The legendary Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, was the scene of Major League Baseball on Thursday night, and the Negro leagues were top of mind given the diamond's importance in its history.
The Fox Sports panel of Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and host Kevin Burkhardt discussed the magnitude of the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants playing in Rickwood, especially considering the Hall of Famer's loss. MLB Willie Mays on Tuesday night as he played on the field with the Birmingham Black Barons.
However, when talking about great Negro Leagues players, the great Satchel Paige always comes to mind. He was a pitcher for the Black Barons to begin his professional career before finally breaking into the MLB late in his career.
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Pittsburgh Pirates Barry Bonds, #24, at bat against the San Diego Padres. San Diego. (Richard Mackson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Joining the panel was the league's all-time home run leader Barry Bonds, Mays' godson, and Ken Griffey Jr. Jeter decided to direct a question to Bonds.
“Tell me right now, on the spot, what would you do against Satchel Paige?” Jeter asked Bonds.
The man who launched 762 career home runs over 22 seasons didn't hesitate. In fact, he felt jokingly insulted if Jeter even asked.
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“Me?! I'm gone,” he said quickly, to which the rest of the panel started laughing. “You've lost your mind, Jeter. He's gone. It's simple. He's gone. Read about it on ESPN.
“You have to believe in yourself. If I don't believe in myself, who is going to believe in me?”
Griffey said he would have taken a different route if he had faced Paige, a man who was rumored to hit 105 mph with his fastball and consistently hit triple digits before it became common in today's modern era.
Satchel Paige of the Monarchs, left, talks to Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays before a game in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1941. (Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
“I'm dragging the pennant,” Griffey said, smiling. “Let's run to the first one.”
Paige was only 20 years old when he joined the Black Barons in 1927, posting a 2.39 ERA in 20 games (10 starts). It wasn't until 1933 when the 26-year-old posted a league-best 1.94 ERA in his first All-Star season with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in Negro National League II.
In 1948, at age 42, Paige made his debut with the then-Cleveland Indians, which remains the oldest debut in MLB history. Paige would post a 2.48 ERA in 72.2 innings that season and followed that up with a 3.04 ERA in 31 games in 1949.
However, Bonds has a feeling he wouldn't have been fazed by Paige's warmth.
Bonds' career statistics have been marred by his admitted steroid use. However, he was still one of the best to ever step foot in the batter's box, as his short bat could make a baseball fly anywhere in any ballpark.
Barry Bonds, left, sounded pretty confident when asked if he would hit one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Satchel Paige. (Getty Images)
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Of course, we'll never know what that matchup would be like in real life, but it's fair to say that Paige would probably be confident in her abilities, just as Bonds does.
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