White Sox coach Jerry Narron brings an impressive aesthetic to lineup cards

CHICAGO (CBS) — If you have seen a picture of the White Sox lineup card over the last two seasons, you have probably noticed they are a little different – with handwriting evocative of ye olde tymes.

As CBS 2’s Matt Zahn reported Tuesday, it is the artwork of White Sox Major League instructor Jerry Narron – and he has been at it for a long time. Narron has a specific color scheme.

“The right-handed batters go in black, I do the switch hitters in blue, and the right-handed hitters in red,” he said.

But that’s far from the only thing that stands out. Narron fills out lineup cards with an attention to detail rarely seen – and it all started back in 1993.

“Johnny Oates was the manager with the Orioles, and when I first became a coach on his staff, he asked me if I would do the lineups,” Narron said. “I just wanted to do it the very best I could and do something a little different.”

Narron says he’s self-taught, and has perfected the art of calligraphy over the years. In fact, he’s gotten so good, it’s unbelievable.

We wanted to know – when players first see it, what’s their reaction?

“That it’s printed out; that it’s computer generated,” Narron said.

So he has them come and see for themselves.

“They’ll come around and watch, and then they want to try it, and they make a mess,” Narron said. “I think they appreciate it even more when they try it.”

The players also appreciate when they can use the card to commemorate unique events, like a Major League debut or a historic day at the ballpark.

“Every day I write it out, I’m hoping somebody hits four home runs, or throws a no-hitter or perfect game something,” he said. “I kind of do that with the idea that it’s going to be used to mark a special occasion.”

Narron kept a few of his own lineup cards – including one from when he was with the Cincinnati Reds.

“When I was with the Reds, George W. Bush came in, threw out the first ball one day, and he signed (the lineup card) for me. I didn’t even know, but he was with the Rangers before I was with the Rangers, so there was a little background there – but he signed it, and that’s one of the few that I’ve kept.”

Each of Narron’s lineup cards includes a special message in Hebrew at the top. It’s an ode to his daughter who lives in Israel.

“She’s been there 12 years; has dual citizenship. So I always put ‘shalom’ up here at the top in Hebrew, which not many people know what that means up there. They think it’s hieroglyphics, but it’s really Hebrew,” Narron said. “and I also put the Japanese or Asian players’ names down in kanji, or in Chinese characters.”

How did he learn to do that?

“I can’t tell you. I first learned by translating. They’re all different. You know, you look and you think, ‘Wow, they’re all different,'” Narron said. “But the Asian players – when they see it, they really like it.”

And there’s another message in all of this, that goes beyond the putting a names on a card.

“I feel very blessed to be in baseball. This is my 48th year as a player, coach, or manager. – and just everything I do on the field, I try to do it to the best of my ability,” Narron said. “I was blessed with parents who said, ‘If you dig a ditch, dig it to the best of your ability,’ and that’s what I try to do.”

And there’s no arguing – his lineup cards are the best.

Narron says he has had players ask him to do wedding invitations. He said that is something he has tried to stay away from – although he has done it a couple of times for friends.