MLB Suspension of Roger McDowell and his apology. By Jerry Pritikin

"BLEACHER PREACHER" PHOTO BY MIA AIGOTTI

Well Major League Baseball has decided to suspend Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell, for 2 weeks for his inappropriate actions at Pac-Bell Park last week. I agree, especially there were some who felt Roger McDowell should of been fired. Chances are, I probably would of felt the same way based on the stories on the web and wire services. A few years back I took the time to write the Commissioner and several newspapers when Julian Tavarez of the Cubs, and John Rocker of the Braves made anti-gay remarks. However those guys had reputations as hot-heads and were bigoted. I did not know those ballplayers, but I have known Roger McDowell since 1984. Without a doubt, I knew him to be a fan favorite with every team he pitched for, and now as a pitching coach. I am glad this one moment out of a ditinguished career did not cost him his job. I was going to write McDowell to join me in the Bleachers for Chicago's Windy City Gay Newspaper special "Out at the Ballpark" game. I guess he'll have better things to do. I am attaching an artical in Sports Illustrated from 1987. It gives you an idea as to why I liked Roger. Thankfully, I hope people refrain from heckling him because of this one time event. In fact, MLB should make sure all teams do a better job at preventing fans from making obscene or anti-gay remarks aimed at ballplayers. And once a fan has been warned, they should be banned from the ballpark if they continue to do so.

Cheers... NOW LET'S PLAY SOME BASEBALL!

October 12, 1987

Scorecard

Edited by Sarah BallardDEFROCKED

Jerry Pritikin, the Bleacher Preacher of Wrigley Field, feels as though he has been excommunicated. A Cubs fan for 42 years and a fixture in the bleachers for the past three, Pritikin wears, or used to wear, a T-shirt that reads JERRY PRITIKIN, BLEACHER PREACHER, THE GOSPEL OF THE CUBS. He claims to have converted 1,500 nonbelievers into Cubs fans, baptizing them with an oath that invokes the names of Bill Veeck Sr., Bill Veeck Jr. and Charlie Grimm, the last man to manage a Cub team in the World Series (42 years ago).

The seeds of the present trouble were sown a couple of seasons back when Pritikin and some other fans in the bleachers tossed a Frisbee around with visiting Mets pitchers Ron Darling and Roger McDowell, who were standing in the outfield. Since then, when the Mets have come to Wrigley, McDowell always spots Pritikin in the crowd and asks, "Where's your Frisbee?"

That's what happened on Sept. 22, two hours before a Cubs-Mets game was scheduled to begin. It was raining, but as usual Pritikin was already in his seat. McDowell came out to rightfield and asked Pritikin the usual question. This time, though, Pritikin had come prepared. He took his Frisbee out of a bag and was about to throw it to McDowell when an usher said, "Don't throw it." Maybe the devil made him do it, maybe not, but Pritikin threw the Frisbee anyway. The usher expelled him from the park, breaking Pritikin's 75-game attendance streak. The Cubs beat the Mets 6-2, but it was small comfort to Pritikin, sitting on a bench outside the ballpark.

The Preacher finished up the season by attending the Cubs' next five home games, but things, he says, will never be the same. His T-shirt now reads: THIS SPACE FOR RENT.