can't find a copy, pm me and if you live close enough, you can borrow mine.