Series offers best of AAABA
Used with permission of The Tribune-Democrat
The All American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament ended in August.
But "The Best of the AAABA" is on display in October.
Only the most astute AAABA trivia buffs will grasp the tournament’s ties to the 1998 World Series.
Of most significance, this Series is the first to be managed by a pair of AAABA Tournament graduates, Joe Torre of the New York Yankees and Bruce Bochy of the San Diego Padres.
It’s been well documented over the years that Torre played for Brooklyn in the AAABA Tournament. The pitcher-first baseman captured the 1958 tournament batting title with a dazzling .647 average (11-for-17).
Joe Torre also evened the score with his older brother, Frank, who won the 1949 AAABA Tournament batting title with a .550 average.
"I’ll never forget Joe Torre," said Steve Seman, a local sports historian who resides in Cambria City. "I talked to six scouts during the tournament and said, ‘What about Torre?’ They all said, ‘Too fat. Too slow.’ Look what he did."
Torre batted .297 over an 18-year major league career with the Braves (Milwaukee and Atlanta), St Louis Cards and New York Mets. Torre was the 1971 National League MYP.
He became one of the majors’ top Managers with the Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Yankees.
Bochy was the 1974 AAABA Tournament RBI-champion with 11 for the Washington, D.C., Stroubis Mobil franchise.
"He was just a great catcher," said Doug Coughlan, who managed Washington from 1972-80 and served as a Baltimore assistant coach from 1981-97. "He was a great guy, a quiet leader, a great hitter. He’s still doing a great job now. It hasn’t changed that much."
The Washington team lost a 5-4, 14-inning game to New Orleans in the semifinals. New Orleans faced eventual champion Detroit for the title.
"That following June, he (Bochy) was a No.1 draft pick of the Houston Astros," Coughlan said. "His career took him from the Astros to the Mets and finally the Padres. They saw something in him. I know he worked his way up through the ranks. I know he was a third base coach for a while."
In nine major league seasons (1978-87), Bochy batted .239.
The 1998 World Series has more roots extending back to Johnstown’s AAABA Tournament. San Diego catcher-first baseman Jim Leyritz won the tournament batting title with a .621 average in 1983. Leyritz had 18 hits in 29 at-bats for Detroit Adray Sound. Detroit finished second to the Baltimore franchise on which Coughlan was an assistant coach. Padres’ Andy Sheets played for New Orleans in the 1992 title game.
Yankees right fielder Paul O’Neill played for Columbus in AAABA competition. But it appears his team never advanced to the Johnstown tournament.
A strong cast of former AAABA players almost made the 1998 Series, too.
Manny Ramirez (Brooklyn) and Chad Ogea (Washington, D.C.) each played for the ALCS runner-up Cleveland Indians.
John Smoltz (Lansing) and Denny Neagle (Baltimore) each pitched for the NLCS runner-up Atlanta Braves.
Smoltz and Neagle each played in Johnstown. Ogea did not. It’s not certain whether Ramirez played in the national tournament here.
"I remember Ogea in 1990," said former Washington, D.C., manager Chuck Faris. "We had a one-game playoff to get to Johnstown. His team, the Vienna Mavericks, lost to my team, the Reston Raiders. But, boy, he was good. We wanted to pick him up, but he said his arm was dead."
Conversely, the AAABA Tournament’s legacy continues to thrive.
The Tribune-Democrat, October 21, 1998
Mike Mastovich is a sportswriter for The Tribune-Democrat.
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