In the outskirts of a serene golf course nestled in the foothills beyond San Diego, the melodies of the Highwaymen reverberated through the air. Family and baseball, forever intertwined, had gathered to bid a final farewell to Roger Craig. Horses and golf, two other passions adored by this country boy from North Carolina, danced gracefully in the meadows and dusty trails of imagination as the music serenaded the crowd.
At the age of 93, Craig passed away earlier this month. He spent 71 cherished years married to his beloved Carolyn. During the memorial held on Saturday, laughter, tears, and an array of heartwarming and amusing anecdotes painted a portrait of Craig’s legacy. As a central figure among a trio that spanned an impressive 111 years in Major League Baseball, Craig had been the starting pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers’ final game in 1957 and subsequently started for the Mets in their inaugural season in 1962. His manager at the Mets, the indescribable Casey Stengel, made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1912. Craig, who found success as both a pitching coach and manager, served as a mentor to Bob Melvin, the current manager of the San Diego Padres.
“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be managing today,” said Melvin, who was a catcher under Craig for three seasons. “Roger taught me how to view the game as a manager.” From 1912 to 2023, the baseball relay from Stengel to Craig to Melvin may not have the same literary resonance as the famous line “Tinker to Evers to Chance” from the poem “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”, but there is an undeniable richness in the progression of these influential figures.
Mark Grant, a former Giants pitcher and current Padres television analyst, demanded an enthusiastic declaration of “Humm baby!” from the audience at the start of his speech during the memorial. The crowd happily obliged, shouting Craig’s universally recognized phrase, which served as an exclamation, an encouragement, and a descriptor. It was fitting for all occasions and echoed Craig’s joyous spirit. Craig had been more than just a teammate and husband; he was a father and teacher, excelling not only in split-fingered fastballs but also in building meaningful connections. With his serene grace, he effortlessly eased tension and disarmed players whose nerves were wound up tight.
“He meant the world to me,” said Alan Trammell, the Hall of Fame shortstop and one of the speakers at the memorial. Trammell was present in Detroit for all five seasons of Craig’s tenure as the pitching coach under Sparky Anderson, which culminated in the Tigers’ 1984 World Series victory. Craig had a unique way of handling Jack Morris, another Hall of Famer, who had a volatile temperament. When Morris felt the pressure, Anderson would send Craig to offer words of wisdom. But knowing that Morris did not want any interference, Craig would simply chat with Trammell, completely ignoring Morris. Eventually, Morris would lose his patience and chase them off the mound. Craig would then return, assuring Anderson that his star pitcher was fine, and the game would resume.
Such character was forged through numerous wins and a fair share of losses. During an afternoon at Craig’s San Diego condominium ten years ago, he and I discussed this. He grinned when talking about how writers would call him and ask if he was “ashamed” of his poor record with the Mets. Craig enjoyed pointing out that he had thrown 27 complete games over two seasons. His major league debut had occurred under happier circumstances in 1955 when Brooklyn called him up from Class AAA Montreal for a spot start. He impressed everyone by throwing a complete-game three-hitter against Cincinnati. Manager Walter Alston then suggested that Craig take a few days to move his family from Montreal to Brooklyn. Seeing Craig’s uncertainty, a veteran teammate stepped in.
That teammate was Jackie Robinson. “It was my first day in the big leagues,” Craig reminisced. “And Jackie Robinson is taking me to the airport. He never said one word about what he went through. And I saw a lot of it. He just told me, ‘Kid, you’re going to be a great pitcher.'” That fall, Craig was on the mound as the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the World Series when the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in seven games to secure their sole championship in New York.
After seven seasons with the Dodgers, which included their relocation to Los Angeles, Craig found himself in a vastly different situation. The Mets, hoping to boost ticket sales in New York, deliberately selected him as the sixth pick in the expansion draft. He was already 32 at the time, and Stengel relished calling him “MISTER Craig.” After all, he was the elder statesman in a rotation of pitchers mostly in their twenties. During the Mets’ abysmal season, where they set a modern record with 120 losses against 40 wins, Stengel would often ask Craig to skip his throwing sessions between starts.
“MISTER Craig,” Stengel would say. “I know you pitched nine innings today, and you won’t pitch again for four days, but don’t throw between starts just in case we’re ahead. I might need you to pitch an inning or two in relief.” Fifty years later, Craig still chuckled at the memory. On those rare occasions when the Mets were actually winning, Stengel would lean forward and scan the bench, catching Craig’s eye. Craig would then start warming up. He started 33 games that season and relieved in nine others.
During those losing years with the Mets, Craig encountered the previous owner, Bill Veeck. Veeck told him that, after everything he had been through, Craig would make an excellent pitching coach or manager someday. “He was right,” Craig acknowledged. “I never forgot that. Every time I saw him afterward, I thanked him. You learn so much from losing because you’re constantly thinking about how to fix things.”
Following a successful stint as a pitching coach, Craig became the manager of the Giants, a team that had finished the 1985 season with an unimpressive 62-100 record. The “Mr. Fix-It” managed to transform them into N.L. West champions with a record of 90-72 in 1987. Two years later, Craig led the team to their second pennant in San Francisco.
Craig, who earned three World Series rings as a player (1955 and 1959 Dodgers, 1964 Cardinals) and one as a pitching coach (1984 Tigers), was still full of energy when one of his former catchers, Bob Brenly, invited him to be a guest coach at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ camp in 2001. After the Diamondbacks defeated the Yankees in the World Series that year, Brenly asked Craig for his ring size. The manager informed his old mentor that he personally paid for the ring, explaining that it was not merely a token of appreciation for Craig’s contributions to their victorious season, but also for the impact he had made as a player, coach, and manager.
“That’s how much Roger meant to him,” Melvin admitted with a smile at Petco Park over the weekend, confirming the truth of the tale. “And I felt he should know that.” Familial connections were a constant presence for Craig, both on and off the field. He and Carolyn raised four children, who gifted them with seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. During the ending of Saturday’s memorial service, one of the granddaughters, Chelsea Willingham, concluded it with a scripture reading from Psalm 23 and a humble request.
“In the spirit of Humm Baby, please hum along as I sing ‘Amazing Grace,'” she announced. The crowd immediately joined in a robust chorus as hearts soared, horses galloped, and somewhere in the distance, Stengel might have been asking Craig to warm up, just in case.
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