The Southpaw

Reggie! The Candy Bar Commercial

Reggie Jackson always wanted his own candy bar ... but this glob would never make the candy hall of fame. The commercial below, circa 1978, couldn't have helped much.

In its Reggie Jackson entry, the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture sums up the product thusly: "The Reggie! bar was a crumbly lump of chocolate, peanuts, and corn syrup sculpted to the approximate diameter of a major league baseball. It cost a quarter (quite a bargain in the age of inflation) and came packaged in an orange wrapper bearing the slugger's likeness. Sportswriters had a field day with the unpalatable confection. One wag wrote that when you opened the wrapper on a Reggie! bar, it told you how good it was. Another derided it as the only candy bar that tasted like a hot dog."

Clearly not recognizing the implied insult, one children's book publisher put out a biography of Jackson in 1979, unfortunately entitled Reggie Jackson: From Baseball Superstar to Candy Bar.

By March 1982, as Time magazine noted, the Reggie! bar was history.

Hank Aaron to Barry Bonds in 2002: "It's time to walk into retirement."

Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron together and having fun in a 2002 commercial. When did their friendship sour?

Pete Rose Then ... and Now

By 1976, Pete Rose had gone beyond baseball superstardom and become a true celebrity, a household name. Of course (who could blame him?) he tried to cash in. What kind of man was he? Watch and find out (NSBL) (Not Safe Before Lunch).

Here's the same man, nearly 30 years later, at the height of his infamy. Of course, he's trying to cash in. In this snippet a few folks are actually approaching Rose. My sister said she saw him in Vegas recently, same gig, trying to shill his signature, and nobody came near him for a long time. Sounds like one of those sad old boxers, except Rose hasn't suffered multiple concussions and exploitative managers.

A Very Mellow Billy Martin

1981 was Billy Martin's second year managing the Oakland A's. And he was unusually ... content. Free of George Steinbrenner. Free to make deals (though the A's GM still signed off on them). And he had a pretty good ballclub, too.

So it probably wasn't too hard to coax him into doing this commercial urging fans to come out to the ballpark, beginning with the home opener against the Mariners on April 17. A commercial touting a different kind of baseball -- Billy Ball.

By the time the home opener rolled around, the A's would already be 8-0 and would run their early-season record to 20-3. In the strike-shortened split season they'd win their division by beating the Royals in a three-game playoff before losing to the Yankees in the ALCS.

I doubt Martin remained as laid back as he appears in this spot, which is a lot of fun to watch.

Ted Williams Blooper? Not the Williams I've Heard About ...

The video below is labeled at YouTube as a Ted Williams "blooper." It's a 30-second commercial gone awry. There's some language, not safe for work viewing. But the language is kind of the point. After watching, read how Ted's portrayed in Ball Four.

This is from Bouton's June 25 entry:

In the bullpen tonight Jim Pagliaroni was telling us how Ted Williams, when he was still playing, would psyche himself up for a game during batting practice, usually early practice before the fans or reporters got there.

He'd go into the cage, wave his bat at the pitcher and start screaming at the top of his voice, "My name is Ted fucking Williams and I'm the greatest hitter in baseball."

He'd swing and hit a line drive.

"Jesus H. Christ Himself couldn't get me out."

And he'd hit another.

Then he'd say, "Here comes Jim Bunning. Jim fucking Bunning and that little shit slider of his."

Wham!

"He doesn't really think he's gonna get me out with that shit."

Blam!

"I'm Ted fucking Williams."

Sock!

That botched commercial doesn't sound like a blooper to me. Just Ted being Ted. It didn't make him a bad person.

Pee Wee Reese (and Don Zimmer!) for Gillette Razors

           

Endorsement spot for Gillette Razors featuring Major League Baseball greats Pee Wee Reese, Don Zimmer and Roy Campanella.