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FORT MYERS, Florida – Thanks to Nick Cafardo, I know that last Sunday was the former pitcher of the Red Sox, the 43rd birthday of Scott Williamson.
It might seem like an unusual way to start paying tribute to Nick, the long-time Boston Globe baseball columnist whose unexpected death on Thursday left us stunned and saddened. But believe me, Nick would have had a good shot, and for the simple reason that the article was removed directly from his beloved column of Sunday's notes.
In a certain way, Nick did the impossible: every week he published an epic chronicle on Sunday notes that appealed to readers of all ages, while remaining firmly anchored at a time when newspapers were kings and us. popular the fact that baseball was a little slower than other sports and that we had never considered the need to set a clock to throw on the wall of the central field.
That's not to say that Nick's writing was trap in the old days. Barely. Pick up all of Nick's notes page and all the relevant information you need to know was there: commercial rumors, outlook updates, an article about a former Red Sox player looking for another team. If anything was current and important, Nick had it.
But to say that Nick had access to all the baseball players that he was better to know about is both haughty and fake because he also had access to hundreds of people that many of us had long ago decided : do not Good to know.
Let's talk about scouts. Nick has always talked to scouts, including many people who have been shown the door in recent years, because small baseball models have determined that analysis is the way to go. Nick's writing has often raised a valid point: why not use both? In his January 26 baseball notes, Nick wrote, "It's how veteran scout Bob Johnson wants to get back into baseball:" I'll work for the expenses. I do not even need to earn a salary. "Johnson is one of the best scouts in the industry, unemployed for two years."
C & # 39; was so Notch. He had telephoned a guy who was no longer well-known – to others, that is – and had devoted part of his Sunday notes to informing the industry. from the baseball that Johnson was around, that he had talent, that he wanted to get back into the game. Nick knew that it was not just the fans who were reading his Sunday notes. he knew that insiders were reading too. Bobby Evans, until recently General Manager of the San Francisco Giants, told me Thursday night that he was an avid reader of Nick's Sunday notes "… because he covered so many lands and territories on the national scene. . I introduced myself to him when I was a Red Sox trainee in 1989 and considered him a very good local writer. But growing up in the game, I realized that he was a national writer who covered everything. We have been very connected in recent years and I appreciate it more and more as a professional. And he was an incredible human being whom I admired a lot.
It is a man of Nick's stature who might have thought it unnecessary to know: the new writer of the rival newspaper. Chad Jennings, now with L & # 39; Athletic, appeared as such a writer when he signed with the Boston Herald in 2017.
"I was intimidating in taking a job where I was competing with Nick," Jennings said. "But at the beginning of the season, we ended up together at an airport. And we stayed like that ever since. He did his best to be encouraging and positive. He made me feel that I belonged to him. "
The point here is that Nick understood, like few of them, that the world does not have to be all that way. Just as he used his column of Sunday notes to report on the current problems of baseball while also addressing unemployed scouts and, yes, using this last point to highlight a happy birthday to a former player of the day. Red Sox, he also looked at his competitors as follows: I will work to beat you with every story, as you will work to beat me, but that does not mean we can not be friends.
A personal note: During the 24 years that I worked at the Herald, my place in the press was second, next to a Globe seat. This meant that most nights I would sit next to Nick or Dan Shaughnessy, another longtime rival and good friend. When Nick was sitting next to me, I would sometimes pass his arm to say, "It's you and me, Nick." At the 2014 World Series at AT & T Park in San Francisco, we were again sitting. one to the other; When I still passed my arm around Nick, someone took a picture and sent me a text message.
Nick Cafardo and I were often sitting next to each other. This photo is from the 2014 AT & T World Series. Rest in peace, Nick. This biz is changed forever with your passage. pic.twitter.com/Yzz2DTtU7P
– Steve Buckley (@BuckinBoston) February 21, 2019
At the time, it was a crazy photo that I posted on Facebook for laughs. Because of the horrible news on Thursday, this photo is a cherished memory of one of the giants in our industry and one of the kindest and most honest people I have ever met.
In memory of Nick Cafardo, it is an honor to note that this Sunday will be the occasion of the 45th birthday of former Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell.
(Top Photo: Barry Chin / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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