RIP Captain Sal

[Uncle Rico]

Former Oakland A's and Milwaukee Brewers 3B passed away last night at 78.

Gave the Crew legitimacy when he joined them in '77.  Was captain of those legendary A's teams of the early 70's.

Was also Brewers GM from '93-'99 which was a bust but remained in SE Wisconsin until his passing.  His son manages the Marquette HS baseball team

[MU82]

Was a big part of the Bambi's Bombers team I loved watching during my many happy afternoons and evenings at County Stadium.

[Herman Cain]

Sal Bando was the gritty core of those Oakland As teams. Enjoyed his style of play. Was a big deal when he signed with The Brewers .

https://greenbaybobfox.wordpress.com/2021/08/01/catching-up-with-sal-bando-regarding-his-tenure-with-the-oakland-as-and-the-milwaukee-brewers/

[PointWarrior]

Most famous for calling Paul Molitor "just a designated hitter"

[The Sultan]

Most famous for calling Paul Molitor "just a designated hitter"

Yeah his GM tenure was symbolic of the latter years of the Selig era. Terrible.

[Uncle Rico]

Most famous for calling Paul Molitor "just a designated hitter"

Probably more famous for being a captain on a team that won three straight World Series

[Goose]

Sal was the free agent signing that got things rolling for the Crew. His signing alone makes him a very big part of the Brewer history.

RIP Sal.

[HutchwasClutch]

Most famous for calling Paul Molitor "just a designated hitter"

Smoothing over difficult topics as GM was not his strength. 

Fought cancer 5 years, never heard he had it even.   

Good player and a good man. My earliest memories as a fan was no. 6 on the Brewers.  Too bad his legacy was tarnished with a poor GM tenure.  It wasn't 100% on him either as pointed out here. 

[Uncle Rico]

Smoothing over difficult topics as GM was not his strength. 

Fought cancer 5 years, never heard he had it even.   

Good player and a good man. My earliest memories as a fan was no. 6 on the Brewers.  Too bad his legacy was tarnished with a poor GM tenure.  It wasn't 100% on him either as pointed out here.

His front office tenure was marred by letting the farm system languish.  It was awful while he was GM.  Just too many misses in the draft and in trades

His hands were tied by ownership following Selig's elevation to commissioner.  No way was he ever going to be able to re-sign Molitor and Bosio following 1992.

[HutchwasClutch]

His front office tenure was marred by letting the farm system languish.  It was awful while he was GM.  Just too many misses in the draft and in trades

His hands were tied by ownership following Selig's elevation to commissioner.  No way was he ever going to be able to re-sign Molitor and Bosio following 1992.

No, they probably weren't going to resign Molitor no matter what.  But their offer to him was a pay cut!  Could that have been a dumber decision?  Hence the "just a DH" infamous quote. 

[Uncle Rico]

No, they probably weren't going to resign Molitor no matter what.  But their offer to him was a pay cut!  Could that have been a dumber decision?

How they handled that was pretty naive.  I don't know the thinking process and can only speculate, but part of me will always think it was part romanticism that he'd stay at a lower price and being loyal and part hardline stance from Selig about free agent spending

[The Sultan]

How they handled that was pretty naive.  I don't know the thinking process and can only speculate, but part of me will always think it was part romanticism that he'd stay at a lower price and being loyal and part hardline stance from Selig about free agent spending

Throw in a dose of making sure the fans knew that he turned down a deal, and I think you nailed it.

[HutchwasClutch]

How they handled that was pretty naive.  I don't know the thinking process and can only speculate, but part of me will always think it was part romanticism that he'd stay at a lower price and being loyal and part hardline stance from Selig about free agent spending

I think you're on to something, especially the he'll be loyal to us. 

[PointWarrior]

Throw in a dose of making sure the fans knew that he turned down a deal, and I think you nailed it.

Molitor had the last laugh:

"I'm primarily a DH so I hope I don't drop this thing. It's pretty heavy," Molitor joked when handed the huge MVP trophy.

I remember watching that in real time and feeling real happy for him...

[JWags85]

I caddied for him a couple of times when I was in HS.  2 things stood out.  1) he was a really nice guy who laughed a lot.  2) he was in his late 50s at the time but still strong as s***.  I still remember how big his calves were.  Hammered the ball off the tee and once saw him snap the head off a driver on a swing.

My favorite story about those rounds.  He sprayed an iron shot from the fairway into the trees.  He spiked his 5 iron and it buried into the fairway partially up the shaft.  As he started to walk toward the green he turns and goes "hey bud, could you grab that and pull it out?  If I do it, I'll probably snap it in half and throw it in the water and I haven't done that yet...this summer."  Then chuckles and chomps on his cigar.