Jerry Reuss is not at all surprised that his former Dodgers teammate Steve Garvey is running for the United States Senate.
What's surprising to Reuss is that it took Garvey this long to launch his political career.
“He's a 75-year-old rookie,” Reuss recently told the Times in an email.
Reuss was a left-handed pitcher who played for eight teams over 22 major league seasons. Garvey was an infielder and one of the most popular Dodgers in the late '70s and early '80s. His baseball careers crossed in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1982.
Reuss told The Times that Garvey had thoughts of becoming an elected official at the time, while Ronald Reagan was serving his first term as U.S. president.
“Steve always had the idea of entering the political arena,” Reuss said in the email. “He once told me that if a former actor could be president, why couldn't a former baseball player?”
Some four decades later, Garvey has made a grand entry into that arena. TO UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies The poll co-sponsored by The Times found that the Republican newcomer and Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the veteran Democratic congressman from Burbank, are actually tied for the lead in the primary days ahead of Tuesday's election.
The poll shows Garvey is favored by 27% of likely voters, followed by Schiff at 25%, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) at 19% and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) at 8%. %, while 12% of likely voters choose a different candidate and 9% are undecided. The top two finishers advance to a second round in November. There, Schiff would have a 53% to 38% lead, with 9% undecided, over Garvey, according to the poll.
Garvey was drafted by the Dodgers out of Michigan State in 1968 and remained with the organization until he signed with the San Diego Padres as a free agent before the 1983 season. He played five seasons with the Padres before retiring.
Beginning in June 1973 and continuing through the Dodgers' World Series victory in 1981, Garvey played first base in one of MLB's most celebrated and enduring infields. For eight and a half seasons, that lineup almost always also included Davey Lopes at second base, Ron Cey at third and Bill Russell at shortstop.
Cey declined to comment for this article. The Times was unable to locate Lopes and Russell.
Two members of the 1981 Dodgers championship team recently endorsed one of Garvey's opponents for the Senate seat. In an announcement issued by Lee's office on Wednesday, Dusty Baker and Dave Stewart were among those endorsing the Oakland congresswoman. Baker and Stewart have ties to Northern California and spent parts of their MLB careers with the A's.
Tom Niedenfuer was a rookie pitcher for the Dodgers during the 1981 season. As a Florida resident, Niedenfuer has been watching Garvey's young political career from afar and is not surprised by his former teammate's success in that area.
“I could definitely imagine him doing something like this,” Niedenfuer told the Times in a recent phone interview. “He always spoke well, was great with the media and definitely had his points of view, so it's not surprising at all. And he has always been a great businessman, so he really doesn't surprise me and he will be very successful with this.”
When asked if he could think of any weaknesses Garvey might have as a politician, Niedenfuer could only think of one.
“The only thing I can think of is that he's not aggressive enough to respond to people with bad things, because he's a good guy,” Niedenfuer said. “He is not one to attack other people or other opponents. He has always been great to everyone. If there were any weaknesses, I would say that he is too kind.”
San Diego Padres player Steve Garvey, former Dodgers player, greets some of his loyal fans at Dodger Stadium on April 16, 1983.
(Lennox McLendon/Associated Press)
Reuss, who lives in Nevada, said he hasn't followed Garvey's campaign enough to have an opinion on his former teammate's politics. But Reuss added of Garvey: “He is as sincere now as the day I met him.”
Like Reuss, Ross Porter, a former longtime Dodger broadcaster, is surprised that Garvey waited so long to enter politics.
“Steve would be a good senator and a better choice than his opponents, especially the unpleasant Adam Schiff,” Porter told the Times in an email, adding that he and his wife have donated to Garvey's campaign.
When asked by The Times if he had any stories demonstrating the qualities he thought would suit Garvey as a senator, Porter responded with this anecdote:
“One Sunday afternoon, August 28, 1977, Garvey was going to a game against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, mired in the worst hitting slump he had experienced in his 19-year Major League career. In his 84 previous plate appearances, he had hit a measly .139.
“Before the game that day, two nuns introduced a young disabled girl to her favorite Dodger player: Steve Garvey. During the conversation, the girl said, 'Would you hit me a home run today?'
“Garvey said he would try.
“That day, Garvey had the best offensive game he ever had. He had 5 hits in 5 at-bats, drove in 5 runs, hit two home runs, one of them a grand slam, and the Dodgers won 11-0.
“Steve told me years later that he was still corresponding with the girl.”
