Nick Pantages
@Nick_Pantages22
Baseball Hall-of-Famer and Red Sox legend Dwight Evans and author Erik Sherman presented on their careers and SABR in Dodge on Friday
In their bi-annual fall meeting, the Western Massachusetts chapter for the Society of Baseball Research, better known as SABR, hosted a question-and-answer event and a book signing for baseball fans of the area and the Springfield College campus.
The headliner of the event was Red Sox Hall of Fame outfielder Dwight Evans, who made the trip from Northern Massachusetts to Alden Street. He was joined by New York Times best-selling author Erik Sherman.
It was Sherman’s second straight year coming to a SABR meeting at Springfield. Last fall, he visited with former Red Sox manager Joe Morgan to promote his book on former Dodgers starting pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.
Evans and Sherman collaborated on Sherman’s book Dewey: Behind the Gold Glove. The book chronicles Evans’ stellar playing career, but also the struggles he faced in his personal career. Evans had two kids diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, better known as NF, a disease that causes tumors to form in the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
A lot of Evans’ discussion during the speaking portion of the event was focused on NF, and how he had to split time as a player, while also having to take care of and worry about his kids.
“Some of those surgeries were 13 hours long,” Evans said. “There were a lot of sleepless nights, but I never used that as an excuse.”
Evans also told a story of when he was at the hospital the day of a game when one of his sons had to have some treatment done.
He recounted walking out of the room when his son asked him to hit a home run for him in his game that night. He told him he would try, and went to walk out, but his son asked him another question. He asked him if he could hit two home runs, and Evans told him again he would try.
“I hit two home runs and a triple that night,” Evans said. “I just wished he asked me more often to hit a home run.”
Fans were treated to some inside stories of Evans and some baseball legends, including encounters with Pete Rose and chats with his outfield partners Fred Lynn and Jim Rice.
One story he told was of his legendary catch in game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan was at the plate, and he crushed a line drive over Evans’ head towards the wall in right field. In one of the best catches in the history of the World Series, Evans caught the ball over his shoulder, turned, and fired a throw back to first base to double up the runner, Ken Griffey Sr.
“I actually lost the ball in the lights,” Evans said. “I turned and just threw my glove up above my head, and I felt the ball hit my glove somehow.”
In the bottom half of the inning, Carlton Fisk waved his home run to left field fair, and the Red Sox won the game.
After Evans and Sherman were done discussing the book, fans were able to ask Evans questions, but most simply expressed their gratitude to him and how much he meant to all Red Sox fans around the world.
Sherman and Evans then both autographed over 100 books to give out to fans who attended, and the two even promised to send signed copies to attendees when they ran out of books to give out.
The next SABR meeting will likely be in either March or April, giving baseball fans another opportunity to interact with some recognizable names around the sport.
Photo Courtesy of Luis Rodriguez