O's groundskeeper Pat Santarone dies at 79

by duck on May 7, 2008 7:36 PM EDT Comment 10 comments

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By Roch Kubatko | Sun reporter
While the Orioles produced some of the best teams in baseball over three decades, beginning in the 1960s, they went unchallenged when it came to their garden.

The tomato plants that grew at old Memorial Stadium, and the competitions between head groundskeeper Pat Santarone and manager Earl Weaver that sprouted along with them, are almost as legendary as any championships that were won. Santarone died unexpectedly Tuesday at his home in Hamilton, Mont. He was 79.

"Pat and I were very close. He was the best man at my wedding," Weaver said. "And he meant a lot to Memorial Stadium. He was just like a part of that park itself."

Santarone, who served as head groundskeeper from 1969 to 1991, died in his sleep of natural causes.

As an Orioles fan of a certain age, I fondly remember Pat and his tomato plants and his relationship with Earl Weaver. I was such an O's geek at age 12 that yes, I knew who the groundskeeper was.

Santarone was Baltimore through and through. And for many O's fans, his passing will serve as another reminder that the good ol' days of Memorial Stadium just aren't coming back. But it was fun growing up during those days.

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Late 70s/Early 80s

Here in NY I’d watch Yankees-O’s games & when they were in Memorial and Rizzuto was deep into non-game related topics (which was often) he’d always go on & on about the tomoto patch.

“Holy Cow! Look at those beauties! Oh, you could make some great sauce with those…”

You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.

by sluggo 2.0 on May 7, 2008 8:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I remember the tomato plants. Sigh.

Didn’t remember the man’s name, sadly, until I read the article. Damn shame. This is what growing older is, though.

"Might as well just win this game." - Adam Jones, 4/17/2008

Adam Jones is the tits.

by KenDixonFanClub on May 7, 2008 10:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Almost everyone knew who the groundskeeper was

Not just the geeks. The tomato rivalry was pretty well known.

RIP Pat. Another connection to the O’s of my youth is gone. They were fun days.

by drj on May 8, 2008 12:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yeah...

i recall radio ads talking about pat and his tomato patch.

ronnie's a dillweed.

by j.q. higgins on May 8, 2008 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So very sad.

I remember the tomatoes as well. In fact, I recall that Pat and Earl actually marketed a plant food for a while:

(NY Times):

For all those years he worked out of the manager’s office in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, directing the fortunes of the Baltimore Orioles, Earl Weaver also spent a considerable amount of time beyond the outfield fences, cultivating his tomato garden.
Since managing a baseball team is a full-time business, Weaver had help with his garden – first from Pat Santarone, the stadium groundskeeper, and later from the ’’tomato food’’ the two of them developed. Earl ‘n Pat’s Tomato/Pepper Food has worked well enough, apparently, that it is now available to the public through Miller Nurseries of Canandaigua, N.Y.
According to Weaver, the food will enable any gardner to grow ’’twice as many of the best tomatoes you ever ate.’‘

by zknower on May 8, 2008 12:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Memorial garden

duck nailed it about the Memorial Stadium connection. I’m not one of those guys who insists, in all things, that “back in the day” it was better than now, etc. But in the case of Memorial Stadium, it was better than Camden Yards (of course, consistent winning has had something to do with the coloring of my memories of those days.). Be that as it may, Memorial Stadium was more fun, more loose and sloppy (in the crowd, not on the field), less expensive, more neighborhood-y (lost many brain cells to the bars in the Memorial Stadium area, before AND after games). First, Wild Bill Hagy dies. And now Pat Santarone. I’ll put a tomato plant in my garden in his honor today.

by Lothar on May 8, 2008 9:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

am i going to be the only one to say it?

that IS a pretty sweet members only jacket he’s wearing in that pic.

ronnie's a dillweed.

by j.q. higgins on May 8, 2008 3:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm agreeing

Is that good enough?

"If you're a fantasy baseball player, don't pick anybody from the Orioles. ... Nobody is going to pop your eyes out. But if you're in the American League East, bring your lunch, because you're going to need it." - Kevin Millar

by duck on May 8, 2008 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i suppose...

you’re a good man.

...and thorough.

ronnie's a dillweed.

by j.q. higgins on May 8, 2008 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My uncle pat santarone

Hello, I just signed up for this forum when I saw it was about my uncle, Pat Santarone. It’s nice to see people really respected him. We used to visit from New York and go to Orioles games and eat crabs in Baltimore. He really knew his stuff about growing tomatoes and peppers. He had a Horticulture degree from Cornell university. He had seven kids, who all lived in Hawaii. I just met them all, my cousins, for the first time in hamilton, Montana, last weekend. They told me my uncle pat played golf, had wine, and went to bed as usual, and died in the night, natural causes. Just thought I would post this cause it’s nice to read all the nice stuff everyone said about him. Thanks, Peter Santarone Boise, Idaho

by foiledagain on May 19, 2008 9:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs