Gates Brown was Greek god of pinch-hitting

"I'm square as an ice cube, and I'm twice as cool."
- Gates Brown in 1968
 
Is reform school the same as prison? In the case of Babe Ruth, we're talking reform school, specifically the St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, Baltimore MD. In the case of Gates Brown, the Detroit Tigers' pinch-hitter of renown from the 1960s, we're talking prison. Another Tiger of that general era - Ron LeFlore - had the same background.
I remember watching the made-for-TV movie about LeFlore that had Billy Martin playing himself. All these souls had troubled aspects to their lives and that includes Martin, for whom alcohol was his demon.
It's unfortunate that Babe Ruth was cast as a "heavy" in the Billy Crystal movie about the 1961 baseball season, "61*." Thomas Jane as Mickey Mantle referred to "that fat f--k," i.e. Ruth. "We're playing in his house," the Mantle character said, that place being Yankee Stadium.
Mr. Crystal, your biases here were generation-based. Crystal like yours truly was young to follow the late '50s and early '60s generation of Yankee players. It was the last chapter of Yankee greatness in that era. There is no substitute for a boy's baseball heroes from when the boy was in his early and mid-teens. I'm aware of the bias and like all biases it's irrational.
 
Heroes can seem irreplaceable
I clung to the 1960s Minnesota Twins as if they'd never leave us. And, who were those "imposters" coming on the scene to replace the likes of Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays as baseball heroes? Who does Andre Dawson think he is? I'm joking of course, actually seeking to resist the irrationality of such inclinations.
Let's focus on 1968 and "the year of the pitcher." That phrase suggests boredom. Surely it must have been boring to a degree, nevertheless my friends and I digested all the baseball news with delight. No, my Minnesota Twins would not make a strong run that year. Our year was 1965. The Baltimore Orioles rose to the apex in 1966, led by Frank Robinson who they "stole" in a trade. Then came 1967 and the Red Sox's "impossible dream." My Twins came within a whisker in 1967 - devastating to observe in the end. Life went on and we got 1968, a year when there was so much unpleasantness bubbling up in America. The issues of the day were vital, definitely, but what could us adolescent boys do about it? I consumed the evening network news with interest and concern. But we all needed an escape outlet, so bring on baseball!
In 1968 the Detroit Tigers rose to the top. Looking back, I'm happy they got their turn in the spotlight during the 1960s. Always competitive and interesting, like my Twins, they won a single pennant in the decade, just like my Twins. They won it all in the World Series, unlike the Twins who were stymied by Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers. Speaking of dominating pitchers, Detroit had the one and only Denny McLain, "one and only" not only in terms of being able to win an incredible 31 games that year, but also in the sense of being a star professional athlete with a raw criminal nature.
McLain and Lolich were the foundation of Detroit's pitching in their banner summer.
 
Prison: a positive catalyst?
Now let's turn the attention to Gates Brown whose stock in trade was pinch-hitting. His real name was William but his mom called him "Gates" for reasons he never knew! He grew up in a disadvantaged setting in northern Ohio. He got in trouble and was sent to a reformatory in Mansfield OH. The institution had a baseball team.
So I'm wondering, did people like Brown and Babe Ruth further their baseball skills due to exposure to the game in the institutional setting? Did they find baseball a productive outlet compared to other ways they'd spend their time?
Furthermore I'd like to suggest that another "benefit" of being in an institution like this, is a guaranteed three nutritious meals a day. Let's note that such nutrition would most likely be elusive out in the normal world. I'll assert that it can be elusive even for many people of means, people who ought to know better but just aren't attentive. How many of us skip breakfast or just grab a quick biscuit or donut with a cup of coffee?
In an institution, whether a prison, reformatory or hospital, we can assume there are provisions, even in a bleak place, for the regimen of three meals a day, right? The future baseball stars got fed right, I presume, and got an outlet for playing baseball in a place where their options for spending time were highly limited.
If Ruth had gone through a normal public school education, with baseball perhaps having a more limited role, the outcome would be what? We don't know for sure. Many famous people have simply dropped out of school. School stifles creativity and pushes conformity in a way tamping down real talent. We can't assert that prison is "better," or can we? In the case of Brown, Ruth and LeFlore, they emerged from the surroundings primed for major league baseball stardom.
I have bleak memories of school so consider my bias.

Gates Brown! The crowd in Detroit always became animated when the name was announced as pinch-hitter. As I reflect on Twins' history, I come up with Rich Reese as a particularly effective pinch-hitter. It's quite the specialty and in Reese's case, he hit three pinch-hit grand slams!
The Tigers sent scouts to the prison to see Brown in 1959. Brown was on legal probation when he joined the Tiger organization to play in Duluth MN. He starred immediately. He climbed the ladder to land with the big club in 1963. It was hard for him to push aside his criminal background. He hit a long home run in his first big league at-bat - the fodder for movies. It was in Boston. Already the big guy was in his pinch-hitting specialty.
 
Bring on 1968! Brown bats .370
The magical 1968 season for Detroit began with uncertainty about what Brown could accomplish. The doubts led to the team acquiring Eddie Mathews. Year of the pitcher? Well, Brown had six hits in his first ten pinch-hit at-bats. He ended up with an American League record of 18 pinch hits for the season.
Sunday, Aug. 11, dawned with a doubleheader on the slate against the Red Sox. What a marathon: Game 1 went to 14 innings. Brown strode to the plate at Tiger Stadium to a rousing ovation, as fans loved "the Gator." The cheers then got considerably louder. "The Gator" hit the game-winning home run. OK so "let's play two" as Ernie Banks would say, and in the second game, Brown came up in the ninth. Mickey Stanley was at third. Brown rapped a single to right for the winning run. Two game-ending hits on the same day! Nirvana!
So well was Brown hitting in '68, he got into the starting lineup for 16 games. His batting average for the Tigers' title campaign was a sizzling .370! But his biggest contribution might have been to break up a fight between the volatile McLain and Jim (the "Silver Fox") Northrup.
Brown later became the Tigers' first designated hitter in 1973. Personally I was down on that rule. I suspected it was created to lift the American League out of a state of doldrums, which I felt they caused for themselves by years of falling behind the N.L. in terms of signing and promoting non-white players.
Detroit fell on hard times for 1975 - 102 losses - and Brown decided to retire. He was 36. He became a scout. He had highs and lows since then. But the memories of his clutch hitting are sealed in our consciousness, never to be surpassed by anything else this gifted if challenged man did. Time in a reformatory? It might have held a key to it all, eh?
A character in "Moneyball" described someone on a video as "the Greek god of walks." Getting on base was everything. Brown, the "Greek god of pinch-hitting," showed us that timely pinch hits ought to get the attention of Bill James too! Carve out a spot on Mount Olympus.
Brown left us to wield his pinch-hit bat in heaven, on Sept. 27, 2013, in Detroit.
Gates Brown, "the Gator," RIP. Square as an ice cube? Maybe. But "twice as cool."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tiger Stadium, Detroit