Book Review: They Call Me Pudge - Ivan Rodriguez with Jeff Sullivan

The intense emotion displayed on Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez ‘s face on the cover of his new biography “They Call Me Pudge," perfectly captures the spirit with which he played throughout his 21-year major league career. Newly minted in 2017 as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Rodriguez became part of an exclusive group, joining only Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, and Mike Piazza as the living catchers currently enshrined in Cooperstown.

They Call Me Pudge / Triumph Books

It is obvious after reading through the early chapters of “They Call Me Pudge,” that Rodriguez’s story is one of commitment to the game. From a young age, he showed an insatiable desire not only to play the game, but to love the training that made him into a Hall of Famer. His legendary workouts including making 150-mile roundtrips from Key Biscayne to Key Largo, kept his engine pumping when many thought he was out of gas.

Rodriguez stressed that it was his dedicated training and not anything else that kept him as the top player at his position for two decades. Multiple times during the book, he vehemently denied using steroids.

"Let's make that as crystal clear as possible — I never took steroids," Rodriguez said. "If anyone says differently, they are lying. Here's what I did do: I worked my ass off. I was a guy who played the game the right way. I was disciplined in my workouts and my diet. I worked as hard as I could to do the best that I could - every day for 20-plus years. I loved the game of baseball."

Perusing deeper into Rodriguez’s book uncovers the strategies of the Hall of Fame catcher, as he carefully breaks down how he handled a nubile World Series pitching staff with the Florida Marlins, as well as how he approached Barry Bonds during their faceoff in the 2003 National League Division Series.

“If you don’t have to pitch to him — meaning it’s not bases loaded in a tie game in the ninth inning —put him on first base,” he said. “If you need to pitch to him, our deepest sympathies. And don’t strain a neck muscle or anything turning around.”

When the Texas Rangers thought that Rodriguez was on the decline, he bet on himself, signing a one-year deal with the Marlins in 2003. His leadership steadied their pitching staff, guiding them to an improbable World Series Championship.

Once again left to fend for himself at the end of the season, Rodriguez proved doubters wrong when he signed with the Detroit Tigers in 2004. Detroit’s team doctors felt that Pudge was only worthy of a two-year contract due to his injury history. In order to make the deal work, he gave up guaranteed money to sign a four-year, $40 million contract. This time, Pudge came out a winner, as the Tigers went to the World Series in 2006.

“I knew I was healthy,” he said. “I know I could play the five years, depending on if they picked up the option. And I played eight more years after that. I mean, the doctors can tell you whatever they want to say, but it’s how you feel that counts.”

Omnipresent throughout the book is the fact that Pudge was always a gamer. When he wasn’t playing baseball, he was breaking down video, going over scouting reports, or watching highlights on ESPN. If you are looking for tales of carousing, innuendo, or hi-jinks, look elsewhere, but if you want an inspirational story of how a kid with a golden throwing arm made it to the Hall of Fame all the way from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, feel free to step in the batter’s box with “They Call Me Pudge.”

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How Jorge Posada was almost traded for Ivan Rodriguez

Jorge Posada was once dangerously close to becoming a member of the Texas Rangers. Going through recently-minted Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez's new book, "They Call Me Pudge," Rodriguez explains how right before the 1997 trade deadline he was going to be traded to the New York Yankees.

"I was sitting with Juan [Gonzalez] on the flight, and he was begging me to talk with team president Tom Schieffer," Rodriguez said. "I later found out that I was about to be traded to the New York Yankees for catcher Jorge Posada and pitcher Tony Armas Jr."

Posada / Rodriguez 2008 Upper Deck Card / Upper Deck

The next morning Rodriguez met with Schieffer and signed a five-year, $42 million contract, avoiding the exchange of franchise catchers. While the two would later become teammates with the Yankees in 2008, both Rangers and Yankees fans would have a difficult time imagining their franchises with out their star catchers at the peak of their careers.

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John Barfield, former Texas Rangers pitcher murdered at 52

On a day when most are rejoicing in holiday spirits, Christmas Eve turned fateful for former Texas Rangers pitcher John Barfield. The 52-year-old Barfield, who pitched in parts of three seasons for the Rangers from 1989-1991, was murdered at his home in Little Rock, Arkansas after engaging in a dispute with an acquaintance. 

John Barfield / 1991 Mother's Cookies

Barfield, whose Rangers moundmates included Hall of Famers Goose Gossage and Nolan Ryan, compiled an 8-8 record with a 4.72 ERA in 65 career appearances. According to a statement from the Rangers, Barfield's August 18th, 1990 six-inning relief victory was the last relief victory of 5.1 or more innings, until Diego Moreno accomplished the feat for the Yankees in 2015. 

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Book Review: Billy Sample 'A Year in Pinstripes ... And Then Some'

Many athletes shy away from the opportunity to play under the spotlight of the New York City media, but when you play baseball for the New York Yankees, it provides a social cache that is unlikely any other in professional sports. Billy Sample only played one season for the Yankees, but the experience provided a lifetime of memories that he has captured in his autobiography, “A Year in Pinstripes … And Then Some.”

Billy Sample - A Year in Pinstripes

A veteran of nine seasons in Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves, Sample peppers the reader with a range of colorful anecdotes that he manages to deliver in the same conversational tone that made him a successful on-air personality after his career ended. He displays his talents to make serious situations palatable when he takes an early passage about his high school teammates refusing to swim in the same pool with him in the early 1970s and find a sliver of humor by telling how he would announce before he went to swim that he was going downstairs, “to clear the pool.”

The aforementioned passage is probably the heaviest social commentary that Sample makes in the entire book. A lighter vibe is maintained of vivid tales explaining how flashbacks of Don Robinson’s curveball still wakes him up in a cold sweat at night and how he served as a radio DJ during the strike-shortened season of 1981.

Yankee fans will get their fix by hearing Sample relay stories of Billy Martin’s antics, George Steinbrenner’s reign, Don Mattingly’s MVP season, and Rickey Henderson, well, being Rickey. Sample manages to humbly sneak in a few of his own highlights, including how his not-so-graceful handling of a carom off the wall while playing left field in Kansas City warranted early morning outfield practice, even though he held the runner to a double.

Baseball enthusiasts will appreciate how Sample tells the story of his career mainly through his experiences with his teammates, ranging from the legendary Hall of Famers, to those who never reached the majors. He places the spotlight on his achievements only when necessary and often in a self-deprecating way, showing that Sample is not above putting his own career in perspective. If you have ever watched Sample as a broadcaster, or met with him in-person, his conversational tone is evident throughout the entire book and what makes his story of, “A Year in Pinstripes,” a worthy one to experience.

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Prince Fielder’s High School Coach on His Passion, Career

Prince Fielder retires from MLB / Tom Hagerty

Watching Prince Fielder battling through tears while announcing his retirement from baseball, emotions ran deep for many, including his former high school baseball coach at Florida Air Academy, Wayne Tyson. Fielder played three years for Tyson from 1999-2001, drawing a close relationship with his coach during his tenure there. The news of Fielder’s struggle tremendously pained Tyson. 

“He worked so hard at it and that’s something that I will always appreciate,” Tyson said. “It broke my heart to hear that his career was going to be over. … I think this has to crush him because it has mattered [so much] to him.” 

Bashing home runs out of Tiger Stadium at the age of 12, Fielder entered high school with a skill set that was well above a typical freshman. Despite his advanced talents, Fielder was Tyson’s hardest worker and most energetic player. 

“He just continued to work at his game just like any player, but he worked at it very hard,” he said. “He did have a talent level that was above most obviously. In the batting cage, you would be out there working in the cage with him and he’d say, ‘Gimme one more.’ You would throw him one more and it’s a bullet off the back of the cage and he says, ‘I mean a bucket.’ He wanted one more bucket! That’s the way he was. He never shied away from doing anything we did in practice. He did everything with energy; that includes base running and fielding. Everything he did, he did with a great energy. I had other guys that played at the same time with him that wouldn’t give me the same juice.” 

Fielder had his coming of age moment on the field during his freshman year that reinforced his major league prospects. Tyson remembers his first high school home run signaling that Fielder had arrived. 

“We knew his freshman year,” he said. “His first home run was hit in John Carroll high school in Fort Pierce against a wind that was going from the left field foul pole to the right field foul pole. He hit it out to left-center at about the 375 mark; it was a screaming line drive, as a freshman! He hit that home run and I said, ‘That’s a big league bat.’ You knew it. [He did it] in a game situation, a competitive tight game that went extra innings. That was amazing.” 

As Fielder progressed through high school, Tyson noticed how Fielder’s growing leadership helped to reinforce the culture that Tyson was trying to create. His actions on the field and his interactions with his teammates took some of the weight off of Tyson’s shoulders to police the dugout. 

“He became very vocal in the right way,” he said. “He was kind of a quiet leader as a freshman in his own way. Even as a freshman, he had something that stood out. By his sophomore year, he started to really take the bull by the horns, by his junior year, my gosh! You didn’t need to run the dugout. He brought the energy; he knew how to pick a guy up and hold a guy accountable in the right way.” 

The same vibe that Fielder possessed on the field and in the dugout as a high schooler hasn’t changed in Tyson’s eyes over the past 15 years. Watching him on the major league stage, Fielder’s core personality remains unchanged. 

“I can tell you his love for the game has never changed, it’s never flagged,” he said. “He had a tremendous passion [back then] and he has a tremendous passion now. He always has something good to say about someone else. That hasn’t changed. He was instilled with some good qualities growing up and he has a wonderful personality and persona to be a team leader. 

“He was coachable, he befriended his teammates. He was never bigger than them in his own eyes. You knew he had big league talent, but he didn’t big league anybody.” 

* - This article was originally published in The Sports Post on August 12, 2016.

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Yankee hurler Fritz Peterson explains 'The Art of De-Conditioning'

Former New York Yankees hurler Frtiz Peterson has a simple, yet effective message with his new book, acceptance. Weary of the rat race to stay in playing shape during his professional baseball career, Peterson found peace within himself once he was able to accept his own eating habits and no longer worry about his weight affecting him on the field.

The Art of De-Conditioning - Lightside Books

Peterson’s quick and witty, “The Art of De-Conditioning: Eating Your Way to Heaven,” is an adventure into his journey of extreme de-conditioning. After finishing his 11-year major league career in 1977 that included time with the Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and the Texas Rangers, Peterson vowed he not only wanted to weigh 300 lbs., but that he would never again run another wind sprint, lift another weight, or go on a diet.

Many professional athletes, after devoting incredible amounts of time to preserving their physical condition and restricting their diets in the name of increasing their performance look forward to the day they can hang up their spikes, sit down on the couch, eat, drink and be merry! This prescription of eating, rest, and happiness are cornerstones of Peterson’s call to action, all of course under the direct supervision of a physician.

Peterson, through a series of entertaining vignettes, encourages his readers to embrace their love affair with food. As a cancer survivor, he brings a sense of urgency to enjoy the time we have on this earth and not sweat the numbers on the scale, as there are other more important things to do, like finding a great slice of pizza!

For those expecting a baseball themed book by Peterson, one may be better off with his 2009 work, “Mickey Mantle is Going to Heaven.” This current effort by the crafty lefty is meant to be an easily digested snack for those looking for a refreshing take on life.

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Andres Torres reveals his battles with ADHD at Gigante premier

Andres Torres (center) at the premier of Gigante / N. Diunte

After a few extended cups of coffee with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers, Andres Torres still had a nervous energy far greater than what any shot of caffeine could provide. He had all of the tools and raw talent to become a major league star: world class speed, a strong arm and the ability to hit from both sides of the plate. Yet Torres didn’t secure a starting role in the majors until the age of 32 after toiling in the minor leagues for the greater part of his baseball career.

Thursday evening, Torres, the New York Mets outfielder was the center of attention at the premier screening of Gigante, a documentary chronicling his battle with ADHD on his long journey to the major leagues. 

Click here to read about Torres' special evening, as well as watch video of Torres speaking about his condition.

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Book review: Heart & Hustle - An Unlikely Journey from Little Leaguer to Big Leaguer by Frank Catalanotto

Signed as a skinny 18-year-old from Smithtown, N.Y., Frank Catalanotto was almost cut from the Detroit Tigers during their fall instructional league after his rookie season in the minors. That was until minor league hitting instructor and former All-Star Larry Parrish intervened on the kid’s behalf.

“Yes, he’s weak and needs to get stronger, but his hand-eye coordination is great.  … He’s got a God-given gift. He never misses if he swings at it,” said Parrish to farm director Joe McDonald.

Parrish’s words were enough to save Catalanotto from baseball purgatory and give him the push he needed on the way to the major leagues. He is a central figure in Catalanotto’s rise to a 14-year major league career, detailed in his new autobiography, Heart and Hustle: An Unlikely Journey from Little Leaguer to Big Leaguer (Bantry Bay, 2012).

Frank Catalanotto - Heart and Hustle / Bantry Bay Books

Heart and Hustle is both inspirational and instructional, written not only for those who have followed Catalanotto’s career, but also for youngsters dreaming of following in his footsteps.

The first half of the book is dedicated to detailing Catalanotto’s trials and tribulations on his way to the big leagues. He opens the door to the exhausting grind of the minor leagues: the long bus rides, substandard food, lack of sleep and other challenges to your general well being while trying to play baseball at an optimal level.

For all of the challenges and setbacks that he faced in the minor leagues, including his near release, they were made that much sweeter when the Detroit Tigers made Catalanotto a late-season call-up in 1997. He would hold on that ride for thirteen more seasons, playing with the Rangers, Blue Jays, Brewers, and Mets before retiring after his release during the 2010 season.

Catalanotto breathes life into his expedition with a behind the scenes look at the game, detailing his game day routines, pulling back the curtain on a day that starts with him arriving six hours before the first pitch to begin treatment and all of the necessary preparations for a 7:05 PM start. Catalanotto’s immense pre-game preparation is just the tip of the iceberg regarding his attention to detail.

So meticulous is the Long Islander, that he kept a handwritten notebook with a scouting report on every major league pitcher he faced, using the advice of Parrish from his minor league days to keep records of the pitchers he would see on his way up through the minors that would follow him to the major leagues. Peeling away another layer, Catalanotto takes you deeper into the lengths he would go through to gain an edge on the competition, providing full page photos of the scouting reports he wrote.

He is also quick to reveal the most humbling time in a player’s career; the time when you find out it’s over. It is the rare player that can go out on their own terms, such as Chipper Jones, who is making his final lap around the league this year. For the majority like Catalanotto, a tap on the shoulder after the game and a quick talk with management seal the deal. He openly takes us inside the manager’s office and the locker room after a mid-season game with the Mets in 2010 that came with the worst news for a veteran; you’ve been released. The reader can only help but feel Catalanotto’s emotions as he wrestles with life after baseball.

Catalanotto bounces back quickly after accepting his retirement and settles the second half of the book serves with an informal baseball “how-to.”  He provides plenty of pointers from a major league perspective regarding conditioning, hitting, and psychological preparation, finishing each chapter with a neat summary of “Cat’s Tips,” which are easily digestible for young ballplayers.

While the sub-title of Catalanotto’s book suggests that his journey to the major leagues was unlikely, it is evident after reading that his character and determination put him on a direct path with destiny to a successful major league career when many other 18-year-olds would have thrown in the towel.

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A tour of the new Yankee Stadium

  A view from center field

As the New York Yankees return to their home Monday evening to host the Texas Rangers for Game 3 of the ALCS, I wanted to give the readers an inside look at the new Yankee Stadium. Click here to see photos from a recent tour of their Bronx residence.

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Ferguson Jenkins and Montclair youth baseball pay homage to the Negro Leagues

Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was in Montclair this past Saturday to support their youth baseball league's tribute to the Negro Leagues. Yogi Berra Stadium was filled with players aged 12 and 13 fitted in uniforms that not only sported the names of championship teams such as the Chicago American Giants, Homestead Grays Kansas City Monarchs and Newark Eagles, but also displayed the names of legends such as Cool Papa Bell, Larry Doby, Josh Gibson, Ray Dandridge and Satchel Paige. This event was the brainchild of Richard Berg and league president Garland Thornton. Berg hopes that the uniforms provide a sense of pride for the youngsters.

Ferguson Jenkins (standing) among all of the Montclair players honoring the Negro Leagues / N. Diunte

"Each time these kids go to bat or make a play in the field, they will be representing one of the greats of the Negro Leagues," Berg said.

Berg should know a thing or two about the history of the Negro Leagues, as he was the former president of the Negro League Baseball Players Association. During the opening day festivities Berg presented Jenkins with a proclamation from Montclair's Mayor Jerry Friend, who deemed April 10th Ferguson Jenkins Day for his support of Montclair baseball and his philanthropic efforts nationwide. Jenkins took the time to explain the current efforts of his foundation.

"I work with the Fergie Jenkins Foundation in St. Catharines, Ontario," Jenkins said. "We were just in spring training in Mesa. We worked with the Cubs, Texas, Oakland and the Giants. We brought players in, they gave their time, signing autographs and letting people know that the foundation was raising money for all different types of charities.

"Bob Feller, Vida Blue, Gaylord Perry, and Rollie Fingers have all signed on with us. We raise money for the Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Make a Wish Foundation, American Red Cross, Institute for the Blind, and cancer research. We try to let people know that we're raising money on a daily basis to help these organizations. It gives people the opportunity to come and get an autograph, and when you bring in other Hall of Famers, I think that brings the public in and raises the awareness for the causes we support."
 
Jenkins who was also in town for a pitching clinic later that day, participated in the opening day photo shoot with the league's players and coaches. Even though Jenkins did not play in the Negro Leagues, he recognized the importance of promoting the league's history.

"The Fergie Jenkins Foundation has been in touch with the Kansas City Museum with Buck O'Neil before he passed away," he said. "The museum in Kansas City is struggling right now. Unfortunately, without donations, it might go under. I'm not sure if its going to go under. Right now, they're looking for pledges and donations across the country. Everyone is hoping that they can get enough money to keep it open. It used to be open all day, now it is open only on the weekends."

Knowing that the museum is experiencing difficulties, Jenkins has hit the pavement to spread the word directly to a growing diversity of fans. He aimed to increase awareness about how the game has grown due to integration and globalization.

"We try to enhance the knowledge of youngsters and adults that the Negro Leagues were in existence like the Major Leagues, and that a lot of players didn't get the opportunity to play because of their skin color," he said. "Jackie [Robinson] was the first, [Larry] Doby was second, and then it was a kind of a snowball effect that brought players in. It enhanced the game even more; it made teams better. Now what you see in baseball is an international game. Kids from all different places like Canada, Australia, Germany, Phillippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are playing."

Jenkins first learned about the history of Negro League baseball from his father Ferguson Holmes Jenkins, who played in the Negro Leagues in Canada. It is a legacy that he continues to pass on wherever he travels.

"My father played in the Negro Leagues in Ontario," he said. "His nickname was Hershey; he played on two championship teams in 1938 and 1939. The Chatham team was called the Chatham Black All-Stars, the next year they were the Black Panthers. They toured through Detroit, also in Buffalo, all across Ontario. They barnstormed a lot. My dad didn't tell me they had a lot of problems. People went out to the park to see baseball. That was fundamentally what they were trying to do, play the game of baseball."

He viewed Saturday's clinic as an avenue to share his advanced knowledge about the game to children who are at a younger age then when he was able to receive it.  He hopes that they will take that information and use it on the field.

"I hope that the kids grasp a little bit from what I'm trying to get across to them," he said. "When I was younger, I didn't learn how to pitch until I was 16 years old. These youngsters are 12 and 13. I played a lot of hockey growing up and on the advice from one of my coaches, I stopped playing hockey at 17. I was able to get my interests more in the game of baseball and pitching, and I was able to sign after my senior year in high school. I just hope that the kids understand that what I am trying to get across is something that was taught to me at an older age. They're getting taught at an younger age, and if they can grasp it they can use it when they play in their leagues."

While not every player at the clinic is going to play baseball in high school and beyond, Jenkins wanted to deliver the message that baseball is to be enjoyed. It is a message that he feels is often lost in today's current hyper-competitive climate of youth sports.

"I tell kids to have fun," he said. "Learn to play as a team with your teammates and understand that all of your coaches try to give the best advice they can, because none of them are ex-MLB players, so they're just trying to pass on the same knowledge that I am getting across to them. The game is fun, have fun! What you try to learn now at a young age, you try to build on so that by the time you get into high school, the coaching aspect will be a lot more and you will be much better ballplayers."

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Oil Can Boyd Wants a Comeback at 49

Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd is looking for another opportunity to pitch in the big leagues at age 49. Boyd likens himself to Satchel Paige, who pitched professionally into his 50s.

"Satchel being my idol and knowing he didn't come into the (majors) until he was in his early 40s, that's always been in the back of my mind," Boyd told The Boston Globe.

"Now, I've been given back the fastball I once had. I want to play."

Boyd told the Globe his fastball is in the low 90s and his offspeed pitches still bite well. Former Sox catcher Mike Stanley recently caught Oil Can during Red Sox fantasy camp, had the following remarks regarding his prowess.

"He looks no different to me now than when I caught him in Texas (with the Rangers). He still has the same passion. I don't know if he was getting to 90 because we didn't have a (radar) gun, but he still had the same stuff. The same tight slider, curve, fastball," the Globe quoted Stanley as saying.

This is not Boyd's first attempted comeback. He pitched in the Northern League from 1994-1997 and then most recently in 2005 with the Brockton Rox of the independent Can-Am League, where he posted a record of 4-5 with an era of 3.83 in 110 innings. Boyd last pitched in the majors in 1991 for the Rangers; he left the game with a 78-77 record over 10 seasons with the Red Sox, Rangers and Montreal Expos.

"I have nothing to lose, and all a major league team has to lose is 15 minutes," said Boyd to the Globe. "Give me 15 minutes and I'll show I can still pitch. That's all I want."

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