The Next Project

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January 4th, 2018

This might not be the longest or the funniest Bob’s Blog I’ve ever written or will write, but it does rank in the top 2 percentile in terms of big news. It’s the answer to the question I’ve heard the most in 2017. The question is, “What’s next for you, in 2018?” For all but the final five days in 2017 I didn’t have a firm answer, other than “I’ve got some ideas, but nothing solid yet.” On December 27 the lightbulb went on, after my sister Mary asked me a half-dozen times “What’s your next book going to be about?” while we were on Kauai.

Like it so often goes with me, the answer came to me out of the clear blue sky as a nearly fully formed concept, all at once. “Bats, Balls, & Burnouts” was my book. I’ve known, for many months, that my next one would likely be a biography about someone else, and I had some informal conversations with a couple of people in that regard. On the afternoon of December 27 I could’ve slapped my forehead with an open palm and said, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before!” I didn’t do that, but I certainly could have. Actually, I think I might have done that. I know I said those words!

Yesterday, on January 3, 2018, I sat at my desk and got back to work. Yesterday was Day 1 of the project, and a good day it was. I sat down and began the long process of writing a new book.

It will be my father’s biography, but in a very personal way through the eyes of his youngest child. It will be my ode to my dad, with (hopefully) a lot of first-hand personal stories, anecdotes, and memories from his kids, some of his former friends, many of his former players from his managing days, and others who knew him and knew how much he could impact a person’s life.

The initial “working title” which could easily change or be adapted, is “1-0” as in “one and oh.” Anyone who knows even part of my dad’s story knows that 1-0 represents his career won/lost record as a Major League manager. Undefeated. Texas Rangers. You can look it up.

Delbert Quentin Wilber was born on February 24, 1919 in Lincoln Park, Mich. He was a heck of an athlete in multiple sports, but his life changed forever in 1937. He saw an article in a newspaper about an “open tryout” the St. Louis Browns baseball team was holding in Springfield, Ill. and he drove there in a Model A Ford. They signed him.

If he never went, if he never took that chance, he would’ve kept working at the Ford plant in River Rouge and so many lives would not be the same. Now you know where I get my own “plow forward” approach to life!

After some exhaustive (but fun) research, I’ll trace his life through the minors, then into the military where he met my mom, and on through is playing days. Then, his 30-year run as a minor league manager, coach, and scout. Oh, and that one game in Arlington, Tex. Throughout it all, I hope I can paint a picture of not just him as a baseball “lifer” but also as a father, a mentor, a protector, and a truly hilarious funny guy. As most people who know me understand, it would be impossible for me to say there’s ever been another man in my life whom I admired more.

When I went to work yesterday, my first mission was a handwritten one, as I began to jot down a list of many former players and colleagues I’ll want to talk to and interview. He spent 10 years with the Minnesota Twins, so there are lots of connections in that regard but so many of his peers are, just like him, no longer with us. He spent five years managing in the Texas Rangers organization, all at the the Triple-A level in Denver and Spokane (other than that single big league game that left him 1-0 for eternity) and won three championships in those five years. Most of his former players are still around, and a number of them are still very active in the game.

My first email was to Dave St. Peter, the President of the Twins. I told him my plans, and within minutes he wrote back and let me know that the Twins organization will be happy to do whatever they can to connect me to former players and front-office people.

My second email was to Roy Smalley, who played for Big Del in Spokane for one season before he went on to his own fantastic Major League career, and who now lives here in the Twin Cities. He does some stellar work on the Twins pregame and postgame TV shows, so much so he’d make a great color analyst someday, if he really wanted to rejoin the grind of a 162-game schedule. Roy and I have been firing notes back and forth, and we plan to sit down soon and get it all recorded, because as he once told me, “From the first day I played for Del, I felt we had a very special relationship. More like a connection. I loved your father.”

I’m Facebook friends with a number of his former players, from the Denver Bears to the Spokane Indians and the Tacoma Twins. Former infielder Jimmy Driscoll was all fired up to hear my plans, and already sent me his first funny Del Wilber story. One of many he’ll provide, I’m sure.

Like anything, all firm plans in life are completely subject to change, but in just these 24 hours since I committed to do this I can tell it’s the right thing to do and a lot of people are going to want to pitch in and be involved. Dad had that sort of impact on people.

Bigger than life.

He sure had an impact on his youngest son.

From my earliest memories of him, he was always bigger than life. He never planned or tried to be the center of attention, but he often was because those around him hung on every word.

He was a great coach and instructor, but the most important things he taught me were how to play the game the right way and how to carry myself as a person and a ballplayer. I was thick-headed enough to make many of those lessons painful to learn, but by the time I was in high school I knew baseball was my mission and I knew how the pros acted and went about preparing. Those lessons never left me. Neither did a million stories.

I’ll try to keep under a half-million when I begin writing.

I hope you’ll follow along and read it when it’s done. If you do, I hope you’ll get to know Big Del a little better and you’ll certainly become familiar with a lot of guys who played for him or worked alongside him.

It’s going to be a joy to write.

And you know how this blog has to end, right? If you read it and liked it (and plan to follow along as I research and write) please click on the “Like” button at the top.

Bob Wilber, at your service and back in the saddle.

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