Apr. 11, 1963 - The general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Buzzie Bavasi, has had to quell dissension within the ranks and remind the players that manager Walter Alston (left) is their boss, it was revealed today. Bavasi delivered a fiery speech to the Dodgers in a closed meeting in the team’s Wrigley Field dressing room before their National League opener in Chicago Tuesday. He demanded to know if any player believed the Dodgers could not win the pennant under Alston and the coaching staff now constituted. “I had to stop the players from popping off about Alston,” Bavasi said today in Los Angeles. “They were doing it all spring. I don’t want them telling me who should manage our club.” Bavasi denied there was a movement afoot by some players to ram Leo Durocher (right) into the driver’s seat. “Leo was my first informant about this business,” said Bavasi. “Later, some of the players came to me with complaints about Alston.” Bavasi refused to identify the clique pressing for the recall of Alston. “I can tell you this, though — none of the team’s top stars were involved,” said Bavasi. “Some of the players who were not being used and who didn’t have a good season in 1962 were the ones involved. It’s always the 24th or 25th players on a club who gripe.” Bavasi has said many times that Alston, sometimes known as “The Quiet Man,” is his man. “On the field, Alston is still the same man we hired to lead the Dodgers back in 1954,” said Bavasi. “But he’s too serious away from the field. Nothing is funny to him any more.” This spring, Alston was encouraged to crack down on the squad and show his authority.
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