The news this week of a possible Manny Ramirez comeback—in Taiwan—made me think of my conversation with Henry Kissinger at old Yankee Stadium.
Yes, I’m very aware that all those words should not go together in the same sentence, but they do.
It was July 31, 2008—the trade deadline—and the Red Sox had made the biggest move of the day by trading Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manny being Manny had gone on long enough in Boston. And with all those years of torturing the Yankees, it was a welcome move in the Bronx.
That night, just before first pitch of a 7:05 p.m. game at old Yankee Stadium, I was heading to the press level, which also happened to be on the same level as the Yankees main offices and the owner’s private box.
George Steinbrenner used to host plenty of celebrities and dignitaries in the owner’s box, so occasionally you’d run into a famous person or two in the elevator. I remember the awestruck quiet of a ride down with Joe DiMaggio once.
On this night, I jumped on the elevator on the basement level and most of the other reporters had made their way up already. It was just me and Newsday columnist Johnette Howard on the elevator. Then it stopped at the main lobby level and in walked Henry Kissinger, the Nobel Prize winning former Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
Mr. Kissinger was in his 80's then and he would make occasional appearances at the Stadium and sit in The Boss's box. He entered the elevator by himself, and Johnette and I just looked at each other, quite impressed by our company. This didn’t happen every day.
Normally, I refrain from making any sort of smalltalk with these guests, who I knew couldn't care in the slightest who I was or what I had to say. But on this particular day I couldn't resist.
It had only been a few hours since the big Manny Ramirez trade news broke. I figured Mr. Kissinger had to be an educated fan.
"So what do you think of Manny Ramirez?” I asked, hoping to get a smile or a laugh or perhaps a sophisticated breakdown of the trade.
Mr. Kissinger looked over at me, shook his head, and then in his familiar thick German accent replied, “Oh, what a troublemaker."
Johnette and I both howled with laughter the rest of the ride up. The world leaders and politicians this man has dealt with in his lifetime, and Manny is who he calls a troublemaker. Unbelievable. And it’s still the best one-liner I’ve ever gotten from a political figure.