Among the most scholarly professional athletes ever, Berg was an alumnus of three
universities, lawyer, mathematician, linguist, and poor hitter, eliciting the comment:
"He can speak 12 languages but can't hit in any of them." His ability to handle young
pitchers and his reputation as a bullpen mystic kept him in the majors, where his
roommates wondered at his sacrosanct clutter of books and newspapers stacked in dozens
of piles. He professed belief that his newspapers were "alive" and could "die" from
being looked at by someone else. On occasion he braved snowstorms to purchase replacements
for "deceased" newspapers.
Casey Stengel called him "the strangest man ever to
play baseball" even before it was known he had served America as a spy. Some may
have wondered why a third-string catcher like Berg went to Japan in the early 1930s
with the likes of Ruth and Gehrig on an all-star traveling team. In fact, Berg was
assigned to take espionage photos. During WWII, he became one of America's most important
atomic spies, gathering vital information on top German scientists and even performing
some missions that might have required assassination. He declined the Medal of Merit
for his wartime service and never wrote his memoirs after being angered by an assigned
co-author who confused him with "Moe" of the Three Stooges.
Berg fit the classic
spy image: dark, heavy-featured, mysterious, sybaritic, courageous, and impeccably
mannered. Women were attracted to the cultured, lifelong bachelor. When he was criticized
for "wasting" his intellectual talent on the sport he loved, Berg replied: "I'd rather
be a ballplayer than a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court."
(DB)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»April 21, 1934:
Moe Berg, little-used Senators catcher, plays his
117th consecutive errorless game, dating back to 1931.
It is an AL record.
»November 20, 1934:
Catcher Moe Berg shoots movie film showing the roofs of Tokyo. The film will allegedly be used as a guide by U.S. bombers during WWII.
»July 31, 1936: Behind Lefty Grove and Jimmy Foxx, the visiting Red Sox top the White Sox, 7–3. Grove wins his 13th on seven hits, while Double X bangs his 30th homer, a triple and double. Boston sub Moe Berg adds a triple, double, and single off Ted Lyons.
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