Ex Dodger and Angel exec. Buzzie Bavasi Dies

[mcow1]

Lived to a nice old 93 though. A real baseball man.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080501/...EcqXe5DUCs0NUE

[Radiobarry]

He was with ... the Angels from 1978-84.

And how.

Oh yes, some of us long-time Angel fans will never forget Buzzie Bavasi.

He's the guy that finally told the arguably most popular player the team had ever had, Nolan Ryan, to take a free agent walk in 1979 because he could "be replaced by two 8-7 pitchers".

Funny how long it took to find those guys, while Ryan went on to throw three more no-hitters and the Angels could only wonder how many titles they might have won, had they kept him...

Both Buzzie and Gene Autry later admitted that it was the worst mistake the mistake-prone organization had ever made.

I made my peace in my own mind with Buzzie years ago, but that doesn't mean we forget.

But perhaps I did forget about some of the great things he did, like helping Jackie Robinson and such.

Rest In Peace and thanks for all you gave to baseball, Buzzie Bavasi.

-- Barry