Bess' First Pitch
One Of The Most Memorable Events In The History Of Yankee Stadium
It was May of 2003 and I left Loni Anderson and one of my associates at the American Association of Respiratory Care Conference in Seattle in order to fly to New York and meet with the Yankees front office. I was traveling there to request holding a COPD screening event followed by Roger Clemens’ mother, Bess, throwing out the first pitch. Since we were working with the Yankees pitcher, it seemed like a sound concept to promote COPD awareness. My co-marketing clients, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), were preparing for the approval and launch of a blockbuster new COPD treatment, Spiriva. This event would most certainly help that effort, especially if successful. Bill Ragatz was my marketing contact at BI working with Mike Bentivegna at Pfizer. The two of them supported the idea and got the funding to make it happen. All good!
The day I left Seattle was the day that Loni was reunited with Bob Flick at a dinner, rekindling a relationship that had been put on hold for several decades. They were married a five years later.
In New York, much to my surprise, the Yankees green-lighted my request immediately and we merely had to select the date. Although I am a die-hard White Sox fan, I had nothing to do with that choice, which turned out to be Tuesday, August 26, 2003 against the Frank Thomas-led White Sox.
Once back in my offices in Roswell, Georgia, it was full steam ahead with my staff – everyone given their assignments and coordination meetings held daily so we could stay on track. Paige Janco, Matt Nagel, Jill Winkler and Kelly Thomas all played key roles in getting this monumental effort completed over a three month timeline.
Between all of the publicity planning and execution, public service announcement shoot with John Roach and Associates, arranging an exclusive interview with Brian Kilmeade at Fox & Friends, securing a huge tent and equipment to conduct the screening on the Yankee Stadium concourse, development of Roger Clemens signed giveaways, and continual coordination with the Yankees and updating Pfizer and BI, it felt like we were all running in a PR marathon, hoping we would have everything completed by August 25.
Working with the Yankees is no picnic. Although I never communicated directly with George Steinbrenner, I fully realized he was the one making all of the decisions. And the one decision I hoped to receive was a confirmation that Bess Clemens would be allowed to throw out the first pitch prior to the game. I kept telling my contact Brian in the front office that if Bess is allowed to throw out the first pitch, it will be a major event. He politely agreed, but his hands were obviously tied. He continued telling me how at one point Bess would be scheduled to throw out the first pitch after Maria Sharapova, whose appearance would promote the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. Only a few weeks later, Brian informed me that Sharapova was scratched and Roger’s mother might be allowed to throw out the first pitch with another tennis star, Pete Sampras. Still no solid confirmation. Relaying this information back to Roger via his agent’s representative, Jim Murray, the Rocket wasn’t too thrilled to learn about the non-committal.
On the morning of August 25, I took Roger and Dr. William Bailey to Fox & Friends on Sixth Avenue. Dr. Bailey is the pulmonologist and key opinion leader, who we paired with Roger for media interviews to provide the medical information. Brian Kilmeade conducted the interview outside of the building where a large crowd of fans were waiting. The cheering began once Roger stepped onto the platform, the Rocket smiling ear-to-ear. It was an exciting moment. Dr. Bailey looked over at me and smiled, “Wow!” He was having fun. Kilmeade is a big sports fan and did a terrific interview with Roger and Dr. Bailey to talk about, COPD Day at Yankee Stadium, the title we gave the event that would take place the next day.
Later that day around 2 p.m., I met Jim Roach at the players’ entrance. Brian’s assistant, Mike Hopper, escorted us into the stadium where we were prepared to shoot the PSA with Roger. He was supposed to be there at 3 p.m. but emerged from the Yankees dugout in his uniform at 5 p.m. We literally had 15 minutes to shoot the video. Roger came up into the stands, his metal cleats grinding and clicking against the cement steps. Jim Roach, a total pro, did the Q&A and got the footage he needed very quickly. Off went Roger, back onto the field, grinding and clicking down the steps, for the Yankees pre-game team stretching and warmup.
A few hours later, I was sitting in a restaurant with Jim Murray, Dr. Bailey and my staff. By this point, the Yankees had committed to approving Bess throwing out the first pitch with Pete Sampras. This was absolutely not ideal and Roger was none-too-pleased about it. In his view, and mine, it was disrespectful. When Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman, learned of the great pitcher’s high level of frustration, he called him out of the dugout and upstairs to meet with him during the game. There is no account of the exchange that took place, but it’s easy to imagine.
The next morning, we arrived at the park around 10 am. A huge white tent was already set up on the concourse outside of the stadium. Individual exam tables were being arranged by Dr. Bailey, who would be managing the screening event, scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Nonetheless, a couple hundred die-hard Yankee fans were already lined up, hoping to receive one of the 22 Roger Clemens signed baseballs and/or a signed Clemens COPD baseball card. By noon, the line had tripled. By 4 p.m., there were approximately 2,500 fans ready to enter the screening tent. When the rope was lifted from the entrance, a herd of hot, yet excited, Bronx Bomber faithful were directed to a screening coordinator one at a time. If they indicated any signs or symptoms of COPD, they were sent to one of the physicians to receive a spirometry test, which measures lung strength. Of the more than 2,500 people who came through the tent that day, 750 were pre-screened and 225 lung tests were conducted by 10 respiratory therapists. Those 225 were each given the diagnosis in writing with a recommendation to see their physician for further care. It was a very efficient, positive and successful COPD health screening.
Earlier, at about 2 p.m. that day, I was called into the Yankees front office. On my walk over, I saw White Sox announcers Ed Farmer and Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, reminding me that I would be seeing my team play the Yankees on this day. When I arrived in the office, Brian had a big smile on his face. “John, I have good news for you,” he said. “Pete Sampras agreed to appear on the Letterman Show tonight, so Bess Clemens will be the only one throwing out the first pitch.”
Well, I literally couldn’t have been more elated. I knew that meant her appearance could turn out to be a major media event. And I wasn’t wrong.
Once the screening event had ended, I made my way downstairs to the long hallway that ran from the locker room to the field. All along the corridor hung very large photos of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. As I stood admiring the Yankee art, second baseman, Alfonso Soriono, walked past. I was surprised by his tall and thin stature. Following him was pitcher Jose Contreras, a very big man. I followed them up the steps and into the famed Yankees’ dugout where so many great players had sat over the many years. All of the images of those great Yankee moments ran through my head. I walked through fully appreciating the history that had taken place there.
Then up the steps I went and onto the field, where approximately 50 media photographers were lined up along the back wall behind the plate. Like me, they obviously believed a great moment may be coming. I stood next to Dr. Bailey and the representative from the American Lung Association. They would present Bess with a Raising COPD Awareness Award, honoring her, and Roger, for their commitment to promote COPD awareness.
I turned and watched the Yankees fill the dugout and saw Roger, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, come up the steps and onto the field. Then, the voice of famed Yankees’ announcer Bob Sheppard introduced our PSA, word-for-word, just as I had written it – quite a thrill to be sure. His voice echoed throughout the park filled with 38,000 fans. On the scoreboard appeared Roger in the video Jim Roach had shot and edited. It was great! Roger talked about his mother Bess and her battle with COPD. He defined the signs and symptoms and encouraged anyone with a chronic cough or trouble breathing to see their doctor for a diagnosis. As his face disappeared from the scoreboard, Bob Shepherd was heard once again, “Please welcome Bess Clemens.”
Out onto the field in the passenger seat of the Yankees golf cart rode a smiling Bess Clemens dressed in a patriotic red, white and blue outfit. Roger smiled with pride, watching his mother being cheered by the large crowd for her efforts to help those who suffered with the same lung disease she had been battling for years. As the cart drove up next to the first base line, the photographers cameras flashed. Click, click, click, I could hear right behind me as their camera flashes lit up the area. Bess looked around at all the attention, smiling, enjoying a major moment in her life. The Yankees TV crew, the YES Network, was on the field getting the footage, which they would provide to national and local stations later that evening. Chicago station, WGN-TV, was there to broadcast the game for the White Sox and was getting their own exclusive coverage.
The two Yankee pitchers approached the cart. Roger helped his mother down, while Pettitte took hold of the oxygen tank she was hooked up to being careful not to disrupt the air tubes. She hugged her son, overwhelmed by the moment. She began to cry, so did he. Andy Pettitte stood just a few feet away watching this wonderful moment. Yankees catcher, Jorge Posada, stood about five feet away, got into his catcher’s crouch, ready to catch her first pitch. After she regained her composure, this tough lady who had worked three jobs to raise her six kids after her husband passed, took the baseball and smiled at Posada. Roger and Pettitte stepped back to give her room. She threw it the five feet, Posada caught it, and the Yankee faithful erupted with a loud applause. The photographers cameras clicked rapidly, flashes everywhere. Roger stepped up and gave his mother a hug again. Tears everywhere.
It was an incredible moment. Coverage of the event was carried nationally by CNN, ESPN, FOX News, WGN Superstation and many other local stations across the country. After such an emotional event, Roger Clemens had to go out and pitch the game. The White Sox lit him up, highlighted by a Frank Thomas grand slam, and he was quickly pulled by manager Joe Torre. Talking to reporters after the game, Roger quipped, “They should have left my mother out on the mound. She has better stuff than I did.” The COPD Day story was carried in every New York newspaper as well as national and local newspapers across the country who picked up the coverage from the Associated Press.
The next morning, I stood in the middle of Broadway at 5:30 am looking for Roger Clemens driving his Hummer. I kind of doubted he would show up for the 6 a.m. satellite media tour we had arranged for him following the big event. But I was wrong. At about 5:50 am, there was Roger with Jim Murray in that big tank of a truck, scanning the street for me. I waved them down. Ten minutes later, we were upstairs in the studio where he did 25 TV interviews, one right after the other, with stations across the country. I remember the Boston interview the best. Disdain filled Roger’s face when the Boston reporter took a cheap shot at him. The Rocket paused, looking like he couldn’t believe a reporter from Boston, where he had played for 12 seasons, was still trying to make him angry with a gotcha question. It didn’t work. His answer sounded like he had dealt with reporters like that for years. And my feeling was that the TV reporter was lucky to be asking his sniping question from Boston.
Two years later, September 17, 2005, Dr. Bailey and I stood at the funeral service for Bess’ in Vandalia, Ohio. After the service at the cemetery, I walked over to the road with Roger, who asked me about my White Sox. In the past, I had tried talking him into joining them, but failed. He went to the Astros instead. It looked like my Sox and Roger’s Astros were both headed to the playoffs, and I quipped, “Wouldn’t it be something if you ended up playing them in the World Series.” He laughed and said, “Yeah, but I’m dealing with a little issue in my hamstring now. So if we do, hopefully I’ll be ready.”
The White Sox did play the Astros in the World Series and won. Roger started game one and was pulled after the second inning due to his continuing sore hamstring.
Three years later on July 15, 2008, when the Yankees were preparing to close The House that Ruth Built, USA Today ran a front page sports story headlined, History Hits Home At Yankee Stadium. They listed the top 25 most memorable moments in the history of Yankee Stadium. And there, right next to the famed picture of Lou Gehrig giving his farewell speech, was a photo of Roger Clemens and his mother Bess during our event, COPD At Yankee Stadium.