The Forgotten Man
Before Justin Turner, the Dodgers had another redhead. He played 1st and the outfield and spent 12 years of his 21-year MLB career as a Dodger. And in the overall scheme of things, he is somewhat of a forgotten man. Ronald Ray Fairly was born on July 12, 1938, in Macon, Georgia. He was the son of Carl and Marjorie Fairly. Ron’s dad had a 10-year career as a minor leaguer and reached AAA with Toronto and Indianapolis. The year Ron was born, his dad had one of his best seasons, hitting .302 and slugging .406 for the Class-B Macon Peaches.
Ron said his dad played catch with him and his brother Rusty, another fine athlete, and taught them all the fundamentals that helped make him a ballplayer. Carl took home movies of Ron’s games and used them as a teaching tool. Rusty, who was five years older than Ron, would go on to be an All-American quarterback at the University of Denver and played in the Canadian Football League before an injury forced him into a coaching career.
After his professional baseball career ended, Carl became a dispatcher and delivery manager for the Thrifty Drug Store chain in Southern California. He was in charge of getting food and soda fountain products to 300 stores. Marjorie raised the two boys and worked part-time at May Company selling draperies.
Ron was raised in California from the time he was three months old. He played basketball and baseball at Long Beach Jordan High School. He was a pitcher and centerfielder. He was good enough at basketball that John Wooden, the legendary Bruins coach, offered him a full scholarship to UCLA. He averaged 18 points a game in high school. Before he actually made it to Westwood, his dad suggested he check out USC and legendary coach Rod Dedeaux. One look at the short RF fence at Bovard Field pretty much changed his mind. Besides, he felt Dedeaux had a much better personality than Bruin coach Art Reichel did.
He played freshman basketball at USC in the fall of 1956, but the practices interfered with the baseball training table. He also realized he would have a hard time breaking into the Trojans’ starting lineup, so he decided to concentrate on baseball. That was a good choice since he considered it his best sport.
He was the starting centerfielder on the Trojan’s 1958 National Championship team. By that time, the offers from Major League teams were getting too large to ignore. He had been scouted since he was in the ninth grade. The White Sox made an offer of $100,000 dollars. But the organization would not verify the offer to Ron’s dad. The Yankees also made a generous offer. But it was the $75,000 offer from Harold “Lefty” Phillips of the Dodgers that managed to get Fairly’s signature on a contract. One of the contributing factors was the chance to play at home. “I took less to play at home.” Fairly said.
The was no mandate in 1958 for service time in the big leagues for bonus babies, so Fairly’s rapid ascension was on merit. In the split time between Class-A and AAA, Fairly hit .297 with 14 homers and a .528 slugging pct. He arrived in Los Angeles in early September and continued his hot hitting on a team headed for 7th place. He hit .283 in 53 at-bats with two homers. The Dodgers were beginning the transition from the Boys of Summer. Fairly got his first hit off of Hall of Famer Robin Roberts, a single, on September 10th at Connie Mack Stadium in Philly. He then scored his first run when Frank Howard followed with his first big league homer. Fairly hit his first MLB homer on the 12th at Forbes Field off Pirate RHP Ron Kline.
When he arrived in Los Angeles. Fairly asked manager Walter Alston where he should work out. Alston told him right field. When he got out there, he was met by Carl Furillo, and none too cheerfully I might add. “Furillo told me, ‘I am the right fielder on this team. You can have it when I am finished, and I am not finished yet.“‘ Carl was in the midst of his last good season. He was one of the few Brooklyn Dodgers who adjusted well to the move to the west coast.
When Furillo realized that Fairly did not act like someone trying to take his job, he warmed up to the kid and took him under his wing. He showed him how to play right field in the majors. How to play balls off of the corrugated wall at Connie Mack and the nuances in other stadiums around the league. He also schooled him as to what to expect from opposing pitchers. “I always appreciated that he took the time to do that.” After Furillo was released in 1960, Fairly took his number 6 as a tribute to his mentor. At first Furillo was not too happy about someone taking his number. But his old roomie, Sandy Koufax, called him and assured him Fairly’s taking the number was a tribute to his mentoring.
On a side note, let me add this, I to this day, think Furillo was one of the more underrated and misunderstood players who played for the Dodgers. Carl was a very good player surrounded by stars. He was not the flashiest and did not hit a ton of homers, but he had the best arm on the team. He wasn’t called the Reading Rifle for nothing. He also accomplished something Snider, Hodges, Reese or Campy never did. He won a batting title. That was the last one ever by a Brooklyn Dodger with his .344 average in 1953. Robinson won it in 1949. Tommy Davis was the last Dodger to do it. Trea Turner’s does not count as a Dodger win simply because he spent the bulk of the year with the Nationals.
Back to our main subject. Ron’s initiation into the league was enhanced by where he was and who he was with. The old Brooklyn guys, Snider, Hodges, Erskine, Furillo, Labine, and Gilliam, were there. “People do not realize how damn good those guys were both on the field and off. “ he said. “ When we were in a city like Chicago, New York or San Francisco, they would wear a coat and tie to the ballpark and then go out to a nice restaurant after the game, have a cocktail or two, a nice meal, and talk about the game. Those guys taught me that if we went somewhere, people would recognize us, and we would have to act accordingly.”
He was doing quite well on the19 59 team, which surprisingly was challenging for the pennant. But a 1-30 stretch sent him to the bench. Ron opined that the pitchers had figured him out, and that is what caused the slump. It was compounded by the return to health of Furillo, Duke Snider getting past his water on the knee problem, and the good play of fellow outfielders Wally Moon, Don Demeter, and Norm Larker, who was also getting OF time. So it was hard to get playing time.
He remained with the team the entire year and managed three at-bats in the World Series with no hits. But he had a ring in his second year in the majors, this only one year after winning the College World Series. It was almost a given that his teams won.
Three days after the World Series, he went into the Army Reserves for a six-month stint. Spring training for him was one day. The Dodgers sent him to AAA Spokane to play himself into shape. Play he did; in 153 games, he slashed .303/27/100. His OPS was .965. He also walked 100 times. He played in 14 games at the end of the year and hit only .108. But Fairly’s time in the minors was at an end. From 1961-1978, he played in the majors for six different teams.
He played in 111 games in 61 with a .322/10/48 line. He only struck out 22 times in 245 at-bats. It was the Dodgers’ last season in the cavernous LA Coliseum. In 1962 they moved into their new home, Dodger Stadium, and immediately challenged for the pennant.
In those days, you had to be on top of your game to stick with the Dodgers. Back then, they had three AAA teams, and all of them were good. Furillo was gone, but Ron had to compete with Snider, Moon, Larker, Howard, Tommy, and Willie Davis for playing time in the outfield in 61. Despite poor hitting in the spring, he made the team but was limited to pinch-hitting duties in April and played some outfield in May. But his big break came at an unfamiliar position in June.
Hodges disliked taking infield practice, so Fairly and Larker would take turns each day manning first. By June, Hodges had a bad thumb and could barely grip a bat. Alston asked Fairly if he could play first, and he said yes. Alston said, “good; you’re starting there today“. The pitcher that day, Roger Craig, told him not to worry about anything. There were not any tough plays that day or the next few days he was out there. Finally, about five days later, he had his first play, where he had to field the ball. Management decided he could play first base, and that opened up other opportunities.
First base was Fairly’s primary position until Wes Parker established himself in 1965. Then Fairly moved back to right field because he had a better arm than Parker. Ron realized after the 1962 season that he would probably remain in Los Angeles because it was the first time he got 500 at-bats. He would not have gotten that many if he had remained an outfielder with the Davis boys, Snider, Moon, and Howard on the team.
The Dodgers led the NL for most of the 1962 season. They went into first place on June 8th and were on top or tied all the way to game 162. With eight games left, they had a 4-game lead. Then the wheels fell off of the buggy. They lost 6 of the 8. Including their last 4 when one win would have meant the pennant. The Giants made up the difference and forced a 3-game playoff. Part of the reason was the injury to Ace, Sandy Koufax. Sandy had gone down in July from a hand injury he suffered in April. He returned in September, but he was ineffective. He started game 1 of the playoffs and was gone by the second inning. We all know the outcome of that series. Fairly was the starting first baseman most of the year. He had a good year hitting .278 with 14 long balls and 71 RBIs. He went 1-1 in the three games against the Giants with an RBI. Wally Moon and Lee Walls started all three games.
In 1963 Ron’s stats almost mirrored his 1962 output: A .271 avg, 12 homers, and 77 RBIs. He played 1st a majority of the time but also played 45 games in the outfield. The Dodgers had made a trade with the Yankees in the winter of 1962, sending P Stan Williams to the Yanks for 1B Moose Skowron. They would get to the World Series and sweep the Yankees, but Fairly only had four plate appearances in the series with no hits and three walks. Skowron hit .383 in the series with a homer and three driven in. He was released after the season.
The Dodgers struggled in 1964. Another Koufax injury did not help. Fairly struggled like the rest of the team. He did knock in more than 70 runs again, but his power dipped, and so did his BA. In 1965 he moved back to the outfield as Wes Parker took over as the primary first baseman. His BA went up again to .274. He had nine homers and 70 RBIs as the Dodgers, behind very strong pitching, won the pennant and advanced to the World Series against the Twins. Frank Howard had been traded to the Senators, so Fairly was now the everyday RF. The series went seven games, and Fairly was a major contributor to the win. He hit .379 with two homers and 7 RBIs. The stalwart pitching was the star, though, as Koufax won 2 and lost 1 to become the Series MVP. But Fairly had his third ring in 6 years.
They would win the pennant again in 66 and get swept in the series against the Orioles. Ron had a solid year, .288/14/61. He only played in 117 games. His lowest total in 5 years. 1967 was the start of the bad times for the Dodgers. Without Koufax, who retired because of his arthritic elbow, they just were not a very good team. Fairly like the rest of the gang, slumped badly. He played in 153 games but managed only a .220/10/55 line. 1968 was not much better. The team was bad and Fairly limped home with a .234/4/43 effort.
It was essential he got off to a good start in 1969. Alas, it did not happen. Fairly limped out of the gate, and on June 11th, he and Paul Popovich were traded to the Montreal Expos for Manny Mota and Dodger favorite Maury Wills. The trade revitalized Ron, and he rebounded from a horrible start and hit .289 with the Expos. He rediscovered his power stroke and hit 12 homers in 70 games. The overall .274 average was a 40-point improvement from the prior year.
For the next five full seasons, Ron had double figures in homers and never hit below .245. His cumulative average in Montreal was .276 for the six seasons. .016 higher than his 12 years in LA. In December of 1974 he was traded to the Cardinals for two minor leaguers. He hit .301 in 107 games there. He started 1975 with the Cardinals and was dealt to the Oakland A’s. He only appeared in 15 games for Oakland. He was now 37 years old. In February of 1977 he was dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays for a minor leaguer. It would be, for him, a great move.
In 132 games with the Jays, Ron managed a .279/19/64 line. That was his career high for homers in a season. He was 38 years old. He made the All-Star team for only the second time in his career. After the season, he was traded to the California Angels for once again a minor leaguer. He played in 91 games, and hit only .217, but he did manage ten long balls. After the season, the 39-year-old Fairly hung them up.
Angel owner Gene Autry offered Ron a three-year contract to join the Angels broadcast team and he accepted. He was in the booth with Dick Enberg and old Dodger teammate Don Drysdale. He worked for the Angels until 1987, when he moved to San Francisco to replace Hank Greenwald as the voice of the Giants. Giant fans hated him. Even though by that time he was a very competent announcer, he had three strikes against him. 1. He replaced Greenwald; 2. he was from Southern California; 3. he was a former Dodger.
Greenwald returned two years later, and they worked together well. In 1993, Fairly moved further up the coast to call the Mariners games. He stayed in broadcasting until 2006, when he retired at age 68. He did come back and fill in for about 1/3rd of the season in 2011 when Bob Neihouse suddenly passed away.
Fairly once said that he hated the trade to the Expos. Going from a perennial contender to a last-place team whose main goal was to win 70 games. He played as hard as he knew how hoping some team would rescue him… and the Cardinals did just that. After retirement, he enjoyed playing golf in Palm Springs. He and his wife, Mary, had three sons, Mike, Steve, and Patrick, and seven grandchildren. Ron passed away after a long battle with cancer on October 30th, 2019, at the age of 81. Ron Fairly was long the forgotten and underrated contributor to some very good Dodger teams.
Thanks for the great write up Bear. Ron was one of my favorite players as a young fan growing up in So Cal way back in the day. Nothing better than listening to the Dodgers on my old transistor radio as a kid. Brought back many memories and fun times being a young Dodger back then.
Anytime my friend. I liked Fairly a lot. Snider was my favorite player back then. But Fairly was just one of those guys you could count on almost every day. I liked Wally Moon a lot too.
One of those memories was my Dad getting a Saturday off from work and driving to Dodger stadium only to find out the game was completely sold out. Kind of a bummer but still enjoyed spending the day with my Dad. I think the Dodger’s even won. I think Sandy or Don were pitching so that would have been fun to watch.
Great memory for a young boy to have.
Yeah, that is a good day. I was pretty lucky. Every time I ever went without having a ticket, I was able to get in.
Was he really only 5’10, 175?
21 years and a career slash of .266/.360/.408. He was consistently, and quietly, a terrific player.
That is what it says on his bio. Next to Frank Howard and Drysdale, he must have felt like a midget.
When I first became a Dodger fan at age 9, it was 1963, and for some reason, Ron Fairly and Johnny Roseboro were my favorite players. I thought they were the best players in the world… until I found out they were really journeymen… and I guess it was about then that I understood that while superstars are important, the everyday common player who gives everything he has day after day and is a good teammate, is a valuable commodity.
R.I.P. Ron Fairly… and John Roseboro!
Here’s what I woke up to today:
Confession time: growing up in LA, let’s say age 10, 1982, favorite player without a doubt was Dusty Baker.
Dusty was pretty bad the first year after the trade from Atlanta. I did not think it was a great trade until his second year when he started playing more like he had with the Braves. And I also thought the trade was lopsided since the Dodgers sent, Jimmy Wynn, Jerry Royster, Tom Paciorek and Lee Lacy for Dusty and Ed Goodson. The following year he was one of the four players on the Dodgers who hit 30 or more Homers. First time in MLB history four teammates accomplished that. He hit #30 on the last day off the season off of JR Richard, they lost the game, 6-3. What was cool about the game was that Richard gave up all three runs on solo homers. The other two were hit by Manny Mota and Glenn Burke. The only homers they hit all year. I was at that game.
Loverly
I am going to steal a post from Jeff Dominique (he will likely sue me) today because it is a topic that made some people on this blog “Bat Shit Crazy.” Jeff made his point in very few words, but it is spot on:
“You are never going to get me to bad-mouth Dave Roberts. Is he the best in-game manager tactician? No. But in today’s game it is the job of the manager to be a positive communicator with the players and face man for the organization. Nobody has done that better than Dave Roberts. Strategies, however, are made by a consortium of sorts. I know this is a contentious topic.
I am not going to get hung up on WL percentages, as he has been blessed with some of the best rosters in MLB. That being said, even with the talented rosters he has inherited, he has never lost the dugout full of prima donnas like lots of managers. In his 7 seven seasons as the LAD manager, he has guided his team to 7 playoffs, 6 NL West Championships, 3 NL Pennants, and 1 World Series (and cheated from a 2nd). Could he have done more? I know those of us sitting in our armchairs in front of the TV could have done better if given the chance. But yes, he could have been more successful in the playoffs. Should he have been? That is harder to say. None of us were there. None of us were in the pre-game meetings. None of us spoke with Bob Geren or Mark Prior (or Rick Honeycutt) before changes were or were not made. None of us spoke with the players. And it wasn’t Roberts who left all those runners in scoring position.
What we do know is that we did not like the outcomes, and someone has to be blamed. It happens everywhere…in sports and in business. You cannot fire the team, so maybe a different leader could have done better. However, since 2000, only two managers have been WS Champion more than once. Terry (Tito) Francona – Red Sox (my favorite manager for personal reasons), and Bruce Bochy – Giants. Bochy is a 3 time winner, but holds a less than .500 winning percentage as a ML manager. In 25 years, his record is 2003-2029 (.497).
Comparatively, Doc Roberts is 653-381 (.632) over his 7 seasons. Also please note that Bochy did not win his first WS Championship until his 16th season. Francona won his first in 2004. It was his first season with Boston after 4 unremarkable seasons with Philadelphia. (1997-2000). 5th season as a manager. Same as Doc. Tito won his 2nd WS in his 8th year (2007). In 22 seasons as manager, Francona has been to the WS 3 times (twice with Boston and once with Cleveland). Same as Doc. Bochy 4 times to the WS in 25 years. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Roberts will get to at least one more WS in next 18 years as manager, maybe even win one.
2023 figures to be a different year…maybe a more complex one for Doc. Justin Turner was the leader in the clubhouse, but now he is in Boston. Who is going to be the go-between the clubhouse and management? JT was trusted by both the players and managers/coaches. I do not expect this to be much of a problem, but it will be different, and someone else is going to need to step up to be that voice. Clayton Kershaw? Austin Barnes? Those are not JT personalities. One is a pitcher and one is a reserve catcher. But how much of a JT will the team need? I am okay with Doc trying to navigate that issue. He is going to have to.
We all know that Doc’s biggest issues have been with pitching changes. We do not need to revisit all of them AGAIN. Biggest mistakes on the biggest stages. We know this is a concern, and Doc needs better results. The team does not have a closer, and the team (AF/BG) says they are going with closer by committee. What is going to happen when he makes the wrong decision as to who should close out the game? Daniel Hudson? Evan Phillips? Brusdar Graterol? Yency Almonte? Alex Vesia? It was easy to go with KJ and Kimbrel even when they were faltering. It was their role, and Doc loves to keep his players in their lanes. Closer by committee takes those lanes away.
Doc has generally been in charge of a veteran team that did not rely on a lot of youth infusion. That is not going to be the case this year. Stan Kasten has said it is time for the next youth movement. One, and maybe both, of Miguel Vargas and James Outman are going to play significant innings. Michael Busch also figures to get meaningful playing time. How many rookie pitchers are going to be counted on? This is going to be a challenge for Doc. What if the rookies get out to a slow start and AF/BG and the nerds say that the rookies still need to play? We go back to the first issue. Who does Doc turn to if the word is no change in the rookies role?
While I may have thought about these issues and how Doc might be affected, I need to give Noah Camras at DodgersNation credit for pushing me to make a comment here.
Doc has never encountered a season with this many questions before. How is he going to handle it?. How does he traverse the open questions? Will the Dodgers hit WRISP in the playoffs this year? This could be a tumultuous year for the Dodgers and Dave Roberts. However, for me, at least going into the season, I have confidence in Doc.”
Words of Wisdom
That is one of the best posts I’ve ever seen you offer Mark.
As with the OPM remark, I’m just yanking on your Hoosier lanyard. You should be used to that by now.
65 and sunny here.
Doc is the chosen leader of the Dodgers varsity squad. As I have said many times, the manager is nothing more than a navigator. Ok, maybe pilot/navigator. Last year he piloted a $300 million craft that ran out of fuel upon landing. I checked the box score, when the Dodgers went 0 for fiftyleven WRISP, his name was not to be found.
The Dodgers goal is the same this year as it is every year – how to maintain a .600 win percentage in Sept/Oct. Good luck Doc. We’re all pulling for you. Well, most of us are.
I saw a picture of Rojas yesterday with a cast on his right wrist. I’d like an expert opinion on that. Anyone know where I can find one?
Not great, Bob!
Jeff’s post is epic.
I thought so… that’s why I posted it.
Jeff just gets lucky a lot when it comes to the use of words. 😉
I’m sure that’s it.
If you are going to borrow AC’s Post then I will copy and paste my comment made over there.
Roberts has said he has learned a lot over the time he has been Manager. That showed when he let Urias close out a key playoff game instead of using the script that would have brought in Jansen for the 9th.
Roberts is a better Manager now than during his first year. There is a story about a junior executive working for IBM whose decision cost the company several million dollars. He went to see the President and offered his resignation. The President said, “why would I want you to leave? I just spent several million dollars training you.”
I would like Roberts to stray from the script more often and I think he is finally confident enough to do so. Past aggravations are just that as are all of his wins. If he likes Outman in the lineup, I hope he keeps him in the lineup regardless of suggestions from the front office and at the same time I hope he stays open to front office suggestions.
We seem to be in agreement that 2023 will be a different challenge. Getting 111 wins with terrible production from half the lineup was impressive and sets a high bar for wins and a low bar for Outman, Vargas, and Thompson.
What is the name of Jeff’s blog?
I’ll let Mark respond.
Dodger chronicles.com. It is #3 in the Mandatory Reading list
Here the link:
https://ladodgerchronicles.com/
I would hope he learns something every week (Doc)
Rojas had debridement of his right wrist to remove cartilage in the fall. Rojas was evidently having some pain with scar tissue from the procedure and had another procedure to clean it up last week. He has to wear the cast for a while. He should be good to go by ST… but we shall see.
“but we shall see.“
A lot of that going around.
From what little I know about this type of surgery, a second procedure is not unusual, but things do not always go according to plan.
Murphy was an Optimist!
I believe he belonged to the Moose Lodge too.
Seems a very likable fella. With a genuine positive energy. Ah Caracas!
Some of you may be interested in this. It’s a real thing…
Very interesting and informative.
Tyler Cyr may be the Dodgers’ new “secret weapon” after Mark Prior and Company do a “makeover” on him. I have talked to a couple of people who think he could be the latest successful rehab project for the Dodgers. He will likely start in OKC, but he still has a full slate of options and under one year of service time, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Dodgers call on Cyr at some point in 2023 given the inevitable churn of relief pitching over a long season.
He throws a mid-90s fastball and mixes in a cutter and changeup. Hummm…. This might be Fun.
Yeah, I don’t know the guy but his stat sheet is an interesting read. He’s been on a lot of different teams in a lot of leagues. K/9 and H9 are excellent, ERA’s are decent, BB9 might be what got him in trouble. These are the kind of pitchers Prior loves to work with. Definitely worth watching.
I remember a specific at bat Fairly had in his final season while with the Angels. It was a nationally televised game. He was facing Al Hrabosky, then with the Royals. Hrabosky and Fairly had been teammates in St. Louis. Al had this psyche up routine that he would do between batters while on the mound that was almost comedic. Heavy breathing, pounding the fist, war-like glare. They didn’t call him the Mad Hungarian for nothing. Fairly couldn’t keep a straight face while facing his old teammate. It was great theatre. This was Fairly’s last season. I almost got the impression that he was thinking to himself, “come on, I’m too old for this, just throw the ball.”
Why are we all worried about Justin Turner he is old and injury prone. We got a better DH hitter now. And Justin went to a team where he can DH and be a role model. Dodgers are like thank you JT for all the years but we have rookies coming up that are better. JT will come back as a coach for the Dodgers or work in the front office. Shoot Orel Hershisser ended up playing for the Giants his last year’s playing. And then he can back to work in coaching in the minor leagues and helping out at spring training. And was very close to being manager when Mattingly got the job. Remember he was in the interview process. And I can’t remember if he turned down the pitching coach job or if they went with Mattingly choice as pitching coach. My personal choice for a good manager. It seems like catchers always make good managers for teams. Any way thanks JT for all the years. As his career heads towards the end. He will get playing time for Boston and he is with some ex Dodgers too.
I wish him well… except when he plays LA
Yap, they play everyone this year. Yankees at Dodger Stadium in June. You can bet those dates will be sold out. There are four exe Dodgers on the Giants this season, 3 are pitchers. Scott Alexander, Ross Stripling and Alex Wood. They also have the Rogers brothers in their bull pen now. Should have some interesting matchups with the Gnats.
The Dodgers did want to re-sign JT, but not at the amount he got. As i have said for a while (and many do not want to hear it) – the Dodgers want to get under the Salary Cap. The people who say that is “chump change”, have no concept of what $32.5 million is! It’s another TOP 10 Free Agent! It ain’t chump change, and its why they are trying to get under the Tax Threshold and reset it before next year, so it doesn’t become $70 or $90 Million.
Thank you Bear
Always liked Ron and you provided some great information that helps me to appreciate him and his life.
This is such a great place to visit each day.
Thank you Mark.
You are welcome Bob, I like these stories.
Thanks Bear. I always liked Ron. There were several years where I thought he was the most clutch hitter on the team.
Welcome Bum. Fairly always seemed to me like he was vastly under appreciated. But the guy played hard and played where the team asked him to play. I always thought he and Junior Gilliam were key pieces to those two championships runs in the 60’s.
You are not wrong!