I once cold-called Frank Thomas. I probably told him how I got his phone number, and then identified myself as being in a band named Yo La Tengo. Before I could say anything more, he cut me off, “That never happened!” It was a pleasant conversation nonetheless.
Is Frank Thomas right? Are we searching for an event that is merely apocryphal? Jimmy Breslin’s book about the 1962 Mets, Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?, mentions the incident, but gives no indication of when it happened. That book was published in 1963—you’d think the memory’d be fresh, but the anecdote already has the feel of legend.
Bottom line: no outfield collisions at Dodger Stadium 50 years ago today. (Though the game was not without its oddities—Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale was thrown out attempting to steal second base.) Dodgers win 3-1. The investigation continues.
