Reminiscing about a career highlight

Two years after Jimmy Carter's election as President of the United States, Rick Sweet realized his dream by reaching the major leagues in baseball.
It was 1978, in a year when disco music was still all the rage in night clubs across America.
In theaters, "The Deer Hunter" won an Oscar for best picture, while Sweet had the best seat in the house for 39-year-old Gaylord Perry's remarkable run to a Cy Young Award with the San Diego Padres.
Leading into his first year as manager of the Missions, Sweet reminisced recently about his three-year stay in the majors.
"Obviously, it was a different era," he said. "The game was the same, but the players playing the game were a little bit different.
"There weren't as many teams, so it was a lot harder to get to the big leagues, and it was harder to move veterans out back then."
Sweet, whose Missions open their home schedule tonight against the Memphis Redbirds, said the times have definitely changed.
Today, fans can follow 30 major league teams, up from 26 when he was a rookie catcher in San Diego. Opportunities for the players have expanded, as well.
"There's a lot more (player) movement (today)," Sweet said. "In that era, there was very little movement up and down (from minors to majors). If you made the club, they didn't move guys very often. (Today) we move guys on a daily basis."
As a rookie, Sweet experienced some uncertainty as all first-year players do, but generally had a great time in his one season with the Padres, who won 84 games and finished fourth in the National League West.
Perry paced San Diego that year with 21 victories, while flamboyant Rollie Fingers came out of the bullpen to lead the NL with 37 saves.
Outfielder David Winfield hit .308 and made his second all-star team, while 23-year-old shortstop Ozzie Smith finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Atlanta's Bob Horner.
"We had a very good club," Sweet said. "But that was back when they had the Big Red Machine (in Cincinnati), and the Dodgers had (Ron) Cey, (Davey) Lopes, (Steve) Garvey and Tommy John.
"The Giants had (Willie) McCovey … (and) Houston just had tremendous players. That was a fun year."
Sweet, from Longview, Washington, made the Padres at age 25 by standing out as a player who could affect the game with his defense.
In 244 career appearances in the majors, he was charged with only 19 passed balls.
"I could hit a little bit," Sweet said. "I was a much better Triple-A hitter. But I was a defender. I called very good games, and pitchers liked to throw to me. I blocked well and I threw well."
Initially, Sweet didn't get to catch on the days when Perry pitched.
"Gaylord would not let me catch him in the first part of the year because I was a rookie," Sweet said. "That's the way it was. No damn rookie was going to catch him."
In time, he worked up the nerve to approach Perry about the situation.
"Gaylord showed up at the park on the day he was going to pitch, and I had been catching all of his sides and working hard to get to know him," Sweet recalled. "The guy pitching against us was a perfect guy for me to hit against and play."
He figured it was time to say something.
"Gaylord, when are you going to let me catch?" Sweet asked Perry.
Surprised, Perry started poking the rookie in the torso.
"He started hitting me in the chest with his finger and backed me into a wall," Sweet said.
But as he back-pedaled, he was stunned at the pitcher's edict.
"You're catching today, rook," Perry told him, face-to-face. "If you make one mistake, you'll never catch me again."
Sweet said he recalled Perry walking into Manager Roger Craig's office to talk things over. Craig later emerged to take down the original lineup and put up a revised edition.
"He threw a great game," Sweet said. "I wound up catching him, and (caught) him the majority of the time the rest of the year."
As a matter of fact, in all three years that he was in the big leagues, he played with Perry, including in 1982 and 1983 with the Seattle Mariners.
"The hardest thing about (catching) Gaylord was, he had six or seven different pitches," Sweet said. "Back in those days, if I called a pitch, and he didn't like it, he wouldn't shake his head no. He would add or subtract with his glove."
Sweet recalled that Perry's No. 1 was a curve ball and No. 2 a fast ball. But it wasn't that simple, because No. 7 was also a fast ball.
"I mean, it was unbelievable," Sweet said. "If I dropped down a three (for a cutter), he would add two for (a No. 5), and then he would start winding up. And, well, you better damn well know what a five was."
Perry was known for throwing an against-the-rules spit ball, and Sweet didn't hesitate when asked if he ever picked up the spheroid with a greasy substance on it.
"All the time," he said. "I tried to make sure no umpire ever picked up the ball before I got to it. I actually bumped an umpire one time, to pick up the ball, because I could see the Vaseline on it."
Sweet nudged the ump, grabbed the ball and rubbed off the grease.
The ump told him, "If you ever do that again, you'll be out of the game."
By 1984, Sweet was no longer in the big leagues as a player, but he was far from finished with baseball. Now in his 30^th season as minor league manager, the 66-year-old Sweet has won 1,954 games, which ranks 15^th on the all-time list.
He said he rarely talks to his players about his playing career, because he doesn't think it really matters to them.
"All they know is, I've been in the game a long time because I've got a lot of gray hair," said Sweet, who is entering his 20^th season in Triple-A and his sixth in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization.
Counting a 3-2 record to start the current season, Sweet is 1,954-1,864 in the minors.
A Triple-A manager's task is difficult because it requires a certain touch in handing players with a wide range in ages and experience.
Some are young and highly-regarded by the organization, while others are older and want to show that they can still contribute to a major-league team if given the chance.
"I think he does a really good job, because he communicates well with them," Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said.
Missions outfielder Tyrone Taylor said he's heard the story about Sweet bumping the umpire and risking a fine in order to keep Perry from getting thrown out.
"It just says that he's a guy you want on your side, and he is on our side," Taylor said.