Big Hair and Plastic Grass

RIP, Mitchell Page

Condolences to the family, friends and fans of Mitchell Page, who died yesterday at the age of 59, reportedly in his sleep.

Page rocked the afro, aviators and conceptual facial hair while injecting some much-needed offensive excitement to some terrible late-70s A's squads. Many folks think Page, and not Eddie Murray, should have been the AL Rookie of the Year in '77, when he hit .307 with a .405 OBP and a .521 slugging percentage, 21 HR, 75 RBI and 42 stolen bases. (Murray, by comparison, hit .283 with a .333 OBP, a .470 SLG, 27 HR, 88 RBI and zero SBs, while playing for the far better Orioles.)

Murray, of course, went on to a Hall of Fame career, while Page peaked in '77 and barely hung on as a part-time player for half of his eight major league seasons, his rapid decline allegedly the result of a long-running battle with the bottle. He would later make it back to the bigs in the '90s as a coach with the Royals, and later worked as a coach and hitting instructor for the Cardinals and Nationals.

But despite his relatively brief and disappointing career as a player, Page certainly holds a place in the Big Hair & Plastic Grass Hall of Fame — not just for restoring some honor to the A's green-and-gold at a time when owner Charlie Finley was all but wiping his honky ass with the team, but for bringing some serious personal style to the basepaths, as demonstrated here by his 1978 Topps card.

Thanks for the memories, man; may your funky spirit forever rest in peace.

 

 

Happy Dock Ellis Day!

Sending out a supremely funky salute today to the spirit and memory of the late, great Dock Ellis, who was born on this day in 1945.

In addition to such historic accomplishments as pitching major league baseball's first and only LSD-assisted no-hitter, and starting the first game ever played at the renovated Yankee Stadium, Dock was a major original inspiration for Big Hair & Plastic Grass; and the more I learned about him, the more he inspired me, both as a writer and as a human being.

RIP, Dock, wherever you are. Thanks for everything; I just wish you could've lived long enough for me to have given you a copy of my book...and to have asked you what's the story with you and the ladies in the above pic.

BIG HAIR & PLASTIC GRASS Book Signing — March 12 In West Covina, CA

Now that the baseball season is blessedly imminent, it's time once again to start pimpin' out Big Hair and Plastic Grass, and spread the gospel of '70s baseball. And while pimpin' ain't easy, as Biggie Smalls once said, it sure is fun — especially when I get to be part of something as cool as this upcoming event at the West Covina Public Library.

The event, held in conjunction with the Baseball Reliquary's awesome Baseball for the Fun of It! exhibition, will be held Saturday, March 12, from 3 pm to 5 pm at the West Covina Public Library (1601 West Covina Parkway, West Covina, CA). I will be signing and selling copies of BH&PG, as well as participating in a discussion about several of the more memorable baseball promotions of the 1970s, including "Ten-Cent Beer Night" in Cleveland, "Wet T-Shirt Night" in Atlanta, and of course the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park. The program will also feature a DVD screening of the 2004 documentary, Disco Demolition 25th Anniversary: The Real Story, which takes an in-depth look at the still-controversial promotion.

The program is is made possible, in part, by a grant to the Baseball Reliquary from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and is FREE to all. If you're in the Los Angeles area, come on out and join the fun!