I got to know Rod Richards while doing research for a piece I was writing. Richards is the master behind Padrographs, a great website which focuses on autographs from the San Diego Padres. Residing in Portland (OR), Richards runs a used bookstore for the county library system and reads about 2-3 books a week. A Navy brat, he went to 10 schools in 4 states and has lived in 7 states.
Richards started to follow the career of former Padres player Tim Flannery in 1985 (the year after the Padres broke the hearts of Cubs' fans). Just 2 weeks apart in age, the two formed a friendship after Richards sent Flannery (a devout surfer) a book on surfing for his birthday. Flannery often gets Richards tickets when the Padres play the Mariners in Seattle and Portland.
At a game in 1993, the Spokane Indians (managed by Flannery) were playing the Eugene Emeralds. Flannery wanted to fire up his team and asked Richards for matches. Flannery proceeded to light a smoke bomb in his team's dugout. Then he yelled at his team for not taking the game seriously! The Indians went out and beat the Emeralds, with that assist from Richards!
After playing his entire 11 year career with the Padres and managing in the Padres system after his retirement, Flannery now is a coach for the San Francisco Giants. Flannery is an accomplished musician who has recorded 8 cd's of folk music, "great" folk music according to Richards. "I really enjoy his music and would recommend it to anyone else," says Richards. I might just have to pick up a couple of those cd's and give them a listen.
Tim Flannery and Rod Richards in Eugene, OR-Summer 1993.
1 comment:
I always liked Flannery. He was steady and he seemed to be a great team player.
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