"I was there because (Giants manager) Dusty Baker wanted me there," said 'Baseball Codes' co-author Michael Duca. "Dusty made sure I got an all-access Giants credential that got me into the locker room ahead of the media."
The San Francisco Giants let a five-run lead slip away in the sixth game, which ultimately cost the Giants their first World Series win since 1954. Duca was helping produce content for Baker's web site at the time.
"I had a perfect angle to watch the Scott Speizio three-run homer glance off the first row of seats and land in the second row," Duca said. "I also saw a fan reach over the railing and bop Reggie Sanders on the head with a Thunder Stick. Instead of having a clear shot at catching the ball, Sanders was distracted just long enough to take an angle at the ball."
Diamond Code Exposed
Duca, who is a major-league baseball official scorer when he's not working for MLB.com, has been in the right place at the right time often enough to enjoy a prosperous writing career that evolved into "Baseball Codes: beanballs, sign stealing, and bench-clearing brawls: the unwritten rules of America's pastime" (Pantheon, $25.99).
Seated next to him on that fateful October night was Jason Turbow, who was working with the Giants marketing department as editor and producer of a special advertising page of the San Francisco Chronicle known as 'Giants Today,' which featured articles, graphs and artwork that promoted upcoming Giants games.
Duca had been working with the Total Baseball project that was eventually absorbed into other statistical companies. He was writing, but he wasn't getting paid for it.
"Jason said he had seen my writing, was impressed, and said he could pay me," Duca said. "Working with him I learned to start thinking ahead and discussing ideas for future stories."
Duca is also in line to help Los Angeles baseball writer Lyle Spencer write a book about Dusty Baker. The caveat is Baker wants to wait until he's retired. Duca had all these stories and began sharing them with Turbow. The seed was planted.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Duca became a Giants fan the moment Willie Mays made The Catch in game one of the 1954 World Series. The four-year-old kid, living in Sacramento at the time, watched the moment on television.
"I thought that was the coolest thing," Duca said. "They were my team even if they played in New York."
Duca remained a Giants' fan by listening to games on KFBK in Sacramento. He remained loyal even after his family moved to La Mesa during the 1962 World Series, which featured the Giants and the New York Yankees. "We moved during the (three-day) rain delay," Duca said.
He attended Helix High, a classmate of future NBA star Bill Walton, for two years and graduated from Pasadena High.
Duca graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Organizational Psychology, an independent major. He also studied U.S. history.
Duca's earliest sporting memory is a time when, as a 2 1/2-year-old, he refused to eat his peas at the dinner table. His parents made him sit there until he ate them and Duca wiled away the time listening to the Friday Night Fights on radio. He never did eat the peas.
Celebrating Baseball's Characters
Turbow, a 1992 graduate of UC Santa Cruz, also pursued an independent major in journalism. He originally went to Santa Cruz to study fine arts.
"I discovered I was more comfortable being creative with words than a paint brush," Turbow said. "Before kids, I tried to keep up with my art, and I'll get back to it. Right now I want to spend time with my family after spending so much time on the book."
Turbow attended Palo Alto High, across the street from Stanford University. To this day, high school students from Palo Alto still try to infiltrate college parties as often as they can get away with it.
"I was not too successful at it," Turbow said.
With those days ancient history, Turbow has turned to more artistic, productive expressions.
Rick Eymer - I have written for The San Mateo Times, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and am currently working part-time as an assistant sports editor at ...
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