"At the World Series, Lefty Gomez was regaling his audience with some of his managerial experiences. 'I managed Caracas in the Winter League,' the Senor said, 'but I couldn't speak a word of Spanish and no one on the team understood English. Still, we finished third. After that, I piloted Havana in the Cuba loop and, although some of the fellows managed to get the drift of my English, practically all of them understood only Spanish. Again we finished third.
George Weiss, according to Gomez, thought Lefty had managerial makings and installed him as boss of the Yanks' Binghamton farm. 'Everybody understood English on the team,' Gomez went on, 'but we finished last. So, you see, the better they understood me, the worse off they were.' "
-Max Kase in the New York Journal-American (Baseball Digest, November 1954)
LOADED QUESTION
"Known as a screwball in his playing days, Lefty Gomez always was quick with the wisecrack. He was telling of the time Manager Joe McCarthy came out to talk with him one day when the opposition had the bases full.
'Lefty,' began McCarthy, 'I just want you to know that the bases are full.'
Gomez stared back at him and said, 'Did you think I thought they were extra infielders.' "
-Bob Addie in the Washington Post and Times Herald (Baseball Digest, March 1955)
WITH A BANJO ON HIS KNEE
"A long-time friend of Lefty Gomez, Claude Engberg, tells this one on the former Yankee mound ace:
'A few years ago we were driving from Great Falls to Idaho Falls. Lefty and I were listening to the Game of the Day on the air. Gomez turned to me and said, 'Imagine that! Three years ago I had that Luis Aloma with me in South America and he didn't know how to stand on the mound. He didn't know anything and now he's pitching in Yankee Stadium before a capacity crowd in the most crucial game of the season to date.'
'We drove on for a while,' Engberg continued, 'and the station started to fade a little and another station with a musical program came in, too, so we were hearing both stations equally clear. All of a sudden Gomez turned to me and said, 'Imagine that! I never heard anything like that in my life.'
'I couldn't see anything unusual, the game going along nicely with no excitement, so I said I didn't see anything out of the ordinary,' Engberg added.
' 'Why you durned fool!' Gomez exploded. 'Imagine that! Three years ago he couldn't stand on the rubber and now he's pitching in Yankee Stadium before a record crowd and shutting out the Yankees with one hand and playing a banjo with another.' ' "
-John Mooney in the Salt Lake Tribune (Baseball Digest, September 1955)
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