Controversial Memoir's Slice of Minor-League Life

Stephen C. Smith

Thanks to Dan Fleschner for posing these questions. Mr. McCarthy continues to explain away the "inaccuracies" as simple chronological errors, but the facts show it's much worse than that.

I've been chronicling this story on the FutureAngels.com Blog. The permalink that gets you all the stories is:

http://comment.mlblogs.com/search?tag=odd%20man%20out&blog_id=980

Specifically, though, I want to draw your attention to an article I did about one key incident which shows it was more than a chronological error:

http://futureangels.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/03/odd_man_out_boxed_in.html

There's no doubt that the game described in the book was June 22. McCarthy described himself as being the starting pitcher the night before, and he only started a couple games before his demotion to the bullpen. He said Hector Astacio was the starter in the game in question. And he said his buddy Brian Barnett, a third-string catcher, made an emergency relief appearance in the game. Barnett pitched only once all season -- on June 22.

I also happened to be at the game, doing photography during the series.

As Mr. Fleschner notes, McCarthy wrote that Provo shortstop Erick Aybar was hit twice by pitches. The box score (in my article) shows that never happened.

McCarthy may claim he simply got a date wrong, but that's debunked because he claims that Aybar being hit twice was the reason why manager Tom Kotchman ordered Astacio to hit the next Ogden batter in the ribs with a pitch. McCarthy claims that Kotchman yanked Astacio when he refused.

If Aybar wasn't hit, then why would Kotchman order a retaliation pitch?

And if you check the box score, NO OGDEN BATTER WAS HIT IN THE GAME. The batter hit by a pitch was Ogden's Prince Fielder.

There's more that doesn't add up.

McCarthy started the night before. The typical routine in the minors is that the starting pitcher from the prior game is in the stands behind home plate, charting or working the radar gun.

Now, I can't say if McCarthy was in the stands or not, but if he was then there's no way he was able to hear Kotchman order a retaliation pitch.

McCarthy claims he went to the visitors clubhouse to use the bathroom, where he consoled Astacio.

Well, again, that doesn't make much sense.

The visitors dugout at Ogden is on the first base line. But the visitors clubhouse is accessed through a door in the left-center field wall.

For McCarthy to use the clubhouse bathroom, he would have had to run across the field in the middle of the game, which certainly would have been noticed by Kotchman and pitching coach Kernan Ronan.

If McCarthy was charting behind home plate, then he was leaving his post to use the bathroom. Nature calls, we understand that. But if he's in the stands, why not just use the mens' room on the concourse rather than go all that distance to the visitors clubhouse?

It's possible to reach the clubhouse without running across the field. You have to walk up the concourse into the front office, hang a right, and enter the clubhouse. But in doing so, you pass the mens room on the concourse.

McCarthy continues to rationalize indiscrepancies such as these by simply saying he got a date wrong. Baloney. There's no way a tale like this reconciles.