R.C. O'Leary's Blog, page 6
January 14, 2014
When Marketing Your Book, Remember it's a Marathon
Don't Get too Focused on How your Start There’s no doubt that marketing a book and trying to get noticed in an increasingly crowded marketplace is difficult. But as I continue on this journey I’m doing my best to stay confident and optimistic by thinking of marketing my book like a marathon.
As a first-time independent author, I’m starting off in the back of the pack. I don’t have one of the coveted slots up-front that would allow me to start off at a full pace from the front. That’s just a fact. No matter how amped up I am or how prepared I am to run the race, I’m starting as an unknown number in the back.
The Ethiopians and other elite runners, i.e. the established writers with the big houses behind them, are going to have the advantage of being able to start from the front row. They’re going to have instant visibility from the start and the fact is they are starting ahead of me. When the starter’s gun sounds on book publishing day they have the chance to start off at a sprint, while unknown writers like me begin in the middle of a large crowd hoping to just find a little bit of elbow room as we cross the starting line.
While it would be great to have the chance to compete with the elite runners from the word “go,” it’s impossible to break out right at the start of a big marathon if you start in the pack. Anyone who has ever run a big race knows it begins with a slow walk that moves to a faster walk before you even get the chance to pick up the pace, much less even think about hitting your stride.
But the good news is that eventually, over time and during the 26.2 mile course, the field does inevitably break up and you do have a chance to run your pace. That means if you’ve done the training (written a good or great book), stay focused and keep taking stride after stride, you can eventually separate yourself from the pack and achieve your potential in the race. And when that happens, those spectators still watching the race (your readers) get to see exactly how good you are.
And while starting in the back in your first marathon likely means it will be almost impossible to catch up with those who began in the front, you can run a great race and post a strong time. And that is what just might get you the opportunity to start towards the front next time you run. And when that happens, when you have the chance to eventually start up front, then you will have the opportunity to compete with the elite for a potential win.
For writers, this is all good. Thanks to the changes in publishing, marketing a book is no longer a three month sprint. It is now a marathon that gives you plenty of time to separate yourself from the pack and show readers the kind of talent you possess. But it’s not going to happen at the start of your first one. You’re going to start off in the middle or back of the pack, at a pace that will seem excruciatingly slow, but if you don’t quit, you’ll eventually find your reach the open road and get the opportunity to achieve the result you deserve.
As a first-time independent author, I’m starting off in the back of the pack. I don’t have one of the coveted slots up-front that would allow me to start off at a full pace from the front. That’s just a fact. No matter how amped up I am or how prepared I am to run the race, I’m starting as an unknown number in the back.
The Ethiopians and other elite runners, i.e. the established writers with the big houses behind them, are going to have the advantage of being able to start from the front row. They’re going to have instant visibility from the start and the fact is they are starting ahead of me. When the starter’s gun sounds on book publishing day they have the chance to start off at a sprint, while unknown writers like me begin in the middle of a large crowd hoping to just find a little bit of elbow room as we cross the starting line.
While it would be great to have the chance to compete with the elite runners from the word “go,” it’s impossible to break out right at the start of a big marathon if you start in the pack. Anyone who has ever run a big race knows it begins with a slow walk that moves to a faster walk before you even get the chance to pick up the pace, much less even think about hitting your stride.
But the good news is that eventually, over time and during the 26.2 mile course, the field does inevitably break up and you do have a chance to run your pace. That means if you’ve done the training (written a good or great book), stay focused and keep taking stride after stride, you can eventually separate yourself from the pack and achieve your potential in the race. And when that happens, those spectators still watching the race (your readers) get to see exactly how good you are.
And while starting in the back in your first marathon likely means it will be almost impossible to catch up with those who began in the front, you can run a great race and post a strong time. And that is what just might get you the opportunity to start towards the front next time you run. And when that happens, when you have the chance to eventually start up front, then you will have the opportunity to compete with the elite for a potential win.
For writers, this is all good. Thanks to the changes in publishing, marketing a book is no longer a three month sprint. It is now a marathon that gives you plenty of time to separate yourself from the pack and show readers the kind of talent you possess. But it’s not going to happen at the start of your first one. You’re going to start off in the middle or back of the pack, at a pace that will seem excruciatingly slow, but if you don’t quit, you’ll eventually find your reach the open road and get the opportunity to achieve the result you deserve.
January 13, 2014
Book Promotion Tip: Make sure You Include Information about Your book in Your Email Signature
This is a very simple and easy tool to use for book promotion. Add information about your book to your email signature. All email programs have the ability to automatically include a signature with email email you send and each reply you send. Here is what I use and I have had several people say they will buy my book after seeing it. And for those who say they will buy but "forget" it's a very subtle reminder each time you have an email contact with them.
Here is what I use and I like the simplicity of it
RC O'Leary
Author of Hallways in the Night
Legal Thriller, Available in print at Amazon
E-book at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and Nook
When a veteran cop tries to arrest baseball's home run king, one of them ends up on trial and the other ends up dead.
rcoleary.com
I sent this tip to askDavid who added to his book promotion page. He offers 23 very good tips for writers to promote their books.
For those writers with a lot of good friends, you might even be able to ask some of your friends to add your book to their signatures.
Here is what I use and I like the simplicity of it
RC O'Leary
Author of Hallways in the Night
Legal Thriller, Available in print at Amazon
E-book at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and Nook
When a veteran cop tries to arrest baseball's home run king, one of them ends up on trial and the other ends up dead.
rcoleary.com
I sent this tip to askDavid who added to his book promotion page. He offers 23 very good tips for writers to promote their books.
For those writers with a lot of good friends, you might even be able to ask some of your friends to add your book to their signatures.
January 11, 2014
Some Very good Book promotion tips from Askdavid.com
At the bottom of this page on AskDavid.com there is some really good book promotion advice. One additional tip would offer authors is to add your book, where it's available, and a couple of lines about the story to your email signature.
I've added to all my accounts and it has led to some sales. People ask or reference it sometime
I've added to all my accounts and it has led to some sales. People ask or reference it sometime
January 9, 2014
what is the Tipping Point when a good Book begins to sell Itself?
Each day since Hallways in the Night has been published I have been doing some "hand-selling" of the book through a combination of phone calls, emails and some blog posts. I've essentially been trying to reach out to people on an individual basis versus going out with a big blast email. I've also been fortunate enough to get some positive referrals on Facebook.
I'm learning a lot in this process (full blog post on what I've learned in the future) but my question at the moment is how many books need to be sold before a tipping point is reached and a book begins to sell itself. I know the answer if a book is only average---it won't happen. In a world where readers have an almost infinite choice of books, an average book won't ever sell itself. Doesn't mean average books can't sell a lot of copies. They can and will but those sales will be due to fame, platform or huge marketing push. Not the book itself.
What I'm talking about is whether or not there is a number at which a very good or great book will reach the point where it begins to sustain itself. A point where a virtuous cycle can be achieved and the book will begin to replicate itself, eventually accelerating.
My guess, would be 5,000 copies for a book that people that readers think is great. Not a huge number, but not an easy one either. I would be interested to learn what other people think.
I'm learning a lot in this process (full blog post on what I've learned in the future) but my question at the moment is how many books need to be sold before a tipping point is reached and a book begins to sell itself. I know the answer if a book is only average---it won't happen. In a world where readers have an almost infinite choice of books, an average book won't ever sell itself. Doesn't mean average books can't sell a lot of copies. They can and will but those sales will be due to fame, platform or huge marketing push. Not the book itself.
What I'm talking about is whether or not there is a number at which a very good or great book will reach the point where it begins to sustain itself. A point where a virtuous cycle can be achieved and the book will begin to replicate itself, eventually accelerating.
My guess, would be 5,000 copies for a book that people that readers think is great. Not a huge number, but not an easy one either. I would be interested to learn what other people think.
January 6, 2014
An Open Letter/Blog Post to Matthew Quick ("Q")
Dear Matthew
I happened to notice that serendipity has put us next to each other in the Goodreads giveaway queue. We both have contest expiring on the 8th.
I'm assuming you probably checked out my giveaway and that when you did you probably figured I was the kind of guy who loved Silver Linings Playbook. Let me tell you, you are right. Like you, I went to college in Philly. Started at La Salle and would have stayed there if Speedy Morris hadn't cut me from the basketball team pre-season because, in his words, I was "too slow, can't jump, and don't have what it takes to compete at the Division I level."
I don't fully disagree with his analysis, but I still like to think it was more about bad timing to try and walk on while La Salle was dominating hoops with three players who went to the NBA (Lionel Simmons, Doug Overton, and Randy Woods) not to mention other players like Jack Hurd, Milko Lievert and Mike Stock.
I knew I would never make La Salle so I transferred to Penn where I'm proud to say I became a member of the Quakers' legendary 1989-1990 JV basketball team. And even though I never got to start a game for the Quakers, (political reason--another column) and even though we were forced to wear "hand me down" uniforms from the Varsity team, I did go 8 for 8 in one Friday night contest in front of almost 6 dozen fans. As I explained to my kids, that means their Dad shares the Palestra record for single game shooting percentage. I'm not even sure if Lionel Simmons, John Pinone, or Barry Pierce even shot 100 percent in a game. Not a bad little note to add to the obit one day.
But I digress. I'm reaching out because I think we can generate some synergy here with this contest. Basically my idea (which I think you're going to like) is that if you use your platform to bring attention to our books that are part of Goodreads' giveaway and I will also use my platform to do the same thing and we'll end up with more views. Cross-promotion in action. It's a win-win as far as I'm concerned. I don't see any downside, do you?
And think about it Q, say, hypothetically, the people who tell me they love my book are really being honest. What if it does go big? Ends up being a movie like your books. Think about the awesomeness we'll be able to share in saying that we originally met via a Goodreads giveaway.
You already have one of the most inspiring stories of all time. You are the book world's Rocky. You wrote in your in-laws basement in anonymity just like Rocky ran in anonymity and now---ba-bam! You got Rocky III kind of success. Now you pass it on and give another unknown contender a shot to compete for the title. That's the kind of karma Phil Jackson spends half of 11 Rings talking about. That's like a Zen Master getting his Ph.D.
I'll tell you what Q, the more I think about this scenario the more I like it. I'm going to start off my telling my 11 twitter followers and blog followers about The Good Luck of Right Now and that it's available for a Goodreads Giveaway. And while I do that, maybe you can ask your people to put out the word about my novel Hallways in the Night. It's got a good hook, probably make a good movie, and I gotta believe the book Gods knew what they were doing when they put us next to each other.
I'm already excited about promoting your book. Think about the stories we will one day be able to tell about how we teamed up to help each other with their book release. I'm already excited about your success. I sincerely hope you feel the same way about mine.
All my best,
R.C. O'Leary
I happened to notice that serendipity has put us next to each other in the Goodreads giveaway queue. We both have contest expiring on the 8th.
I'm assuming you probably checked out my giveaway and that when you did you probably figured I was the kind of guy who loved Silver Linings Playbook. Let me tell you, you are right. Like you, I went to college in Philly. Started at La Salle and would have stayed there if Speedy Morris hadn't cut me from the basketball team pre-season because, in his words, I was "too slow, can't jump, and don't have what it takes to compete at the Division I level."
I don't fully disagree with his analysis, but I still like to think it was more about bad timing to try and walk on while La Salle was dominating hoops with three players who went to the NBA (Lionel Simmons, Doug Overton, and Randy Woods) not to mention other players like Jack Hurd, Milko Lievert and Mike Stock.
I knew I would never make La Salle so I transferred to Penn where I'm proud to say I became a member of the Quakers' legendary 1989-1990 JV basketball team. And even though I never got to start a game for the Quakers, (political reason--another column) and even though we were forced to wear "hand me down" uniforms from the Varsity team, I did go 8 for 8 in one Friday night contest in front of almost 6 dozen fans. As I explained to my kids, that means their Dad shares the Palestra record for single game shooting percentage. I'm not even sure if Lionel Simmons, John Pinone, or Barry Pierce even shot 100 percent in a game. Not a bad little note to add to the obit one day.
But I digress. I'm reaching out because I think we can generate some synergy here with this contest. Basically my idea (which I think you're going to like) is that if you use your platform to bring attention to our books that are part of Goodreads' giveaway and I will also use my platform to do the same thing and we'll end up with more views. Cross-promotion in action. It's a win-win as far as I'm concerned. I don't see any downside, do you?
And think about it Q, say, hypothetically, the people who tell me they love my book are really being honest. What if it does go big? Ends up being a movie like your books. Think about the awesomeness we'll be able to share in saying that we originally met via a Goodreads giveaway.
You already have one of the most inspiring stories of all time. You are the book world's Rocky. You wrote in your in-laws basement in anonymity just like Rocky ran in anonymity and now---ba-bam! You got Rocky III kind of success. Now you pass it on and give another unknown contender a shot to compete for the title. That's the kind of karma Phil Jackson spends half of 11 Rings talking about. That's like a Zen Master getting his Ph.D.
I'll tell you what Q, the more I think about this scenario the more I like it. I'm going to start off my telling my 11 twitter followers and blog followers about The Good Luck of Right Now and that it's available for a Goodreads Giveaway. And while I do that, maybe you can ask your people to put out the word about my novel Hallways in the Night. It's got a good hook, probably make a good movie, and I gotta believe the book Gods knew what they were doing when they put us next to each other.
I'm already excited about promoting your book. Think about the stories we will one day be able to tell about how we teamed up to help each other with their book release. I'm already excited about your success. I sincerely hope you feel the same way about mine.
All my best,
R.C. O'Leary
Send the Beer Guy by Shannon Shark: A Great Read on the Mets and Being a Baseball fan
Recently, I began running a banner ad on the website Metspolice.com for my book and during the process saw the site's creator, who goes by the pseudonym Shannon Shark, had written a memoir of his experience as a life-long experience as a Mets fan. It’s called Send the Beer Guy and I figured I would read it. I downloaded the book and it turned out to be a real treat.
First and foremost, the book is a must-read for any Mets fan. If you grew up anywhere in the tri-state area since the 70s and have even the slightest interest in baseball, I think you’ll enjoy this book because it’s like taking a very pleasant stroll down a very charming Memory Lane. I grew up mostly a Red Sox fan in a NY Suburb in the pre-cable area. That meant 90% of my baseball was from WPIX 11 and WOR 9 in NY. Being a huge baseball fan, I watched a lot of Mets and Yankees. Shea stadium was where my Indian Guides summer trip went. It was great reading some of the names from the past that I had forgotten—John Stearns, Joel Youngblood and Craig Swan to name a few.
But this book was more than just about the Mets. It was about being a sportsfan and how vital a role our teams can play in our lives. After reading the book I realized that while the Mets don’t define the writer’s life, they definitely shaped a large part of who he is.
There are some great behind the scenes stories about the author’s time working as a vendor at Shea. Truly “inside stadium” information, as well as some poignant moments about the writer’s personal life and how it intersected with the Mets. The book jumps around chronologically, but I never felt lost because the narrative voice was so perfect.
By the end of Send the Beer Guy, you feel like you know the writer and that he’s the kind of guy you would want rooting for your team. Never takes himself or the Mets too seriously while always respecting the fact that being a devoted fan is a serious commitment.
One of the most authentic narrative “voices” I have read because the style gives you the feeling it’s just you and the writer and he’s speaking directly to you.
I think any sports fan who loves their team and read this book would say many times throughout the book “That’s exactly how I felt.” Great read and one that will help any baseball fan forget it’s the off-season, at least for a couple of days.
January 3, 2014
Oil wants to go Down-Could see a Price "CRASH" in 2014
The fact oil is having a big drop with the nation freezing is a harbinger that the huge new levels of world supply will overtake any speculative bid this year, in my opinion, and crude price could possibly crash this year.
What is a Felony Clause in a Life Insurance Policy?
Before writing HITN, I was not aware that almost all insurance policies have a felony clause in them. The felony clause is an exclusionary loophole that means life insurance companies do not have to pay out when the insured dies while in the process of committing a felony.
As Johnny Wiemer explains to Ray Manning in the book: "You rob a bank and the security guard shoots you on the way out, your wife's not collecting on the policy."
As Johnny Wiemer explains to Ray Manning in the book: "You rob a bank and the security guard shoots you on the way out, your wife's not collecting on the policy."
January 2, 2014
Two Easy Ways to win a Free copy of Hallways in the Night within the next week--Goodreads and Paul Piorek's blog
Here is a link to Paul Piorek's Andrew Warde blog where you can enter to win a free copy of the book, and, if I can do it correctly, there should now also be a link on the site to Goodreads' giveaway for the book. Paul is giving away 1 copy and Goodreads is offering 3 copies. Good luck to anyone who signs up. .goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; } Goodreads Book Giveaway
Hallways in the Night by R.C. O'Leary
Hallways in the Night by R.C. O'Leary Giveaway ends January 08, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to winJanuary 1, 2014
"Them Dirty South Girls" An Excerpt from Hallways in the Night--A Baseball Fight between Teammates
Much of the second half of Hallways in the Night involves the trial. In addition to simply courtroom confrontation, I added some backstory to this section that I thought readers might enjoy. The below scene involves a fight between Remo and one of his teammates. It was a fun scene to write and I thought I would share it on my blog for a quick read on New Years Day. (Please note, I did sub the word frig into the below section because this is a family friendly blog.
Happy New Year, I hope you enjoy this sample:
Chapter 22
___
ONE OF the central organizing principles of Dave’s defense was that Remo Centrella carried a deep-seated anger within him that was explosive when triggered. It was a rage that had been caught on television three times.
The first time was when an umpire nullified a walk-off home run after ruling Remo’s foot missed third while rounding the bases. Remo charged out of the dugout and had to be restrained by a half a dozen teammates. The second time was when Remo went after a pitcher he thought had intentionally thrown at his head. And the third time was when TV cameras caught Remo getting into a fight with a teammate that he didn’t think had hustled.
Whitney wanted to play videotape from all three incidents for the jury, but Judge Friedman ruled the defense would only be allowed to play one of them.
“You can reference the other two as part of your theory,” she instructed, “but I’m not going to take up a half a day of court time watching baseball fights. One video will make your point.”
Bass objected to the admission of any of the fights. He claimed they should be excluded because they would have too prejudicial of an effect on the jury, but Friedman overruled him. She said the footage was close enough to the crux of Dave’s defense that the probative value of showing the tape outweighed its prejudicial effect.
She gave Whitney the choice of which incident to use. He chose the fight with Remo’s teammate because it lasted twice as long as the other two confrontations and because he thought it showed Remo at his worst.
“That’s how Centrella looked when I was on the ground,” Dave said, when he and Whitney screened the fight together.
Remo’s fight with Richie Decker was a national story when it happened. It was during Remo’s fourth year with the Barons, and it started because he didn’t think Richie hustled after a fly ball.
The Barons were playing Detroit at the Keith on a blistering Sunday afternoon in July. There were two outs in the top of the 8th, and Atlanta was getting shellacked, 9-3. The vast majority of fans, everybody but the die-hards, had left the stadium by the time Detroit’s catcher, Lee Plasencia, connected with a hanging curve into left-center field that scored two more Detroit runners. It was a good hit, but one Decker would have caught if he ran hard after it.
On paper, Richie Decker was a player with all the gifts needed to be an All-Star. A nine-year veteran, he had the kind of natural ability that made General Managers drool, which was why there always seemed to be another team willing to take a chance on a player who had never lived up to his hype.
Before the season began, Ray Manning had been the latest guy to fall in love with Decker’s upside. He talked himself into signing him as a free agent, rationalizing that all Richie needed was the chance to join a playoff contender.
Things hadn’t worked out the way Ray hoped. Decker had shown some definite flashes of brilliance in Atlanta, but most of them had taken place on dance floors in Buckhead.
In a move the Barons didn’t anticipate, Richie’s wife divorced him before the start of the season. She stayed back in Seattle with their kids, while Atlanta’s newest multi-millionaire rolled into town a free man.
Richie set the tone at his initial press conference, when one of the local beat writers asked what he was most looking forward to about playing for the Barons.
“Them “Dirty South” girls,” Richie said, with a huge, gap-toothed, smile. “They’re gonna love Richie Decker.”
Ray fined him five grand for the answer, but Richie was just being honest. During the first two months of the season, he gave away tickets faster than the Barons’ PR department.
The problem was, Richie’s tickets were in the same section where the Barons’ wives sat, and Richie’s guests tended to look more like biker chicks from Daytona Beach than former sorority girls from the University of Georgia. Nobody in the Barons organization could figure out where Richie found such a steady supply of trashy women.
Several of the players’ wives complained about the outfits that were showing up in the family section. At one point, after one of Richie’s “dates” showed up wearing Daisy Dukes and a tight red, white and blue bikini top for a game on Independence Day, Barons catcher Greg Weatherford asked Richie to tone it down.
“My wife said the young lady spent half the game sticking her pierced tongue out while flashing devil horns up to the sky,” Weatherford said. “My daughters were literally afraid of her.”
Weatherford was the Barons’ captain, but Richie didn’t defer to him.
“I’m a popular guy, Greg. What can I say?” Richie said. “Matter of fact, you and me should hang out sometime. One of my lady friends said she wants to try and corrupt you.”
“You’re sick,” Weatherford said and turned his back on Richie.
“Man can’t live on bread alone, Greg,” Richie said, with a loud laugh. “Man cannot live on bread alone.”
By the time of the Detroit game, the tension between Richie and his teammates had been building for almost a month. Half the Barons weren’t speaking to him, but Richie didn’t care. He had been traded enough times to know baseball was a business and that teammates were temporary.
Remo had seen Richie come dragging into the locker room the morning of the Detroit game. The Barons had won the night before, and Richie looked like he had never made it home. At one point, during the top of the 6th inning, Remo looked over at Richie, who was in the middle of a full yawn. Richie didn’t even bother trying to conceal it when he saw Remo looking at him. He just laughed, like the whole thing was a big goof.
So by the time Richie didn’t hustle after the ball hit by Plasencia, Remo had seen enough. He sprinted back to the dugout when the inning ended and waited for Richie on the top step.
“Hit the showers. You’re done for the day.”
“What’d you say, C?” Richie said, waking up for the first time all game.
“I said get out of my dug-out, Richie. Hit the showers, and we can try it again tomorrow.”
Richie smiled.
“Oh, so you the manager now, Remo? Give me a frigging break, Bro. That ball was hit harder than it looked. Now, let me get by….Richie needs some Gatorade.”
By this time, most of the team, including their manager, Eddie Danko, saw Remo and Richie starting to square up. Danko was happy to see it; he had been waiting for Remo to assert himself as the Barons’ leader.
“You’re not getting any Gatorade, Richie. You haven’t earned it. Now get into the tunnel before I kick your ass down there.”
“Yoa, C, you better save the Rambo act for the rookies. You know you don’t want a piece of me.”
Richie tried to move forward.
“Don’t do it, Richie,” Remo said and blocked his path.
Richie Decker knew Remo was the Barons’ franchise player, but he had too much ego to back down, especially now that all eyes in the dugout were on them.
Orlando Kure, the Barons’ second baseman, was due up to bat, but he stayed in the dugout to watch the confrontation. Because Kure wasn’t at the plate, the home plate umpire walked over to the dugout to give the Barons a delay of game warning. The TV cameras followed him, and when they did, they picked up on Remo and Richie jawing at each other.
“Pardon me,” Richie said, and put his hand on Remo’s chest.
Remo responded with a roundhouse to Richie’s head, but Richie put his left hand up reflexively and blocked most of the punch.
“Now you done it,” Richie said, and punched Remo in the mouth. The punch knocked Remo down onto the grass behind the first base line, but he didn’t stay down. He jumped up and launched himself into Richie’s mid-section. Richie stumbled backwards, but stayed on his feet by hanging on to Remo’s shirt. Remo wrapped his arms around Richie’s waist and began to drive him backwards, like a blocking sled.
Richie was backpedaling and punching Remo in the back of his head, but his punches didn’t have any power because he was off-balance. They were glancing off Remo and just making him angrier.
By the time they reached home plate, Remo’s momentum overwhelmed Richie, who fell backwards onto the ground. Remo stood halfway up and unloaded a punch down into Richie’s face that fractured his cheekbone.
Richie turned over and covered up as Remo towered over him. By that point, Remo’s teammates were pulling him off Richie, while the TV cameras zoomed in. Remo’s facial features were contorted, and he was spitting blood, as he yelled at Richie that he would “frigging kill him.”
Or at least that’s what Whitney’s lip reading expert claimed Remo was saying on the tape. There was no audio available, so there was no proof of what exactly Remo said. Just the expert’s opinion. Although on cross-examination, Bass got her to concede it was possible Remo could have been saying, “I’ve had my fill of you.” Either way, the video was undeniable proof Remo could snap when angry.
Richie Decker ended up on the disabled list for almost a month and Dale Agee gave Remo a ten game suspension. Publicly, Ray and the Barons condemned the fight, but privately, they were happy Remo finally stepped up and demanded accountability from his teammates.
Remo and Richie never discussed the fight, but on the night Richie returned to the Barons’ line-up, Remo gave him a public embrace. And instead of ripping the team apart, the fight seemed to bring it closer together. That October, with Richie Decker hustling on every play, the Barons won their first World Series title.
Happy New Year, I hope you enjoy this sample:
Chapter 22
___
ONE OF the central organizing principles of Dave’s defense was that Remo Centrella carried a deep-seated anger within him that was explosive when triggered. It was a rage that had been caught on television three times.
The first time was when an umpire nullified a walk-off home run after ruling Remo’s foot missed third while rounding the bases. Remo charged out of the dugout and had to be restrained by a half a dozen teammates. The second time was when Remo went after a pitcher he thought had intentionally thrown at his head. And the third time was when TV cameras caught Remo getting into a fight with a teammate that he didn’t think had hustled.
Whitney wanted to play videotape from all three incidents for the jury, but Judge Friedman ruled the defense would only be allowed to play one of them.
“You can reference the other two as part of your theory,” she instructed, “but I’m not going to take up a half a day of court time watching baseball fights. One video will make your point.”
Bass objected to the admission of any of the fights. He claimed they should be excluded because they would have too prejudicial of an effect on the jury, but Friedman overruled him. She said the footage was close enough to the crux of Dave’s defense that the probative value of showing the tape outweighed its prejudicial effect.
She gave Whitney the choice of which incident to use. He chose the fight with Remo’s teammate because it lasted twice as long as the other two confrontations and because he thought it showed Remo at his worst.
“That’s how Centrella looked when I was on the ground,” Dave said, when he and Whitney screened the fight together.
Remo’s fight with Richie Decker was a national story when it happened. It was during Remo’s fourth year with the Barons, and it started because he didn’t think Richie hustled after a fly ball.
The Barons were playing Detroit at the Keith on a blistering Sunday afternoon in July. There were two outs in the top of the 8th, and Atlanta was getting shellacked, 9-3. The vast majority of fans, everybody but the die-hards, had left the stadium by the time Detroit’s catcher, Lee Plasencia, connected with a hanging curve into left-center field that scored two more Detroit runners. It was a good hit, but one Decker would have caught if he ran hard after it.
On paper, Richie Decker was a player with all the gifts needed to be an All-Star. A nine-year veteran, he had the kind of natural ability that made General Managers drool, which was why there always seemed to be another team willing to take a chance on a player who had never lived up to his hype.
Before the season began, Ray Manning had been the latest guy to fall in love with Decker’s upside. He talked himself into signing him as a free agent, rationalizing that all Richie needed was the chance to join a playoff contender.
Things hadn’t worked out the way Ray hoped. Decker had shown some definite flashes of brilliance in Atlanta, but most of them had taken place on dance floors in Buckhead.
In a move the Barons didn’t anticipate, Richie’s wife divorced him before the start of the season. She stayed back in Seattle with their kids, while Atlanta’s newest multi-millionaire rolled into town a free man.
Richie set the tone at his initial press conference, when one of the local beat writers asked what he was most looking forward to about playing for the Barons.
“Them “Dirty South” girls,” Richie said, with a huge, gap-toothed, smile. “They’re gonna love Richie Decker.”
Ray fined him five grand for the answer, but Richie was just being honest. During the first two months of the season, he gave away tickets faster than the Barons’ PR department.
The problem was, Richie’s tickets were in the same section where the Barons’ wives sat, and Richie’s guests tended to look more like biker chicks from Daytona Beach than former sorority girls from the University of Georgia. Nobody in the Barons organization could figure out where Richie found such a steady supply of trashy women.
Several of the players’ wives complained about the outfits that were showing up in the family section. At one point, after one of Richie’s “dates” showed up wearing Daisy Dukes and a tight red, white and blue bikini top for a game on Independence Day, Barons catcher Greg Weatherford asked Richie to tone it down.
“My wife said the young lady spent half the game sticking her pierced tongue out while flashing devil horns up to the sky,” Weatherford said. “My daughters were literally afraid of her.”
Weatherford was the Barons’ captain, but Richie didn’t defer to him.
“I’m a popular guy, Greg. What can I say?” Richie said. “Matter of fact, you and me should hang out sometime. One of my lady friends said she wants to try and corrupt you.”
“You’re sick,” Weatherford said and turned his back on Richie.
“Man can’t live on bread alone, Greg,” Richie said, with a loud laugh. “Man cannot live on bread alone.”
By the time of the Detroit game, the tension between Richie and his teammates had been building for almost a month. Half the Barons weren’t speaking to him, but Richie didn’t care. He had been traded enough times to know baseball was a business and that teammates were temporary.
Remo had seen Richie come dragging into the locker room the morning of the Detroit game. The Barons had won the night before, and Richie looked like he had never made it home. At one point, during the top of the 6th inning, Remo looked over at Richie, who was in the middle of a full yawn. Richie didn’t even bother trying to conceal it when he saw Remo looking at him. He just laughed, like the whole thing was a big goof.
So by the time Richie didn’t hustle after the ball hit by Plasencia, Remo had seen enough. He sprinted back to the dugout when the inning ended and waited for Richie on the top step.
“Hit the showers. You’re done for the day.”
“What’d you say, C?” Richie said, waking up for the first time all game.
“I said get out of my dug-out, Richie. Hit the showers, and we can try it again tomorrow.”
Richie smiled.
“Oh, so you the manager now, Remo? Give me a frigging break, Bro. That ball was hit harder than it looked. Now, let me get by….Richie needs some Gatorade.”
By this time, most of the team, including their manager, Eddie Danko, saw Remo and Richie starting to square up. Danko was happy to see it; he had been waiting for Remo to assert himself as the Barons’ leader.
“You’re not getting any Gatorade, Richie. You haven’t earned it. Now get into the tunnel before I kick your ass down there.”
“Yoa, C, you better save the Rambo act for the rookies. You know you don’t want a piece of me.”
Richie tried to move forward.
“Don’t do it, Richie,” Remo said and blocked his path.
Richie Decker knew Remo was the Barons’ franchise player, but he had too much ego to back down, especially now that all eyes in the dugout were on them.
Orlando Kure, the Barons’ second baseman, was due up to bat, but he stayed in the dugout to watch the confrontation. Because Kure wasn’t at the plate, the home plate umpire walked over to the dugout to give the Barons a delay of game warning. The TV cameras followed him, and when they did, they picked up on Remo and Richie jawing at each other.
“Pardon me,” Richie said, and put his hand on Remo’s chest.
Remo responded with a roundhouse to Richie’s head, but Richie put his left hand up reflexively and blocked most of the punch.
“Now you done it,” Richie said, and punched Remo in the mouth. The punch knocked Remo down onto the grass behind the first base line, but he didn’t stay down. He jumped up and launched himself into Richie’s mid-section. Richie stumbled backwards, but stayed on his feet by hanging on to Remo’s shirt. Remo wrapped his arms around Richie’s waist and began to drive him backwards, like a blocking sled.
Richie was backpedaling and punching Remo in the back of his head, but his punches didn’t have any power because he was off-balance. They were glancing off Remo and just making him angrier.
By the time they reached home plate, Remo’s momentum overwhelmed Richie, who fell backwards onto the ground. Remo stood halfway up and unloaded a punch down into Richie’s face that fractured his cheekbone.
Richie turned over and covered up as Remo towered over him. By that point, Remo’s teammates were pulling him off Richie, while the TV cameras zoomed in. Remo’s facial features were contorted, and he was spitting blood, as he yelled at Richie that he would “frigging kill him.”
Or at least that’s what Whitney’s lip reading expert claimed Remo was saying on the tape. There was no audio available, so there was no proof of what exactly Remo said. Just the expert’s opinion. Although on cross-examination, Bass got her to concede it was possible Remo could have been saying, “I’ve had my fill of you.” Either way, the video was undeniable proof Remo could snap when angry.
Richie Decker ended up on the disabled list for almost a month and Dale Agee gave Remo a ten game suspension. Publicly, Ray and the Barons condemned the fight, but privately, they were happy Remo finally stepped up and demanded accountability from his teammates.
Remo and Richie never discussed the fight, but on the night Richie returned to the Barons’ line-up, Remo gave him a public embrace. And instead of ripping the team apart, the fight seemed to bring it closer together. That October, with Richie Decker hustling on every play, the Barons won their first World Series title.
