06-06-Oh, Garv
Don’t take it as a bad omen that today is the day of ... you know ...
The Beast.
Book of Revelation, the anti-Christ ...
Steve Garvey, ol' No. 6 ...
Not that we have sweaty palms or anything just because of the 6-6-6 nonsense. It just reminds us of some of the times in sports when 6 looked good. Guys would have a 6-for-6 day at the plate. They'd score 6 goals in a game. A QB would throw for 6 TD passes.
Then something very bad would happen...
Take the Garv.
When I was a kid, he was more than Mr. Clean. He was Mr. Everything. All-Star MVP, voted as a write-in for his first Mid Summer Classic, never missed a game ...
Ignore the off-the-field, keep-your-pants-on, Father of our Country, suing people and getting sued stuff. You can read more about that here. He belongs in the Hall of Fame, and the oversight at this point is just embarassing.
Almost as embarassing today: The fact the guy is leaving creditors high and dry apparently. He's stiffing charity events. He's just smiling and not paying. Read up more about that here.
Somehow, he continues to recruit people to hire him off his Website.
The Curse of No. 6 seems to be with the Dodgers now. Garv's No. 6 hasn't been retired by the team, but the Padres, who only had him from 1983-87, decided he piled up enough San Diego-centric stats to honor him with a hands-off-everyone-else number.
Since the Dodger started reissuing No. 6 in 2003, no one has kept it more than a year -- Jolbert Cabrera (bust), Brent Mayne (retired), Jason Grabowski (bust) and, now, Kenny Lofton (you decide how that's gonna turn out).
Don't forget: July 28, Steve Garvey Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium. If you get one, then put it up on eBay, Garv may actually buy it off you. Just make sure he PayPals you immediately.
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If you're a conspiracy theorists, here's some other sports 6s that had some strange things tied to them:
Julius Erving: No. 6 with the Philadelphia 76ers. It was revealed he was the biological father of rising women's tennis player, Alexandra Stevenson. Her mother, Samantha, was a former freelance reporter in Philly who covered the Sixers when he played.
Ace Bailey: No. 6 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Had his number retired in 1992. As a scout for the L.A. Kings, died in one of the planes that went into the Twin Towers on 9/11.
Mario Lemieux: No. 66 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. One of the NHL's greatest players, had to retire with Hodgkins Lymphoma. He recovered, eventually became owner of the franchise, came back to play, retired again and now has one of the league's biggest headaches in his portfolio.
Any fan of the Sacramento Kings: The NBA franchise retired the No. 6 in honor of its fans, who they refer to as "The Sixth Man." Downside: These people have to stay living in Sacramento.
Ray Nitschke: No. 66 with the Green Bay Packers. Has had to live his entire life with the name "Nitschke."
Comments
Your assessment of Garv is fair and balanced. He was a great player with the ability to carry the Dodgers for weeks. His off-field and after baseball exploits are sad and comical. However, I agree he belongs in the HOF. The Dodgers method for retiring numbers is illogical. Jim Gilliam's # 19 is retired but Garvey's and Maury Wills' (the father of modern day base-stealing) are not. Finally, before the "Day of the Devil" passes or the world comes to an end, did anyone remember the distance from the mound to home plate is 60'6"?
Posted by: Chuck from Manhattan Beach | June 6, 2006 01:07 PM