Brent Mayne

More Streaking Please

This is just an uninformed observation, but where have all the streakers gone? Is it just me, or has there been a dramatic decrease in this amusing act? I for one, am hoping that the 2010 baseball season has a few more naked runners. And would it be too much to ask for the majority of them to be female?

There’s obviously a fine line between fun and sinister in this arena. I’m not rallying for someone to rip through a school yard naked or anything. I’m just calling for a few brave souls to dash across the diamond with only a rally monkey covering their privates.

As a player, I never got annoyed by such an event. Matter of fact, I think I speak for almost all the players and say we loved it. Nothing like a streaker to spice up a long 10 day road trip. Especially one through Cleveland or Milwaukee. Ditto that as a fan. A streaker now and then is a good thing. Once again though, let me reiterate that we need a few more of the female species.

Ouch. As a streaker, you're going to take enormous risk.

For those of you out there thinking of doing it…know the penalty is gonna be stiff. You might get tackled by 5 smelly guys on the grounds crew. Your wallet is definitely gonna be lighter when it’s all over. People are never gonna look at you the same. They’ll probably laugh at you, especially if you’re a guy and you choose to streak in cold weather.

But that being said, stop thinking about yourself so much. Think of all the bored ball players. Think of the police with nothing to do. Think of the young fans who, if not for you, might very well go to their grave without witnessing this rite of passage. Swallow your pride, save up your money, and get on with it.

Here’s my vote for a few more streakers this baseball season.

P.S. If you’re interested, check out this blog I wrote about Morganna “The Kissing Bandit” back in January of last year. I wouldn’t exactly classify her as a streaker, but she’s pretty close.

Dip, Chew, Baseball and Golf

By no means am I supporting or promoting this, but what is it about baseball and golf that makes guys gravitate towards tobacco?  Last week I wandered around the PGA tourney at Riviera and I was amazed how many guys had big ol’ dips in.

Maybe one reason is both baseball and golf have a lot of open area to spit. I mean, you’re not going to see too many chewing tennis players (the court would get a little slick, right?). I don’t see Shaq or Kobe throwing one in for the same reason. Bicyclists…nope. Lance Armstrong would have the whole side of his face pinstriped, not to mention the guys behind him. Nascar? Ever try spitting out of a car going 250MPH? Messy.

Football – mask. Gymnastics – mat. Ice skating – spins. Skiing – speed. Water polo/swimming/diving – gross. Boxing – swallow it. Sumo wrestling – eat it.

So that leaves baseball, golf, and maybe archery. And maybe speed walking. I guess I answered my own question.

Umm, sorry?

Oops, I really screwed up my “JT Snow-gave-the-pitch-away story.” Turns out I really am The Jerk. Please forgive me. In my defense, I was hanging out with George Brett a lot those early years, so my memory is all pops and crackles. It’s tough to remember on two hours of sleep a night.

The fact is, I should do some research and double check my stories before I post. Nah, I’ll just tell it how I remember it and let you call me on it if I get it wrong. Deal? It’ll be funner that way. You can get the hard facts anywhere…but you can only get the tall tales here!

So now that my story has been statistically debunked, where does that leave us? Rest assured, I didn’t lie to you on purpose. I really did remember it going down like that. Obviously, I got the circumstances and the outcome wrong. But I pinky promise you I got the event (giving the pitch away) right. This is classic…me defending my claim that I did something wrong. Kind of like, “honest judge, I really did rob the bank.”

I know for sure that he was playing for the Yanks. I know for sure it was towards the end of the season. I know for sure it was JT! So I’m thinking one of two things. One, could it have been in New York instead of KC? Or two, I told him the pitch and he lined out instead of doubled. I may have twisted a line out into a double in my memory (it does make it a little better story.) What I really need to do is contact JT and find out if he remembers anything.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

So on the flip side of the coin, I can see a bunch of positive upshots of all this. One, I can rest assured that I’m not responsible for JT’s first hit. Two, maybe I can be reinstated into the Hall of Fame. And three, I love all of the reader response…I honestly didn’t know if anybody was reading this thing.

So until next time….sorry. I’ll keep posting, you keep correcting. I gotta run, TMZ is outside my front door.

Yes, I Gave A Pitch Away

Thinking about great defensive 1st basemen led me to write the last blog about JT Snow, but it also jarred my memory to another event that happened early in my career. I might take a bunch of crap for admitting this, but since coming clean has become the cool thing to do, I figure I’ll jump on the bandwagon.

All kidding aside, (and I don’t feel too comfortable saying this) there was ONE instance in all my years of catching where I gave away a pitch to a hitter. In other words, I told the hitter what was coming. And that instance was JT Snow’s first big league at-bat.

JT may not remember, and for all I know, he may not have heard me. I don’t recall either of us rehashing the event to confirm that he did. But I did tell him, and here’s how I remember the details.

It was my second year in the Bigs and we were playing the Yankees in Kansas City towards the end of the season. Neither team had much to play for and JT was one of the expanded roster call-ups for the Yanks. Now, let me preface this story by telling you that JT and I played against, and with, each other on many teams growing up. From Connie Mack, to college ball, to the pros. He was a great teammate, a great competitor, and a fun guy to play against and with. In short, I really wanted to see him do well.

Anyway, it’s towards the end of the game, and lo and behold, up steps JT Snow as a pinch hitter. Holy cow, what a surreal event. I remember thinking it seemed like just yesterday we were playing at Blair Field in Long Beach in a Connie Mack league, and here we were messing around in Royals stadium! Pretty cool for two So Cal boys.

So as he’s nervously getting into the box, I wandered out to talk to the pitcher (I can’t remember who it was.) On my way back, as I past JT to squat down, I mumbled at him “fastball outside.” He promptly drilled a double to left field and that was that. Like I said, that’s probably not why he got his first hit, he may have been too nervous to even hear me. Then again, maybe that IS how he got his first hit and maybe I’M responsible for his whole career.

Like I said, this was the ONLY time this ever happened. Even if I’d wanted to, I was much too scared. I envisioned myself telling the hitter what was coming and then him hitting a rocket off the pitcher’s forehead. I just couldn’t have lived with that scenario. I would’ve felt like I personally killed a pitcher. Over the years, I had other catchers tell me they’d had instances where they told the hitter what was coming. Always in a last ditch effort to get a guy out who was hitting everything. Kind of like, screw it, he’s hitting everything anyway, let’s see what happens when I TELL his what’s coming.

I realize this admission might just keep me out of the Hall of Fame. And if that’s the case, FINE. I didn’t want to go into that crappy place anyway. If my stats and service to the game aren’t enough for the writers then screw em’. At least I can finally sleep with a clear conscious. I’m like The Jerk. All I need is my family and my surfboard and my cell phone and those glasses and…so there.

Navin from The Jerk with all he needs.

Sweet Fielding First Basemen

Somewhere I stumbled on an article about the defensive prowess of Casey Kotchman. It probably came from Buster Olney’s baseball insider blog. Anyway, that got me to thinking about how important (and what a pleasure) it is to have a great defensive first basemen.

It’s funny because until you’ve played with one, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Like most folks, I perceived first as the easiest of all infield positions and the place you put the guy who couldn’t play anywhere else. Then along comes a guy like Kotchman…or for me, JT Snow or Rex Peters.

JT was the best I one bagger I ever played with at any level. He won six gold gloves and saved about a billion throwing errors from infielders who couldn’t feel their hands in the freezing cold of Candlestick Park. He had amazing range, was fearless, graceful, and innovative…I’d venture to say he’s the best to ever play the position.

Despite the fact he’s probably the greatest 1st baseman ever, JT will probably be best remembered as the guy who saved 3 year old batboy Darren Baker from collision at home plate during game 5 of the 2002 World Series.

Whoa, that was close. JT saves Darren Baker.

Prior to JT, I had the pleasure of playing college ball with another great 1st basemen named Rex Peters. Rex never made it to the show, but played a number of years in the minor leagues and since 2002 has been the head coach at UC Davis. Rex, just like JT, made the position look real easy. And in a weird twist, Rex was actually married to JT’s sister Michelle.

UC Davis head coach (and slick fielding 1st baseman in his day) Rex Peters.

Both of them were outstanding athletes, but the thing that stood out in my mind was their focus and ability to anticipate action. It’s the same quality that I’m always harping on catchers to cultivate. Anticipation. Seeing all the possibilities before they happen. All for now…..be well.