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Rich Donnelly is in his third season as the third-base coach of the Milwaukee Brewers and in his 25h season as a major-league coach. Donnelly, 58, a native of Steubenville, Ohio, was the bullpen coach for the Pirates from 1986-91 and their third-base coach from 1992-96. Q: So far.
You have reached a degraded version of ESPN.com because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.For a complete ESPN.com experience, please upgrade or use aTom Friend, ESPN Senior Writer4yHow the 'Chicken Runs at Midnight' came to life in the World Series and a songWHAT MAKES BASEBALL a pastime is its story time. Go to any big league or minor league clubhouse, and there is bound to be somebody holding court - somebody telling a story that has half the team doubled over. Some are genuine whoppers, many are R-rated, others are mainly about someone's IQ - or lack thereof. But once in a while, there's a story you would take home to your mother, a story you'd write a song about.Like Brad Holman's song.Holman is the bullpen coach for the Texas Rangers.
He pitched in the big leagues for the 1993 Seattle Mariners and has led a typical nomadic baseball existence. There were minor league stops in the Kansas City, Colorado and Baltimore organizations, followed by coaching stints all over the map, from Hickory to Round Rock.There were days he went to bed in El Paso and thought he'd woken up in Odessa. But the one thing he'll never forget is where he first heard 'The Chicken Runs at Midnight.' It was spring training of 2008, and he was the pitching coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates' Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve. He was about to complete a six-week stint in Bradenton, Florida, but, just before camp broke, he and the other coaches were ushered into a conference room and told they'd be hearing from a man named Rich Donnelly.At the time, Donnelly worked in the team's player-development department, but everyone around the complex treated him like the Pirate emeritus. Donnelly had been part of the organization during the halcyon days of the early 1990s, when Barry Bonds was a doubles hitter and Bobby Bonilla was an underdog.
Those were electric teams on the cusp of championships, and the 2008 staff members were sure he had stories to tell, certain he could impart some wisdom to help get the Buccos back on top.As expected, Donnelly began with a reference to the 1992 Pirates. Everyone remembered the season like it was yesterday: a division title under manager Jim Leyland, a trip to the NLCS against Atlanta, a riveting seventh game on the national stage. Donnelly, who had been the team's third-base coach, was going to get to all of that.
But first, he began to talk about his daughter.Her name was Amy, and during spring training of '92, she had called her dad from her home in Arlington, Texas. A 17-year-old high school senior, Amy had been having problems with her peripheral vision - enough that her eye doctor had sent her in for extensive tests. A couple of years prior, she'd collapsed while playing basketball, which had raised some suspicions.
But this was a different sort of concern. She could see straight ahead, but when the doctor moved his finger away from her face, she had zero ability to follow it.Her dad, who was divorced from her mom and out of pocket in Bradenton, had no idea all of this was playing out, no idea she'd undergone a CT scan. So when she called Rich that spring of '92, he had no inkling anything was up.' Dad, there's something I gotta tell you,' Amy said. 'I have a brain tumor, and I'm sorry.' 'As Rich shared all of this in that Bradenton conference room, Brad Holman - 40 years old at the time - could feel himself welling up. He sensed this story was going to end badly, which was confirmed when Rich told the group that Amy's doctor gave her nine months to live.
Still, Holman found himself unable to turn away from the speech.Rich began telling the coaches about the rest of the '92 season, how the Pirates surged into first place, all while Amy was undergoing chemo and radiation. By August, Amy was telling Rich she was going to beat the cancer, and Rich told the group, 'She talked me into believing she was going to get through this.' 'When the Pirates then reached that '92 NLCS against the Braves, Rich talked about how he invited Amy, her brother Tim and her best friend, Cindy Sample, to Pittsburgh for Game 5. At the time, the Pirates trailed Atlanta 3-1, but it was still a festive outing for the Donnelly family.
Tim was in the dugout as a batboy, while Amy and Cindy had seats about seven rows behind home plate.From their perch, the girls had a close-up view of Rich coaching third base. He was unique in the way he went about his job, cupping his hands together when a runner was on second base, the better they could hear him howl instructions. The girls joked about what he might be telling the runners. They cackled that he was probably asking them if they wanted Chinese food or pizza after the game. As the Pirates pulled away and won the game, Amy was having the time of her life.During the car ride home, Amy dangled her arms around Rich and said, 'Hey, Dad, when you get down in that stance and you cup your hands, what are you tellin' those guys at second? 'The chicken runs at midnight,' or what?' 'Everyone in the car belly-laughed, and Rich almost drove off the road.
No one in the family knew where that line came from - it was too nonsensical. When do chickens run at midnight? Who would be up at midnight to see it? It's too dark to see them run anyway. Rich asked Amy how she thought of that, and she said she didn't know, that it just whooshed out of her mouth.As Holman heard this portion of the story, he grinned and locked in on Rich. Soon, Rich was telling them about the ensuing Game 7 against the Braves. Hours before the first pitch, a clubhouse kid had dropped by to hand him a note.
He grabbed it and saw that something was written on the 'While You Were Out' stationary. It said: 'The Chicken Runs at Midnight.' 'As Rich was chuckling to himself, Pirates second baseman Jose Lind sneaked a peek over his shoulder and saw the note.' What's this?' ' Lind said.' Chicken runs at midnight, man,' Donnelly told him.Next thing Donnelly knew, Lind was running all over the clubhouse, saying, 'Chicken runs at midnight.'
' He even said it during the nationally televised lineup introductions. Amy was back home watching the game on TV with Tim and Cindy and couldn't believe her ears. She felt like she was there. And if the Pirates won, her dad was going to take her to the World Series.The Pirates lost Game 7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Sid Bream, an ex-Pirate, barely scored from second base on a base hit to left field. The season was over, and three months later, Amy died at the age of 18.' There wasn't a dry eye in the room,' Holman remembers.The men in that conference room thought the story was over, that this was a tale about a hard-luck father losing his daughter.
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But Rich kept talking. He told them that a few years later, in 1997, he was coaching third base for the Florida Marlins. He spent as much time as possible with the remaining members of his family - his three sons Bubba, Mike and Tim. He even had Mike and Tim join the Marlins periodically as bat boys. The more hours he could spend with them, the better.The boys made sure to be seen but not heard in that Marlins clubhouse.
But they couldn't help but introduce themselves to a rookie second baseman who had just been acquired at the trade deadline, Craig Counsell. Counsell was not far from them age-wise - Tim being 17 at this point - and the rookie would initiate conversations with the two boys. In turn, Tim and Mike would congregate at Counsell's locker, and before batting practice, the player would hit ground balls or fungos to them.The boys particularly got a kick out of Counsell's batting stance. He held his hands high and would flap his elbows as he'd await a pitch. He was scrawny, too. Tim and Mike instantly said that he looked like a chicken and nicknamed him, 'The Chicken Man.' ' They didn't dare tell Counsell this, but they mentioned it to their dad ad nauseam.
One night, after a game, Rich asked them who their favorite Marlin was, and they immediately spouted, 'The Chicken.' ' On a team with Bonilla and Gary Sheffield, Rich got a kick out of that.That Marlins team also had Livan Hernandez, Moises Alou and Kevin Brown. They were loaded, and by October of 1997, they were in the World Series against the Cleveland Indians. The series went the distance, to a seventh game, and Tim and Mike were right there ringside as bat boys.That final, decisive game seemed like it would never end. The Indians held a lead in the bottom of the ninth, but a sac fly by Counsell scored the tying run. In the bottom of the 11th, Counsell ended up on third base with two outs. Edgar Renteria singled him in to win the World Series, sending Rich running deliriously through the infield.As Marlins jumped on top of Marlins, Rich noticed his son Tim shouting, screaming - and in tears.
Look,' Tim shouted to Rich.' What do you mean, Look?' 'Look where?' 'Dad, behind you. Look at the clock,' Tim screamed. 'Dad, the chicken ran at midnight.'
'Rich turned around, and it was true. Craig Counsell had scored the winning run a few minutes after midnight, and Amy's prophecy had finally come to light. Rich broke down on the field that night, and he broke down again as he shared the story with Brad Holman those Pirate coaches in Bradenton.They all stared up at him in awe. The moral of the story wasn't about a hard-luck father; it was that a daughter had revealed herself to her father after death.Holman was never the same.AFTER THE SPEECH, Holman approached Donnelly for a favor: 'Would you mind if I wrote a song about this?' ' he asked.Donnelly had told his story to people for years. He had shared it with the players and coaches of every team he worked for since - the Rockies, the Brewers, the Dodgers - which meant hundreds of Major League players knew of Amy.
Players like Brad Penny and Jayson Werth swore by the story. There was a midnight charity race in New Jersey because of it. But no one - not one person - had asked him whether they could write a song.Donnelly was flattered and gave his blessing. Holman loaded his guitar in his pickup truck and started driving to Altoona, Pennsylvania. In his mind, the lyrics started coming. Songwriting had been his passion and hobby for over a decade, though he did most of his singing in the shower. And by the time he had driven 17 hours from Bradenton to Altoona, the song, 'The Chicken Runs at Midnight,' was ready to be written down on paper.
Rich's story had given him more faith, and that was reflected in the chorus of his song:The chicken runs at midnight, is that what you told him, dad?He said, 'Honey, that is silly, what made you think of that?' The chicken runs at midnight, the imagination of a girl.Probably should have been forgotten. But instead they're sacred words.The next day, Holman brought his guitar to the Altoona stadium press box and recorded the song. 'It's probably the best story - not just baseball story, but family story and story of hope,' Holman said. 'It blows the rest of them out of the water.' 'In other words, he rated 'Chicken Runs At Midnight' over every story he'd ever heard in baseball.
Better than Babe Ruth calling his shot at the 1932 World Series, better than David Wells pitching a perfect game hungover, better than anything that had him doubled-over in Hickory.So he sent the song to Rich Donnelly, who listened to it the first time and broke down in tears. And every Father's Day since, eight years going strong now, Donnelly plays it again. Because, as far as he's concerned, Brad Holman can sing Amy Donnelly back to life.© 2020 ESPN Internet Ventures. And are applicable to you.
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Updated 1:25 AM EST Dec 17, 2019Rich Donnelly could talk about winning the World Series as the third-base coach of the Florida Marlins, but that’s not really important to him.He could talk about how sports can change lives and build character, which is nice.He can certainly talk about having integrity and avoiding the traps that can come from hubris and vanity. He fell into some of those.He can also talk about what to do when things get difficult, like when you have to bury two of your children and you nearly lose two others to gun violence.Donnelly is one of the speakers invited to the Cincinnati Men's Conference sponsored by the Cincinnati Archdiocese on June 15. The theme of the conference is how to be a better family man. They nailed it when they picked Donnelly, 72, who once considered the priesthood but chose to play baseball.He is a father and grandfather whose faith and family leadership has been tried by fire.First, it's important to know who he is and what shaped his character. Patrick Dove, Treasure Coast News-USA TODAY NETWORKHe grew up in Steubenville, Ohio, as a kid of the 1950s to a Catholic family led by a dad who trained him to be perfect, he said.At home, Donnelly's life revolved around church and sports, mainly baseball. He wasn't a great athlete, but he worked really hard and was a great strategist, friends say.He loved the pomp of ceremony at church. He loved the white gloves. He really was enamored with those red loafers worn by the Pope.“I was like what I called an A-plus Catholic,' he said. 'I wanted to become a priest, but I found out they didn’t have a baseball team.'
Eventually, he became a pontifical server, an important task performed by young men at sacred liturgies where bishops reside. Donnelly later would move to Cincinnati and attend Xavier University to play baseball.
Diversity in the 1950s'There is no town in America that had what we had. I couldn't have been brought up in a better town,' Donnelly said.His mentors and friends were black and white, rare in America during that era. They included African-American athletes like Calvin Jones, Frank Gillam and Edward 'Punkin' Vincent, he said.
All three went on to star at the University of Iowa. Another friend, running back Harry Wilson, went on to star for the University of Nebraska and play for the Philadelphia Eagles.' These are the guys I grew up with. These are the guys I played (American) Legion ball with. My parents taught me the right way to be,' Donnelly said.Ballplayers are on the road a lot and away from their families. Donnelly was no different.
Players have fame, money and time on their hands. There is peer pressure. Things happen, even if you’re brought up in a strict, Catholic household surrounded by great mentors and friends. Patrick Dove, Treasure Coast News-USA TODAY NETWORK'I got out of the baseline,” Donnelly said, using a baseball reference that results in a penalty for the runner.
He was unfaithful, and his first marriage ended in divorce.Career success followed, but also unspeakable tragedies that helped solidify his faith in God. Amy's brain tumorDuring spring training in 1992, Donnelly received a call from his daughter, Amy, who lived with his ex-wife in Texas.' Dad, there's something I gotta tell you. I have a brain tumor, and I'm sorry.' Doctors gave her nine months to live, but her toughness and optimism belied that diagnosis.That year, Donnelly was the third-base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates when they played in the National League Championship Series. Donnelly would get in an athletic stance, cup his hands over his mouth and shout instructions to runners on second base.Amy noticed and asked him about it later on the way home. 'What are telling those guys at second?
'The chicken runs at midnight' or what?' No one knew why Amy said what she said (not even her), but they all got a huge laugh.This is a story Donnelly has told many times, but it never gets old.Amy died in January 1993. She was 18.Amy's prophecy came to pass four years after she died, seemingly a message from heaven. In 1997, Donnelly won the World Series with the Florida Marlins as a third-base coach. Donnelly's two sons nicknamed a rookie second baseman on the team, Craig Counsell, 'the chicken man' because he would flap his elbows at the plate like a chicken. Counsell ended up on base scoring the winning run in an 11-inning game that ended a few minutes after midnight.The chicken ran at midnight.
Sports writer Tom Friend wrote a book about it, and Donnelly said a movie is in the works.MORE: Who should play Craig Counsell if “The Chicken Runs at Midnight is made into a movie?”Amy’s death changed his life because of her selflessness. “She’s been gone 26 years, and I think about her every day,' Donnelly said. 'She wanted to be a teacher. Well, she was the greatest teacher who has ever lived.
She showed me how to live, and showed me how to die.' The Las Vegas massacreDonnelly’s younger daughters, Leighanne and Tiffany, were at the October 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire on concertgoers from an upper floor at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
A woman was shot in the face beside Leighanne. Her name was Natalie Grumet. ProvidedAnother woman was shot in the stomach beside Tiffany. The sisters became separated.
Both applied their own clothes as tourniquets and remained with the victims until more help arrived.Both victims survived. Neither sister knew the other was alive until hours later after the sun came up.Instead of panic, there was calm, Leighanne said. “I’ve kind of always grown up that way. We kind of deal with things. I really believe I was there to help her. I’m alive today.
It wasn’t my time. My faith made me stronger.”Then four months after Las Vegas, Donnelly’s son, Mike Donnelly, was run over by a car on a Texas interstate while he and another person were trying to help a stranded driver. He was 38 and had lived a tough life, including serving a prison stint. Donnelly once told a reporter that he expected to someday get a call that Mike had been killed or suffered an overdose. ProvidedDonnelly's best friend, Herb Crossland, remembers Mike's death not with sadness but with pride because of Donnelly's reaction.“What stood out for me is that he didn’t look at it as a loss, a permanent thing, he looked at the loss, as Mike actually doing good for the benefit of somebody else.
I don’t think there is a better way to do that than to lay down your life for someone else,” Crossland said.The two talk at least once a week, usually on Tuesday nights, sometimes for a couple of hours. They came to know each other decades ago as Big Red (Steubenville High School) boosters.“Once Rich looks as you as a friend, it’s a lasting relationship,” Crossland said.It still amazes Herb how much Donnelly remains grounded and deeply involved in his own hometown. A lesson on loveOn the day Amy died, Donnelly's wife asked him, “Do you have any idea how much your daughter loved you?”'No,' he said. Patrick Dove, Treasure Coast News-USA TODAY NETWORKIt's a regret. So, here's some free advice from Donnelly, specifically to dads: Don't miss out on loving your kids.
Make time for them whenever they need it.' Here’s what I tell people: Tape the stupid game. When your daughter asks you for ice cream, anything, do it.' Baseball used to be the most important thing in his life. Not even close.' I thought to be a big-league coach was the end of the world.
I thought winning a World Series was the end of the world. Those things are wonderful, but that’s not who I am,' Donnelly said. 'I wanna tell people with passion what not to do because I did it. The other way is much better for your life, it’s much better for your kids.'
Great lesson.Support local journalism by getting a subscription today. If you goWhat: Cincinnati Men's ConferenceWho: Speakers include Major League Baseball coach Rich Donnelly; Super Bowl Champion Matt Birk; Father Leo Patalinghug, chef and EWTN PersonalityWhere: St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, 5720 Hamilton Mason Rd., Liberty Township, OH 45011When: 7 a.m.-2:15 p.m., Saturday, June 15, 2019Ticket cost: $50 (18 years and up), $30 (17 years and under)Tickets: Available online here.
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