Nobody in the game rode taller in the saddle than Dallas Green. Not 6-foot-7 Frank Howard nor 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch. Green was baseball's John Wayne, so upright and rigid and with such a commanding voice. Whatever he lacked vertically -- and he didn't lack much -- was inconsequential. Green compensated for it with stature that was visible, audible and quite palpable. He had presence that commanded recognition and a voice that could fill -- and oftentimes did -- Veterans, Yankee and Shea Stadiums. They didn't call him Big D for his defense. Perhaps it stood for decibels.
Few who were part of the game in the past half-century cut so distinctive a figure as the man who managed the Phillies, Yankees and Mets and was the Cubs' general manager -- all in an 18-year period.