Loran - Smith

Loran

Just a couple of weeks ago, there was the threat of rain amid high temperatures— but turned out just right for baseball as the University of Georgia hosted the Oklahoma Sooners for three games and won the series.

You have to feel good about what Wes Johnson is doing with the UGA baseball program. He is a smart coach; he likes the opportunity that exists in Athens and sees the collegiate level of talent constantly on the upswing, perhaps as good as the Class A minor league level of yesteryear. Prosperity is prominent in the forecast and peace is confirmed.

College baseball has a reasonable personnel protocol in that if you want to turn pro out of high school that the Major Leagues and the colleges are okay with that. If you choose to enroll and pursue a degree, you can’t leave campus for three years. Football and basketball need something comparable.

There was a reunion gathering of the team that won the College World Series of 1990 when the late Steve Webber was the coach. This brought back to campus, among other UGA diamond heroes, Dave Fleming, the left hander who came to Athens from Jackson Heights, N. Y.

It was Fleming who “saved” the championship game between Georgia and Oklahoma State, 2-1. Next, he was a highly regarded rookie with the Seattle Mariners.

Unfortunately, for Fleming, he experienced severe arm issues which ended a very promising career. There was no Tommy John surgery in his time. After going 29-15 in the 1991 and 1992 seasons, Fleming’s career flamed out almost overnight. He moved on to Kansas City in 1995, winning one game.

I remember a trip to Seattle in 1992 and went out to the Kingdome early for batting practice and struck up a conversation with Tony LaRussa, who was managing the visiting Oakland A’s at that point of his illustrious career. His praise for Fleming was off the charts.

The weekend also saw the Bulldogs from the past as the baseball lettermen made their annual sojourn back to campus. With lettermen from all classes congregating at the Georgia Center, there was classic raconteur highlights and upscale reminiscing as such gatherings are wont to bring about.

I have been a frequent participant over the years and enjoy seeing classmates and teammates reflect on the happiest days of their lives and never tire of recalling incidents that remain penetratingly poignant on their minds.

For those who date back to the fifties and the era of the Bulldogs’ colorful coach Jim Whatley, who at one time was an assistant football coach, head basketball coach and head baseball coach. There were endless stories about this colorful giant of a man.

Everybody who ever played for Whatley, who stood 6-4 and weighed 285 pounds, has a memorable story to tell about “Big Jim.” Perhaps, the best leg slapper he brought about was when he continued from page

was coaching the Bulldog basketball team.

In a game at old Woodruff Hall, Whatley at his redwood height walked out on the court and began berating a pint sized official. After enduring considerable abuse from his towering verbal aggressor, the official pointed his finger at Whatley and told him that he was going to get a technical for every step it took him to return to his proper place on the bench.

With that, the Bulldog coach dropped to his hands and knees and crawled off the court.

Humor was the staple of Whatley’s personality, but he was a serious competitor— he just had a colorful, albeit sarcastic style, but underneath all that nonconventional persuasion, there was a big-hearted man whose cynicism belied his empathy and generosity.

A lot of kids, including little girls, hung around the ballpark—eager volunteer batboys and batgirls. Some fell into the low economic category. Whatley was given to going grocery shopping and leaving sacks of groceries on their family’s front steps, ringing the doorbell, and stealing away in the twilight.

He gave me hell, good naturedly, and I did my best to reciprocate all the time enjoying matching wits with a man I greatly admired and appreciated to the fullest. He was truly an unforgettable character. We all miss him but will never forget him and his colorful ways.