Dec. 8, 1964 - The dog just lay there whimpering in the middle of the room.
“Come on now, Casey,” one of the owners addressed the forlorn-looking German shepherd. “It’s not the end of the world.”
The dog kept acting as if it were.
Casey is the pride and joy of his two owners, Tracy Stallard (pictured last year with Roger Maris) and Phil Linz, who also share an apartment in midtown Manhattan.
“He’s been crying like that since he heard Tracy was traded by the Mets,” said the Yankees’ Linz, patting the dog on the head.
Stallard took a different view today when vice president Johnny Murphy called him up to inform him he had been traded to the world champion Cardinals for outfielder Johnny Lewis and lefthanded pitcher Gordon Richardson.
“This is like going into daylight from darkness,” declared the 27-year-old Stallard, who pitched several outstanding ballgames for the Mets in his two seasons with them, even though you couldn’t tell that too easily from the 6-17 and 10-20 records he compiled with Casey Stengel’s crew.
“Normally, you wouldn’t kick about going from 10th place to a team that has won the World Series,” Stallard said, “but even though I’m happy to be joining the Cardinals, I’m also sorry to be leaving the Mets.
“I learned a lot of baseball from Stengel, and no one could ever tell me he isn’t a good manager. [Pitching coach] Mel Harder taught me the most, though. He helped me more than any other man.
“Another thing I’ll miss about the Mets is their fans. They’re fabulous.”
Stallard is remembered best, perhaps, as the pitcher who served up Roger Maris’ 61st homer when he was with the Red Sox in 1961. With the Mets, he was used by Stengel as both a starter and a reliever.
“I want to start,” he said firmly today. “I think I can get into that Cardinal rotation.”
Tracy has been going around making speeches for the Mets this winter and may continue to do so because some commitments have already been made.
“You never run out of things to say about the Mets,” he said with a grin.
Eventually, he and Linz plan to open a cocktail lounge together. They have the name already picked out: “The Character Lounge.”
“One thing about this trade,” said Linz. “It won’t break up this room. We’re still sticking together.”
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