This isn’t about Don Drysdale‘s stats, which earned him entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Instead, this recalls his combative spirit – his intensity – the intangibles that characterized his career and helped secure his spot in the sacred Halls Cooperstown.
Drysdale was one of the fiercest competitors I have ever watched play a sport – any sport. A couple of his quotes provide a small glimpse into his intensity:
- “If they knocked two of your guys down, I’d get four. You have to protect your hitters.”
- “I hate all hitters. I start a game mad and I stay that way until it’s over.”
- “The pitcher has to find out if the hitter is timid, and if he is timid, he has to remind the hitter he’s timid.”
- “When I throw a curve that hangs and it goes for a hit, I want to chew up my glove.”
The great Willie Mays said of ‘Big D‘:
“No one was meaner than Drysdale. I was knocked down every at-bat by Drysdale. Not every game, every at-bat.”
Fellow HOF member Frank Robinson said of him:
“He was mean enough to do it, and he did it continuously. You could count on him doing it. And when he did it, he just stood there on the mound and glared at you to let you know he meant it.”
than Don Drysdale. No one.
(LA Dodgers)
Don was so formidable that it was said that some players would opt out of a lineup because he was pitching that day.
For the most part, Major League Baseball today is a different game from the days of Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Ferguson Jenkins, et al. Today, the players are paid so much that they are more like a fraternity than fierce combatants.
So, what’s the point?
The Dodgers of 2025, including their laid-back manager Dave Roberts, need to put on the character of ‘Big D’ – pick up their intensity. Their reputation on the field should be that of fierce competitors, every inning inning of every game, never taking any team for granted, never underestimating any opponent.
If an opponent is timid, remind them thet are timid. When a pitcher makes a bad pitch, they should want to chew up theig glove. Go Back to the Future to be champions.
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July 3, 2025 will be the 32nd anniversary of Don Drysdale’s death, which happened less than three weeks before his 57th birthday. Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully painfully announced the news of Don’s passing on the air:
“Never have I been asked to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one, and I say it to you as best I can with a broken heart.”
Scully later described it as:
“…the toughest broadcast of my career.”
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Gone, but never forgotten by this fan.
May Don’s competitive spirit be rekindled in the Dodgers of 2025 and those generations of Dodgers to come.
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