Pitoniak: Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver: the feuding combo that won

From SABR member Scott Pitoniak at The National Pastime Museum on May 25, 2018:

Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver rarely saw eye-to-eye on anything, and it wasn’t just because the pitcher stood 6-foot-3 and the manager 5-foot-6, although the height disparity certainly didn’t help matters.

The only thing this dynamic duo seemed capable of doing in harmony was win baseball games. And they won plenty of them in the 16 years they worked together and apart.

In reality, they were as different as a fastball and a knuckleball. Palmer was tall, talented, cerebral, and handsome enough to model men’s underwear briefs for Jockey. Weaver was short, stocky, argumentative, and not good enough even to get a sniff from the big leagues as a player.

These opposites clearly didn’t attract. They repelled. But somehow despite a tempestuous relationship in which they rarely agreed on anything and occasionally threw shoes in anger and pounded fists on lockers after one of their many “discussions,” the Hall of Fame pitcher and the Hall of Fame manager collaborated well enough to win six division titles, four American League pennants, and a World Series championship.

Read the full article here: https://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/jim-palmer-and-earl-weaver-feuding-combo-won



Originally published: May 25, 2018. Last Updated: May 25, 2018.