Atlanta, GA
Former Atlanta Braves player hopes to be signed for 1 day to receive pension
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC/Gray News) – A former Atlanta Braves player is calling on the team to sign him again – for just one day – so he can qualify for a pension he’s been trying to get for more than 40 years.
For 67-year-old Garden City native Gary Cooper, baseball was everything. He spent several seasons playing in the minor leagues with the AA Savannah Braves, WTOC reports.
“That’s all we did, played baseball… That was our thing growing up. From then on, that was the love of my life,” Cooper said. “I got the chance to play at home for three years. That was a beauty.”
Then, in the summer of 1980, he got word the legendary Hank Aaron was calling him up to play for the Atlanta Braves.
“I said, ‘Man, you crazy.’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ So when I got home, my father told me. My mother and father already knew before I did,” Cooper said. “It was a dream come true.”
The Braves were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates, the reigning World Series champions, when Cooper made his major league debut.
“The bottom of the 9th, one of the fastest guys in the major league came up to bat. They were down by two runs. He hit a fly ball. I was playing left field, and I came in. It bounced over my head, so I had to make a 360 [degree] turn. When I did, I grabbed the ball and threw it to second base, and I threw him out to end the game,” Cooper said.
The season ended for the Braves 42 days and 21 games later, and Cooper was eventually sent back to the minors, not knowing he was just one service day short of qualifying for a pension. In order to be eligible for a pension from Major League Baseball and MLB Players Association, players must have 43 days on an active roster.
“When they called me up, I did what I was supposed to do, and right now, today, I can’t understand why I got sent back down,” he said.
Dave Mesrey spent more than a year working on a story about Cooper, talking to baseball historians and industry experts. He says the same year Cooper went to the MLB, the requirements for a pension had just changed.
“They changed the minimum from four years to 43 days, so when Gary Cooper and anyone who made their debut in Major League Baseball in 1980 or there after, all they needed were 43 days to qualify for the minimum pension,” Mesrey said.
Cooper has appealed to the MLB and Players Association twice and was denied a pension. Now, he is hoping to be signed to the Braves for one day in efforts to meet the qualification.
“‘Cause it has happened. Mr. Aaron did it back in the day and… Satchel Paige never got to play, but he got his pension. That’s history. You know, why can’t it happen the same for me?” he said. “Just that day would be awesome. It would be just like being drafted again.”
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson spoke out in support of Cooper.
“It just makes sense. I’m reminded that the Atlanta Braves, for the pitching legend Satchel Paige, signed him to a contract for him to reach his pension. We’re only talking $500 or $600 a month, but for someone in their late 60s, that makes a whole lot of difference. We’re hoping the Braves do the right thing,” Johnson said.
Not only is the mayor behind him, but more than 10,000 people and counting have signed a Change.org petition asking the Braves to sign Cooper again.
“Just one day. For the two and a half hours that is how long the game lasts, just forget about those 44 years, just for that day,” Cooper said.
The Change.org petition says Cooper, who works part time as a landscaper, has struggled with homelessness in recent years. He has no car, no home, no savings and struggles to pay his phone bill every month.
WTOC has reached out to the Braves for comment.
Copyright 2024 WTOC via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Atlanta, GA
FBI orders field offices to send analysts to Atlanta for 2020 election investigation, sources say
The FBI is ramping up its investigation into the 2020 election results in Fulton County, Georgia, by ordering field offices across the country to send investigative analysts to Atlanta to help evaluate thousands of records, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
According to a memo sent to all field offices and reviewed by CBS News, the Directorate of Intelligence requested “surge support” to Atlanta to assist in what it called FBI Director Kash Patel’s “priority” investigation. The memo did not explicitly discuss the nature of the investigation, but multiple sources confirmed to CBS News the subject of the memo is the 2020 election probe in Fulton County.
The memo calls on every FBI field office to assign analysts, seeking to reach a total of 260 analysts. Large field offices are being asked to contribute eight analysts each, while small and medium offices must dedicate between three and five analysts. They are being asked to review 708 records each, and complete the work by July 17, the memo shows.
These “tactical intel” staffers typically provide help with day-to-day casework, such as running license plates, doing open-source checks on subjects of investigations, phone analysis, preparing subpoenas and reviewing subpoena returns.
The surge of personnel was first reported by MS Now.
President Trump has repeatedly alleged without providing evidence that officials in heavily Democratic Fulton County manipulated ballot counts in 2020 and that large numbers of votes in the state were cast by deceased Georgians, nonresidents or other ineligible participants.
After Mr. Trump lost Georgia by 11,799 votes, he frequently claimed the election had been “rigged.” But Joe Biden’s win in Georgia was confirmed in both a machine recount and an audit that involved hand recounts by every county in the state.
Earlier this year, the FBI executed a search warrant in Fulton County where it seized “all physical ballots” from 2020, as well as tapes from vote-tabulating machines, ballot images and voter rolls. Home to Atlanta, Fulton County was crucial to Biden’s narrow 2020 win in the state.
The case was referred to the FBI by Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who previously fought to help overturn the results of the 2020 election and now works for the Justice Department, where he is assigned in Miami to help investigate the so-called “grand conspiracy” into whether Obama and Biden-era officials conspired to keep President Trump out of office.
A judge in May denied a request by Fulton County to return the ballots that were seized.
The FBI declined to comment.
I think it’s time to chat again about Eric Hartman. The Braves’ now top prospect completed a 20 HR, 30 SB season on July 1st, through 71 games of his season. He was also ranked the 25th prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America and it’s getting easier every day to see him in the top 10 by the offseason. This is simply a hugely valuable prospect coming from a 20th round pick just two years ago and the back end of the organizational top 30 as recently as March. While he’s only at high-A (probably not for long) and still has work to do on his game, he has rapidly become a potential superstar on the position-player side for an organization that desperately needed talent on that hitting side and has got it this year from not only Hartman.
Haralson County under Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Part of Haralson County is under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, the National Weather Service says.
The warning will be in place until 6:15 p.m.
Officials say a severe thunderstorm has been located near Buchanan around 5:35 p.m. The storm was moving west at 5 miles per hour.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning extended for Carroll, Douglas, and Fulton
The Severe Thunderstorm Warning set to end at 5 p.m. has been extended to 5:45 p.m. by the National Weather Service.
Authorities say the storm was last located near the city of South Fulton, moving west at 5 mph.
The other Severe Thunderstorm Warnings have expired.
Dozens of Georgia counties under Thunderstorm Watch
Dozens of counties across Georgia remain under a Thunderstorm Watch until 8 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued the watch for the following counties:
- Banks
- Barrow
- Bartow
- Butts
- Carroll
- Catoosa
- Chattooga
- Cherokee
- Clayton
- Cobb
- Coweta
- Dade
- Dawson
- DeKalb
- Douglas
- Fannin
- Fayette
- Floyd
- Forsyth
- Franklin
- Fulton
- Gilmer
- Gordon
- Gwinnett
- Habersham
- Hall
- Haralson
- Heard
- Henry
- Jackson
- Lumpkin
- Meriwether
- Murray
- Newton
- Paulding
- Pickens
- Polk
- Rabun
- Rockdale
- Spalding
- Stephens
- Towns
- Troup
- Union
- Walker
- Walton
- White
- Whitfield
Other counties in Alabama, North and South Carolina and Tennessee are also affected by the watch.
High temperatures continue to cause concerns in Georgia
While parts of North Georgia brace for the impact of the storms and heavy winds, most of the state remains under a Heat Advisory.
Wednesday marks the third straight day of heat advisories across parts of north Georgia. While the advisory no longer includes all of metro Atlanta, it does cover North Fulton, South Fulton and several western metro counties, where it could feel as hot as 106 to 107 degrees between noon and 8 p.m., according to the National Weather Service and CBS News Atlanta Next Weather meteorologist Troy Bridges.
Actual air temperatures are expected to climb to around 96 degrees Wednesday afternoon, well above the typical high of 89 degrees for this time of year.
Read more here.
Warning downgraded to watch for Towns, Union, and Fannin
The Severe Thunderstorm Warning affecting parts of Towns, Union, and Fannin County in North Georgia has been canceled.
Authorities with the National Weather Service say the storm the prompted the warning has weakened to the point where it “no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property.”
Instead, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for the area until 9 p.m.
List of current Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia
Here are the current storm warnings in place for Georgia.
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
- Central Cherokee County until 4:45 p.m.
- East central Carroll County, southern Douglas County, southwestern Fulton County until 5 p.m.
- Southwestern Cobb County, central Douglas County, southwestern Fulton County until 5 p.m.
- Southwestern Towns County, Union County, northeastern Fannin County until 5 p.m.
Flash Flood Warning
- Northeastern Union County until 10:15 p.m.
Severe Thunderstorm warning in place for parts of metro Atlanta
The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Carroll, Douglas, and Fulton counties until 5 p.m.
Officials say a storm with winds of up to 60 miles per hour was slowly moving near Douglasville at 4:27 p.m.
Another warning is in place for parts of Cobb, Douglas, and Fulton counties. This warning is also expected to end at 5 p.m.
Residents should prepare for possible heavy winds, quarter-sized hail, and fallen trees.
Flash flood warning issued for parts of Union County
A flash flood warning is in place for part of Union County until late Wednesday night.
The National Weather Service says the warning will remain in place for the northeastern part of the county until 10:15 p.m. after radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain in the area.
Officials estimate one to 2.5 inches of rain have already fallen and there may be one to two more inches of rainfall possible in the area.
Residents should prepare for small creeks, streams, and other areas with poor drainage to flood.
Drivers should not attempt to driver through flooded roads.
-
Movie Reviews7 minutes agoFilm Review: “looky loo: PART II” – MediaMikes
-
World10 minutes agoUS Resumes Dollar Transfers to Iraq, NYT Reports
-
Health40 minutes agoShe Ate High-Protein Ice Cream Daily and Lost 193 Lbs—Her Keys to Success
-
Lifestyle55 minutes agoHouse Democrats accuse Trump of ‘hijacking’ America’s 250th birthday for his own gain
-
Technology1 hour agoTesla driver faces manslaughter charges over Texas crash that killed a woman inside her home
-
World1 hour agoSix Kurdish fighters killed in IRGC ambush as clashes spread across western Iran
-
Politics1 hour agoSanctuary county refused 615 ICE transfer requests, turned over just 11 illegal immigrants, records show
-
Health1 hour agoMystery parasite leaves Americans battling ‘explosive’ illness as CDC investigates
