Ex-Pitcher Looks for Some Relief : ‘Blue Moon’ Odom Seeks Freedom, Job

Propped on a couch in the apartment are three dolls--Tommy, Nancy and Moonie. John Lee (Blue Moon) Odom and his wife, Gayle, were unable to have children, so they have made those three smiling dolls their “kids.” The dolls are included in the Odoms’ Christmas card pictures.

Moonie, a black, chunky Cabbage Patch doll, is Odom’s favorite and accompanies him on fishing excursions, the former major league pitcher’s passion. Moonie has his own fishing license.

The cozy living room scene offers a sharp contrast to Odom’s surroundings today. The man who pitched 10 years in the big leagues and was part of three world champion Oakland A’s teams in the early 1970s sits in the Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Deep Depression

On Tuesday night, according to police, Odom held his wife hostage at gunpoint for an hour and then held a Fountain Valley police SWAT team at bay for another six hours. He was finally coaxed out of his one-bedroom apartment by a volley of tear gas canisters, police said.

Both Odom, who ended his major league career in 1976, and his wife said he has been deeply depressed because of his failure to find employment since he lost his job six months ago at a now defunct Xerox computer plant in Irvine.

By his own account, the man is paranoid and scared.

“I don’t know what happened to me,” Odom said in a jail interview, adding that he does not recall much about Tuesday night’s violent episode.

A minor drug arrest last May 24 cost Odom the job on which he said he had never missed a day in six years. Xerox placed him on indefinite suspension following the arrest for allegedly selling one gram of cocaine to another worker. Odom and his wife adamantly accuse the other worker of framing him.

Not Offered New Job

The plant closed in June, and Odom, unlike most of his fellow workers, was not offered a job at another plant. In the last six months, the Odoms have survived on money Gayle received from a car accident settlement last year and the $166 weekly unemployment compensation check Odom has been drawing since September.

“He felt degraded about what happened,” his wife said. “He gave them six years and they turned around and kicked him. That hurt him more than the arrest.”

Odom, 40, said he has sent out more than 100 resumes since losing his job.

“I was getting more depressed. Nobody wanted to give me a chance to work. It seemed like people were following me all the time,” he said.

Gayle Odom confirmed her husband’s fears of being watched.

“He is paranoid. He thinks everybody out there is an undercover cop. He just went crazy,” she said. “John has been wronged and it is tearing him apart.”

Odom also said he has never “had a problem with drugs. I just got down when the job stopped.”

Friends describe Odom as a charitable, caring man who seemed almost obsessed with hiding the fact that he was a former baseball player who had pitched in three World Series.

“It was a job. After a few years, playing professionally, you lose some of the love for baseball. I’ve never missed it,” Odom said. “I would try and hide (being a former major leaguer) as much as possible. When people found out, they wanted to put me up on a little pedestal.”

Gayle believes that.

“John doesn’t like to be called Blue Moon. He wants to be known as John. Some people didn’t even know he was Blue Moon,” she said.

One who didn’t was Rod Estrella, a bowling buddy.

“I didn’t know who he was until after I met him,” said Estrella, who has known him for five years.

“John never wanted to talk about it.”

But Estrella does know that Odom was especially considerate to his friend’s children.

“A lot of times, he’s gone out of his way to help my kids. I respect him for that,” he said.

‘Very Unassuming’

Gary Gillman, an accountant in Encino who has some business dealings with professional athletes, said he met Odom just last month during a promotion and immediately liked and respected him.

“He’s a very unassuming kind of guy,” he said. “He made a big impression on me. He’s just a super guy. He’s great with the kids.”

Gillman knew that Odom was down on his luck and kept him in mind for little odd promotional jobs. A few days ago, he found something for Odom. But he said he was busy and had put off calling Odom for a couple of days.

By the time Gillman called on Wednesday, Odom was already in jail.

“If I had just called before, I might have given him some hope,” he said.

Vida Blue, a former teammate of Odom who now pitches for the San Francisco Giants, remains close to Odom, although most of their contact is by telephone.

Old Teammate Concerned

“John took me under his wing when I came up as an 18-year-old,” Blue said in a telephone interview from Oakland. “It’s a common practice in this business. I do that now with younger players. But with John, I had a genuine feeling that he took care of me because he wanted to.”

Blue is concerned about his friend. And he knows about tough times. Blue was released from the Kansas City Royals club in 1983, seemingly washed up. He was later convicted of cocaine possession and spent 90 days in a federal penitentiary. But he sought help for his drug dependency and last season made a comeback with the Giants, posting an 8-8 won-lost mark.

“I’ve gotten a lot of help from the right people. I was encouraged by people like John. That meant everything to me,” he said.

Odom and his wife are thinking of perhaps moving to the Bay Area and starting over once his legal problems are solved. Blue said he would welcome them and help them all he could.

“I know what John is going through,” he said. “Sometimes it takes stuff like this to get your life together. It certainly draws your attention.”

Little Contact With Baseball

For seven years the Odoms have lived quietly in the same Fountain Valley apartment. His only contact with baseball was the yearly Old Timers game in Oakland and the very rare promotional appearance.

His wife said they never had any marital problems. Friends said the two were rarely apart.

“We love each other a whole lot,” Odom said. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. The whole world can push me into a corner, but I can walk out with her. Our love for each other is so strong.”

Gayle said that in the days before the emotional breakdown, Odom was yearning for the red-clay soil of Macon, Ga., where he grew up and learned to master the fastball that was to be his meal ticket out of poverty. His two sisters and brother still live there. He is especially close to his family but has not seen them in three years, he said. The Odoms had planned to visit Georgia during Christmas.

The wife also said that recently Odom had started talking to the picture of his mother sitting in their living room. She died five years ago, and Odom had talked to her picture then, too. Odom’s father died when he was 5. His mother raised the four children.

Built House for Mother

Odom built a house for his mother with the $75,000 bonus he received in 1964 when he signed with the A’s right out of high school. He had promised his mother she would never work again, and she didn’t. He provided for her until her death.

“I think of her quite often,” he acknowledged.

Odom said he does not remember much about Tuesday night’s incident. But he said he is willing to get help for his emotional problems.

“If I need that, then that’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “I’m willing to do anything to better my life. What happened was weird. I can’t explain it, but I know it won’t happen again.”

Gayle also wants help for him.

“I do want him to get help. More than anything, I wish I could find him a job,” she said.

That could be forthcoming, if Odom can manage to settle his legal problems.

Jack Baldwin, general manager of a Costa Mesa computer company, called Thursday to offer help after reading a newspaper account of Odom’s problems. He said his company needs workers and is willing to talk to Odom about a job.

“I used to be a fan of his. I would really like for him to apply for a job with our company. If he worked for Xerox, he can work for us,” he said.