It isn't often I will read any book of any length in one sitting, but that was the case with this short, excellent book on the Seattle Pilots and their one fatefull season in the American League, 1969. Here is my review of "Inside Pitch"
Title/Author:
“Inside Pitch:
Insiders Reveal How the Ill-Fated Seattle Pilots Got Played into Bankruptcy in
One Year” by Rick Allen
Tags:
Baseball,
professional, Pilots, management
Publish date:
June 5, 2020
Length:
180 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
When Major League Baseball (MLB)
added four teams for the 1969 season, one of those teams was the Seattle
Pilots. While the Pilots and their
players have already been lionized in the legendary book “Ball Four” by Pilots
pitcher Jim Bouton, little has been written or stated about the chaotic season
in the team’s administrative offices. That is now changed with this book by journalist
Rick Allen documenting the craziness in getting ready for that 1969 season.
The subtitle of this book could be
re-titled as “How Not to Run Your Brand New Baseball Team.” Much of the material written by Allen was
obtained from interviews with two men who did long days and nights of work in
the Pilots’ offices. Bob Schoenbachler, who could best be described as the team’s
chief financial officer at the tender age of 21, having already been an
accountant for Seattle’s minor league teams the previous two seasons. Jim Kittilsby had already established himself
in minor league baseball administration and jumped at the chance to return to
his native Pacific Northwest area when Dewey and Max Soriano offered him a job
with the Seattle Angels, the same team that offered Schoenbachler his job.
The Soriano brothers were listed as
the principle owners of the Seattle franchise when MLB decided to expand by
adding four teams in 1969. This threw off the timetable of preparing the area
for a MLB team as it was thought the new team would start in 1971 or 1972. Because Kansas City had just lost the
Athletics to Oakland and was threatening legal action against MLB, it was
decided to give Kansas City a replacement franchise as soon as possible in 1969
and to keep a balanced schedule, the Pilots would have to begin that same
season.
This caused all types of headaches for the Soriano brothers and their front office staff, including Kittilsby and Schoenbachler. What follows, through the eyes and memories of these two Pilots staff members, is a crazy season that started off with needing to add seats right up to the opening pitch of first game of the season. Some ticket holders had to sit in bleachers that had just been installed (they could hear hammering from the ticket booth outside Sicks Stadium) and freshly painted.
That Sicks Stadium was inadequate
for MLB was just one of a myriad of problems that Kittlesby and Schoenbachler
shared that doomed the Pilots from the start.
Very few of the revenue streams that fund a team were lacking for the
Pilots either due to the timing of their start or the lack of interest. There was also a severe lack of interest from
both fans, as attendance fell far below expectations, as well from the business
community. When it became clear that
another buyer was needed to keep the team in Seattle (from a directive by MLB),
no one came forward. The team was
declared bankrupt and just before opening day of the 1970 season, the team
moved to Milwaukee under a new ownership group headed by future commissioner
Bud Selig.
Kittlesby and Schoenbachler moved
with the team to Milwaukee and shared stories of the early days in that city as
well, with Schoenbachler staying with the team an additional five years. Their tales of woe for the Pilots franchise
ran from sad to funny. Their recap of a popular promotion, Bat Day, was an
example of a story that was both funny and sad, as the team did not order
enough bats and these two, in addition to their other multiple duties, had to
man the gates at the conclusion of the game and determine which families were
carrying out too many bats.
That is just one example of the
issues plaguing the Pilots during their one year of existence and bringing
these issues to light through two men who experienced them makes the book have
an air of authenticity to it as well as providing entertainment. While it is a
short book it was one of the few books I read in one sitting as whether it was
bat day, last minute stadium repairs or incompetent front office staff working
with these two gentleman, “Inside Pitch” tells the story about the Seattle
Pilots that many people would not have known otherwise.
I wish to thank Mr. Allen for
providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Paperback
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