In the spring of 1988, I spent my Spring Break at my best friend's off-campus apartment at the University of Miami. While he was in class (our breaks didn't coincide), I drove 20 minutes north to Bobby Maduro Stadium, in Miami, then the Spring Training home of the Baltimore Orioles. Jerry Narron was in the O's camp trying to get a backup catcher's spot behind Terry Kennedy.
As a 19-year-old sophomore, I was invited by the O's equipment manager to return to the Stadium the following day to serve as a ballboy for a game vs. the Mets.
Narron played briefly in that game, and cracked his bat in one of his plate appearances (which I kept). After the game, I had access to the clubhouse, and noticed a dejected Narron sitting in front of his locker. I thought it was because he had a bad game, and didn't think anything of asking him to sign the bat. He did so in a very gracious, professional manner. As I was leaving the clubhouse to head home, I overheard Rick Schu say to Jim Traber (former O's players), "Did you hear, they're releasing Narron?"
Sure enough, in the Miami Herald sports page under transactions (the next day), Narron was indeed released by the Orioles, and his career as a major-league catcher was indeed over.
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Posted May 4, 2001.
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