Did Washington Trade Joe Coleman Because He Was Too Good?

After finishing my Air Force enlistment in Japan, my wife and I spent a couple of years living in her familial home of Salt lake City, Utah before returning home to Washington D.C.

It was there that my first daughter, Kira Katrina, was born on June 19, 1981.

She is now 28, and married with a daughter. Where has the time gone?

Sigh...

Anyway, the doctors let her go home three days later with the admonition that we get her outside, and into the sunshine.

My daughter was suffering from jaundice and was a little too yellow for the doctor's liking.

We were driving home from the hospital and passed Derks Field, home of the Salt Lake Gulls, the California Angels' "AAA" affiliate.

Cool. That's outside. We'll do that.

With my wife's official okey-dokey, we pulled into the parking lot and made our way to the ticket booth. Two tickets; $3.50 total.

Not bad at all. Even for 1981.

As we entered the grandstand, we realized that it was "Picture Day" at Derks' Field. We could go right on to the field and have our picture taken with our favorite Salt Lake City Gull.

Historical note: Shortly after Brigham Young led the Mormon exodus into the Salt Lake valley, an invasion of crickets began to devour the group's first real crop. Prayers were answered when thousands of sea gulls came literally out of nowhere and munched the insects into oblivion.

So the team name "Gulls," had real meaning for the locals.

Along the first base line, separated by twenty feet or so, were each of the Gulls' players and coaches. My wife, just 72 hours removed from pushing the equivalent of a bowling ball out from between her legs, begged off, and took a seat just behind the first base dugout.

Carrying my new daughter, I walked down the steps and onto to the field, and headed over to Daryl Sconiers, a high average, good field, medium power first baseman from California.

I handed him my baby daughter, and he eagerly grabbed her into his arms. As I was setting up the shot, he reached into his mouth and pulled out a small piece of his tobacco plug and said, "Hey baby, want some of my chew?"

I snapped one quick picture and moved on.

I began to walk towards the Gulls' star outfielder Tom Brunansky, who was just a few days away from beginning a stellar major league career.

As I got closer, I noticed a man in a Spokane Indians' uniform watching with amusement at what the Salt Lake players were having to endure.

While waiting for Brunansky's line to shorten I kept looking at this guy. He was too old to be a minor league player, but certainly young enough to still be in the major leagues.

The more I stared, the more I began to realize that I'd seen him somewhere before.

Suddenly, while talking to first baseman Jim Maler, the other guy went into a mock windup and pretended to throw a pitch.

Bingo!

It was former Senators' pitcher Joe Coleman. I recognized the follow-through.

Just as Brunansky put out his hands to take my daughter, I turned and walked away and headed straight for that other guy whose team wasn't even participating in "Picture Day."

I approached the man, handed him my daughter and said "Hold this please."

I took a few steps back and began to set up my camera. Confusion didn't begin to describe the look on his face.

"Um, we're not part of the picture day event" the man said. "Oh, I know; hold still please," I replied.

He then gave me a half-smile and said, "Oh, you must be from Spokane!"

"Nope. Can you move your head to the left please?"

"Seattle?"

"Never been there. Raise your cap just a bit."

I snapped the above picture while he was still trying to figure out why this guy from Salt Lake City shoved a baby into his arms. You can clearly see that "what in the heck is going on?" look on his face.

Now, I wasn't just a Washington Senators' fan you understand. I knew every stat of every player who ever wore the expansion team's uniform.

I knew all about this guy.

I was refocusing my camera when I said almost matter-of-factly, "In your first three starts, you went 3-0, all complete games, and all before the age of 20 at that. How'd that feel?" 

Before he could answer, I said, "That trade with the Tigers

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?