Foul Ball
Page 48
Stones with sample engravings like: JIMMY RUBERTO, MAYOR OF PITTSFIELD, which I had imagined by the main gate. Or the one marked IN MEMORY OF LAURIE BOUTON, which I had planned to put near a tree in the plaza.
But I choose not to feel bad, so I steer clear of the furnace. I choose to remember the good times. Like the vintage game. I see the fans with the big grins on their faces. I see Coach Zavatarro with tears in his eyes as we roll past the stands in the antique cars. I see Chuck Garivaltis shaking his head in wonder. I see the players in their jaunty poses, equipment bags over their shoulders. I see the look on Chip’s face as he surveys the happy crowd.
I even see a beaming Jimmy Ruberto, in period tux, tossing out the first ball. And I can hear Quintessential singing the national anthem.
But I don’t recall whether Ruberto stood up for it or not.
THE END
Fox and Scorpion came to a brook. Wide was the water. Scorpion asked Fox for a ride on his back. Fox said, “Scorpion, will you not sting me?” Scorpion said, “If I did, it would mean the death of us both.”
Fox agreed, and Scorpion climbed onto his back. Fox swam, but halfway over, Scorpion struck with a deadly sting. Fox gasped, “Fool, you have doomed us both. Why?”
“I am a scorpion,” said Scorpion. “It is my nature.”
Indian Proverb
POSTSCRIPT
NEWS ITEMS
FALL 2004–SPRING 2005
OCT 27, 2004 – PITTSFIELD BUSINESS DAY FORUM HELD
The Jobs for Pittsfield Task Force hosted an all-day business forum at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The purpose of the event, which featured presentations by Mayor Ruberto, Larry Bossidy, and Mike Daly, was “to attract companies and celebrate success stories in Pittsfield.”
NOV 10, 2004 – PITTSFIELD TO GIVE $750,000 TO START-UP FIRM
WorkshopLive—a Connecticut-based company of six executives with plans to offer music lessons over the Internet—will begin receiving the money when they relocate to Pittsfield. WorkshopLive’s Vice President Bob Hoeffner said the money was “fantastic” but that the company was coming to Pittsfield “with or without the incentives.”
JAN 18, 2005 – NATIONAL SEARCH FOR WAHCONAH PARK TEAM
Parks Commissioner Mike Filpi called for “a national bid search” to find a baseball team to play at Wahconah Park. Filpi seemed not to understand that a team needs other teams to play against.
JAN 24, 2005 – CAN-AM LEAGUE FRANCHISE TO WORCESTER
Commissioner Miles Wolff recently announced that the Can-Am League—formerly the Northeast League—will place its 8th team (once earmarked for Pittsfield) in Worcester, Massachusetts, beginning in 2005.
JAN 28, 2005 – WAHCONAH PARK UP FOR NATIONAL REGISTER
The Massachusetts Historical Commission will meet in June, 2005, to decide whether to recommend that Wahconah Park be included on the National Register of Historic Places. A recommendation generally leads to approval about forty-five days later.
FEB 8, 2005 – PITTSFIELD GIVES SECOND TAX BREAK TO COUPLE
Joyce Bernstein and Larry Rosenthal received an eleven-year tax abatement worth an estimated $300,000 to build a restaurant/art gallery/noodle bar three blocks from the Lantern, which gets no subsidy. The millionaire duo had also received an eighteen-year tax break from the Doyle administration for their Link to Life emergency response business, which employs the ex-mayor’s community development director, Tom Murphy. Bernstein and Rosenthal, generous campaign contributors—sometimes to opposing candidates—are represented by Mike MacDonald of Cain Hibbard Myers & Cook.
FEB 9, 2005 – COLONIAL THEATRE COSTS RISE AGAIN
Unplanned construction costs may add another $1.5 million to the current price tag of $20.6 million. This is up from earlier projections of $3 million, $8.2 million, $11 million, and $16 million since 1983. To date, the Colonial has received more than $8 million of public dollars—including $1.3 million of city funds—and is seeking another $6 million of historic tax credits.
FEB 14, 2005 – DUKES TO PLAY AT WAHCONAH PARK
The Parks Commission voted 5–0 to approve a one-year license that will bring Dan Duquette’s New England Collegiate League baseball team to Pittsfield for the 2005 season.
MAR 1, 2005 – STRIP CLUB FILES FOR PERMIT
Residents blamed ex-Mayor Doyle, who said he has “no connection” to the club’s management but is “acquainted with” its president. When asked if Doyle was the “paid agent” who had spoken to him about the strip club, councilor Matt Kerwood declined to comment.
Mayor Ruberto was quoted as saying, “This mayor does not welcome [the strip club] in Pittsfield, and I would hope and wish and pray that they will reconsider.”
MAR 3, 2005 – CINEMA GETS $900,000 TAX CREDIT
Secretary of State William F. Galvin (ex-Mayor Doyle’s boss) announced the gift from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, worth $765,000 in cash to developer Richard Stanley. Stanley, whose investment of $500,000 “of his own money” represents 5.6% of the $8.9 million project, has already received a $500,000 loan from the city, and is seeking an additional $1 million in state grants and another $3.2 million in tax credits. Stanley is represented by Ed McCormick, the lawyer, scoutmaster, and college roommate of Cliff Nilan.
MAR 19, 2005 – BOUTON FILES FOR HILLIES TRADEMARK
“Anyone interested in reviving the Pittsfield Hillies or using the baseball team’s name for any other purpose may soon need to receive permission from former Yankees’ pitcher Jim Bouton.”
(Note: This story, by Tony Dobrowolski of the Eagle, appeared more than five months after we filed a trademark application for use of the Hillies name on uniforms and T-shirts. During that time no one has asked to license the name. And it’s not out of the question that we would resurrect the Hillies. On January 18, 2005, Chip and I and television sportscaster Bob Costas met with the head of programming for NBC Sports to discuss the possibility of staging a vintage baseball game—with Costas doing play-by-play—at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. But the economics of a single event did not work out and we declined to accept a prime July, 2005, Saturday-afternoon slot.)
MAR 23, 2005 – GE RECONTAMINATING HOUSATONIC
Local environmentalists blasted an EPA permit that would allow General Electric to continue discharging PCBs into the Housatonic River. The EPA data shows that for at least the past three years, PCBs—“at levels hundreds of times higher than federal water quality standards for aquatic life”—have been leaking into the river from no fewer than ten pipes on the GE property in Pittsfield.
This was “our worst fear,” said Tim Gray, whose Housatonic River Initiative had raised the issue of recontamination when the GE settlement was being drafted in 1998/99 (without HRI’s participation). “We worked for fifteen years of our lives, coming to meetings, unpaid, to get this cleanup. And now we find that there is still pollution coming into the river.”
APR 6, 2005 – VINTAGE BASEBALL RETURNS TO PITTSFIELD
The Parks Commission voted to allow Dave Potts to stage two vintage baseball games at Wahconah Park in 2005. The team will be called the Elms, after a team that played in Pittsfield between 1862 and 1882. Former Hillies coach Paul Procopio will manage the team, consisting mostly of Hillies players.
(Note: Procopio had been added to the Hillies staff at the insistence of Jimmy Ruberto. Manager Chuck Garivaltis, who had honored the mayor’s request to add Procopio, has refused to have anything to do with the Elms.)
APR 12, 2005 – SPERANZO WINS SPECIAL ELECTION
Former City Solicitor Chris Speranzo received 70% of 4,941 votes cast, to win the 3rd Berkshire seat in the state House of Representatives. Speranzo succeeds Peter Larkin—now a lobbyist—who announced his resignation in January, a few days after he was sworn in.
Speranzo had received a rare 100% rating from the Berkshire Central Labor Council, a division of the state AFL-CIO. The union endorsement, and contributions, were believed crucial to winning the hastily called election. Tim Craw,
a member of Speranzo’s campaign team, said communication with union members was essential.
“It’s constant phone-banking,” said Craw. “It’s a busy time of year for our members, but you’ll see them at the polls.”
Speranzo, a Democrat, also got endorsements from ex-Mayor Gerald S. Doyle and Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly.
During the campaign, Speranzo had said he was most proud of his role in the 1998 PCB settlement negotiations with the EPA and General Electric, when he was an aide to ex-Mayor Doyle. Speranzo was also given credit for having “created a sensible compromise solution” for the airport expansion.
MAY 15, 2005 – BILL MOYERS AT MEDIA REFORM CONFERENCE
In a keynote address at the National Conference for Media Reform in St. Louis, MO, Moyers said, among other things: “A free press is one where it’s OK to state the conclusion you’re led to by the evidence.”
CAST OF CHARACTERS
(Includes only those who are not always identified)
Acton, Jay Part-time broker of minor league baseball franchises
Akers, Jamie Wahconah Park sketch artist
Arlos, Peter County treasurer and a former and future city councilor; aka the “Aging Greek God” and the “Oracle of Delphi”
Bahlman, Dusty Berkshire Eagle reporter
Barry, Bill City councilor and new-stadium supporter during the Doyle administration
Bassillion, David President of the Chamber of Commerce in 2004
Bean, Len WBRK radio news director
Bianchi, Dan City councilor and new-stadium opponent; with Guzzo and Scapin, one of the “Three Amigos”
Bonnevie, Frank Karate school owner and new-stadium supporter
Bossidy, Larry Pittsfield native son, former CEO of Allied Signal, and chairman of Berkshire Bank
Boulton, Frank Founder and CEO of the Atlantic League, and owner of the Long Island Ducks
Brassard, Jim City councilor during the Doyle administration and new-stadium supporter
Callahan, Mick Owner of outdoor sign business and member of Berkshire Sports & Events
Carey, Bill Berkshire Eagle reporter
Chartock, Alan Executive director of WAMC, Northeast Public Radio
Colker, Sue Parks commissioner during the Doyle administration
Conant, Jim Parks commissioner during the Doyle administration, new-stadium supporter, and groundskeeper
Cook, Jeff Senior partner of Cain Hibbard Myers & Cook
Craw, Tim Carpenters union representative
Curro, Vinnie Made cancer map of PCB “ground zero” neighborhood
Daly, Mike Vice President of Berkshire Bank; later, bank president, and Berkshire Sports & Events member
DelGallo, Remo Former mayor, owner of DelGallo’s Bar
Denmark, Gerry Lawyer for Berkshire Sports & Events
Dew, Jack Berkshire Eagle reporter
Dobrowolski, Tony Berkshire Eagle reporter
Dowd, Paul City councilor during the Doyle administration and new-stadium supporter
Doyle, Jr., Gerald S Mayor of Pittsfield during new stadium campaign, aka “Tony Soprano”
Duquette, Dan Owner of the Dukes, a New England Collegiate League team, and former GM of the Boston Red Sox
Everhart, Bill Editorial page editor of the Berkshire Eagle and half of Ever-Scrib
Filpi, Mike Chairman of Parks Commission in early 2004
Fleisig, Jonathan New York energy trader and owner of the Massachusetts Mad Dogs and Berkshire Black Bears
Garivaltis, Chuck Manager of the Pittsfield Hillies and Parks Commissioner
Gladstone, Bill Owner of Tri-City Valley Cats (formerly Pittsfield Mets)
Goldsmith, Jim Jay Acton’s partner in baseball franchise brokerage
Gordon, Susan Owner of Bagels Too and Wahconah Park supporter
Gray, Tim Housatonic River Initiative environmentalist
Grunin, Gary City councilor during the Doyle administration and 2001 mayoral candidate
Guzzo, Joe City councilor and new-stadium opponent; with Scapin and Bianchi, one of the “Three Amigos”
Hathaway, Sara Mayoral successor to Doyle
Herkowitz, Sandra Wahconah Park supporter
Hickey, Tom City council president during the Doyle administration
Jones, Rick City council candidate and Wahconah Yes! petition leader
Kelly, John Electrical workers’ union organizer
Kerwood, Matt City councilor and new-stadium supporter; aka “Little Eddie Munster”
Leaf, Anne Pittsfield artist and new-stadium opponent
Lee, Gerald City councilor during the Doyle, Hathaway, and Ruberto administrations, and new-stadium supporter
Levine, Jonathan Publisher and editor of the weekly Pittsfield Gazette
Lincoln, Eric Reporter for the weekly Berkshire Record
Lothrop, Jonathan City council candidate in 2001; city councilor in 2004
MacDonald, Mike Senior partner of Cain Hibbard Myers & Cook
Marchesi, John Parks commissioner during the Ruberto administration
Margenau, Eric Jim and Chip’s partner; minor-league sports entrepreneur
Massery, James City councilor during Doyle administration, new-stadium supporter, and brother of Phil
Massery, Phil Talk-show host, new-stadium supporter, brother of city councilor Jim, and father of Hillies player Mike
Massimiano, Anthony Parks commissioner during the Doyle administration
Mellace, Bob Parks director during the Doyle administration
Mick, Andy Publisher of the Berkshire Eagle and president of Berkshire Sports & Events
Murphy, Tom Director of community development in the Doyle administration, and Mayor Doyle’s cousin
Murphy, Rick GM of the Pittsfield Astros (formerly Pittsfield Mets) and the Tri-City Valley Cats. Also a cousin of Mayor Doyle
Nadeau, Eugene New-stadium opponent; became chairman of the Parks Commission in 2004.
Nilan, Cliff Parks Commission Chairman during Doyle administration; board member of Greylock Federal Credit Union
Nuciforo, Andy State Senator whose district includes Berkshire County
Parrott, Ray Owner of A-Mart near Wahconah Park
Persip, Elinor Parks commissioner in 2004
Piazza, Ron Hillies player, chiropractor, and parade organizer
Picheny, Steve Civic leader and businessman in Great Barrington; friend of Jeff Cook
Pomeroy, Jay Global Communications Manager for GE Plastics and member of Berkshire Sports & Events
Potts, Dave Leading opponent of new stadium, Wahconah Park historian, and candidate for mayor in 2001; aka “Potsy”
Preisser, Curt Press secretary for Mayor Doyle
Quadrozzi, Betty Wahconah Park supporter
Raifstanger, Cheryl Owner of Kwik Print in Great Barrington
Reilly, Thomas F Massachusetts Attorney General
Roucher, Katy Wahconah Park supporter
Ruberto, Jimmy Mayoral candidate who lost to Sara Hathaway in 2001 and defeated her in 2003 rematch
Scalise, Phil Engineer who had worked on Wahconah Park
Scapin, Rick City councilor and new-stadium opponent; with Bianchi and Guzzo, one of the “Three Amigos”
Scribner, David Editor-in-Chief of the Berkshire Eagle; half of Ever-Scrib
Singleton, Dean CEO of MediaNews Group, Denver-based parent of the Berkshire Eagle
Smith, Robert Parks commissioner during the Doyle administration, new stadium supporter, Doyle drinking buddy; aka “Smitty”
Southard, Dave Subject of benefit from September 4, 2004 Hillies game
Speranzo, Chris City Solicitor under Mayor Ruberto
Thorn, John Baseball historian and author
Valenti, Dan Radio talk-show host; columnist for Eagle and Gazette
Vincelette, Chuck City councilor during the Hathaway and the Ruberto administrations
Weiner, Phil Owner of WUPE radio, home of talk show hosts Larry Kratka and Phil Massery
Wirz, Bob Owner of an inactive Northeast League franchise
Wolff, Miles Commissioner of the Northern League, renamed Northeast League, and renamed again as Can-Am League
Zwingelstein, Tim Owner of Tim’s Sports Zone; Wahconah Park supporter
AUTHOR’S NOTE
There have been two experiences in my life that I felt compelled to write about. One was playing in the big leagues; the other was my adventure in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In both cases, I was blessed with a marvelous cast of characters and a story that told itself. All I had to do was watch and listen. And take notes—now five cartons full for Foul Ball.
Other source materials include letters, emails, instant messages, Internet downloads, videos of televised meetings and presentations, and a variety of newspaper articles, editorials, and letters to the editor. Every event, story, or quote in the book is supported by one or more of the above. I am less certain about events that occurred before Chip and I came on the scene, in June of 2001. From that hotly debated time there seem to be as many versions as participants.
All events took place on the dates shown. Some conversations may be off by a day because they occurred after midnight or I forgot to write a new date on the next day’s notes. A few conversations with Tim Gray were augmented by later conversations because I couldn’t write fast enough the first time around. A number of meetings had more participants than I quote or identify.
All quotes are attributed, except in cases where I felt individuals might be vulnerable to pressure, or worse. This is an important consideration in a city where people are “held accountable” by ex-mayors who claim to still be “running things,” and city councilors who say they have “scores to settle.”
Because this is a diary, no story can be fully told in isolation. All incidents, quotes, and thoughts must be considered in the context of the entire book. A complete reading, for example, makes clear that “bribes” or “payoffs” do not mean bags of money.