Cards from the Diamond

In 1997, I was working for the Massachusetts Mad Dogs in the independent North Atlantic League. George Scott (“Boomer” to us in the office) was the manager. My title was radio announcer, though I was really a glorified intern (there's no other good reason for any minor league team, let alone one in the Indy Leagues to have a three-man broadcast crew). Eventually one of my duties was to do the daily pre-game interview with Boomer. I quickly learned why I was handed this task. It took place in Boomer's hot, humid, sweaty office that smelled every bit of a locker room. And there was George – all 300+ pounds of him, sitting behind his desk in nothing but a pair of sliding pants. Once you got used to all of that, Boomer was great to work with. He'd tell you just about anything and his players really enjoyed playing for him.

Marcas .. that's great! You know Boomer in all his glory … There is a discussion happening on the Facebook page about possibly some bitterness he felt towards the Red Sox. Did you ever encounter any of that?

I never did. Mostly because he never talked much about his time with the Sox. I do know that most former Red Sox players are still very beloved in the area (the team played in Lynn…about a 20 minute drive from downtown Boston). In fact, later that summer we signed Oil Can Boyd to a contract. We had a tough time drawing crowds except for Boyd's starts…sold out every night.