NOTE: On this date, one year ago, Reading Pollitt died at the age of 76. Reading meant so much to the people that knew him, and his support of Key West baseball will not be forgotten. The following article was published in the Ramblers' 2010 program.
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Last Dec. 13, the Key West Ramblers mourned the loss of one of the team’s most faithful supporters. For the Carty’s, the unexpected occurrence meant so much more.
Reading Pollitt, the father of coach Paul Carty’s wife Joanne and the grandfather of Tim Carty, died almost a week following surgery to replace his shoulder. 36 hours after the procedure ended, Pollitt threw a blood clot, resulting in him going into cardiac arrest. After enduring significant brain damage and five days on life support, he died at the age of 76.
To Joanne Carty, his death struck harshly and suddenly. Her already tight relationship with her father had strengthened even more in recent years.
“We were always extremely close,” Joanne said. “My mother died four-and-a-half years ago, and we became even closer. He’d come to dinner almost every night at our house. We went to sporting events together. We did everything together.”
One of the ways Joanne bonded with her father was through the game of baseball. Since moving from New Jersey about six years ago, where he had lived the majority of his life prior, Pollitt displayed his passion for baseball by religiously attending his grandson’s baseball games. He often yelled out his favorite quotation “Take two and hit to right,” (meaning either take two strikes and try to hit the ball to right or take two aggressive cuts and then try to hit the ball to right).
Tim Carty fondly remembers hearing his grandpa’s voice frequently shouting encouragement. Pollitt cared so much that he was not afraid to tell the umpires what he thought or scold Tim when he made a mistake. More than anything though, he was there to support the people he loved.
“That’s going to be one of the hardest things about this year—him not being there,” Tim said. “You could always count on grandpa to be on the umpires. I could always hear him up in the stands. If I was pitching, he would say ‘throw strikes.’ His favorite saying was ‘take two and hit to right.’ It was the last thing he’d say to me, even in the middle of winter.”
It was obvious Tim shared an unmistakable friendship with his grandfather. Even while living hundreds of miles away, Pollitt made sure to catch Tim’s high school games broadcasted over the Internet.
“He and Tim had a special relationship—Tim being the oldest grandson,” Paul Carty said. “I don’t know if he missed any of Tim’s games growing up, little league or high school.”
Pollitt’s sayings and his humor never failed to entertain fellow Key West fans and players. He kept the scorekeeper on his toes, debating whether a play should be ruled a hit or an error. Yet he always did so in a jovial and playful manner. He would talk to anybody and everybody, and he loved to make people laugh.
“He’d make fun of himself and he’d make fun of other people,” Joanne said. “He was always social and real outgoing. He loved to be around people. He really liked having a good time with others.”
Beyond his close family relationships, Pollitt became revered by Rambler players for his friendly personality. He deeply enjoyed his interactions with the players and avidly rooted them on, perhaps reminding himself of his own past as a standout high school baseball player.
“He just loved those kids,” Joanne said. “He loved the guys. He always felt like they liked him. He would say, ‘I think they really like me.’ It meant a lot to him.”
And it certainly meant a lot to him to spend time with his family. The Cartys will sorely miss sitting at the dinner table with him, chatting about baseball and about life. As Yankees fans, they’ll miss the respectful arguments poking fun at Pollitt’s beloved Mets. They will miss his unwavering support. They will miss his kind, gentle presence.
“We were about as close as a grandfather and grandson could be,” Tim said. “We were like best friends. He meant the world to us.”
“He was as much a father to me as my own,” Paul said.
As the Ramblers take the field for their seventh season, something will be missing. Reading Pollitt will not be there to shout at a blown call or a ringing Carty double, but perhaps he’ll be watching, smiling, and laughing from a higher perch.
And his advice to Key West players who stroll to the plate this season? Without a doubt, he would tell them: “Take two and hit to right.”
