March 5, 2002
In 1959, when he was 19 years old and fresh out of
the Army, Ed Nottle went looking for his dream job: playing baseball and getting
paid for it. The Pittsburgh Pirates invited him to a tryout in Jacksonville,
Fla., that spring. But even though they kept him around for two weeks, they didn’t
offer him a contract. Looking back, Nottle wishes they had – if for no other
reason than it would have given him a distinction few people can claim: six
decades in pro ball. But then, Nottle isn’t complaining. « It just means I’ll have
to go another eight or 10 years to get there, » the ex-pitcher said with a laugh.
As it is, the 62-year-old Nottle has been in the game for five decides – and,
as the new manager of the Northern League’s Brockton (Mass.) Rox, is beginning
his 40th pro season. « It’s been a long, long road, but it’s been fun, » he said.
« I couldn’t ask for a better life. I love it. »
Nottle reported to his
new job on Monday after making the 1,200-mile drive from his home in Evansville.
He met his wife, Patty, here while pitching for the Evansville White Sox in
1966. It’s one of the dozens of places he’s called home since breaking into pro
ball in 1960. Nottle recalled that when the Pirates declined to sign him as a
free-agent the previous spring, they told him he was too small. « Everybody told
me that, » he said. « Every (newspaper) clipping I have from back then calls me
« little’ Ed Nottle or ‘tiny » Ed Nottle. » Nottle was small: 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds.
« But I’d pitched well everywhere I’d been, including Army ball at Fort Campbell
(Ky.). I told (the Pirates), ‘If you’re worried about how much I weigh, why
don’t you weigh my arm?’ » Or his heart. The day the Pirates cut him, they gave
Nottle a plane ticket home to New Jersey. He didn’t use it, though. Instead,
he hitchhiked through Florida and went to 16 tryout camps. « I didn’t have any
money, but I made do. I slept in a police station, a Salvation Army, even a judge’s
quarters. » That was in St. Petersburg. « The cleanup people let me in and
I slept in the judge’s chair. Then they woke me the next morning before the judge
got there. » Nottle finally hooked on as a free agent with Pensacola, a Class
D team in the Alabama-Florida league that was owned by the Chicago White Sox.
He pitched so well that summer that the White Sox bought his contract.
« I
spent 10 years with the White Sox organization – everywhere from D-ball to triple-A, »
he said. « Everywhere but the big leagues. » When a sore arm ended his playing
career, Nottle switched to coaching and managing. He managed in the Oakland
A’s and Boston Red Sox farm systems between 1972 and 1989 and won more than 1,000
games. He was named Baseball America’s Minor League Manager of the Year with
Tacoma in 1981, and was the A’s bullpen coach in 1983. Nottle has managed in
the independent Northern League since 1993. He said he’s « thrilled » to be « back
home » in Brocktown, a first-year franchise located within a half-hour’s drive
of Pawtucket and Boston. Nottle managed the Red Sox’s triple-A farm team in Pawtucket
from 1987 to 1990 and sent 34 players to the big leagues.
« I love
the Northern League; I’ve been with it since it started, » Nottle said. « And, believe
me, this is gonna be a beautiful place to work. They’re building a brand-new
$17- to $20-million ballpark, and I think we can draw 3,500 to 4,000 fans a
night. « The season doesn’t start for another six weeks, but, man, I’m excited. »
Nottle has been out of baseball only two years since 1960 – in 1991 and ’92,
when he stayed in Evansville and managed the bar at Dilegge’s Restaurant. « I think
I’d die if I couldn’t manage, » he said.
And if he has his way, his time
will come in the third-base coach’s box. « Maybe when I’m 70, 75 years old. An
errant throw from the outfield hits me between the eyes and kills me . . . (pause)
. . . as the winning run scores. « Man, that’d be the perfect way to go. » |