Indy Baseball Chatter: CHARLIE MANUEL'S OPEN MIND TO AGE REFRESHING

Friday, March 31, 2006

CHARLIE MANUEL'S OPEN MIND TO AGE REFRESHING

I finally got home from nearly a month on the road last night, so one of the first things I wanted to get up to date on today was Chris Coste's status on making the Phillies' opening day roster. He is in Philadelphia for two weekend exhibitions, but the decision still seems to be pending. I did find one statement encouraging, and only wish it was the prevailing attitude throughout baseball. Even though we see older players on rosters all the time, seldom is it so that a 30-something player makes it for the first time. Philadelphia Manager Charlie Manuel seems to be an exception. In talking with MLB.com about the fact Coste is a 33-year-old rookie, Manuel said: "Don't ever let that (age) be a mark against you. That doesn't mean he can't play in the big leagues." Hooray for Charlie. Oh, Coste's spring average has slipped...all the way to .459 after a 1-for-3 day (plus a walk) in nine innings Thursday.

Bob Wirz

Former chief spokesman for Major League Baseball Commissioners Bowie Kuhn and Peter Ueberroth. Six years as publicity director for the Kansas City Royals, and a background in newspaper, radio and television. Started Wirz & Associates, a sports PR and consulting firm, in 1985. Has written extensively on Independent Baseball since 2003.

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About 'My Nebraska'

It seems almost universally accepted that Nebraskans are friendly, hard-working people.

A native son, who eventually transitioned to the East Coast because it was the best avenue to follow his passion of continuing to work in major league baseball, has published a book to share a lifetime of memories of growing up in the Cornhusker state.

You may have guessed it when you saw the title: My Nebraska. Yes, Bob Wirz, now a youthful 85, is sharing his "rich memories of growing up in rural Nebraska" in the 1940s and 1950s in a delightful 136 pages in the book produced by Dorrance Publishing in Pittsburgh, PA.

Wirz, who got to live his passion of working at the highest levels of baseball and later developing his own sports public relations and marketing company, lovingly empties out his memories of everything from counting millions of tiny trees to playing grass-roots baseball where the age of teammates might run from the early teens to the 50s.

The colorful cover of My Nebraska, which features two paintings from Dunning, NE rancher/artist Laron McGinn that depict the beautiful landscape of rural Nebraska and the ranching lifestyle, sets the tone for the 5 x 8 book also filled with meaningful pictures.

It is "a wistful and endearing love letter to Nebraska filled with memories shared by generations raised in small towns throughout the Midwest", praises Shari Veil, who heads up the journalism and mass communications department at the University of Nebraska.

My Nebraska, a 5x8 paperback, is priced at $19.95 plus $4.00 for handling and shipping. Autographed copies may be ordered at www.WirzandAssociates.com