The White Sox bat boy from 1948 threw out the first pitch and shared stories from the past
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Prior to Thursday afternoon's 9-3 loss to the Orioles, the White Sox welcomed 84-year-old Ron Meadows to throw out the first pitch. Meadows was the bat boy for the 1948 White Sox team that went 51-101 at the tail end of Hall of Famer Luke Appling's career.
In addition to throwing the first pitch, he took some time to talk to MLB.com's Scott Merkin to share some stories of his time with the 1948 team.
He became bat boy by winning an essay contest in the now-defunct Chicago Daily News. After finishing second and winning a signed baseball in 1947, 14-year-old Meadows came in first place in '48. He was with the team for the entire season, "Except for the days I had to go to school," he said. "I made [the trip to] every city except St. Louis, the Browns."
Though he didn't get to know non-White Sox players all that well, he still managed to come away with a memorable story about Yogi Berra. "I remember Yogi was a rookie that year," he recalled. "And one day a White Sox player got a base hit and dropped the bat right on the plate as he ran away and Yogi very nicely suggested that next time I ought to get my butt out there and pick up that bat."
But his best memories came from the bonds he formed with the White Sox players. He got rides home after games from first baseman Tony Lupien and was in Philadelphia when power-hitting outfielder Pat Seerey hit four home runs in a single game on July 18.
As a bat boy, Meadows' duties extended beyond the specific job title. "We had actual work to do before and after the game," he recalled. "Hauling stuff down to the field. We had to chip ice to make the water cold."
And what would a high school job be without an unlikable boss? "The clubhouse manager was sort of a dictator sort of guy," he said. "He didn't care bat boy or not. So we had to clean shoes. They were all black in those days [so we] had to put polish on them. It was a pretty messy job."
Fortunately, that unpleasantness is in the rear-view mirror for Meadows and he is left primarily with fond memories -- and funny Yogi Berra tales -- from his summer with the White Sox.