Lenny Randle, the ‘most interesting man in baseball,’ lived and died in Murrieta

From home run king Barry Bonds to World Series hero Allen Craig, southwest Riverside County has had plenty of baseball stars.

The area was also home to Lenny Randle, famously dubbed “the most interesting man in baseball.”

The 28-year resident of Murrieta died Dec. 29. A celebration of life is planned for 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at Murrieta Mesa High School.

Randle, 75, was known more for his antics than his baseball accomplishments, though he played 12 seasons in the big leagues.

It’s impressive to last that long, but it was Randle’s colorful personality that earned him the most fame and why Rolling Stone magazine called him so interesting.

His widow, Linda, said baseball was just part of the life of the man she’d known since elementary school in Compton.

“I got to see him in action all the time,” she said. “I had a ringside seat every day.”

Her husband never had an agenda, she said.

“He was always impromptu.”

It seems he played baseball the same way.

My favorite Randle story is from 1981, when as a member of the Seattle Mariners, he got on his hands and knees to blow a slow roller hit by Amos Otis foul. In an Associated Press story about Randle’s death, it was reported that umpire Larry McCoy wasn’t amused and decided Randle’s unusual action was against the rules and called it a hit.

“I yelled at the foul ball, I didn’t blow it,” Randle told MLB Network a year ago, saying he kept repeating, “Go foul.”

According to The AP, as a youth baseball coach, he passed out T-shirts that read: “Don’t Blow It, Go to college.”

Not only a man with a good sense of humor, Randle was a guy with good advice.

Linda said it was a sports camp that introduced the Randles to the area. Living in Chino Hills at the time, they decided they liked southwest Riverside County better and moved here.

“We liked that the area wasn’t that big,” she said.

They’ve been here ever since. Randle’s survivors include his sons Bradley, Kumasi and Ahmad and three grandchildren.

“It was a place to grow our kids and grow old together,” Linda said.

Randle had a lot of iconic baseball memories upon which to reflect.

The AP reported on a few.

He was on the bench for the Washington Senators’ last game in 1971, when fans invaded the field. Randle sparked a brawl when he bunted to the right side to collide with Cleveland pitcher Milt Wilcox in retaliation for a pitch thrown behind him. And Randle played second base during the famous Ten Cent Beer Night riot in Cleveland later that season.

But he was so much more than baseball.

Randle spoke five languages, performed at stand-up comedy clubs after games and released a funk song called “Kingdome” by Lenny Randle & the Ballplayers.

Other baseball players with local connections are known more for their feats on the field.

Bonds has more homers than anybody else. While the Riverside native didn’t grow up here, his local connections included a fundraiser for Murrieta Valley High School in 1992 at his home in the Bear Creek Country Club in Murrieta.

Craig, who played baseball and basketball at Chaparral High School in Temecula, had three game-winning hits in the 2011 World Series won by his team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

I have connections to two of the many other local major leaguers, Brandon Dixon and Patrick Wisdom. Both played high school baseball here and had played either with each other or against each other since fourth grade.

Dixon, who retired last February, played on a fifth grade Murrieta Youth Basketball team that I coached. My son David was his teammate.

Wisdom, who played for the Chicago Cubs last year, has a brother Sean who teaches at the same school at which I taught, Murrieta’s Rail Ranch Elementary School. Sean also knew David in high school and is a nice guy.

Neither Bonds, Craig, Dixon nor Wisdom have been anointed the most interesting man in baseball.

Said Randle’s beloved Linda: “I would call him the most interesting man in the world.”

Reach Carl Love at carllove4@yahoo.com.

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