Carl Erskine, the Last of Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, Passes at 97

This week I did what many people who know also did this week with the passing of Carl Erskine: I grabbed one of my copies of The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn and read chapter 5.

The Boys of Summer is not just a great baseball book, though it is that. It is great literature in general. It is a book well written that helps makes sense of life and relationships, and it reveals many lessons needed for those things that baseball helps nurture.

Chapter 5, titled Carl and Jimmy, is as much about Carl Erskine as it is about his son, Jimmy, who was born with Down Syndrome after Carl had retired from baseball.

Jimmy's story as told by Kahn highlights Carl's second act in life, and his most important one, that of a father. In 1960, when a child had Down Syndrome, many people sent the child to an institution to live.

The Erskine’s took Jimmy home instead.

There is never a bad reason to pick up a classic work. But the passing of one of the thirteen people profiled in the book, and the final survivor, is a good time to revisit that profile.

 

In this re-reading of Kahn, two sections consisting of three sentences struck me for their use of and beauty of the English language when employed well.

"In the little Indiana den, it is the old story of the father and the son, a startling sunburst over autumn haze, expressed by a father whose own son is robbed of expression." p. 251

This one does not take much explanation when considering a father with a Down Syndrome child. Kahn wove some magic with this one for sure. The “robbed of expression” is an absolutely perfect metaphor.

"Wooden shutters stand open behind Erskine's chair. Memories have poured, but night claws at the window." p. 258

There are many ways to describe an evening getting darker or the sun setting or even the day ending. But when you think about Kahn sitting there in the home of a Brooklyn Dodgers legend and his wanting to hear story after story about times they both knew well, but the clock is ticking, it is getting late, time is short, “night claws at the window.” We all know the feeling. Oh my goodness.

Beautiful prose indeed.

Incidentally, Jimmy just passed away this past November at the age of 63. His life was much longer than his life expectancy at birth would have predicted. That is no doubt due in part to the love that Carl and his wife Betty gave to Jimmy for 63 years.

To have read Carl's life, including the story Kahn tells, is to know that he served his son well over his entire 63 years of life and when Jimmy passed away last year, Carl’s life was complete, his most important job done.

Unfortunately, Kahn is no longer with us for he could tell this story better than any of us.

"Memories have poured..."

*page numbers refer to the First Edition hardback of The Boys of Summer, but the story can be found in Chapter 5 of any edition*

25 Years Ago Today, Adrian Beltre Went From San Antonio to Los Angeles

Adrian Beltre at-bat in San Antonio in 1998. (Photo taken by Steve Parkhurst)

June 23, 2023

By Steve Parkhurst

Twenty-five years ago tonight, June 23, 1998, then Dodgers prospect Adrian Beltre made the improbable one-way trip from AA San Antonio to the big club in Los Angeles.

The next night, the steady march to Cooperstown for Beltre began in Dodger Stadium. Beltre hit the first pitch he saw as a major leaguer into left field for a double and an RBI. Beltre added another base hit that night in the Dodgers 6–5 win over the Angels.

Just 19 years old, but at the time everyone around baseball thought he was 20. Even at 19, he was a young 19, having just celebrated a birthday in early April. Beltre was the first Dodger to make the leap from AA to LA since Mariano Duncan did the same in 1985.

Beltre only played 64 games with the San Antonio Missions, but that limited sample size left an impression as he hit .321 with 13 home runs, 56 RBI, 21 doubles, and 20 stolen bases.

Before heading to Los Angeles, there was the matter of the game to be played that night in El Paso. In the case of Beltre, he did not play in that final game, though he stayed with the team until the final out.

Why Beltre did not play in that final game with San Antonio is a story for another day.

Well before the game, Missions manager Ron Roenicke was on the phone with new Dodgers General Manager Tommy Lasorda. Lasorda was telling Roenicke he wanted Beltre in Los Angeles, if he was healthy. Beltre missed 20 games during his AA stint, 10 days for an injury to the left ankle followed by 10 days for an injury to the right ankle.

There was a back and forth between the two men on the telephone. Beltre’s talent was not among the topics being debated.

As would be expected, what Lasorda wanted and what the Dodgers needed won out.

Ron Roenicke called Beltre into his office in El Paso’s Cohen Stadium. Hitting Coach Lance Parrish was in the office as well. Beltre had a bit of a dour look on his face, the result of something else in the works at the time. However, the news Beltre heard about the phone call with Lasorda quickly put the classic Beltre smile across his face.

Naysayers wondered aloud if it was too early or too soon to bring Beltre to the show.

In the immediacy of the moment, Jon Pont, the hitting coach for the El Paso Diablos was quote by Shana Newell for the El Paso Times, “He’s probably far and away the best defensive player at any position — ever.” Pont continued, “There are only two guys that I’ve seen at their position, that are as good as Beltre defensively — J.T. Snow and Todd Landry. Those are the type of guys who win you games with their gloves.”

Lasorda was always an advocate for Beltre. Shortly after Beltre’s promotion to Los Angeles, Earl Bloom quoted Lasorda in the Orange County Register, “If you bring them up and they do the job, do you still say it’s too early?”

Ralph Avila, who at the time oversaw the Dodgers’ Dominican Republic operations and was also one of the scouts who encouraged the Dodgers to sign Beltre in 1994, was quoted by Robert Kuwada for the Orange County Register, “If we didn’t think he was ready, he wouldn’t be here.” Avila added, “The reason he’s here is because we think he’s ready to be here.”

Fortunately, the confidence expressed by Dodgers leadership matched that of the principal: Adrian Beltre had no doubts at all about his ability to play at the highest level, but that it was the right time to test his assumption.

“I feel ready to play here, mentally and physically,” Kuwada quoted Beltre as saying at the time.

On his way out of town 25 years ago tonight, Beltre was quoted by Newell about how he did not want to be one of those players who got promoted to the big leagues only to be sent down soon thereafter for more seasoning.

“When I make it there, I want to stay there.”

Beltre stayed.

The potential first-year Hall of Fame inductee in 2024, retired from the game after the 2018 season having put the finishing touches on a career that spanned 21 seasons.

Beltre will stay in Cooperstown as well. Forever.

Steve Parkhurst is the author of a forthcoming biography about Adrian Beltre to be released in the fall of 2024.

Real Clear Markets Links To My Work Again

Steve Parkhurst and Speaker Paul Ryan Make Headlines

So, this was cool on a Sunday morning. And so what if I sensationalized the headline.

Newspaper Article: Moving Forward in 2016 and Beyond

This article appeared in El Republicano, a publication of the Hispanic Republicans of Texas, this past weekend at the Republican Party of Texas state convention in Dallas.

Moving Forward in 2016 and Beyond
by Steve Parkhurst

Now that the pageantry of the Presidential nomination process is behind us, it is time to focus on the November elections and the future of our movement and our party.

Twenty years ago this August, Jack Kemp accepted the nomination for Vice President at the Republican convention in San Diego. In accepting the 1996 nomination, Kemp said, “The purpose of a truly great party is to provide superior ideas, principled leadership and a compelling cause.” Kemp continued, “Our convention is not just the meeting of a political party; our convention is a celebration of ideas. Our goal is not just to win, but to be worthy of winning.”

A lot has happened in the last twenty years. The global landscape is remarkably different. After another bruising Presidential primary season, one unworthy of our country and our party, it is time to move toward November united and ready to do battle.

The presidential contest is but one race on the ballot come November. Many people will not be happy with the choice at the top of their ballot. Over the next five-plus months, perhaps feelings will change and a vision will be accepted. Up and down ballots across America, citizens will choose members of the United States Senate and Congress, members of state legislatures or assemblies, and many of the leaders of tomorrow.

In the wake of the presidential contest which will leave some people bitter and disappointed, it is important to identify and support the candidates for other offices who offer the “compelling cause” that our party represents. There are many great candidates worthy of your support.

These candidates view economic growth and opportunity as the best path out of poverty. The candidates rebuke the idea that redistributing income and wealth is the way forward. These candidates are adopting the philosophy of Arthur Brooks to “fight for people, not against things.” These candidates see Washington D.C. not as a reasonable partner who can assist people and communities to find local solutions, but instead as the albatross that it has become, one which stifles innovation and advancement with regulations and obstacles.

As we seek, identify and support candidates who want to embrace this vision of localism, it will be important to assure that we have intelligent, innovative thinkers and policy entrepreneurs ready to work as we devolve power back to states, counties and cities, along with other localities. It will also be vital to have neighborhood healers identified and at the ready, these are the people and organizations who can replace functions previously dominated by governments, with tested methods that get results.

This is the heart of what Alexis de Tocqueville observed about America when his observations were published back in 1835: An America where neighbor looked after neighbor and associations and churches handled many of the tasks too burdensome for any one neighbor, with a speed and efficiency that would be foreign to the bureaucracy of today.

This April, Governor John Kasich presented us with an optimistic vision in which "America’s supposed decline becomes its finest hour, because we came together to say ‘no' to those who would prey on our human weakness and instead chose leadership that serves, helping us look up, not down.”

This is the sort of vision we now need going into November. This is not the time to buy into the doom and gloom scenarios. This is the time to go into communities that are different from ours and really engage people about the American idea. Some of these might be communities where Democrats own the landscape and Republicans never dare enter. When we never show up to present our case, it is that much easier for the Democrats to label us however they choose. We need to start laying the foundations of trust in these communities right now, today.

The challenge before us now is to put our “compelling cause” on full display for the nation to see. This can be done, and it can be done by each one of us, back home, in our own communities and neighborhoods. Speaker Paul Ryan is a model for us to follow. The Speaker is putting forth pragmatic solutions for the America of today, and doing it with a manner consistent with our timeless principles.

If we had met the challenge of 1996 in a manner similar to that presented above, perhaps fewer of us would be disappointed by what happened in the presidential primary this year, and maybe even fewer of us would be as shell-shocked.

A party “worthy of winning” will take up the Jack Kemp challenge twenty years later and finally start to do the work necessary to advance the American idea.

Interviewed By French Newspaper About Big Data

I was recently interviewed by Elisabeth Guédel of the conservative French newspaper l'Opinion. We discussed Big Data in America in 2016 and in the French Presidential elections of 2017. The writer reached out because of my report on Big Data, free for download.

Note: The translation from French to English was done using Google Translate, so take that with a grain of salt.

In the US, the "profiling" of still further constituents

The strength of the digital teams Barack Obama contributed to the difference in 2008 and especially in 2012

In the US, everyone remembers "the victory of Big Data," as the newspapers headlined at the re-election of Barack Obama in 2012. The US president had been able to target 15 million indecisive and broaden its base Election compared to 2008, particularly among young people. The digital campaign has become a model of its kind which today inspire presidential candidates next year.

"The tools are not exactly new for 2016, but they are refined, said the political advisor big data expert, Steve Parkhurst, the Texas firm American Renaissance. The campaign teams develop a multitude of tablet and smartphone applications to better achieve and identifying potential voters. "64% of Americans today have a mobile phone, according to Pew Research, against 35% in spring 2011, when the presidential election campaign began.

. Swing states The "profiling" method evolved: there four years, voter identification was based on geolocation, defined from residential areas. Today, it is a "get people where they are, that is, anywhere," said Steve Parkhurst yet. Although residents of "swing states" - those American States which can switch in the Democratic camp or the Republicans one election to another - are still targeted, research is no longer based on an address or postal code but on the tastes, preferences and conversations. It is crossed with the analysis of data available on social networks, the number of users in the US is expected to exceed 186 million in 2016 against 160 million in 2012, according to estimates. Seven US ten Internet users today have a Facebook account.

The strength of the digital teams Barack Obama was their ability to "track" the BarackObama.com website could leave up to 87 different cookies while browsing, MittRomney.com, website Republican rival candidate, not included as 48, revealed the Wall Street Journal in November 2012. The information collectors have informed accurately about the habits of Internet users - what read newspapers, or favorite foods charities supported by example and helped to customize the messages that whether in emails to solicit donations and volunteer hours or in political commercials.

"Massive data are not sufficient in themselves, Steve Parkhurst notes, however, you also have the right person asking the right questions." Barack Obama had attracted a genius  cloud  as Harper Reed, key man of his campaign 2012. Not sure Hillary Clinton, despite the help of Groundwork, a start-up created by the Executive President of Alphabet (parent Google) Eric Schmidt to help the candidate to hire talent, also has an attractive candidate.

Paul Ryan for Speaker

I teamed up with Ed Hubbard on this opinion piece to show support for Paul Ryan to be the next Speaker of the House. As always, interested in your thoughts.

Featured by Supply-Siders Group

Steve Parkhurst discusses Jack Kemp's legacy & more at http://t.co/tXws9dxRqe http://t.co/0tDAsD984U

— Unleash Prosperity (@Comm4Prosperity) October 5, 2015

My Review of Jack Kemp, by Mort Kondracke and Fred Barnes

Please take a look at my latest book review, this one for the new book, Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative Who Changed America.

I Talked About Jack Kemp on Price of Business

I joined The Price of Business and host Kevin Price to discuss the legacy and ideas of the late Jack Kemp. Listen here and let me know what you think.

Interview About Today's UK Elections

I appeared on The Price of Business with host Kevin Price to discuss the elections taking place in the United Kingdom today. Will the Tories win a big enough majority to govern? Will Ed Miliband really become Prime Minister? Listen here now.

Steve Parkhurst Appears on The Price of Business

I was the guest of Kevin Price on Houston's The Price of Business radio talk show earlier this week. We discussed the 2014 election of a Houston (now) State Representative. Please listen to the 9 minute interview and let me know what you think.

 

Neighborhood Healers

This column has been prepared as part of a reading supplement for the Republican Party of Texas convention in Ft. Worth.

By Artemio Muniz and Steve Parkhurst

Across America, many of our neighborhoods are crumbling, in need of renewal and all hope of achieving the American Dream hangs by a thread.

Rather than turning away and assuming someone else will pick up the pieces, there are individuals, who have been termed Neighborhood Healers, who work to pick up those pieces and they change lives and communities in the process.

And in the spirit of self reliance and self determination that dominates our great party, these Healers work without the help of any government as they are trying to renew their communities or neighborhoods. This can be in the form of a ministry that heals the fallen, or a citizen who is fed up with the lack of attention paid to a worn down neighborhood and decides to act on his or her own, at their own expense. This can be the mentor who offers guidance to a pupil who needs that one person who cares enough to look eye to eye or soul to soul and make a difference.

Robert Putnam in his books Bowling Alone and Better Together, Robert Woodson in his book The Triumphs of Joseph and William Schambra in his speeches and writings, have all touched upon the root of the American character when people in communities work together to improve lives for those around them.

In late 2008, we started working as a group that would eventually morph into what is today the Federation of Hispanic Republicans. Our early focus as an organization was civic renewal; a re-engagement of individuals in their community. All inspired by the likes of Putnam, Woodson and Schambra.

We traveled from Houston to just south of San Antonio to the city of Von Ormy where we joined with Mayor Art Martinez de Vara in a citywide cleanup, led by Republicans. Over the next few months back in Houston, we continued this sort of work. We joined with other people to find projects that needed help. In one instance, a home needed to be painted and a neighborhood church was offering the paint and supplies, they just lacked the manpower. We teamed up with another local organization and while that house was being painted, the rest of us cleared the neighboring lot and cleaned up the yard of a vacant home.

The most interesting thing to see, was after the work was done. Days, weeks, months later, the people who did the work, those who gave up a Saturday to labor, they were still beaming with pride, satisfaction and most important of all, happiness.

Neighborhood Healers are at work across the state of Texas. Most don't call themselves Healers, they just go about their work. Most only want attention to point out the problems they're working hard to remedy. If you really think on it, we all know a Healer like this.

In April, Steve Parkhurst ventured out to San Antonio's famed Outcry in the Barrio ministry. That visit was previously written about here. As was pointed out in the recap of that visit, Outcry, a faith-based organization, has an astonishingly high success rate in getting addicts off of their substance(s) of choice and back in productive lives, often right in their own communities helping others. No government, whether federal, state, county or city, can claim the kind of success rate that a ministry like Outcry can achieve. Mainly because a place like Outcry is steeped in results after an addict leaves, while governments worry about the numbers enrolled, the number cured or healed is less important.

Ministries like Outcry in the Barrio need help. And Outcry is just one of many.

This past March, we were part of a group across the state that sought to include in the party platform a resolution, whereby the Republican Party of Texas would support the creation and/or development of a Neighborhood Healers Initiative.

With this Initiative, we wanted to show support for, and encourage the recognition of such Neighborhood Healers, and we wanted to make sure Republicans across Texas (and the nation) are doing their part to assist these Healers who are putting our conservative principles into practice on a daily basis.

We felt that as part of this initiative the Republican Party of Texas should start finding, identifying, and recognizing these healers and assure that the Republican Party both locally and statewide is assisting as needed in this community renewal. Because when good people apply deeds, and not just words, to the crises in our neighborhoods, our neighborhoods are better and we all benefit.

And this isn't about spending money. This is about growing our party; it's about growing our cause. Raising awareness and encouraging people to look a little deeper into their communities won't cost one cent.

We want to challenge all the delegates at the state Republican convention to get involved when you return home. Find an individual or organization locally that is putting principles into practice, and help them. Help however you can, with time, money, sweat equity, or even with a little social media promotion.

As Deuteronomy 15:11 tells us, "For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’"

So many Neighborhood Healers have opened wide their hands, they all could use an extra set of hands.

Outcry In The Barrio, Neighborhood Healers and a San Antonio Visit

I've written something that I won't post this website for a few weeks, but I wanted to make you aware of it now. Take a look: Outcry In The Barrio, Neighborhood Healers and a San Antonio Visit.

You may recall a few weeks ago I bought a copy of Newt Gingrich's newest book, Breakout. I tweeted about the purchase, and Newt re-tweeted me, which was awesome. Obviously, as an opinion leader, Newt wanted to know what I thought about the book. I'm sure you're curious too.

So, here's my Amazon review:

Breakout inspires, motivates, encourages and guides. Five Stars!

Newt Gingrich's Breakout is an important contribution to the future of our country.

Breakout is not your typical Left vs. Right book. For instance, if you read a book like Gingrich's To Save America, this is very different. It would actually be interesting to know how few times the words "Republicans" or "Democrats" actually appear in Breakout. Instead, this book is about big ideas and big thinkers, people who are trying to make things happen, and usually succeeding, in spite of government regulators and those who want to keep the old order in place.

Newt accurately uses a new label, "prison guards," to identify those keeping us locked down in the old, failed ways: bureaucrats, teachers, regulators, professors, government agencies, and environmentalists, to name but a few. Newt cites many great examples and resources throughout his book, all of which can easily be found for further research so we can all work toward achieving Breakout.

Newt's final chapter (chapter 13) and his Conclusion are both brief, but both a really great, important summations of what needs to be done to achieve Breakout. If you do not walk away from this book hopeful and motivated to make real change happen, the problem might just be with you, and you must be happy with the status quo which ultimately is the path to continued failure and mediocre outcomes.

As I mentioned before, go in to this book with an open mind. Breakout isn't just for Republicans or just for Democrats: it's for us. All of us. Breakout awaits, and this enjoyable, readable roadmap toward Breakout is a quick and easy read and will certainly open your mind to clearer thinking about what can happen if we all demand it and work toward it.

Texas Tomorrow: An Economic Plan for Texas in the 21st Century

I posted the following review on Amazon.com for Raul Torres' book Texas Tomorrow: An Economic Plan for Texas in the 21st Century:

This brief volume from Texas State Representative Raul Torres, CPA is an important contribution to the public policy discussion in Texas, and could possibly be quite effective in some other states as well. Good ideas and clear thinking are not limited by state or international borders. Representative Torres helped to pass a bill in Texas Legislature to implement Lean Six Sigma process into state government. The results speak for themselves, and clearly, Rep. Torres is on to something.

Torres' writing is clear and concise, he uses a little humor to make a few points very well. He keeps it simple, where most other authors would bog the reader down with facts or nuance. The book goes into public education, tax relief, budgeting and economic development. On each and every topic, Rep. Torres keeps to the point and ends each section with several positive, solutions oriented recommendations. Those are well worth reading over and over.

Texas Tomorrow is very well researched and it is documented incredibly well. Many of the sources used are available online. Whether you're just interested in some new ideas as a private citizen, a candidate for political office, or an office holder looking for some new ideas, Texas Tomorrow is worth taking a chance on.

Big Data, Republican Campaigns and 2016

Have you downloaded your copy of this free report that I've written?

 
What is Big Data? Are Republicans using Big Data? How effectively did Obama 2012 utilize Big Data? Are 2016 hopefuls like Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul ready to listen to what Big Data can tell them? All of this and more in the free Special Report.

Download the FREE report now (click here for the .pdf)

Interviewed on The Price of Business, Sept 7, 2012

I was interviewed by Kevin Price on his show The Price of Business on the final day of the DNC in Charlotte. We discussed impeached president Bill Clinton's speech the night before. We also discussed my feature called Across The Pond at USDailyReview.com.

 

Interviewed on The Price of Business, August 2, 2012

I was again on the radio with Kevin Price to discuss the outcome of the Texas Republican primary in which Ted Cruz emerged victorious. The tea party movement was also discussed.

Latest Interview on The Price of Business