COMMENTARY : Boyd’s Charges of Racism Add to Spring Gloom

Just wondering . . .

--The Can.

Make no mistake. I have always felt there has been something of a double standard for Dennis Ray “Oil Can” Boyd.

When he would bounce around the pitcher’s mound at Fenway Park or punch the air with his fist after recording a strikeout, his critics would call him a showboat. A hot dog. But when Mark Fidrych, the former Detroit Tiger pitcher, used to talk to the baseball before delivering it home, they said it was “cute.”

Well, you can’t have it both ways, but Dennis Boyd rarely got it his way. He was, and is, an emotional sort. That’s a big part of his game. But all too often managers and coaches and front-office people have told him to tone it down.

But racism? Bigotry?

I don’t know. Those are tough charges that are not easily proved or forgotten. But in recent days Boyd, heading for his first spring training without the Red Sox, has leveled them against Joe Morgan, the Sox’ manager; Wade Boggs, their star third baseman, and a couple of pitchers.

First of all, I’m not going to pretend that I even have an idea of what it must have been like for Oil Can Boyd, a black, to grow up in the Deep South of Meridien, Miss., fight his way up the baseball ladder or even sit in the Sox’ dressing room.

Racism? Bigotry? Who’s to say what’s in a man’s heart? How is anyone to know? I know this. I would have preferred that he make the charges while he was still a member of the Red Sox and not when he’s gone off to the Montreal Expos.

That helps no one. It leaves you once more questioning the Sox. It leaves you once more questioning Oil Can Boyd’s credibility.

The shame is that it should have been different for The Can. It should have been different from the first day he showed up at Fenway.

He came from where baseball players used to come from -- the farms and the fields and the backwoods. No surburban Little League diamonds. No Babe Ruth ball and Legion ball followed by four years as a full-scholarship hotshot at some college. Too antiseptic. Too modern.

Dennis Boyd came to the Red Sox the old way. He arrived with a fastball, four different curves, a slider and a nickname--Oil Can. Perfect. For those of us who can only wonder what the old Negro Leagues were like, what Satchel Paige might have been like, we had The Can to show us. At least he could give us a glimpse. He said he always liked “old-timey” feeling that baseball gave him.

OK, so he had a short fuse. Part of being The Can. So he pulled a tirade once when he was left off the all-star team. Some guys don’t want to go when they’re elected. And so what if he went wild when they lifted him as the starter for Game Seven of the 1986 World Series against the Mets. The man just wanted the ball.

Somehow all of that should have worked itself out. Even with the blood-clot problems that came later, this should be a better story.

When Boyd became a free agent this past off-season, I still thought the Red Sox were the best team for him. I still thought he should have signed with them because they understood him better than anyone else. They understood him and the fans understood him. And, yes, he was more comfortable at Fenway Park.

On the one hand, he talks about how he would have loved to have finished his career in Boston. On the other hand, he talks about racism and bigotry. I’m not so sure you can cross back over that bridge again.

But he’s with the Expos now. He will test his arm. Here’s hoping the clots are gone for good. Here’s hoping Oil Can Boyd can be what he should have been. This story has been a sad one for far too long.

--Why do I think Wade Boggs will be the Sox’ first baseman by the time spring training ends? In fact, the shorter the camp, the better the chance he has of playing there.

Here’s what could happen: Carlos Quintana runs into all sorts of defensive problems at first base. While that’s happening, either Scott Cooper or Tim Naehring has a dynamite spring. Either one can play third. Boggs moves to first base for the next seven years.

What happens to Maurice Vaughn, the first baseman of the future? They say he’s not that nifty around the bag anyway. Pencil him in as the DH down the road. Carlos Quintana returns to the outfield.

--One more Big East victory and Providence has earned its NCAA bid. And earned is the word. This is a team without any great stars; they have simply worked at it and worked at it some more.

--Rich Gedman says he wouldn’t mind being Roger Clemens’ “personal” catcher. Well, the Red Sox should mind. For one thing, that means Tony Pena, with his $1.5-million contract, sits for 35 games. Also, with Clemens pitching, you want to do your best to score some runs; he doesn’t need too many. The point is, you never want to lose, 1-0, when Clemens is pitching. Rich Gedman, bless his heart, has not exactly been an offensive force.

--I still think the Patriots should put in an offer sheet for Don Majkowski, the young Green Bay quarterback. But the Pats don’t.