The Phillies' Ed Bouchee was arrested for exposure, but there was no mass media exposure to magnify his crime in 1958.
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Morning Bytes
2 crimes, 2 consequences
Ed Bouchee is an old man in Arizona now. He has, by all accounts, led a remarkably normal life, given his troubles a half-century ago.
If he were willing to talk, which he isn't, I wonder what he'd say about Michael Vick?
Probably something like, "There but for the grace of God, 51 years and cable TV go I."
A promising Phillies first baseman, the Sporting News Rookie of the Year in 1957, Bouchee was arrested that off-season for exposing himself to several young girls in Spokane, Wash.
Even during the somnolent Eisenhower administration, that was a particularly sordid offense.
Was it greater or lesser than Vick's crime? Who can say? But questions of moral equivalence aside, consider how different the reactions to their returns have been.
Ever since he signed with the Eagles last week, Vick has been vilified 24/7 from coast-to-coast, in hi-def and high dudgeon, by dog-lovers and Eagles-haters, with public displays and private disgust.
Despite the fact that, at least as far as the nation's justice system is concerned, he has paid his debt, he will be picketed, spat upon, and portrayed as Satan in Shoulder Pads wherever he goes for as long as he plays.
Bouchee, meanwhile, was sentenced to three years of probation, spent a few months in a psychiatric institution in Connecticut, and then, with remarkably little outcry, returned to the Phillies on July 1, 1958.
"Bouchee has responded completely to treatment and is now ready to take his place in society," commissioner Ford Frick said that day.
His return was met with a few ho-hum baseball notes in the city's newspapers and, while his transgression was likely not forgotten, it remained submerged by the ethos of the times.
He played in Philadelphia until 1960 when he was sent to the Cubs in the Tony Taylor deal. There was no outcry there, either.
Apparently, aside from the snickers of teammates and opponents and the occasional taunts of loudmouth fans, Bouchee was able to play out the remaining years of his mediocre career in relative peace.
The difference, of course, is 2009's relentless echo chamber. Redemption is impossible on YouTube.
Bouchee had no handlers, spoke at no news conferences, was the subject of no polls or picketers. Phillies fans did not threaten boycotts - though given the fact that the team barely averaged 10,000 a game, who would have noticed anyway?
There were no bloggers, radio sports-talk hosts, or cable-TV bloviators fomenting frothy outrage against him. Of course, there were no blogs, sports-talk radio, or cable TV either. But even when he played in New York, with the '62 Mets, the notorious tabloids let him be.
He dealt with his crime and he went on with his life. As far as anyone knows, he has never regressed.
Vick will be afforded no such luxury.
Curiously, there was one similarity to the two aftermaths: Trading-card companies responded by removing both from their collections, Vick in 2007, Bouchee in 1958.
That reaction, though, inadvertently helped keep alive Bouchee's memory.
