A side of major league baseball most never see
By STEVE MAJOR
Sportswriter
CINCINNATI – I’ve been a major league baseball fan for over 40 years. I’ve watched a ton of games on TV, listened to even more on radio, followed games on the internet and seen professional baseball in Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
So I’ve had the typical fan experiences – sitting in the stands, drinking high-priced beer and enjoying the game. But, one day recently it dawned on me that maybe I could see more than just what a seat in the stands had to offer.
So I asked my editor at the Progress about getting me a media pass to a Cincinnati Reds game. Thus, I could indulge my passion and give the Progress readers a glimpse behind the scenes. To paraphrase Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, my mission was “to go where no fan has gone before.”
Thus, I attended the Reds game against the Colorado Rockies as a member of the official media. I arrived early at the park, wanting to maximize the time I had there. But, I was so early there were no official media events to cover yet.
So, I wandered around the bowels of Great American Ball Park, poked my head in a few rooms, saw boxes of Chris Sabo bobble heads to be distributed the next day (made in China, of course) and generally just saw what was to be seen.
Opening pitch
The Rockies were taking batting practice and I sat near the bullpen for a while just watching. One of the Rockies, who was shagging flies in the very, very hot afternoon sun, came in to get a drink. I recognized him as National League All-Star pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. But, he was in and out of the bullpen before I could work up the nerve to ask a question.
I thought to myself, “Hey, I’m official media; I can talk to these guys.” Besides, I was wondering why he wasn’t starting that night as teams usually use their number #1 starters coming out of the All-Star break.
So when he came over close to the pen again to pick up a ball, I asked him his name to confirm who he was. He also said he wasn’t starting that night because he had thrown two innings in the All-Star game and thus wouldn’t pitch again until the Rockies’ next series in Miami.
“Wow, that was cool,” I thought to myself. “I just talked to the best pitcher in the National League.”
I continued my way around the inside of the stadium where I started a conversation with Tom the electrician. We were standing by the trailers where they control TV broadcasts.
Tom has worked for the Reds since the early ’90s. When I suggested that being an electrician here, as opposed to a factory, was maybe a little special, he agreed that being around baseball was more fun. It was a great job with great people to work with.
This was a theme I heard repeatedly that night from Jeremy the usher, Laura the intern, John the souvenir vendor and others. It’s a job, but it was also more. All were baseball fans and more than that, all were Reds fans.
Jeremy summed it up well when he said as an usher he is busy helping fans to their seats mostly for just the first three innings, after which he gets to watch the ball game.
Nice work, if you can get it.
Being a Reds fan is a lot of fun this year, too, for the first time in a long time. The Reds are winning after over 10 years of sub .500 baseball. The last playoff appearance was 1995 and the last World Series Title was 1990. So, fans are ready for a winner.
Pre-game routine
Eventually, it was time to head into the clubhouse for pre-game interviews. The players’ locker room itself is what you’d expect for professional athletes and maybe have seen in clips of interviews – large locker areas, overstuffed couches, big screen TVs and photos of historical players on the walls.
Latin tunes were blasting out of a sound system at Francisco Cordero’s locker. Players were milling around getting ready for the day’s work.
There were about 15 or so media people, most focusing on just a few players. Pitcher Edinson Volquez, who was scheduled to make his first start the next day coming off a year of surgery and rehab, was one center of attention. Also, a group formed around All-Star first baseman Joey Votto.
Not sure about the journalistic etiquette, I was a bit cautious about asking questions. And when I asked one out of turn, Votto told me professionally, but forcefully, that I have to wait until he finishes with the other journalists’ questions.
I also stepped out of bounds when I took a stroll into the players’ dining room for a look around. As I came back out another journalist looked at me horrified and told me we can’t go in there. “Thanks for the heads up,” I replied.
Meet and greet
I asked Arthur Rhodes about the All-Star game, where he had a “blast.” And Ryan Hanigan was glad to be playing again after a trip to the disabled list and rehab in the minors.
In the clubhouse I met Reds’ director of media relations, Rob Butcher, who had provided my media pass. Rob has been with the Reds in this capacity since the mid-90s. We talked ball baseball and media a bit.
The best part of his job? Having to watch the games, getting to be on top of statistics and everything that happens on the field. Yes, he has to watch each and every game, and get paid for it.
I also introduced myself to Bernie Stowe, the patriarch of three generations of clubhouse staff. He told me he started out with the Reds as a bat boy in 1947.
‘Easy Rider’
Eventually we were ushered into manager Dusty Baker’s office for some pre-game comments. As we walked in Dusty, sitting comfortably behind his desk, took the ubiquitous toothpick out of his mouth to talk to us.
We stood around his desk with me towards the back of the group. I was less interested in Dusty’s specific answers and more in the setting and the process.
Baker’s office is decorated with interesting photos. There were a couple pictures of Jackie Robinson, some family photos, an autographed shot of Hank Aaron and, seemingly a bit out of place, a framed poster from “Easy Rider.”
The atmosphere was relaxed; Baker alternately answered questions seriously and joked, as well. We all had a good laugh when he said as a major league rookie, like all first-year players, he was subject to some playful hazing, like having to carry veteran players’ luggage. But, he added, the more he hit that year the less luggage he carried.
At the end of Dusty’s pre-game, we took the elevators up to the press box, which is open air and located on the second deck to the left of home plate. As you would expect, it has a great view of the field.
There are four terraces of seats and work space. Each seat has an Internet connection and everyone, expect me, had their laptops to work on as the game progressed. There are both computer monitors and big screen TVs so you can follow the broadcast and see replays.
Field reporting
With still a lot of time before the game and the Reds taking batting practice, I headed down to the field. Batting practice is a well orchestrated event. Players and coaches are all over the field working on batting and fielding. Everyone takes turns getting in the work they need before that night’s game.
Besides that, Reds public relations people are there with special visitors who are getting photos with the players and autographs. One young boy had a giant baseball to which players were happy to add their John Hancocks.
I took a seat up on the back of the bench, just like you see the big leaguers do, and introduced myself to an older gentleman next to me. He was Jim Ferguson, who was the Reds’ media relations director from 1972 to 1990 during the era of the Big Red Machine.
We talked baseball. He recalled how Yogi Berra had trouble with footing on Crosley Field’s left field terrace as an outfielder in the 1961 World Series. He talked about how special the World Championship teams of the 1970s were. And we even discussed official scoring, which Jim had done after retirement for the Tampa Bay Rays.
In the press box
As game time approached, I returned to the press box. I sat next to Lew Freedman, the sports editor for The Republic newspaper of Columbus, Ind. He and I had met in the clubhouse earlier. As the game got under way, he and I talked baseball and other sports, and did for a lot of the evening.
Pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who started for the Reds, was strong through seven innings as the Reds built a 3-1 advantage. But Arroyo got into trouble in the eighth with the Rockies cutting the Reds lead to just one run. Rhodes was called out of the bull pen. Unfortunately, he promptly added to the problems by walking the first batter he faced to load the bases with no outs.
Rhodes bounced back to get a shallow fly out and a strike out. Then he got two strikes on the next batter. The stadium, with a near sellout crowd, was rocking with every pitch. I never heard a sound so loud that wasn’t taking off or landing. And when Rhodes struck that batter out, the place got even louder.
And again in the ninth, with Cordero in to close it out, it got loud again. The Reds closer has had an up and down year, he’s among the league leaders in saves, but he’s blown six as well. So, when he pitches, it’s usually an adventure.
However, Cordero was sharp and when he got a called third strike on a full count for the last out, the noise reached a crescendo.
It’s not over yet
For the post-game, we were back in Dusty’s office, but this time he was standing up in front of a MLB background and the TV cameras were rolling. He answered the usual questions about the win and the team’s effort, all the time sweating under the cameras’ hot lights.
Then back to the players’ locker room for more interviews. By then players were in all phases of changing, showering and leaving. The clubhouse staff was busy collecting uniforms to launder and were cleaning cleats and running errands.
Arroyo, the winning pitcher, answered lots of questions, as did Rhodes and Cordero. Cordero’s two young sons were waiting by their daddy’s locker and they were as cute as could be with pint-sized Reds jerseys with their father’s number.
I was just kind of watching it all, taking in the experience. But, I must have looked like I needed a quote because Arroyo walked up to me and just started talking about the game. I thought that was a nice gesture for someone who probably was more than ready to head for home.
But, as for me, I was not nearly ready to go yet. The Reds were celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 1990 Worlds Championship and the Reds’ Hall of Fame inductions were scheduled for Saturday night.
Therefore, there was some extra entertainment after the game with MC Hammer performing on a stage set up on the infield. I headed for the press box to watch.
Hammer didn’t have the parachute pants, but he still had the moves; and you still “Can’t Touch This.” Most of the crowd stayed for the performance and they were rocking yet again.
As if a seeing the Reds win and MC Hammer wasn’t enough entertainment for one night, there was also an awesome fire works show to cap things off (which cost about $22,000, one of the fireworks technicians told me later).
Wow, had I picked the right night to come, or what?
Talking baseball
One of the last conversations I had was with Jeff Piecoro, who has done pre-game and post-game work for Reds’ TV coverage over the past 10 plus years. He said how enjoyable it’s been this year to be around a winning team. We can all imagine how difficult it must be to talk to players when the team is losing, like the Reds have been for too long.
Jeff also mentioned how fun the travel is. And with predominately night games, there is a lot of golf to be played on road trips.
We also talked about longtime Reds player and radio announcer Joe Nuxhall, who passed away in 2007. Having listened to so many Reds games on radio, I’ll always remember his sign off: “This is the old left-hander rounding third and heading for home. Good night everybody.”
I also ran into three Reds Hall of Famers waiting for the elevator – Cesar Geronimo, Leo Cardenas and Pedro Borbon.
Borbon was inducted into the Hall this year, and I remember when he bit a piece out of a Mets’ cap after a dust-up on the field in the 1973 playoffs.
Geronimo, who is from the Dominican Republic, thought that the young players’ great desire was the reason that a country of less than 10 million people could produce so many big leaguers.
And while I’m dropping names, I’m tossing in a few more. I met Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan; Marty Brennaman, the longtime Reds broadcaster; and Hal McCoy, who has written about the Reds for the Dayton Daily News for 37 years. All were friendly and generous with their time.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic experience for a baseball fan, which I hope I’ve been able to convey here. In fact, I think I might have missed my calling in life. Maybe I should have been a sports journalist? Do you think I can convince the Progress editor to get me a media pass to the Reds for the rest of the season?