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Former Dodgers players surprised by Steve Garvey’s delayed entry into politics
Jerry Reuss isn’t at all surprised that his former Dodgers teammate Steve Garvey is running for the U.S. Senate.
The shocking part for Reuss is that it took Garvey so long to launch his political career.
“He’s a 75 years old rookie,” Reuss recently told The Times in an email.
Reuss was a left-handed pitcher who played for eight teams over 22 Major League Baseball seasons. Garvey was an infielder and one of the most popular Dodgers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Their baseball careers intersected in Los Angeles from 1979-82.
Reuss told The Times that Garvey had thoughts of becoming an elected official back then, while Ronald Reagan was serving his first term as U.S. president.
“Steve always had the thought of entering the political arena,” Reuss said in the email. “He once told me that if a former actor could be President, why can’t a former baseball player?”
Some four decades later, Garvey has made quite an entrance into that arena. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by The Times found that the Republican newcomer and Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the veteran Democratic congressman from Burbank, are in effect tied for the lead in the primary days before Tuesday’s election.
The poll shows Garvey is favored by 27% of likely voters, followed by Schiff with 25%, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) with 19% and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) with 8%, while 12% of likely voters pick a different candidate and 9% are undecided. The top two finishers advance to a November runoff. There, Schiff would hold a 53% to 38% advantage, with 9% undecided, over Garvey, according to the survey.
Garvey was drafted by the Dodgers out of Michigan State in 1968 and remained with the organization until signing with the San Diego Padres as a free agent before the 1983 season. He played five seasons with the Padres before retiring.
Starting in June 1973 and running through the Dodgers’ World Series victory in 1981, Garvey played first base in one of MLB’s most celebrated and durable infields. For 8 1/2 seasons, that lineup almost always also included Davey Lopes at second base, Ron Cey at third and Bill Russell at shortstop.
Cey declined to comment for this article. The Times was unable to reach Lopes and Russell.
Two members of the Dodgers 1981 championship team recently came out in support of one of Garvey’s opponents for the Senate seat. In an announcement issued by Lee’s office Wednesday, Dusty Baker and Dave Stewart were listed among the endorsers for the Oakland congresswoman. Baker and Stewart have ties to Northern California and spent parts of their MLB careers with the Athletics.
Tom Niedenfuer was a rookie pitcher for the Dodgers during the 1981 season. As a Florida resident, Niedenfuer has been watching Garvey’s young political career from afar and isn’t surprised by his former teammate’s success in that area.
“I could definitely see him going into something like this,” Niedenfuer told The Times in a recent phone interview. “He was always well spoken, great with the media, and definitely had his points of views, so it’s not surprising at all. And he’s always been a great businessman, so I’m really not surprised and he’ll be very successful with this.”
Asked if he could think of any weaknesses Garvey might have as a politician, Niedenfuer could think of only one.
“The only thing I could possibly think of is he’s not aggressive enough to fire back at people with bad stuff, because he’s such a good guy,” Niedenfuer said. “He’s not the kind to attack other people and other opponents. He’s always been great to everybody. If there was any weakness, I would say he’s too nice.”
Reuss, who lives in Nevada, said he hasn’t followed Garvey’s campaign enough to have an opinion on his former teammate’s politics. But, Reuss added of Garvey, “He’s as sincere now as the day I met him.”
Like Reuss, former longtime Dodgers broadcaster Ross Porter is surprised Garvey waited so long to enter politics.
“Steve would be a good senator and a better choice than his opponents, especially the obnoxious Adam Schiff,” Porter told The Times in an email, adding that he and his wife have donated to Garvey’s campaign.
Asked by The Times if he had any stories that demonstrated the qualities he thought would suit Garvey well as a senator, Porter replied with this anecdote:
“On a Sunday afternoon, August 28, 1977, Garvey went into a game against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, mired in the worst batting slump he experienced in his 19-year major league career. In his previous 84 plate appearances, he had hit a miserable .139.
“Before the game that day, two nuns introduced a young girl who was disabled, to her favorite Dodger player — Steve Garvey. During their conversation, the girl said, ‘Would you hit a home run for me today?’
“Garvey said he would try.
“That day, Garvey had the best offensive game he ever had. He collected 5 hits in 5 at-bats, drove in 5 runs, slugged two home runs, one a grand slam, and the Dodgers won, 11 to 0.
“Steve told me years later, he still maintained a correspondence with the girl.”
News
Is now the right time to invest in gold as prices have cooled?
The price of gold has climbed to record highs recently and has remained strong through much of April. And, that growth continued until the precious metal traded at around $2,390 per ounce on April 19, 2024. But since, growth in the price of the precious metal has cooled, with gold’s price now hovering around $2,300 per ounce.
This lull in gold’s price may represent an investment opportunity.
In general, investing is centered around buying assets when prices are low and selling them when prices are high – generating a profit on the difference between the two. So, considering the declines in gold’s price over the past few days, now may be the time to make your investment. But is buying gold during this lull in prices really a good idea?
Compare your gold investment options among leading brokers now.
Gold prices have cooled. Should you buy in now?
With gold’s price down from recent highs, you may be wondering if now is the right time to buy in. There are several reasons the dip in gold’s price may represent an opportunity to buy. Here are some of the biggest:
Prices may rise again
If looking at a gold price chart shows anything for certain, it shows that changes in the overall growth of the medal come in fits and spurts. Periods of price growth are typically followed by periods of declines and vice versa.
But with inflation rising in recent months – and with gold’s reputation as a safe-haven asset that can hedge against inflation – it only makes sense that the price of the precious metal will eventually start to head up again in the future. While attempting to time that directional change may be tricky, buying the precious metal while the price is down gives you the opportunity to take advantage of any upward movement that may be ahead.
Add gold to your portfolio now before prices have a chance to rise.
You may be able to make a quick profit
Gold isn’t known as an asset in which you can earn a quick return, but in today’s market, that may be the case. Don’t forget that in January, gold was trading at just $2,000 per ounce. And, by mid-April, the commodity’s price had climbed to around $2,400 per ounce. That’s about 20% growth in a matter of months, much of which happened since March 1 – an impressive climb for any investment asset.
Perhaps more importantly, gold’s price growth through the beginning of 2024 shows that the commodity doesn’t have to be a buy and hold style investment that you keep in a safety deposit box or precious metal depository for years to come. There’s also the possibility that the commodity’s price could climb further ahead, making it a compelling way to potentially generate a quick profit.
There are other benefits of investing in gold
There are other benefits of investing in gold that have little to do with the price growth seen thus far in 2024 – or the lull in prices seen over the past couple of days. Those benefits include:
- Inflation protection: Gold has long been considered an inflation hedge, and for good reason. When inflation drives the prices of consumer goods and services up – and the value of the dollar down – gold’s price tends to rise. So, it could be used to maintain the value of your portfolio during inflationary economic conditions. That’s important in today’s economic environment as stubborn inflation continues to weigh on the value of the dollar.
- Portfolio diversification: Gold’s price doesn’t always move in the same pattern that bonds or stocks do. So, mixing a reasonable amount of gold into your portfolio (up to 10% of your portfolio assets) as a diversifier could protect you from losses should one or more of your traditional portfolio assets fall in value. “If you have less than 5% – 10% of your net worth in commodities & FX (forex), you should absolutely consider adding exposure to gold and other precious metals,” says Vijay Marolia, money manager and managing partner at the wealth management firm, Regal Point Capital.
The bottom line
Gold’s price has fallen from recent highs – which may represent an opportunity to tap into growth ahead. However, gold isn’t simply a “buy while it’s low and sell while it’s a high” kind of investment opportunity. The commodity can also protect your portfolio from the stubborn inflation we’ve seen thus far in 2024 while acting as a diversification tool that could increase your risk-adjusted portfolio returns. So, consider adding gold to your portfolio today while it has the potential to grow in value.
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