Reds' rookie is a tough cookie

William Leggett

August 27, 1973

When the musical is made, the pretty secretary will enter from stage left, a tattered letter in hand. She will be dressed all in red, approach her boss apprehensively and say, "I know it seems silly, Chief, but I've got a feeling about this letter that just came in from Hilton Head, S.C. It says there's an 18-year-old boy down there who never played on a high school team. Nobody picked him in the draft and he only gets a chance to play weekends. But the letter says he can swing the bat, Chief. Swing the bat!" The stocky man at center stage tending bees will suddenly lift the netting from around his face. "If that's true," the beekeeper will say, "we should be able to sign him cheap. Give him a copy of our yearbook and a plane ticket to Tampa. Let's take the chance. Yes, let's look him over." The two will then join hands and sing, "Swing the Bat! Swing the Bat!"