Rene Lachemann and Mike Madden

I’m not sure where former Globe writer Mike Madden is. I heard somewhere that he was retired and living in Arizona. Madden was a prominent beat man and columnist in the 70’s and 80’s. He could be angry, sometimes bitter,  but, to my recollection, never cruel.

For example, after a particularly bad Patriots loss to the 49ers in 1980 which saw Steve Grogan throw six interceptions, he wrote an extremely angry column. He began asking why things like this were always happening to the Pats, and the article ended with the conclusion that “the Pats are losers.” As a loyal fan, I was offended and wrote the Globe a letter saying that Madden was too harsh. But he was right. The following year, the team went 2-14.

Mike had another side, however. In late November of 1986, in a piece entitled “He’s Out at Third”, he wrote of the departure of Sox third base coach Rene Lanchemann. The coach had been a target of the fans because of his indecision. Using the stats of the famous Chuck Waseleski, he wrote that the Bosox had had ten runners thrown out at home trying to score from second, nine while trying to go from first to third, and three while trying to score on fly balls. Madden also stated that Lachemann often held up runners at third who could have easily scored. The writer even cites a case against the Rangers that saw two men slide into second at the same time. Texas was so confused that they threw the ball away, allowing both to score. As you can imagine, Rene was subjected to intense booing even in pregame introductions.

If this happened today, many writers and talk show hosts would probably just laugh and make fun of Lachemann, saying how glad they were that he was gone from the team. But Madden ended his piece by pointing out that the coach took it pretty much in stride. In the 86 playoffs, he was seen wearing a cap saying “Rene Lachemann Fan Club”. When the Sox beat the Angels in the ALCS, many players put on the caps as they sprayed champagne. “A friend made a couple of them for me, ” Lachemann was quoted as saying. “They were so popular I had to ask him to make up some more.”

Madden ended by saying something positive: “Lachemann continued to be  upbeat and personable, friendly and cooperative, hiding well the strain of a long season.” Mike Madden was overall a professional. That is more than I can say for some of today’s journalists.