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Brockton Rox manager Ed Nottle has spent the vast majority of his life in baseball. In fact, his life is the subject of a major motion picture, which will begin filming early next year.
“I’m Still Standing: The True Life Story of Singing Ed Nottle” is scheduled to be released to theaters in 2005. The script is being written by Eugene Corr, the second unit director for “Bull Durham” and the film’s producer is Maine native Julie Campbell.
“This is great because it’s kind of flattering and I’ve always been a ham,” said the 63-year-old Philadelphia native. “I mean, cripes, how do you turn it down? This is going to be a seven-, eight-million-dollar movie. It’s pretty neat.”
Director Peter Carlos Masterson and Corr accompanied Brockton on its trip to Orono last week to start researching the film.
“I’ve had a goofy life. I’ve been a singer all my life and I’ve been playing ball most of my life,” said Nottle, who has spent 43 years in baseball. “I’ve been a paratrooper and scuba diver. I’ve just done a lot of goofy things, but I’ve never really made it.”
Despite his success in the game, that goes for baseball, too, as he has come within a baseball seam’s width of playing and managing in the big leagues several times.
“I was always the last cut as a pitcher. I was within a hair of managing Boston, within a hair of managing Oakland, I was manager of the year in Triple A, but I could never pull it off,” said Nottle, a 13-year minor league pitcher who is best known for managing the Pawtucket Red Sox. “But I never gave up either, and I’m still doing it.”
Perhaps his most frustrating chance at the bigs was in 1988, the year of “Morgan Magic.”
“Boston called up 34 guys in the five years I was at Pawtucket and when they fired [John] McNamara, Mrs. Yawkey wanted Joe [Morgan] to be the interim guy with the understanding I would be taking over after the season,” he recalled. “I was told it was going to be mine until Joe won 19 games in a row and that was the end of it.”
Being the main subject of a movie couldn’t have appealed more to Nottle, who has had offers to coach in the majors, but prefers managing.
“I’ve turned down four or five coaching jobs because I never wanted to coach in the big leagues,” the chain-smoking Nottle said between cigarette puffs. “To be honest, I just wanted to be famous and I’ve been as famous as I can be and as much as they let me wherever I’ve been.
“I’m a blue-collar, beer-drinking, neighborhood bar kind of guy and I fit right in at Pawtucket and Brockton. I guess I’m just somebody that everybody knows.”
If things go according to plan, he’ll be someone who most everyone in the country knows in a couple of years.
Streaking no more
The Portland Sea Dogs saw two long streaks come to an end last week. One’s demise was met with relief and the other disappointment.
The disappointing one was third baseman Kevin Youkilis’ streak of reaching base safely. The former Dogs player now playing for Triple A Pawtucket saw his streak end at 71 games last Tuesday night, but it was enough to tie the minor league mark set by current Sox slugger Kevin Millar, who did it as a Sea Dogs player in 1997. The 2001 eighth-round draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati went 0-for-4 in a 9-0 loss Tuesday.
That 9-0 loss extended a losing streak that grew to nine games before Portland broke it with a 7-0 win over Binghamton on Friday and then added two more victories over the Mets on Saturday and Sunday.
Win one for the Collar
Former University of Maine righthander Mike Collar notched his first pro victory while pitching for the Tri-City ValleyCats last week.
Collar pitched 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out three batters and walking none in a 12-4 New York-Penn League win over Oneonta.
The Scarborough native – 1-3 with a 7.00 ERA for the Troy, N.Y., team – has 12 strikeouts and six walks, but has allowed 19 hits in 18 innings.
Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or aneff@bangordailynews.net
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