Padres Make Banner Move With Monday

“He got down on his knees, and I could tell he wasn’t throwing holy water on it. If he’s going to burn a flag, he better do it in front of somebody who doesn’t appreciate it. I’ve visited enough veterans hospitals and seen enough guys with their legs blown off defending that flag.” --Rick Monday, April 25, 1976

In spite of all the good things the Padres had done over the course of the past few months, they still had this one smudge on the public’s perception of their image.

They had fired Dave Campbell, a broadcaster that fans appreciated for his candor and insight, and those fans continued to grumble about Campbell’s departure while applauding the acquisitions of Jack Clark, Bruce Hurst and Walt Terrell.

What to do about this?

Padre execs listened to hours and hours of voices from the four corners of the continent and actively pursued a couple of people they considered prime candidates to someday replace Jerry Coleman as The Top Tongue in the booth.

Just when nothing seemed to be falling in place, they captured The Flagman. Having failed in their efforts to bring in some obscure but promising voice from the Midwest or East, the Padres went out and hired a red, white and blue folk hero.

And so Jerry Coleman’s new sidekick will be--roll the drums--Betsy Ross’ favorite baseball player . . .

Rick Monday.

This was a man who played more than 18 years in the major leagues, a total of 1,986 games in which he batted a very respectable .264. He played in 5 League Championship Series, 3 World Series and 2 All-Star games.

This was a career that could stand on its own merit, except that Monday managed to overshadow his playing skills in one fleeting moment in April of 1976.

That was when he made a dash from center field at Dodger Stadium and grabbed the American flag from two men who were trying to set it afire in the outfield.

Forget that this man hit a home run to give the Dodgers the victory in the 1981 NLCS--this was the moment by which Rick Monday always would be remembered.

“It was here in San Diego the next day that I started to get an inkling of how big the scale would be on the flag incident,” he said.

Monday, playing for the Chicago Cubs at the time, arrived in San Diego for a series opening the next night and awakened to a storm of telephone calls, interview requests and accolades.

“I was overwhelmed,” he said, “and a little embarrassed.”

In his mind, he had reacted in the most natural of manners.

What was the big deal about grabbing a flag a couple of jokers were trying to burn?

“It’s ironic,” he said Wednesday, “that I’m back in the city where I had my hair cut while standing in the yellow footprints down at the MCRD . I went into the Marines with certain ideals taught me as a youngster and reinforced those ideals in the Marine Corps. Baseball also reinforced those ideals for me because of what the game means to so many millions of people.”

Those ideals were quickly offended by what he saw happening that afternoon in 1976.

“I don’t know to this day what those guys were thinking,” Monday said, “but I wasn’t going to let them use major league baseball as a stage on which to make some stupid statement or protest.”

I was in the press box that afternoon, and I remember wondering what the two guys were carrying into the outfield and what it was they were doing with it.

Monday could see.

“The first match blew out as I was running,” he said, “and I was trying to decide whether to bowl them over or what. They were trying to strike a second match when I grabbed the flag, and I remember wondering if it was on fire. It was soaking wet with lighter fluid.”

It was not on fire, and one of the men threw the can of fluid past Monday as he raced toward the third base dugout. Tommy Lasorda, coaching third base for the Dodgers, berated the men with expletives as police arrested them and dragged them off the field.

Later, after the men were put on probation for 2 years and fined $80 each, the judge gave the flag to Monday. It is on a staff in his office at home, and a picture of the incident is on his wall.

Of course, Rick Monday was not hired by the Padres because he prevented the American flag from being burned. He has worked in broadcasting since 1979, part-time while playing and full-time since retiring in 1984. He has a resonant voice, quick wit and knowledge of the game.

His perception of the Padres is a blend of what he recalls from his playing days and what he has seen happen over the past few months.

“At first,” he said, “coming into San Diego was kind of a vacation. But by the time I retired, in 1984, it was work coming down here. The Padres have continued to progress more and more because Jack McKeon and the organization and Joan Kroc obviously have a commitment to winning.”

In fact, Monday was on a Caribbean cruise with a number of Dodger players and pitching coach Ron Perranoski during the past winter meetings.

“I remember in particular Perranoski’s reaction to the announcement that the Padres had signed Bruce Hurst,” Monday said. “He blurted, ‘Oh, no.’ ”

My reaction when I heard that the Padres had signed Rick Monday?

Oh, yes.