When I was six, I thought Doug was really made out of something else. He
was just a little taller, and a little faster than most of us, almost impossible
to knock over, it hurt if you ran into him…and, even at the age of six, he could
throw a ball with serious velocity and accuracy.
He was also one of the people
that just won at everything. I was his basketball teammate when we won Pleasant
View Junior High’s first city championship in any sport in its 40-year history...and that was just the start. In basketball at Hillcrest, we won a freshman conference title, two districts and a conference championship at the varsity level.
Then there was baseball, where listing the local championships would take too
long, but his team won an American League state title, and Hillcrest won the
Class 4A state championship in his senior year.
Doug wasn’t just the backbone of
those teams, he was more like a spinal cord made of iron. You
don’t win championships alone – there was an abundance of talent and great
coaching on those teams, but Doug Bennett was, most often, the centerpiece.
Growing up with him you understood this: while Doug Bennett was naturally
talented and athletic, he worked hard! As his teammate, or having to compete
against him, if you wanted to get better, you tried to match his work in the
weight room, his effort in practice every day, and his preparation. And he was
that way about everything. He was a straight-A student because I’m sure he
just couldn’t stand anything less from himself.
He was great at every sport he
played, and I’m convinced if he would have grown up 500 miles to the north, he
would have been an elite hockey player, or maybe 1,000 miles south, he would
have dominated soccer. And I believe he could have played college basketball had he chosen that route.
But he was born to be a pitcher. It was not just his physical
make-up, he had the perfect personality for it. He was confident with a streak
of arrogance. Doug was an intense competitor, but his demeanor was even-keel.
You never saw him panic or lose control. Even in celebration, he seemed as
thrilled as everyone else, but at some point, it was time to move on to whatever
was next.
His pro career was cut short, but I’ve learned something about
thinking ‘what-if.’ Sure, being healthy would have given him a better chance.
But having worked in pro baseball for seven years, I learned that, even for
elite talent, timing and being in the right organization at the right time plays
a critical role. Being talented definitely is not enough. There are no
guaranteed, sure-fire prospects. Things could have worked out differently, or
they could have worked out almost the exact same way.
Doug’s playing career is still
something to be proud of – a two-time All-Southwest Conference selection, an
NCAA All-American, he pitched in a College World Series…he was the best pitcher
in the state of Missouri while in high school and one of THE best ever to come
out of The Hill in any endeavor.
In my first few years in minor league baseball, I
remember getting BASEBALL AMERICA’S prospect guide and media materials from the
Dodgers every year to see where he was projected to be assigned. I’d wonder if
the Dodgers would move an affiliate into my league or he’d get traded to an
organization where I could broadcast a game he was pitching in. That would have
been a blast and it would have been awesome to catch up. But that wasn’t meant
to be.
Cindy got to see him a few times as his daughter went through Truman
Elementary. I thought I’d see Doug more when we moved back here, but it was
rare. I think he found me a few times at some Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
luncheons – I attended the one where he received a Diamond Nine Award, but we
never got a chance to talk very long. We would have had some great stories to
exchange.
Our class has lost WAY too many WAY to soon. But like many of you,
this one feels different. Doug Bennett was a high-performing, yet steady,
dependable, indestructible rock.
Now he's gone...it's hard to wrap your mind
around it.
