Donnie Moore Article

[DowningRules]

Man I remember that game like it was yesterday.  I was young and so dang excited to be sitting next to my dad to watch what we thought would be the Angels' first AL clinching victory.  I remember grabbing my dad's arm and saying, "We're gonna do it!  We're gonna do it!"  He didn't say anything.  Exactly the way I act now until the last out's been made.

 

I have such a vivid memory of the ushers and cops going down ONTO the field during the game.  That was so foreign to me.  

 

And Ted Williams sitting about four feet from me.  

 

I can still hear my dad's voice the moment Henderson hit that ball, "Oh oh.  Oh oh."

 

I will never forgive the Red Sux for honoring Henderson before that playoff game against the Angels in Fenway in what? -- 2009? -- and Henderson reenacting his jump during the home run trot.  Relatively classless.  I hope none of Moore's family saw that.

[tdawg87]

Joey mowed grass clippings on his yard

[Blarg]

What do you think the "real" story is? She drove him over the cliff?

 

It was the ducks.

[Inside Pitch]

I didn't say he was disrespectful strad.  Just that this article had a lot of really interesting stuff about players and what they do and go through.  About how we never really know what is going on behind the scenes.  About abuse and how women stay in it.  Many talking points.

 

MT, you ever read the book One Pitch Away?  http://www.amazon.com/One-Pitch-Away-Players-Championships/dp/0028608461   Anyone who hated Mike Port for the things they knew will be tempted to hire a hit man to go find him after reading all the crap that went on and the shit he did to played -- Not just Donnie Moorre but also DeCinces and Grich.

[Angel Oracle]

There is no doubt that it takes a TOTALLY different mindset and fortitude to handle the world that athletes participate in. The constant second guessing by fans and in print and on boards (yes of course myself included), the constant recognition in public, and no doubt the constant asking for money by others

As fun as being a pro athlete seems to be, it would seem real difficult to be judged by others every day. I understand that, and though I do vent a lot on here, it is rarely ever for anything personal about them outside the field or court or the ice.

The constant attention would probably leave me eventually short-tempered.

But I can't ever truly judge Donnie Moore, because I don't know what went on inside his mind. I have actually known someone who tried something similar before Moore committed suicide.

An acquaintance from the time I worked at Sears in downtown LB in the late 1970s had a son who eventually played for a decade in the NBA and won multiple NBA rings.

The dad and I would sit and talk about his son's recruitment process (McDonalds A-A). Then just as college practice started during the son's soph year in mid-October 1987, the dad shot and killed his estranged wife and turned the gun on himself.

He had called me one final time about 5-6 months prior. At the time, I had just broken up with my first love and wasn't in the best of moods. I looked back and wondered if he was reaching out for someone to listen to him. I did talk for a bit, and he did seem to be down on women some during the conversation.

More and more now, I try to put myself in someone's shoes and think of how what they are going through would affect me. I will vent of course, but never attack someone for anything happening away from the field of play.

Edited October 11, 2014 by Angel Oracle

[Inside Pitch]

I know exactly who you're talking about -- that 86 "Cats" team was a beast.

[Angel Oracle]

Close, he played for UNC from 86-87 through 89-90.

[Inside Pitch]

Close, he played for UNC from 86-87 through 89-90.

 

 

The Cat's I'm referring to was his 85-86 HS team at Wilson that won the state CIF title...   The Wildcats...  They wrecked people in the state tourney after winning the SS State title, for a while it was the biggest margin of victory in CIF Championship history.    

 

It's the same guy you are talking about.   

Edited October 11, 2014 by Inside Pitch

[Angel Oracle]

The Cat's I'm referring to was his 85-86 HS team at Wilson that won the state CIF title... The Wildcats... They wrecked people in the state tourney after winning the SS State title, for a while it was the biggest margin of victory in CIF Championship history.

It's the same guy you are talking about.

That cleared it up, thanks. I saw Wilson play twice that season, once against Katella and fellow SoCal standout Bob Erbst in a December tourney. Williams and Erbst had a memorable confrontation where they threw the ball hard to each other twice after the whistle. Those two teams hated each other.

Wilson even had a player on that team who went on to star in water polo at LB State.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Angel Oracle

[wopphil]

Sorry, but I had an opposite reaction to most of you after reading this. It sounds like he was a deeply troubled, bad man. I don't really have any sympathy for him. Being depressed isn't an excuse for beating, threatening, and eventually trying to kill your wife (in front of your children, at that).

[mancini79]

Sorry, but I had an opposite reaction to most of you after reading this. It sounds like he was a deeply troubled, bad man. I don't really have any sympathy for him. Being depressed isn't an excuse for beating, threatening, and eventually trying to kill your wife (in front of your children, at that).

 

I have to agree. I wasn't old enough to remember Donnie Moore's baseball career. But I don't see how his demise had anything to do with baseball. He was an abuser before he became a MLB player. What set him off was Tonya leaving him. He could have been a MLB player, plumber, teacher, you name it. She was ultimately going to leave him because he beat her, which would have set off the same sequence of events. My heart goes out to Tonya and the kids that had to experience this. She is lucky to be alive.

[mtangelsfan]

Of course it had to do with baseball.  Do other careers end so abruptly?  She even said his entire life was baseball.  Sure he was an abuser and a bad guy.  However lots of people knew about it, including the Angels and did nothing.  I don't think you can separate out any part of his life.  They all play together.  It wasn't all about the game, but I'm sure it played a part.

 

Fans just want a free pass to act however they want because they buy a ticket and/or some gear.

[mancini79]

Of course it had to do with baseball.  Do other careers end so abruptly?  She even said his entire life was baseball.  Sure he was an abuser and a bad guy.  However lots of people knew about it, including the Angels and did nothing.  I don't think you can separate out any part of his life.  They all play together.  It wasn't all about the game, but I'm sure it played a part.

 

Fans just want a free pass to act however they want because they buy a ticket and/or some gear.

 

He tried to kill her because she was leaving him, which was inevitable. Guess you could argue that his baseball career just moved the timeline of his demise up.

[mtangelsfan]

I just don't think you can compartmentalize things like this.  IMO all parts of ones life comes into play with this kind of thing. 

[mtangelsfan]

Again I think the bigger question ought to be why didn't someone step up to help Tonya within one of the organizations he played for?  They clearly knew.

[Brent Maguire]

Tough story to read. I knew Donnie was very troubled but had no idea his issues were so bad before he even made it to the majors. 

 

The booing from fans certainly didn't help his recovery process from that game. 

[Kevin]

I obviously don't condone what Donnie did. I just know there is more to the story than what transpired. I don't know what kind of childhood he had or what abuse he himself suffered. I don't know what mental or psychological problems he suffered from. Throw in how his baseball career ended and that just made a bad situation worse for him and especially his wife and kids.

One might criticize why Tonya stayed around for so long. The article told us why she did and a story we all probably didn't know. She wanted her kids to have one dad since her mom had eight men around when she was growing up.

I think Donnie should have gotten the help he needed. He didn't and I don't think we'll ever know why. We just won't know the whole story of why things happen in life sometimes.

[wopphil]

Again I think the bigger question ought to be why didn't someone step up to help Tonya within one of the organizations he played for? They clearly knew.

Do your bosses/co-workers interfere in your family relations? If they did, what would you think about them involving themselves in your personal business?

[Blarg]

You are close there Phil. This is the 80's, what transpired outside of the parks back then was either smoothed over by their publicity department with the police or in the case of domestic violence was hands off. Even today a ball club is reticent to get between a player and spouse and we are just now seeing in the NFL the subject being (over)reacted to and measures in place for a penalty. But in Moore's time period what went on at home stayed at home.

 

So to answer MT's question of why didn't the Angels step in? No team did back then. They didn't recognize alcoholism, drug addiction, offer mental health care, stop bar fights or think of the children, they just ran a team, paid players and put them on the field. The Autrys were no different from the O'Malley's or Steinbrenners in that manner.

Edited October 12, 2014 by notti

[Splint7438]

I remember going to a wedding reception around the corner from the Moore house the weekend or so after the shootings. There was a lot of activity at the house as if they were having a memorial or something.

[mtangelsfan]

Do your bosses/co-workers interfere in your family relations? If they did, what would you think about them involving themselves in your personal business?

 

Jeez Phil, are you serious?  If I was beating my wife, that would just be "my personal business"?  

 

You better ask the NFL about that mentality.

[DowningRules]

You are close there Phil. This is the 80's, what transpired outside of the parks back then was either smoothed over by their publicity department with the police or in the case of domestic violence was hands off. Even today a ball club is reticent to get between a player and spouse and we are just now seeing in the NFL the subject being (over)reacted to and measures in place for a penalty. But in Moore's time period what went on at home stayed at home.

 

So to answer MT's question of why didn't the Angels step in? No team did back then. They didn't recognize alcoholism, drug addiction, offer mental health care, stop bar fights or think of the children, they just ran a team, paid players and put them on the field. The Autrys were no different from the O'Malley's or Steinbrenners in that manner.

 

Too right.  We are too easily guided and authoritative with the advantage of hindsight.  Society was much different then.  It doesn't make it okay.  It's just what it was.  

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Do your bosses/co-workers interfere in your family relations? If they did, what would you think about them involving themselves in your personal business?

 

I have intervened several times when employees are obviously struggling with a personal problem. I don't press them for details, but I let them know that I realize that something is wrong, and that I will help them to get assistance if they want it.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Vegas Halo Fan

[LBHalos17]

I only read the first page of comments...

 

I will say that as an 18 year old Angels fan, I did boo Donnie with the rest of the fans at first.  But, when the stories started coming-out about what really happened along with my own investigations into his career, I started to defend him as a pitcher.  He can't be defended as a husband and father, but that is a different story of a lack of psych-help from friends, family, and Angels team.

 

Thanks for posting the story; I hope it is part of a book release or at least a longer story (sorry non-readers and angry neighbors).  I think our casual-Angels fans/friends really don't even know the full story of the game AFTER Donnie gave-up the HR to Hendu.

 

I'd like to think that this tragedy has served as a wake-up call to the Angels (and other Organizations) to help their own and be a part of their lives.

[wopphil]

Jeez Phil, are you serious? If I was beating my wife, that would just be "my personal business"?

You better ask the NFL about that mentality.

I am guessing that Moore didnt do things publicly that would lead people to believe he was an abuser and give them much of a chance to intervene.

My main point in all of this is that Moore isn't much different than O.J. Simpson, whom most agree is a terrible human being. Why are people so forgiving of Moore just because his attack on his wife wasn't as successful?