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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview with Dale Petroskey

Aired April 07, 2002 - 07:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you can take me out to the ballgame anytime you want. The National Baseball Hall of Fame is putting out a book entitled "Baseball as America, Seeing Ourselves through our National Game." And just by looking at this book, it gets you in the mood to want to go see a game.

And as the 2002 season gets underway, we're talking to you or we're taking you to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Well, sort of.

Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey is in our D.C. bureau this morning.

Hi, Dale.

DALE PETROSKEY, NATL AMERICA'S GAME HALL OF FAME: Good morning, Kyra. I agree with you. Happy baseball season.

PHILLIPS: Yes, happy baseball season to you, too. Hey, we were talking about Barry Bonds all day yesterday. It's getting us in the mood, right?

PETROSKEY: Well, he's one great player, isn't he? Five homeruns in his first four games. I was with Lou Brock here in Washington yesterday. He was receiving an award. And Lou had the record before Barry tied it. So we were joking about it yesterday.

PHILLIPS: I remember watching Lou Brock when he was the Cardinals. I was a kid. And I would go watch him at St. Louis Stadium. That takes us way back.

PETROSKEY: Well, he's one of the great players, one of the great base stealers, certainly one of the great human beings in the baseball hall of fame today.

PHILLIPS: Well, Dale, let's talk about this book. Let's get to these pictures and some of the talking points. Baseball as America, just the title of the books, it's -- it really reflects a lot of parts of our lives. I love this picture, by the way. The kids playing in the street.

PETROSKEY: This is in the early 1900s in the tenements of New York City. And one thing about baseball is whenever a new immigrant group comes to America and they want to stake their claim as Americans, they do it through baseball. It happened to the Irish in the early 1900s. Of course, later on with the Italians, with Dimaggio and Lazere and Rozutto in New York.

Then of course, Jackie Robinson came along in 1947. Hank Greenberg, of course, was a great hero to Jewish-Americans. And of course today, now it's the Latinos and the Asian-Americans who are starting to make a real mark on the game.

PHILLIPS: Well, the book talks about ideals and injustices. Let's talk a little bit about how baseball has been involved or influenced or I guess centered around segregation, women's rights?

PETROSKEY: Well prior to World War II, of course, baseball was a segregated game in America. If you were a black player or a dark skinned Latino, you couldn't play in the white major leagues. So a great segment of the American population was not following the great Negro leagues. They were following only the white major leagues.

And so, great players like Josh Gibson and Satchel Page and Cool Papa Bell could not get the kind of recognition they deserved. When Jackie Robinson came along, he broke the color barrier, not just for black Americans, but for dark skinned Latinos as well. And so, you know, I would say that it would be a much less rich game today if we were looking out onto the field and not seeing Sammy Sosa or Ken Griffey, Jr. or Derek Jeter or Bernie Williams. Because of Jackie Robinson.

And it was really only because of World War II. And we saw how much stronger we were as a nation if we were inclusive. I mean, we fought a war together. And that really helped to open the door for Jackie Robinson coming to the major leagues and opening the door for so many great athletes in the future.

PHILLIPS: And now it's permeated American popular culture in many ways. Songs, literature, movies, you name it.

PETROSKEY: Well, baseball's a part of our life. It's the backdrop of American life on a daily basis, really. And if you think about it, it's part of our language. We talk in shorthand with baseball expressions. She stepped up to the plate. He struck out. There out in left field. So most of us don't realize how much baseball is a part of this culture.

PHILLIPS: Well, as we look at some more pictures from the book here, it's also been such a rallying point for the nation. Wouldn't you agree?

PETROSKEY: Absolutely. You know, one of the great moments a few months ago was when President Bush stepped to the mound at Yankee Stadium to open game 3 amidst serious terrorist threats. And he stepped to the mound all by himself, no security around, and threw a strike. And it was a great moment for America, just a few weeks after the attack on the World Trade Center.

This shows, the Barnum and Bailey photograph, shows from 1912, there was an act in that circus where three elephants were involved, a pitcher, a catcher, and a hitter. And they went through this baseball routine. And it actually -- they simulated pitching the ball. And on a 3-2 count, the catcher went to visit the pitcher on the mound and confer with him, went back behind the plate. And then the hitter -- the elephant hit the ball, ran around the bases, and actually slid into home plate. And that was the great crescendo of that act.

PHILLIPS: How about the crescendos that Joe DiMaggio used to pull off, too? Look at this swing. Boy, he was a big hitter.

PETROSKEY: Joe DiMaggio, one of the great iconic figures in American history, of course known for his 56 great game hitting streak. His graceful play at the plate and in the field, marrying Marilyn Monroe. And of course, is remembered in Paul Simon's song, "Mrs. Robinson." Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

PHILLIPS: Dale Petroskey, National Baseball Hall of Fame president. Thank you so much for being with us and talking about this neat book, "Baseball as America." Definitely encourage people to check it out. You really delve into some neat issues in that book.

PETROSKEY: Thank you, Kyra. It's in bookstores all over the country. So people everywhere can buy it.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dale. Take care. Thanks so much.

PETROSKEY: Thank you.

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