Chat Transcript
CBS SportsLine.com
January 29, 2001

Newcombe won the National League MVP, Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award. (L.A Dodgers)

Check out what ex-pitcher Don Newcombe had to say during his live chat about his involvement with The Paralysis Project Tenth Anniversary Dinner and much more.

Newcombe played his entire career for the Dogders, Brooklyn and L.A. ('48-'58) and helped in breaking the color barrier in baseball. He is the only player in history to win the National League MVP, Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award. He is currently the Chairman of the Sports Council and Director of Community Relations for the Dodgers.

The Paralysis Project, founded in 1987, helps fund research that will find a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. The Project has helped raise more than $2 million for the cause. See chat transcript below.

Don Newcombe: Hello everyone! We're about to have the 10th annual dinner for the Paralysis Project of America... I hope I can answer all your questions!

Question: simon12: You are the only player in history to win the NL MVP, the Rookie of the Year award and the Cy Young. Do you think that will ever happen again?

Don Newcombe: I don't think that will ever happen again. Because they don't give the MVP to pitchers anymore!

Question: smokin: Was there one award that meant more to you than any other?

Don Newcombe: The MVP meant the most. Because it meant that I was the best player in the National League that year, rather than being just the best pitcher and getting the Cy Young award.

Question: adminben: What players would you pay to see today and which ones do you think could have played when you did?

Don Newcombe: I would pay to see Clemens, McGwire, Sheffield, Pedro Martinez. Players like that. They could have played when I did because they have the talent!

Question: dodgers: What do you feel is the biggest difference in baseball from your time to today?

Don Newcombe: The major factor would be the money. A lot of that money is paid to players with mediocre abilities. That why I mentioned the players in the last answer. They have the ability and should get the money. But I think that the money needs to change. They have to come up with a way to share the revenue better than they do know. They have to equalize the talent some how. The draft needs to be redone and free agency needs to be dealt with. Mr Selig is working on a host of things that need to be changed.

Question: Mr. Newcombe, can you tell us a bit about The Paralysis Project?

Don Newcombe: Let me give an example. This is our 10th annual dinner. On the committee we have legends likes Mark Spitz, Bob Seagren. A famous woman baseball player Pepper Davis. Rogie Vachon. We put on a dinner every year in LA and raise money for people suffering from spinal injuries and we honer a sports legend of the past. Our host is Roy Firestone. We'll have as a guest Julie Krone, Billy Caspar, another great of the past will be Jim Hill, sports announcer. Danny Sullivan, the racer, Kenny Stabler and my good friend, Yogi Berra will be there. Quite a list of legends. We hope to raise around $150-$200,000 this year. Adding it to the past, we'll be well over $1 million raised. We hope to combine with other groups to raise money to find a cure for spinal cord injury because we're only a step away from getting it done.

Question: smokin: How did you get involved with the Paralysis Project?

Don Newcombe: I have a great friend, Roy Campanella, who was hurt in an auto accident. The Project honored him in the second year, and I was very impressed with what they were doing so I got involved. You can find out more about it at www.paralysisproject.org.

Question: smokin: What does your position as the Director of Community Relations for the Dodgers entail?

Don Newcombe: Right now after 31 years, it involves being concerned with senior citizens and getting them out to Dodger stadium during the year and raising money for charities such as cancer autism, heart disease, and blindness to name a few.

Question: simon12: Mr. Newcombe, what was it like moving from Brooklyn to LA with the Dodgers?

Don Newcombe: It was sad for people in Brooklyn.A lot of people have never gone to another ball game after the move. But LA got a chance to be involved in the major leagues and the Dodgers are an integral part of what goes on in the LA community and in the state of CA.

Question: aura: What do you think of the Dodger's renewed emphasis on pitching?

Don Newcombe: I think it will be a key factor in the Dodgers success. Any club has to have good pitching. I think we have an outstanding staff to start 2001. We have Brown, Drefort, and Park and we also acquired Ashby and Ramon Martinez... that will be the nucleus of a great pitching staff. I think we're stronger than we've been in the last 10-12 years. Pitching stops hitting all the time... especially if it's GOOD pitching.

Question: harry: Don were you last man to start a doubleheader?

Don Newcombe: To my memory yes... but Wilbur Wood with the White Sox was involved in both games of a double header, but I'm not sure if he started both. I pitched 16 complete innings that day. But I didn't get credit for the second game win. Back then we worried about wining the game rather than worrying about the money. Today those 16 innings would be about 3 games worth with middle relievers. At that time my salary was $10,000/ year... quite a bargain by today's standards.

Question: mska: What do you think of having the designated hitter?

Don Newcombe: I think it's good for baseball.It gives players who have been good a chance to continue their careers. But I think they should have it uniform... either in both leagues or not at all.

Question: harry: Have most people forgotten how good a hitter you were?

Don Newcombe: I think so. The pitchers now don't get a chance to bat much. They don't concentrate on hitting. They don't make an effort to get better at it. They need to learn to bunt, but that's about it. I think they should concentrate more on it.

Question: harry: Can you tell us how much a table is at the Paralysis Project dinner and how we can get tickets?

Don Newcombe: They vary from $1000 up to $10,000. A friend at the $10,000 got myself and Yogi at his table. I bought a $3000 table and put friends from veterans hospital at my table... lest we forget. We want to raise awareness of why these people are in the wheelchairs and help get them out of them!