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INTERVIEW WITH MARTY APPEL
Marty Appel is no stranger to Yankee fans. While younger fans may know him from his appearances on "Yankeeography," Mr. Appel has accomplished a great deal in the world of sports. He was the Director of Public Relations for the Yankees, has authored 16 books, produced Yankee games on television where he won an Emmy Award, and has worked for Major League Baseball, Topps sports cards, World Team Tennis and even the Olympics. Today, he runs his own PR firm, Marty Appel Public Relations (www.appelpr.com). He is one of the most knowledgeable baseball people out there and was nice enough to talk a little bit with us about the Yankees and Bernie Williams:
Obviously, baseball has played a major role in your life. It all started when you interned for the Yankees in the late 1960’s handling Mickey Mantle’s fan mail, which eventually led to you becoming their Director of Public Relations. It almost seems too good to be true that growing up a Yankee fan, you had the opportunity to jump in and work for your favorite team and accomplish so much in your career. Do you ever look back on it all with amazement?
MA: I ALWAYS look back on it in amazement. I was the most un-connected guy to ever possibly get a Yankee job. But Bob Fishel (Yankee PR director during the 1960's) was a great man, saw something in this raw teenage Yankee fan, and hired me. And learning PR from him was like learning democracy from Jefferson and Madison.
My earliest and fondest Yankee memories all trace back to watching the games on WPIX (Channel 11, New York). What was your role with the station?
MA: I was Executive Producer of the Yankee telecasts in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, as well as Vice President, Sports and PR for the station.
My favorite Yankee broadcast team will always be Phil Rizzuto and Bill White. What was it like working with them?
MA: Two great, great human beings. Phil was always underrated as a broadcaster because he brought no pretense into the broadcast booth, no ego, and he let his partners shine. Everyone he worked with was at their best when paired with Phil. He was fun, playful, kind, and, well, he was Yankee history. And “White” was a man’s man. A proud and very smart individual who worked hard to make himself into a broadcast professional, who respected Phil, and who never talked down to viewers. I don’t think people fully appreciated what they had when those two did the games.
You now have you own PR firm. Could you tell the readers a little about your firm, what you do and who your clients are? Do you still do any work with the Yankees today?
MA: Much of my business is sports related, but we wonder outside of sports as well. I’ve worked with the Yankees, the Hall of Fame, the Yogi Museum, a lot of baseball books, MLB, the Players Association, and on into other sports. I always value my Yankee association, am in frequent touch with my successors and with Yankee officials, and am pleased to still be involved with "Yankeeography" on YES, Yankees Magazine, and other team-related projects.
I read your book, Now Pitching for the Yankees, which I highly recommend. What inspired you to write it? Do you have any more books coming out soon?
MA: Now Pitching for the Yankees was a memoir of my career with a special focus on the years I was PR Director. It was actually my 16th book, and a 17th, a full-blown biography of Thurman Munson, will come out next July from Doubleday. I did Thurman’s autobiography with him 30 years ago, so this was quite an honor, revisiting the same subject with so much more than was in the first book.
From your time with the Yankees, which players (or personnel) impressed you the most in terms of being true professionals both on and off the field? Which Yankees are you still friends with today?
MA: Oh, what a list this would be. Mantle, Ford, Howard, Richardson, Stottlemyre, White, Murcer, Munson, Chambliss, Randolph, Hunter, Guidry – I’m leaving scores of players out, I know. Even forgotten players like Steve Hamilton, Ruben Amaro, Bill Robinson – these were classy people. I’m still in touch with many of them on a regular basis, guys like Fritz Peterson, Ron Blomberg, Sparky Lyle – and Graig Nettles, Fran Healy and I were all consulting producers for "The Bronx is Burning."
Let’s talk a little bit about Bernie Williams. In the late 1980’s, the Yankees were going through a bad period and typically traded their young prospects for fading veteran talent. Bernie Williams was one of the few prospects who managed to survive. What were you early impressions of Bernie? Did you think he had a future with the Yankees and would develop into the player he eventually became?
MA: I remember wondering who was the better prospect, Bernie Williams or Gerald Williams, or whether Roberto Kelly was better than both of them. I’m not the best judge of talent – you should see scouts who can watch a guy for a game or two and know so much about him. Of course, those who bet on Bernie were right – he went on to become an all-time great Yankee.
You had the privilege of watching some great Yankee teams while growing up. Playing centerfield for the Yankees has become a position with a lot of history and mystique behind it. Where would you rank Bernie Williams among the team’s all-time centerfielders?
MA: I would have to place him fourth behind the ones who are in the Hall of Fame – DiMaggio, Mantle and Earle Combs, who of course, I never saw play, even on film. I just have to respect the Hall of Fame voters. Same with second base – have to go with Lazzeri as the best Yankee second baseman because he’s the only one in the Hall of Fame.
Do you think the Yankees should retire Bernie’s #51?
MA: I am not a big fan of retiring numbers. I would have been happy to stop at 3-4-5-7. But then Stengel’s #37 and Yogi’s #8 were retired in a “make peace” gesture after previous ownership had sacked them both after winning pennants. Then the cat was out of the bag. I admired Reggie, but he only played five seasons, and one was a strike season. Loved Gator, but was he more deserving than Reynolds and Raschi and Lopat? It gets too extended. Do you retire #51 and not Tino and Paul?
Given the Yankee’s current lack of a true centerfielder, do you think the fans will continue to realize just how good a player Bernie Williams really was as time goes on?
MA: The thing that always gives fans pause is if someone says to me that Don Mattingly should be in the Hall of Fame – a frequent argument – and then I say, "who had a better career, Bernie or Donnie?" And it’s like, “oh wow, I guess it was Bernie!” I think his legend will grow. The reception he got at the last Stadium game was wonderful.
Who do you see playing centerfield for the Yankees in 2009 (or beyond)? Do you think the answer will be found within the farm system or will it most likely come via a trade or free agency?
MA: I’m thinking it will be a guy from another organization, or someone who sends Johnny Damon back to center. But this answer is subject to revision weekly!
Do you think Bernie Williams’ chances for the Hall of Fame may have improved, given that many recent high-profile players have become linked to what is now known as the steroid era?
MA: I do think his chances are improved, particularly if writers really boycott those accused of steroid use. But he’s not a clear-cut choice. To me, if you have to pause and think about it, he’s not a Hall of Famer. I have a high standard on that; I’m not your typical voter. One pause, and no vote. Rickey Henderson gets no pause, he’s in.
Have you had the chance to listen of any Bernie’s music? If so, what are your thoughts?
MA: I love Bernie’s music, and my friend Dr. Bob Thompson, one of the co-authors of Baseball’s Greatest Hit: Take me out to the Ball Game (the book), is his music professor at SUNY Purchase in Westchester. I’d love to see his career grow in that field.
I would guess you have some mixed emotions regarding the closing of old Yankee Stadium. Did you have a chance to attend the last game at Yankee Stadium? What were your thoughts on Bernie’s return to the stadium and the fact that got to be introduced last?
MA: I was at the last game with my son. I sat in right field overlooking Bobby Abreu. When I started going in the ‘50s, I’d sit in right field with my dad and Hank Bauer played there. Scramble the letters in Bauer and you get Abreu. How about that?! It was a great day, I had at least ten emotional highs, and Bernie’s introduction was surely one of them.
In your opinion, which Yankee team was better, 1961 or 1998?
MA: Tough one. ’98 was amazing. I remember turning on my car radio one day, hearing “…and so, after 6, it’s Minnesota 4 and the Yankees 3,” and then saying to myself, “this is a win,” and turning off the radio. That’s how that season felt. ’61 was great because of Roger and Mickey and because Whitey Ford had his first really, really spectacular season after so many years with the team. I can’t choose between them yet. Maybe I need some more years.
Should George Steinbrenner be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?
MA: Well, we’re Yankee fans, but again, I’m a tough Hall of Fame voter. Let me answer like this: I have long felt Colonel Jacob Ruppert (Yankee owner from 1915-1939) should be considered more seriously. He built Yankee Stadium, bought Babe Ruth, created the Yankee dynasty, and helped make the game really big-time in America. Let’s take care of that piece of business first.