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Orioles notes: Buck Showalter remembers Yogi Berra

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Orioles notes: Buck Showalter remembers Yogi Berra

Nick Wass / Associated Press
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Orioles starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015, in Washington.

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It was a sad day for baseball after news broke early Wednesday morning that Hall of Famer Yogi Berra had died at 90, and that news hit Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who carried on a long friendship with the Yankees great, especially hard.

Showalter received the news in a late-night phone call from Berra’s granddaughter, Lindsay.

“Got a call from Lindsay last night about 12:30 or 12:40,” Showalter said. “I think she had just come from there and she had a list of people that Yogi would want her to call. I really appreciated that. She said, ‘He wouldn’t have wanted you to hear or read about it but from someone from the family.'”

“He always had time for me,” Showalter said. “He treated everybody the same. We would all love to have the things that are going to be said about Yogi said about us. But the difference is, we were saying those things about Yogi when he was alive. … He’s what everything we try to be about in America.”

Showalter got to know Berra when Showalter was coaching and managing in the Yankees organization. They remained close and Showalter never hesitated when he was invited to attend any of Berra’s big events over the years.

Berra will be remembered as one of the all-time lovable characters in the sport, but Showalter said that — for all the quips and quotes associated with him — Berra was very serious about baseball and never stopped giving back to the game and to society.

“As good a player as he was, and hopefully some young people will look at some of his statistics that will make you shake your head — like 12 strikeouts in one year [in 656 plate appearances in 1950]. … People do that in three days — he was as good a person as he was a player. For all the fame and fortune the game afforded him, he was always trying to give back. I know it sounds like a cliché, but he always had time.”

Gonzalez still hoping for two more starts

Miguel Gonzalez pitched a three-inning simulated game on Wednesday at Nationals Park and said that his arm feels normal and he is hopeful of returning to the rotation to make two more starts before the end of the regular season.

“Good, definitely a plus,” said Gonzalez, who is on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. “I threw 45 pitches, 20 in the pen, some long toss. Everything was well.”

If all continues to go well, he will throw a regular bullpen session on Saturday and could be ready to make a start on Tuesday against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. That would allow him to get two starts in before the end of the regular season.

“It was a good step for him,” Showalter said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. He’ll have a couple days off and a work day Saturday. That’s the plan. It was encouraging, like we hoped.”

Jones improving

Adam Jones, who is recovering from back spasms, remained out of the starting lineup on Wednesday, but Showalter said he is improving.

“Adam’s getting better every day, making improvement day to day,” Showalter said. “He’ll rejoin us at some point. We had him checked out. There’s nothing structurally wrong. We’re just trying to get that problem out of there. It’ll take a little time.

“He’s not a very good watcher,” Showalter added. “He’s a participator. That’s the difference between these guys and a lot of people. They want to participate. They’ll go to their share of games and sporting events in the offseason, but they want to participate. … They want to be a contestant instead of one of the watchers.”

Britton still waiting

Closer Zach Britton said Wednesday that he could be ready to return in a few days, but the Orioles are not pushing him to get back. He said he came back too soon over the weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays and the team wants to be sure the soreness in his left lat is gone before he throws again.

Britton knows what’s at stake, so he doesn’t want to push it either, but he does want to get back into a save situation before the end of the regular season.

“I don’t want the season to end on Tampa,” he said, referring to his blown save on Sunday at Tropicana Field.

Showalter would not speculate on Britton’s return.

“Nothing new,” he said.

Around the horn

UT Ryan Flaherty made his first start of the season in right field on Wednesday. Flaherty hadn’t started a game there since 2012, when he made nine starts in right field. “It’s been a while,” Flaherty said. “I’m always messing around out there, spring training helped a lot. … I’ll go out early and catch some balls.” … RHP Ubaldo Jimenez became the second American League pitcher this season and the 25th in 19 years of interleague play to be credited with both a win and a game-winning RBI in the same game on Tuesday night. His second-inning RBI single was his second RBI this season. He also had an RBI single on June 17 in Philadelphia. Since the DH rule was created in 1973, only eight other AL pitchers have driven in a run in two different games in the same season. Three of them were Orioles: RHP Mike Mussina in 1999, RHP Kris Benson in 2006 and Britton in 2011.

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