Tanner not forgotten

PITTSBURGH – Chuck Tanner always said it would take someone special to get him back into a major league uniform for the first time in two decades.

Phil Garner was that guy.

Tanner, who managed Garner with the 1979 World Series champion Pirates, hasn’t been in the majors since managing the Atlanta Braves in 1988. As the years passed and the game moved on, Tanner began to feel a bit forgotten even though many of his former players became managers themselves.

But Garner didn’t forget – “Chuck’s my mentor, and I manage a lot like he did,” the Houston Astros manager said – so Garner made call after call to the commissioner’s office to get Tanner into uniform as a special N.L. coach in the All-Star game Tuesday night.

“I wanted him here for this game, in this city – 1979 was a great time around here,” Garner said.

Tanner was known for his upbeat personality and his boundless optimism as a manager with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Pirates and Braves from 1970-88. But crying was never one of his recognizable traits, at least until Garner told him he would put on a Pirates uniform one more time.

Tanner isn’t too proud to acknowledge the gesture moved him to tears.

“It’s the biggest honor I’ve had since 1979,” Tanner said. “This is the greatest. I’m on top of the mountain. It left me speechless.”

Most of the N.L. All-Stars weren’t born when Tanner, also a former player, began managing and probably are unaware of some of his innovations. He was one of the first managers to use specialized pitchers in the late innings – Goose Gossage was his closer with both the White Sox and Pirates – and he championed the cause of the running game like no one else. His 1976 A’s stole a remarkable 341 bases, an average of more than two per game.

But he always tried to adjust his managing to his players and not the other way around so, so when he left the speed-driven A’s for the heavy-hitting Pirates, he became as big a proponent of the home run as he was the stolen base.

“I call him all the time for advice,” Garner said. “Yeah, I pattern myself after him.”

That means staying calm and not panicking even when times are bad. It was this Tanner-like patience that helped the Astros rebound from a 15-30 start to reach the World Series last year. The 1979 Pirates got off to a similar start – they were in last place in May – before rebounding to win Pittsburgh’s last World Series title.

“He’s a very good baseball man, but he’s a better man,” Garner said.

Banks impressed by Howard

Mr. Cub stopped in his tracks when he saw the new Home Run Derby champ.

“Who taught you how to play?” Hall of Famer Ernie Banks asked Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard during warmups before the All-Star game.

Banks marveled at Howard’s power show at the derby on Monday, in which he topped another young star, New York Mets third baseman David Wright.

“David Wright – good hands. Miguel Cabrera – good hands,” Banks later said from a PNC Park suite as he watched National League take batting practice. “But the left-handed hitters seem to be much better balanced, a little bit quicker in the hands.”

Quite a compliment from Banks, a pretty good right-handed hitter himself. An 11-time All-Star, Banks hit 512 home runs and won two Most Valuable Player awards in his 19-year career with the Cubs.

“For me to meet a legend like that in this stage of my career is a blessing,” said Howard, bat dragging along the ground after he took his pregame swings. “I can only be flashes of what he used to be like.”

Banks said today’s hitters are better in at least one respect.

“What I see, the technique of hitters today, they have shorter, quicker swings. They use their bodies,” Banks said, getting up from his chair to take a mock cut. It was at that point that St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols came up for batting practice.

“Just look at this. This kid here, Pujols. They get their body into it. The technique is better now,” Banks said.

Worshipping Oz

As a child, Bronson Arroyo often had Ozzie Smith on his mind.

“I used to shave my head and carve his name in the back of my head when I was a kid,” said the Cincinnati Reds pitcher.

“I would go in the backyard and do back-flips.”

Smith, a Hall of Famer, was on the field during pregame warmups. Arroyo said that was the one guy he wanted to meet in Pittsburgh.

Arroyo grew up in Florida, but idolized Smith after watching the St. Louis shortstop on TV make sparkling defensive plays. Arroyo even had an Ozzie Smith glove.

“The only guys I ever collected baseball cards was of him,” Arroyo said. “I had Ozzie stuff all over my room.”