Locals remember Scott from days with Mad Dogs

When George “The Boomer” Scott was hired to manage the Massachusetts Mad Dogs back in 1996, his playing days with the Boston Red Sox were long over.He still, however, had the ability to pass on his love for the game and his knowledge to a whole new generation of baseball players, including several local guys who played for him or coached with him during his brief time at Fraser Field.The eight-time Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star died Monday in Mississippi at the age of 69.Tony Nicosia of Swampscott, now of Lynn, played for Scott in 1996, as did Jay Murphy (Lynn Tech/UMass-Amherst); Doug Spofford (Swampscott/UNH) and Eric Roepsch (Lynn English/Framingham State). Tom Donahue, an assistant coach at St. Mary?s High, was on the Mad Dogs coaching staff. They remember Scott well.?He had a monstrous smile and a personality as big as that smile,” Nicosia said. “He was a great coach and a great player.”Nicosia recalled those long bus rides to away games when Scott would start telling stories from back in his playing days. At first, only a couple of guys would be listening, but before you knew it, guys three, four or five rows back would be tuned in.Nicosia said during batting practice, when Scott would call someone?s name, five guys would start running in because they couldn?t make out what Scott had said.Spofford said Scott made the players he coached the best they could be and he made the game fun.?George was always fun, always cracking jokes and keeping it light,” he said. “That summer was pretty special for us. We got to meet one of our favorite players growing up.”Spofford recalled one day when they were doing infield drills and some of the guys weren?t doing a great job.?He looks at us and says, ?this is the easiest part of the game,?” Spofford said.And he backed it up. Despite having bad knees, Scott went over to first and showed them how it was done.?He was over there fielding like he was back with the Red Sox,” Spofford said.Spofford, who works in the financial industry but still plays for the North Shore Baseball League, said Scott always had great stories about the pros, including tales of the practical jokes they used to play on one another. Spofford said after he stopped playing for the Mad Dogs, he kept in touch with Scott.?He used to call me at two o?clock in the morning (the first three weeks of the season) just to talk. He would try to convince me to come back,” Spofford said.Roepsch said Scott was tough as nails.?He wanted to get the best out of all of us,” Roepsch said. “I really enjoyed playing for him … he was a fun guy.”Roepsch said he initially was a little bit in awe having a former major league player running the ship, but it was a great experience.Murphy said one of the things he remembers about those days was being at a hotel on the road and there would be Scott, strolling around in a big straw hat like he owned the place. He said Scott would always wear sunglasses and you could never really see who or what he was looking at.?He loved the game and he loved to win,” Murphy said. “If you gave him 100 percent, he treated you like his own son.”Donahue spent four years coaching with Scott (1996-1999).?You could never have a better friend than George,” he said. “If you were on his side, he was on your side. He gave me my first job in professional baseball when I was a young guy (only 25 years old). That meant the world to me.”Donahue said he loved to go out to eat with Scott and watch him hold court.?He was a fun guy to spend time with,” Donahue said. “He had a million stories.”Donahue said one thing he remembers about Scott is that Scott loved Tony Conigliaro. The two came up together in the minors and made it to the Red Sox around the same time. Donahue said Scott used to spend a lot of time at the Conigliaro house in Nahant and he thinks Scott liked being around Lynn because of the Conigliaro connection.Donahue said he was a huge Scott fan growing up, which made working with him and becoming friends