A different view of Bowie Kuhn

Not many baseball fans were also Bowie Kuhn fans.

The late commissioner was viewed as conservative, cold, unmoving, a representative of the old guard in many ways and, yet, also perpetrator of baseball heresy – the designated hitter, late-night, low-temperature World Series games.

I’m not sure whether Kuhn belongs in the Hall of Fame, but his son, Paul Degener,- who was raised by Kuhn after his biological father was killed before he was born - gave the crowd at Sunday’s induction ceremonies something to think about.

Degener described his father as a deeply spiritual and compassionate man who loved the game. He told a few stories that had the effect of turning the stolid Kuhn into a real human being.

And he thanked Goose Gossage, who was about to be inducted, for calling his father shortly before his death last year, the last major leaguer to do so.

Degener aggressively defended his father's honor - there were a few catcalls from the crowd when the commissioner's name was first mentioned - and I liked that.

It was an interesting talk, and it made me think of Bowie Kuhn in a much more positive light.