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Negron’s ‘Miracle’ On 161st Street

Written by: Jerry Milani on 24th August 2012

Ray Negron (credit: www.yankeemiracles.com) | read this item

Of all the “miraculous” events that occurred at Yankee Stadium from 1923 until its last game in 2008, one of the most amazing didn’t happen on the field, but just outside the edifice, and not in the heat of a pennant race, but on June 29, 1973, a decidely down period in the team’s history. Instead of a baseball, the critical object was a can of spray paint, and instead of a player, the principle was a 17-year-old boy from Queens.

There was certainly nothing uncommon about graffiti in the Bronx in the 1970s. Yankee Stadium, about to undergo a major renovation 50 years into its life, was not immune. But on this day, it wasn’t a gang symbol, unprintable word or random character being painted, but the interlocking “NY” made famous by the stadium’s inhabitants. What happened next was the miracle.

When Ray Negron‘s brothers and friends were out “tagging” buildings in the Bronx, he was assigned the Stadium. When the unmarked police vehicles closed in, the others got away. Ray froze. He ended up being the lucky one.

“Today, you’re going to jail,” said Negron about what would happen if someone tried that in 2012. “There will never, ever be another person like George Steinbrenner.”

Negron details this life-altering experience, the opportunity that presented itself courtesy of the Yankees’ then-new Principal Owner, and his close relationships with Yankee stars from Reggie Jackson to Thurman Munson to Derek Jeter and dozens in between in Yankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers.

Negron, who tried his hand at acting after working with the Yankees and then a couple of other Major League clubs, is now a community advisor for the Yankees. He spoke this week with Going9 about his experience as detailed in the book.

G9B: Your story is part being in the right place at the right time, and bigger part making the most of that opportunity. Looking back, why do you think George Steinbrenner took a chance on you?
RN: It’s funny because wqe never really talked about that. I had two brothes who spent a lot of time in prison, and at one point I went up to the Boss in his Tampa office, and I told him, ‘If not for you, I would have spent a lot of time in Riker’s Island [prison] myself.’ He said, ‘No, that day that I caught you, your story was already written.’ It wasn’t until I finished the book that I knew what he meant.

G9B: What do you think made players earn your trust so thoroughly? When you break it down, you were the batboy.
RN: With Reggie, it was the fact that we both spoke Spanish and so he felt a comfort, that was what initially opened it up for us. I treated him more like a brother than a baseball star, and he was able to say anything to me, so by the time his first Spring Training ended [1977], he said to me, ‘What are your responsibilities in New York?’ and since they were less than in Florida, I worked for him, answering his fan mail, taking care of his car, watering his plants. Pete Sheehy, the longtime Yankees clubhouse man, told me he had done the same for Lou Gehrig years ago, but that he made sure he did it for the other players too, or at least offered. Even thought Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig didn’t get along for a long time, Pete was able to be close to both of them that way. It was kind of like that with Thurman and Reggie for me. As time progressed, and he saw what I was doing, George said to stay close to them all, that it would only help me.

G9B: Having worked closely with the top players of the era in the 1970s through to today, what do you see as the biggest difference?
RN: In that era, because there was less money involved maybe, you were able to be closer to the players at that time. Players in essence relied more on you then than they do todya. Today, the players make so much money that they have their own private people that work for them; they don’t rely on a clubhouse person now as much as they did in those days. Besides their agents, they have assistants for this, for that, their own entourage.

G9B: You were at a career crossroads after the Pirates let you go after being drafted in the second round as a shortstop — you only had seven at bats. Do you feel regret that after such a brief opportunity, you didn’t take the offer to play in the Texas system after Pittsburgh cut you?
RN: I’m ok with it, because of the friendships I’ve had with Billy Martin, Reggie, Thurman, Lou Piniella, Mickey Rivers. My roommate in Spring Training one year was Bucky Dent, that era’s Derek Jeter, that was my roomie. It makes me feel great. I’m glad I did what I did, that I’ve lived the life I had and with my relationship with such a great group of guys.

G9B: You go into quite a bit of detail in the book about your relationships with some tragic figures in Yankees history – Munson, Bobby Murcer, Hunter just to name three. Did one of them or another player influence you the most?
RN: They all put a little piece into what made me who I am today. Thurman, definitely from his true sensitivity about kids. Fans never got to see that because even though he was this gruff guy, I got to know a different guy, he taught me how to respect and to get respect, which was very important to him. I talk in the book about an incident where Catfish stopped the team bus because he thought I wasn’t on it. His actions spoke volumes to me, showed that I mattered.

G9B: I think the big triumph of Yankee Miracles puts the reader in a completely different perspective – congratulations on that. Do you sometimes pinch yourself after all these years, that you had this opportunity and ran with it?
RN: I just know that throughout the years, I was asked about doing a book, but it was never the book I wanted to do. It was really the influence of George that made me do this book. He’s the one. If he said not to do it, I wouldn’t have done it. He knew that I was going to do it right. My only regret is that I didn’t finish it while he was still alive. I know he would have loved this book.

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Topics: Bronx Bombers, Close Relationships, Derek Jeter, Gang Symbol, George Steinbrenner, Going To Jail, Last Game, League Clubs, Lucky One, Miraculous Events, Pennant Race, Police Vehicles, Principal Owner, Random Character, Ray Negron, reggie jackson, Right Place At The Right Time, Spray Paint, Thurman Munson, Yankee Stadium

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