May 01, 2008
Bye to Buzzie
Buzzie Bavasi died today:
His death was announced by the Seattle Mariners, whose general manager is Bill Bavasi, a son of the former Dodgers GM.
"Buzzie was one of the game's greatest front office executives during a period that spanned parts of six different decades," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said. "He loved the game, and he loved talking about it."
Emil Joseph Bavasi's Dodgers teams included future Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Bavasi later was part owner and president of the San Diego Padres before becoming executive vice president of the California Angels.
He oversaw one of the great eras of Dodgers baseball, from 1951 to 1968. Bob and Peter Bavasi are readers of this site, so my sincere condolences go out to them, and my thought go out to the entire Bavasi family and all Buzzie's friends.
Posted by David Pinto at
08:33 PM
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Buzzie had little funds in early years at SD and in one short stretch in 70s, he sold Al Santorini to Cards, Al Ferrara to Reds, & Ed Spiezio to CWS. Then he got a phonecall that said: "Am I next" and the caller hung up. It was Bavasi's then 81 yr old mother calling from Florida. He called her back and asked what was wrong. She replied: "Well you just sold 3 Italians. I figured that I was next!".