Tag: phil lesh (Page 63 of 105)

Citing his age, lack of any athletic ability, and organ-recipient status, the Giants passed on allowing Phil to play shortstop. (It also did not help Phil’s case to keep referring to the team as “The San Franciscos.”

He was, though, installed as the third base coach for a week or so. “PHIL’S MANNING THE HOT CORNER!” he kept crowing as he ran towards first until the batboy chased him down and turned him the right way.

Phil quickly became a fan favorite for his philosophy: send ’em. Blooper to left with Pablo Sandoval on first? Send ’em.It was entertaining in the same way running a reverse on 4th and 23 is, or the Charge of the Light Brigade, or taking Billy to church: a glorious death.

Mickey came along one night and sat in the dugout with Phil; his favorite part was the chatter. Predictably, Mickey failed to recognize the boundaries of chatter, and hucked a nine-volt battery at the opposing pitcher.

The Grateful Dead dealt with Daylight Saving Time in an idiosyncratic and varied fashion. Mickey, for example, once hauled off and decked a distressingly old man, turned to the others in the outing (they were on a trip to the bowling alley) and said “Guess that grandfather got clocked,” and then he put on his sunglasses and strode off purposefully. He came back right away, though, because it was his turn and Mickey was real competitive about bowling.

Phil took it seriously. He declared himself DST Marshall and put out a series of pamphlets about the “chronometric rejiggeration.” (That was what Phil called it and everyone made the cheap and racist joke that I won’t repeat here.)  He changed the clocks at Front Street assiduously, and when Phil had a family of his own, he instituted a strict policy of drills that everybody had to do–even the dog– and no one is happier than Jill that most everything just updates the time on its own now.