Huntsville Manager Don Money

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=307421#post307421 target=_blank>Snappers hush Rattlers</a>

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=342529#post342529 target=_blank>Walk of Fame</a>

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=345233#post345233 target=_blank>Brewers promote in minors</a>

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<b><font size=4>Money's been busy</font></b>

Don Money, the Stars' new manager, has had a busy spring already. He's been in the Brewers' major league camp, lending a hand to Milwaukee manager Ned Yost. Stars coach Sandy Guerrero has also been in big league camp. Pitching coach Rich Sauveur has been working in the minor league's mini-camp.

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<b><font size=4>Southern League profile - Q&A with Stars' skipper Don Money</font></b>

Don Money left Busch Stadium in 1982 with no World Series title.

And that was terrific news for St. Louis Cardinals fans in the West Tennessee area, but bad news for the current Huntsville Stars manager.

Money was the designated hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers when his team lost four games to three to the Cardinals in the '82 Fall Classic. The memories of the Brewers teams Money played for are still fresh in the mind of a guy who spent 16 seasons in the big leagues - five with the Philadelphia Phillies and 11 with Milwaukee.

The four-time All-Star finished his career with 1,623 hits, 176 home runs and a .261 batting average.

A few questions for the Huntsville Stars manager:

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Q: What was it like playing in the 1982 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals?

A: Well, we'd been trying for so long to finally get to the Series and then we finally did. Obviously, it was incredible.

Just getting there was amazing. We played the California Angels in the American League championship and came back after being down two games to win 3-2.

Then we had to travel to Busch Stadium for the World Series - it all happened so fast.

We won that first game in the World Series and we had a real chance, it just didn't work out in some of the later games. I can remember those last two games at Busch Stadium when we had a 3-2 lead going into Games 6 and 7. In Game 6, (Cardinals pitcher) John Stuper just pounded us and we lost 13-1. Then in Game 7, it seemed like the Cardinals were just getting all their base hits to fall in and we couldn't. We jumped out to a 3-1 lead but then we lost 6-3 and that was it.

But still, it was an incredible experience.

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Q: Talk about some of those good Brewers teams from the late 70s and early 80s. How was it playing with Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper and all those other guys?

A: You know, for several years, probably from 1977-1983, we were one of the best teams in the American League. There were just a lot of other good teams during that time - the Yankees, the Orioles. But we won a lot, too.

The best thing about those teams was we all grew up together. Heck, I was 26 years old when I got to Milwaukee and I was one of the old men at first.

When I got traded to the Brewers from Philadelphia - I had to look on a map to see where Milwaukee was - but it turned out to be one of the best things that happened to me.

Our teams had great players and very good camaraderie. When you play with guys for six, seven, eight years like Yount, Molitor, Cooper, (Ben) Ogilvie, you really start to become a family.

When our team really started to get good was in the early 80s when we made that trade with the Cardinals for (Pete) Vuckovich, (Ted) Simmons and Rollie Fingers.

Simmons could really hit and Vuckovich was a good starting pitcher, but it was Fingers that made the huge difference. Before, we had never really been able to close games, but Rollie gave us that great end-of-the-game guy.

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Q: During your playing days, where were the best places to play and the toughest pitchers you faced.

A: I used to love playing at Boston - I was a dead pull right-handed hitter and that Green Monster always looked good. You know, back then Baltimore had great pitching, but I always seemed to do well against them. Yankee Stadium was obviously pretty awesome with the history and all of that.

As far as pitchers, back when I was in the National League, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal were very tough. Not to mention guys like Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.

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Q: In 1972, you were on an awful Phillies team that won only 59 games, yet your ace pitcher Steve Carlton won 27 games and the Cy Young award , the only player to win that award for a last-place team. What was that like to watch?

A: It was weird, because it's not like we tried any harder when Steve was on the mound. Of course, we knew if we got two or three runs we had a really good shot at winning the game.

(Carlton) was just unbelievable that season. He had 45 percent of our wins that season and only gave up 250 hits or so in about 350 innings.

He's a Hall of Famer and one of the best I've ever seen.

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Q: Why do you still enjoy coaching in the minor leagues?

A: I enjoy it, it's a lot of fun. Sure, it's trying at times, but if I didn't really enjoy this stuff I wouldn't do it. I like working with the kids and don't mind riding the buses. I just love baseball.

<a href=http://miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/photos/200504247153073.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/photos/200504247153073.jpg border=0></a>

Huntsville Stars manager Don Money spent 16 seasons in the big leagues, including the final 11with the Milwaukee Brewers. His only shot at a World Series ring came in 1982 when the St. Louis Cardinals rallied to beat the Brew Crew in Games 6 and 7 of the Fall Classic for the title.

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<b><font size=4>Stars Notebook</font></b>

The Stars are hardly playing any role of "The Comeback Kids'' this season. Going into Saturday's game, they were yet to win - going 0-for-25 - in games they trailed after eight innings. Of late, they have been even more anemic, well, late. Manager Don Money had these stats scribbled on a piece of paper on his desk: Against opponents' relievers, in the last 302/3 innings, the Stars have mustered one earned run, only 18 hits, six walks and struck out 22 times.

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<b><font size=4>A player right on the Money</font>
11 years as a Brewer - 4 as an All-Star - lead to team's Walk of Fame</b>

Don Money was in a rut. The Phillies weren't happy with his hitting style. He wasn't producing enough power. There was a promising kid named Mike Schmidt coming up behind him in the organization.

So, like a couple of fantasy-league seamheads, the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers got together for a trade. Seven players would swap uniforms.

The day of the trade, Oct. 31, 1972, Money was pretty much clueless about his new destination. He had never been there. "I knew nothing about who the manager was or anything,'' he says.

How, then, could he have imagined what would be in store - 11 seasons, four All-Star selections, a World Series, a major role on a near-legendary team.

"It turned out to be the best thing that could ever happen,'' he says.

Now, the biggest, best thing of all:

Money, the manager of the Huntsville Stars, is being inducted into the Brewers' Walk of Fame, the team's most prestigious honor, Tuesday evening before the Brewers' game with Arizona.

He joins his former manager, the late Harvey Kuenn, in growing the Walk of Fame to 12 members. Among those previously inducted are Commissioner Bud Selig, the Brewers' former owner, and Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Rollie Fingers.

Money, 58, will be joined at the ceremonies by wife Sharon, son Don Jr., daughter Shannon and his five grandchildren.

"It makes me feel very good,'' Money says. "The biggest thing is that it was voted by the fans. I always had a good rapport with the fans and tried to play hard.''

"A professional's professional,'' his former teammate Charlie Moore calls him.

Moore, a Milwaukee catcher who now lives in Cullman, noted that the Milwaukee organization was "always trying to get players to fit the city. It was a hard-working, blue-collar type people. And we had players like that.''

"It's a blue-collar city, and we had guys like Gorman Thomas and Pete Vukovich; if you ever saw them, they looked like they walked in from the coal mines and put on a uniform,'' Money says. "People liked them. And there was a lot of tailgating in those days.

"We'd have a day game and we'd get to the park and see them at 9 o'clock in the morning. We'd stop and say hello to them. And, four or five in the afternoon, they were still there. We had a good rapport between the players and the fans.''

Cecil Cooper, familiar to Huntsville fans as the Brewers' one-time farm director, was the Milwaukee first baseman in those days and is now a coach for the Houston Astros.

"I played against him and I played with him. Don showed up every day ready to go,'' Cooper says. "He was a hard worker. He was always focused on the game, thinking the game. I never saw him out of position to make a play.

"He always threw the ball (to first base) in one area,'' Cooper continues. "He didn't have a strong arm. It was always in the same spot, every time. I don't think I ever got a bad throw from him. He was a good glove man. He played third, he played second, he played first. He did what he could to beat you.''

There are some strong ties in the Cooper-Money relationship.

In 1974, Cooper broke his leg and Money moved from second to first base. But Money was on the All-Star ballots, printed before the season, as a second baseman. He wound up leading the vote at second base, becoming the first Brewer elected by the fans to start in an All-Star Game.

Then, when Money got the itch to return to pro ball, he contacted Cooper, who was able to offer him a job in the Brewers' organization.

Money batted .270 as a Brewer, with 134 homers (of his career 176) and 529 RBIs (out of 729 career RBIs) while in Milwaukee. At the time of his retirement he owned the record in both leagues for most consecutive games by a third baseman without an error.

He played on the Brewers' 1982 World Series team that lost to St. Louis. Those Brewers were a slugging team nicknamed "Harvey's Wallbangers,'' in honor of their manager, Kuenn. It was the end of an era in which Money says "we were as good as anybody (in baseball) for three or four years.''

Getting into the Walk of Fame may ultimately prove to be easier than getting to the Walk of Fame itself.

Several weeks ago, Money's wallet was stolen from the clubhouse in Mobile. He has a temporary driver's license, but spent hours trying to obtain a photo ID.

"I don't know how I'm going to get on the plane,'' he bemoaned one day earlier in the month.

What?

Airport security won't accept an '82 Topps baseball card with your picture on it as adequate identification?

Houston free-lance writer Gene Duffey, a former Times sports writer, contributed to this story.

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=404554#post404554 target=_blank>Money, Kuenn added to team's Walk of Fame</a>

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<b><font size=4>Memorable Night in Milwaukee for Money</font></b>

Don Money was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Walk of Fame Tuesday night at Miller Park. The Huntsville Stars manager was joined by Harvey Kuenn, who guided Money and the rest of the 1982 Brewers to the seventh game of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and they became the 11th and 12th members of the Milwaukee Walk of Fame.

The newest inductees were chose by a panel of 14 made up of six media members, six Brewers' officials, a member of the 2004 Walk of Fame Class and a vote by the fans.

Money spent 11 of his 16 major league seasons in Milwaukee and was a four-time all star and was the first Brewers player to start in the mid-summer classic in 1978. He holds Major Leauge records for the most consecutive errorless games (88, September 28, 1973 through July 16, 1974), consecutive errorless chances (September 28, 1973 through July 16, 1974) and fewest errors in a season (5, 1974) by a third baseman.

The Philadelphia Phillies traded Money to Milwaukee prior to the 1973 season and he hit .284 with 11 home runs and 61 runs batted in during his first American League season. Money would hit 134 of his 176 career long balls with the Brewers, including a career-high 25 in 1977, and drive in 529 of his 729 runs with Milwaukee.

All-time home run king Hank Aaron is the only member of the Walk of Fame with no ties to the 1982 team, that went 72-43 after Kuenn replaced Buck Rogers as manager. Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers, Bob Uecker and Paul Molitor are in the Walk of Fame, along with Cecil Cooper, Jim Gantner, Gorman Thomas, Bud Selig and former general manager Harry Dalton.

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<b><font size=4>Stars gets Money back as Huntsville manager</font></b>

Ex-Brewers All-Star glad to return for second season

The cows were mooing.

It was early Saturday afternoon and Don Money was hurrying to change into work clothes. The cows on his farm outside Vineland, N.J., were hungry and Money had just arrived from the airport, flying home from Milwaukee and the Brewers' organizational meetings.

It was in Milwaukee that the news became official:

Money, the 58-year-old former major league All-Star infielder and one of the most storied players in Brewers history, will be returning for his second season as Huntsville Stars manager.

"I'm very happy about that,'' Money said Saturday before heading out to the fields. "Last year was my first year (in Double-A) and it was trial and error. Things will be a little different. But I'm happy to be coming back.''

In fact, the entire 2005 staff is coming back:

Sandy Guerrero, who lives in Huntsville with wife Jessica, will be back for his fourth season as hitting coach.

Rich Sauveur will be back for his second season as pitching coach.

Dave Yeager, who makes his home in Athens, will be back as trainer.

It is expected that former Stars manager Frank Kremblas and ex-Stars pitching coach Stan Kyles will return to Triple-A Nashville, where they led the Sounds to the Pacific Coast League championship.

"I'm excited that Don's coming back,'' Stars general manager Tom Van Schaack said. "We had a good relationship, on and off the field, and I'm sure it'll be even better.''

The Stars will open their 2006 season on April 6 at Mississippi, with the home opener April 11 against Birmingham.

Money managed at six seasons at Beloit before coming to the Stars last season. With a young club hampered by promotions of several key players, Huntsville finished 60-79, the worst record since 1988.

Money was inducted last summer into the Brewers' "Walk of Fame,'' one of 12 members; others include Commissioner Bud Selig, the Brewers' former owner, and Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers and Yount.

He batted .264 for his major league career, with 169 homers and 690 RBIs. In 1977, he had a banner year with a .279 average, 25 homers and 83 RBIs. He was on the Brewers' 1982 World Series club.

Money and wife Sharon have two grown children, Don Jr. and Shannon, and are grandparents of five.

His promise Saturday that "things will be a little different'' was a continuation of an old conversation.

Late one night, an hour after a game during the Stars' final homestand, he sat at the desk in his office, in a blue T-shirt and his uniform pants.

Money began a litany of "ifs'' - a list of "if I come back next season'' vows. There would be things he'd do differently.

He had given his players too much freedom. He had assumed they were more fundamentally sound than they were. He didn't think, as a whole, they had the proper mental approach to the game.

"If I come back,'' began one vow, "they can forget those cell phones. No more phone calls after they get to the stadium.''

The "ifs" can now officially become a "when.''

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=443900#post443900 target=_blank>Brewers announce Minor League staff</a>

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Stars staff remains intact (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=508957#post508957)

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Brewers announce Minor League coaching positions (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=519348#post519348)