Comments on: Bronx Banter Interview: Dayn Perry

By: Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:51:31 +0000

[8] Me too. The epic swing, the power, the style, the atttitude..Reggie is always going to be my favorite. Can’t wait to read this book!

Oh, my mom still tells the story of going to night school at Brooklyn College in the late 70s, and the class stopping so they could listen to Reggie’s first AB on the radio..he was THAT big a star..

By: ms october

ms october — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:24:06 +0000

great interview alex.
very interesting to hear how an author’s relationship with his subject evolves.

i was mesmerized by reggie as a little kid – i am also a yankee fan because of reggie.

By: a.O

a.O — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:26:09 +0000

Yes, I would say so. The cultural center is Oxford, but the writers come from all over. Eg, Stephen Ambrose is from Bay St Louis.

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:32:31 +0000

5) Is there a general awareness and/or pride in Mississippians about their literary past? I didn’t know that Richard Ford was from there. I’ve tried to read his famous novel “The Sportswriter” several times and just can’t get into it. I’ve heard that he wrote a couple of stellar collections of short stories though.

By: a.O

a.O — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:47:19 +0000

I also grew up in Mississippi (Bay St Louis), and I second Dayn’s sentiments about the place. I try to look at the positives in life, and the only positive thing about my experience growing up white in Mississippi is that I have a much deeper appreciation for race than most Americans and I was able to grow as a person as a result of my (thankfully successful) struggle to transcend the lingering hate that pervades that state and that entire region and that holds it back in so many ways.

Reggie was my first favorite ballplayer and the guy who made me a Yankee fan.

By: lroibal

lroibal — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:29:34 +0000

“he didn’t take any shit.”
I think that sums up Reggie. He was bigger than life to me.

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:20:35 +0000

He definitely was closer to a super hero than a ball player.

By: bp1

bp1 — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:12:17 +0000

Reggie is still my all time favorite guy to watch swing a baseball bat. It was mesmerizing. More so than any player today by far. I was a rightie growing up, but you can bet I was like millions of other kids trying to swing the bat like Reggie in the backyard.

He always seemed to play with long sleeves when he was on the Yankees, but I remember clearly one game he played in short sleeves. When he’d do that indian burn thing on the bat handle before stepping into the box, his forearms bulged like popeye.

He was a super hero to a kid like me. Still is.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:17:41 +0000

great interview, alex.

i guess reggie is going to benefit from the stats revolution as his career unfolded in a pitcher’s park in a pitcher’s era. and the more light that is shed on his early days in CF will probably help nullify the “one-dimensional” argument. check out his neutralized stats on bb-ref:

http://tinyurl.com/26lo7um

mlb network re-ran all the world series videos during the winter. reggie flying around the field and bases in 1973 was truly revelatory.