ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Enos Slaughter wants to make peace with baseball writers.
The fiery Slaughter, making his first public appearance since his election by the Veterans Committee to the Hall of Fame Wednesday, told a group of writers Thursday he bore them no grudge for keeping him out of the Cooperstown, N.Y., shrine for 20 years.
Speaking at a news conference prior to the annual Governor's Dinner, Slaughter said he felt there were probably two reasons why the writers never voted him into the Hall of Fame -- his reputation of being difficult to deal with and a spiking incident in which he was accused of deliberately going after Dodgers star Jackie Robinson.
Slaughter insists both raps against him were unjust.
'Whatever teams I ever played for (Cardinals, Yankees), I gave my blood for that team,' said Slaughter. 'No matter what people think, I am not bitter about the writers. I was known in my time as not being able to get along with the writers. I never felt that way.'
Slaughter said he always tried to be honest in his dealings with the writers and that may have offended some.
'You've got to remember I was a southern boy and I gave my answers the best way I could. Maybe it wasn't always the answer people wanted to hear but it was always the truth and every answer I gave came from right here,' he said, pointing to his heart.
Speaking in an even voice without rancor, Slaughter explained the Robinson episode. It happened in 1947 when Robinson, the first black ever to play in the major leagues and also a Hall of Famer, was a rookie for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson was playing first base in a game against the Cardinals and when he went to catch a low throw, Slaughter spiked him as he crossed the base.
Because Slaughter was from the south (Roxboro, N.C.) and Robinson was black, some writers tried to make an issue of it.
'I would like to address these next remarks to the New York writers,' Slaughter said. 'It's about Jackie Robinson. The fact is that Jackie Robinson and I beame friends. Long before Jackie Robinson ever came into baseball, the Cardinals and Dodgers went at each other like cats and dogs. Then it was said that I intentionally spiked Jackie Robinson. Somehow that kept following me wherever I went, but that was untrue. It was completely untrue. That hurt me.
'I just want to get it straight once and for all. I never intentionally spiked Jackie Robinson and I never intentionally spiked anybody. Jackie was my friend.
'I knew how to play the game only one way and that was to play it hard. One day in the Polo Grounds I came into second base. I came in hard but clean and Bill Rigney wound up with 23 stitches in his hand. Nobody made anything of that.'
During his prime, Slaughter, a .300 lifetimehitter, was a hustler whose style of play was an inspiration to a youngster from Cincinnati named Pete Rose.
'When a ballplayer puts on that uniform, he should have a little desire and a little spirit. I always enjoyed putting on that uniform,' Slaughter said. 'I wish I could do it again today.'
