Blue Jays Are Top Item in These ‘Yellow Pages’

Much of what the Toronto Blue Jays have accomplished in coming from the mere kernel of an idea, when they were an expansion franchise, is the direct result of the leadership provided by a handsome, articulate, intelligent individual by the name of Pat Gillick, otherwise referred to by the most complimentary of all nicknames, “Yellow Pages,” meaning he was equipped with knowledge on more diverse subjects than you can find in a telephone book.

The “Yellow Pages” tag originated when he was a promising left-handed pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system. It continually astounded teammates that he was conversant on many varied topics. Everything from ship arrivals in the nearest port to the weather in Butte, Mont., were the far range of topics that captured his interest.

Gillick was not the average youngster you might expect to meet in baseball. On road trips, he spent mornings and afternoons in libraries. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles when he was only 16 and had a degree from the University of Southern California at age 20. He once told us, “I’m going to give the minor leagues five years and if I haven’t made the majors then, I’ll leave because I’m want to do other things with my life.”

Those kind of promises are heard every day, more conversation than anything else. But Gillick fulfilled the objective. He left the playing field for the front office, joining the Houston Astros when he was 26 as assistant farm director. So his strongest calling was to the executive side of baseball, where he has become the absolute best. Gillick is so good it’s difficult to know whom to put in second place.

No doubt his IQ has always been higher than his earned run average, plus being endowed with a memory that is extraordinary. His knowledge of baseball emanates from his childhood, or back to the time when his late father, Larry, was a standout pitcher in the Pacific Coast League. When his dad left the game it was to be sheriff of Butte County, Calif., and it was there he became a legend that sounded like something right out of the Old West.

Larry Gillick never used his gun in 35 years of wearing a badge and packing a six-shooter. But there were occasions, according to no less an authority than storyteller Paul Harvey, when he picked up rocks and fired them at would-be escaping criminals. No doubt he threw strikes.

The success of the Blue Jays is no accident. As executive vice president, Pat Gillick is in control of baseball operations for the Blue Jays. He has put together the team that is hoping to hold off the Orioles in their quest for the East Division title. Then the Blue Jays could shake their reputation as “choke” artists.

“It has been as exciting a year in Baltimore as it has here,” he says. “The schedules both teams face between now and the end of the season are comparable. I hope we can win it. If you’re asking me what I believe is going to happen, then I think it will be decided in the final three games we play.”

The makeup of the Blue Jays was shaped by the hands of Gillick. Ten players graduated from the farm system, five via the draft, including Ernie Whitt, who came in the expansion selection of 1976, and the rest of the team was gathered in trades. Three late-season acquisitions, again credited to Gillick, were Mookie Wilson from the New York Mets and Lee Mazzilli and Jim Acker, both from the Atlanta Braves.

“I hate to refer to the experience they represent because it’s more than that,” Gillick says. “Just call it character. They have added that. They’ve been outstanding. If the battle with Baltimore goes to a playoff, I honestly don’t believe the homefield will represent any more than a tad advantage. The history of those kind of one-shot, win-or-lose situations is it can go either way, like maybe which team gets the best pitching.”

Gillick isn’t quick on the trigger when it comes to firing managers, meaning he has patience, understanding and doesn’t attempt to fault them when a team goes sour. He stayed with Manager Jimy Williams longer than most executives would -- 3 1/2 years -- and didn’t make a change until mid-season when he elevated batting coach Cito Gaston to the job.

When he was an aspirant in the Orioles’ system, Gillick was the traditional wild left-hander who could throw hard and had a sharp overhand curveball. “It was a thrill back then to play with Boog Powell, Steve Dalkowski, Andy Etchebarren, Barry Shetrone and so many others,” he recalls. “I often think about them. Also Earl Weaver, who was my manager at Fox Cities and Elmira during the three of the five years I was owned by the Orioles.”

So now Pat Gillick, chief potentate of baseball in Toronto, the fabled “Yellow Pages” as an Oriole fledgling, is hoping to beat out his old baseball alma mater in the push for the lead and possibly the pennant. Men in the game, unless their names happened to be Rickey and Weiss, don’t come any smarter.