Talking Baseball with United States Air Force Tech Sergeant Marc Leistico

While being away from live baseball for the 2012 season, I’ve had to look a little harder for things to write about. Fortunately, within my first week in Afghanistan I met Air Force Tech Sergeant Marc Leistico and oddly enough our conversation drifted towards minor league baseball. A few days later, TSgt Leistico was nice enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions for Bus Leagues Baseball.com.

Bus Leagues Baseball: So what is your name and rank?

Marc Leistico: My name is Tech Sergeant Marc Leistico and I am with the United States Air Force.

BLB: Now we’ve been working together for a bit, and a week ago you told me that you were a fan of Minor League Baseball. I was wondering if you could tell me what team.

ML: I am a fan of the Sacramento River Cats, they are a minor team of the Oakland A’s.

BLB: Awesome. How long have you been going to their games?

ML: Oh, since about 2001.

BLB: In your experience with the River Cats, what’s the allure of Minor League Baseball?

ML: Well, when it comes to sports, I follow teams, not individuals. I’m terrible with individual stats. I don’t care about stats or personas. But the team itself is what I really like the most. And the thing with minor league baseball is these personas are taken out because when they are really really good, they go up to the majors. So you have a chance to focus on the team and enjoy the team. Mostly you wrap yourself around the mascot more than any individual player.

BLB: That is very true. It’s more about the front of the jersey than the back, which is almost in line with the Air Force and the military – that there are no individuals.

ML: Exactly. It is a very unified point of view.

BLB: Can you tell us your views on the experience of going to a minor league game, especially as compared to a major league game? Have you been to many major league games as well?

ML: I’ve been to several major league games. Minor league baseball games are much more family friendly. So it is not just the game you are watching, you are also watching the in-between innings, the goofy little games, that sometimes do or do not make sense, and it doesn’t really matter because the whole point of the game is to get the crowd involved. You know, regardless of what’s going on the wave seems to be more prominent at minor league games than at major league games.

BLB: I’ve never been out to Sacramento. How many people usually attend? Is it a couple of hundred? A couple of thousand?

ML: The stadium is packed and the grass is packed. Sacramento is huge for the River Cats.

BLB: Now being in the Air Force, do you get to go very many games?

ML: Well, every time I am on vacation in the area, my parents always spring for one or two tickets. When I was stationed in Travis Air Force Base, it was quite often.

BLB: Being in Afghanistan now, of course you won’t be able to go to many games, but will you still follow the team?

ML: Probably not. I get home from work and I want to go to bed.

BLB: So has the River Cats experience changed since you started going in 2001?

ML: It hasn’t. It is the consistency that makes it nice. When I go to a baseball game I know what I am getting myself into. And one thing that I really like about minor league baseball games is that you don’t get a whole lot of Budweiser or Coca-Cola, you get more local breweries or local diners. It is a very local flavor. I imagine this counts for every minor league baseball team, if you want to catch the taste of a local area in one small setting, go to a minor league baseball game or minor league sports, in general.

BLB: Could you tell us about the first game you went to and give us a few of your most memorable experiences at the ballpark?

ML: I can’t really remember the first game I went to, I just remember that it was 2001. It was when I was first stationed at Travis Air Force Base, not far from Sacramento. It was nice.

BLB: Was it just something to do?

ML: Yeah. My parents have now gone from one or two games a year to a game almost every week or every other week. My parents are now huge River Cats fans. They always get my son River Cats paraphernalia such as bats and balls and jerseys. He is all decked out in River Cats gear.

The memory that stands out the most for me now is Roof Man. If someone hits a foul out behind the stands, Roof Man comes out all superhero like and he is dressed in a cape and he throws balls back down to the audience. It gets everyone involved. The River Cats have such a creative way of getting the crowd involved.

BLB: Now had your parents gone to many games before you went to games?

ML: Yes, because they had the time.

BLB: Have you taken your son to any games?

ML: Yes. Every time we go back. It’s amazing because he was like a year and a half old and, you know, a year and a half old kids don’t have much attention span, but he was sitting there on my lap just enthralled. Just enthralled with the game. And he is telling the pitcher “And … throw! And … throw! And … throw!”. He barely spoke anything but “and …. Throw!”. He was more than happy to do that. So he is already a huge River Cats fan.

It’s a family thing there. It’s a community thing.

BLB: Do you go with your parents and turn it into a family outing?

ML: Yeah, it’s the whole family. Some friends, it’s a bigger event. Everyone has a great time.

I’ve also noticed that when you go to a Major League game, you don’t really talk to the people next to you or the people behind you. But at a Minor League game, they are much more concerned with taking care of you. Like there was a nice couple behind us once and they caught one of the balls from Roof Man and gave the ball to my son. So it’s very, very community.

BLB: So are you going to miss going to the ballpark while you are here in Afghanistan?

ML: Yeah. When I get back I’ll be in Germany. My wife and I both agreed that we are going to take the sites in and we are going to see Europe. So no River Cats games for three years. Maybe we can find a minor league team or something like that in Germany.

We'd like to thank TSgt Leistico for his time and wish him the best during his Afghanistan deployment and throughout his time in the military.

Q&A: Best-selling author Jonah Keri

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

When we brainstormed about who we would like to interview this year, one name kept coming up: Jonah Keri. Jonah is the author of the New York Times Bestseller "The Extra 2%" and writer and podcast host at Grantland.com. Besides "The Extra 2%" and his work at Grantland, Jonah has also written for ESPN.com, the Wall Street Journal, Salon.com, New York Magazine, and Baseball Prospectus, where he contributed to numerous published volumes and edited "Baseball Between The Numbers". He is currently working on the definitive history book on the Montreal Expos.

Needless to say, Jonah is one of our favorite authors.

Having met Jonah before at a book signing event at Tropicana Field prior to the 2011 season, I jumped at the opportunity to contact him this year and ask him a few questions.

Bus Leagues Baseball: How’s the new book coming along?

Jonah Keri: Going well. Mostly in the interviews stage right now, tracking down old players, managers, execs, as well as fans and other people on the periphery. Interviewing is always my favorite part of the process, so it's exciting.

BLB: Is writing about the Expos a dream come true? Was it your idea – maybe something you have had for years?

JK: Not at all my idea. My editor on my previous book, The Extra 2%, was a guy named Paul Taunton. American, went to McGill in the late 90s, fell in love with Montreal and with the Expos. We used to post on the same Expos message board many moons ago, before I wrote about baseball for a living. He remembered my random Internet rants. Years later, I get an email from this guy saying he's an editor at Random House now, would I like to write a book for them. I assume this was one of my buddies punking me, but turned out to be for real. That conversation led to The Extra 2%.

Took a lot out of me to work on that book for 2 years so I was ready for a break. But then one day over beers Paul suggests an Expos book. I actually argued against it for a while, because I wasn't sure people would read a book about a defunct baseball team that had somewhat limited appeal even when they existed. Paul convinced me otherwise, and here we are.

BLB: As a writer, do you get a lot of ideas that you don’t write or fully develop? What do you do with them?

JK: Sure. Sometimes I'll do a search and find that others have already done a great job with it so there's no need to cover the same ground again. Or I'll get an idea, do a couple interviews and/or some research, and find there's less there than I thought. This was more annoying when I was a full-time freelancer. Now that I have a steady gig at Grantland, I just chalk it up to a good try that didn't work out, and look for another interesting project to tackle.

BLB: I was wondering if you could tell us when you knew you could make it as a writer.

JK: I'm not what "making it" means, really. It's the only profession I've really had -- journalism school, had a full-time gig while still in college finishing my degree, etc. The sportswriting part of it is new, really. I was a stock market writer for more than a decade before really getting into sportswriting more seriously. Actually Grantland is the first full-time sportswriting job I've ever had.

But I look at all the amazing work being done by...hell, everyone. High-profile writers, younger bloggers, everyone. To me "making it" means doing fantastic work, regardless of how much you're paid or who's paying you. By that standard, I still have a long, long, long way to go.

BLB: What was your inspiration for becoming a writer?

JK: I wanted to play in the NBA. By age 12 I realized that was beyond impossible. So I started getting interested in writing, especially sportswriting. That's pretty much it. That and my dad buying me my first Bill James Abstract when I was 8, plus me reading the great Michael Farber in the Montreal Gazette for many years.

BLB: What is your daily process on days you commit to writing? Do you write from home? Do you keep a game on when you write? Engage in social media when writing?

JK: "Days I commit to writing..." that's funny! I (have to) write every day, some days just more than others. I do write from home, though living in a beautiful (and temperate) city like Denver, I should probably take my laptop out more often. The process varies. Generally speaking when I'm writing your basic Grantland piece, I do have a game on and Twitter up while writing. But as I get closer to deadline or need to really to bear down on something, I'll shut everything else down.

Book-writing is a different species altogether. No social media, no family interaction, no game-watching. So much goes in to making a book perfect, from strong research to smart writing to making sure the story flows well from page to page. And I'm REALLY far from even approaching that level of perfection. So it requires extreme concentration (and an assist from Paul, as well as the great Rob Neyer, who did first read on The Extra 2% and will again on the Expos book) to create something that people might want to read.

BLB: You wrote a book on the Rays and are well versed in their business methodology. What do you think of the Matt Moore signing? Do you think all teams should do more contracts that buy out a player’s early years, or do you think it should be an option for only small market teams such as the Rays? In what case is it smart, and in what case you would think it is too much of a risk? How sure do you think a team has to be before they do a deal like that, especially with a pitcher?

JK: Love the Matt Moore signing, of course. It's funny to me how people make fun of Moore (and especially Evan Longoria) for giving away potential riches. If either guy broke his leg tomorrow and didn't have the long-term security of a big, early contract, then what? It's win-win, and the Rays have found the right mix of taking an early risk with shooting for a potential bargain. From the player's standpoint, he's set for life by...what, age 22, 23, 24? It's riskier with a pitcher, certainly. But Moore in particular is blessed with both ability and durability. No deal can ever be completely risk-free for either side. The Rays' ability to smartly handle risk-assessment is one of their biggest strengths.

BLB: You are of course a huge Montreal fan. I am surprised no Minor League team has moved to Montreal since the Expos left. Why do you think that is? Is the city no longer supportive of baseball?

JK: "The city" is sort of a nebulous term. I suspect a small, downtown minor league stadium would draw very well in Montreal. But to get one built, you need politicians on board, you need deep-pocketed local businessmen willing to commit. There are plenty of baseball fans in Montreal. But if you want people to come eat at your restaurant, it better be nice to look at and offer great food -- same as anywhere else. Montreal doesn't have that great potential restaurateur right now.

BLB: How important are the Montreal Royals to Montreal baseball history? I was surprised to see they played from 1897 to 1960. Most fans I think only know them as Jackie Robinson’s first team. Do people in Montreal think of them differently?

JK: Hugely important. The only statue outside Olympic Stadium is of Jackie Robinson. That's the stadium where Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Andre Dawson played, Tim Raines, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero...and Jackie's the only one. It was a long time ago, but talking to people from that era and reading about the history, two things become clear: 1) People in Montreal loved baseball and loved the Royals, and 2) Jackie Robinson playing professional baseball in Montreal did great things for the city's reputation as a worldly place. It's always been a diverse, cosmopolitan city in which to live and work. But Jackie being there underscored that point to the rest of the world. Or at least the rest of North America.

We definitely want to thank Jonah Keri for taking the time to fill our Q&A and providing such great answers.

Baseball’s Alcoholic Awakening

Ever since the first professional team, baseball’s history has been littered with stories of alcoholic exploits. In the game’s early days, these antics were part of a player’s character, tall tales that made them unique and even endowed them to fans.

As baseball grew in public stature in the 1920s and 1930s, for example, many players were known as much for their off-the-field alcoholic-fueled incidents as their on-the-field achievements. Drinking made a ballplayer “a man’s man” and was as much a part of the game as fielding, stealing, and throwing a spitball. Of course, most people know Babe Ruth, who more than any personified the beer-swigging ballplayer, but there was also future Hall of Famers Rube Waddell and Hack Wilson, both of whom no doubt had their careers cut short because of alcohol. Even the man who inspired the name of the Cleveland Indians, Louis Sockalexis, was a known alcoholic whose career was hampered by the bottle.

Then there was Bugs Raymond, a talent so addicted to spirits his manager once tried to avoid paying him for fear that his paycheck would go directly for liquor and wine.

Years later, millions of baseball fans rooted for the likes of Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Billy Martin, and other Yankees of the 1950s and 60s known as much for their wining as their winning. Then there were the 1986 New York Mets, a team mostly made up of drunken brawlers who tore up airplanes and partied their way to a World Championship.

And these are the players and teams we know. There were no doubt other major leaguers and countless minor leaguers who struggled anonymously with alcoholism throughout the history of the game. Men who left the fraternity of baseball bruised, boozed, and broken.

Fortunately, somewhere along the way, our glorification of the drinking athlete changed. Perhaps it was Jim Bourton’s behind the scenes classic baseball book “Ball Four”.  Perhaps it was the explosion of cocaine use in the 1980s. Perhaps it was the constant trials and tribulations of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. Maybe it was Martin’s DUI death in 1989. Maybe it was the gossipization of the sports world today spearheaded by media outlets such as Deadspin and TMZ. Maybe it was a combination of all of the above. Whatever the reason, fans and front offices alike no longer have the tolerance for those addicted to mind-altering chemicals.

We see them drink and make fools of themselves and we are disgusted. We no longer give them a pass or excuse their behavior as “part of being an athlete”. We read about who spends too much time in social circles. We are even aware of minor leaguers with alcoholic problems. We thankfully no longer consider athletes who drink excessively as heroes and characters to be emulated. Today we view them for who they really are, tragic victims of a struggle against chemical dependency.

Back in the day, antics such as getting arrested in a speakeasy (Wilson), leaving a game between innings to visit a local bar (Raymond), jumping out of a brothel and hurting your leg (Sockalexis), or even more recently, throwing a no-hitter “half-drunk” (former Yankee David Wells) were part of legend and were either celebrated or whisked under the rug by “team-friendly” media. Today, no one considers what Matt Bush did (steal an SUV, get wasted at a local bar, get kicked out of strip club, and then get in a possibly-deadly accident) a joke. We see it for what it really is: criminal and detrimental to the well-being of society.

(By the way, this is a great moment to re-read Will Leitch’s essay on former St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Josh Hancock, who sadly died in a drunk driving incident in April 2007.)

Seeing alcohol abuse as a problem and not as a positive trait in ballplayers is a good thing. By exposing athletes such as Matt Bush as tragic figures, they become human to us, people we can identify with, feel pity for, and possibly even help.

(Sadly, in Matt Bush’s case, as in the Josh Lueke sexual incident, no matter how many people feel sorry for Matt Bush or sympathize with his condition, someone will always hate him. The family of Tony Tufano has every right to wish the worst for Matt Bush as it was his actions that severely impacted their loved one. Even if Tufano survives, he won’t be the same. No one in his family will be. And that’s Matt Bush’s fault.)

Personally, as much as I understand alcohol abuse to be wrong and that it is a powerful drug that ruins lives, I fear I am still clueless as to what makes someone an alcoholic. A friend recently asked me if I had any friends or family members who were ever addicted to alcohol. To be perfectly honest, I struggled with the answer. Although I have known plenty of people during my time in the military, in college, and beyond who like to drink, enjoy drinking, and have gotten drunk quite often, I don’t think I have ever known anyone who could be categorized as an alcoholic. But would I know the difference?

Is alcoholism getting blitzed every weekend? Is it blacking out regularly? Is it going to work with a hangover? Is it drinking to relax every night? Is it drinking to get drunk at home by yourself because you have nothing better to do on a Friday night? Is it the need to be present in a bar several times a week because that’s where you feel most at home?

I can’t profess to know the answer to these questions just as I am not sure what categories, if any, Matt Bush fell into. Maybe that makes me lucky. I would hate to think it makes me ignorant and that I have possibly somewhere along the way turned a blind eye to someone who needed help.

Although I honestly and admittedly currently might not be able to tell the difference between casual drinking and addictive drinking, I know there are people who can. People who don’t think it’s acceptable for our athletic public figures to be associated with heavy alcohol use. People who don’t think Babe Ruth, Hack Wilson, Rube Waddell, or Bugs Raymond are acceptable role models. People who can step in and help Matt Bush, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, and anyone else struggling with addiction to get their lives back on track.

Before he died of liver cancer in 1995, Mickey Mantle spent time in the Betty Ford Clinic attempting to recover from years of heavy drinking and erratic and destructive behavior. He had become a hazard to his family, his friends, and most importantly, himself. While former teammate and drinking partner Ryne Duren had let go of the bottle and began counseling people on the dangers of addiction, Mantle had kept drinking long after his playing days.

According to author Jane Leavy, before he passed away, Mantle expressed regret that he allowed alcohol to take so much away from him in life and in baseball. Here’s hoping Matt Bush gets the help he needs to guide him away from a Mantle-esque life of regret, whether it be in or out of baseball.

That would be a baseball tale worth telling.

Promotions I would like to see in 2012

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

Besides seeing the future of Major League Baseball, and besides the game’s casualness and coziness, one of best things about baseball in the Bus Leagues is promotions. Every year there are some great promotions throughout the Minors, from cannon-shot stuntmen to actors masquerading as former Mexican legends and of course dozens, if hundreds, of culinary exhibitions.

Although I won’t be attending any minor league games this year, there are a several promotions I would like to see happen. I’m far from a promotions expert, so some of these may have actually happened, but if so, then I would like for them to happen again, because I think they are great ideas.

Minor League Movie Day

This is an easy promotion I am surprised I have never seen done yet. There are a lot of movies out there that do with minor league baseball, from the great Bull Durham to the not-so-great Summer Catch. The team could hand out blank forms numbered 1-18 to every attendee and the PA announcer would say a quote from a minor league-based movie between each inning and asks the fans what movie the quote is from. The fan who fills in the most answers on their answer sheet wins free movie tickets to a local theater. The team could even bring in an actor or actress from one of the movies to throw out the first pitch. Seriously, what is Freddie Prinze, Jr doing these days?

Major League 3 Demolition Day

Major League 3 is by far the worst minor league baseball movie ever made. Whereas Major League is a classic in baseball cinema and Major League 2 is passable, Major League 3 is a scar upon our collective cinema consuming culture. Therefore it should be removed from public consciousness forever.

Taking a page from Disco Demolition Day and the Shaq-Fu Liberation Movement, I would like to see one team, or maybe more, promote a Major League 3 demolition day. Fans that bring in a copy of Major League 3 would get in for free and all the copies would be put in a giant garbage pail. During the seventh inning stretch, this garbage pail would be wheeled out to centerfield and all the Major League 3 copies would be smashed by a trash compactor. Of course, all the contents would be brought to the most convenient recycling facility.

Traveling Gnome Day

Like the Travelocity Gnome, gnomes are always popular. And people love taking pictures of them in different places. I even have one and will be taking it to Afghanistan with me.

From my little bit of research, I think the origin of the traveling gnome lies in a combination of the Swedish folklore of Tomte, a little man who looked over the home and protected the people from misfortune while they were away or asleep, and the Australian-derived practice of “liberating” (aka stealing) garden gnomes and taking them on trips. Perhaps the thieves believe that Tomte needs a vacation from house protecting.

Minor league teams can capitalize on this odd phenomenon by creating traveling (18in or so) gnomes emblazoned with the team’s logo. (They have them for Major League teams.) Teams can then encourage people to take their gnomes with them on trips and email the pictures to the team or post the pictures on Facebook and tag the team. Perhaps the best picture, or the fan who brought his or her gnome to the most or most exotic places can a sponsored trip through a local travel agency. Bonus points for taking pictures of the team’s traveling gnome at other stadiums.

Date a Mascot Day

Although the buzz on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is not as high as they used to be, if they haven’t done so already, I think there is a lot of potential in having “mascot dating” shows. Teams could work with local modeling agencies, local Hooters, or other areas where people are trying to put themselves over and could use the publicity of “dating” a mascot.

First, fans could make videos on why they should date the mascot. Teams could have filming rooms at the ballpark and the fans could "star" in videos similar to those hilarious 1980s personals videos.

Then there could be vote to select the top candidates to"date" the mascot. Which opens a whole other world of possibilites.

Picture this: a romantic beach backdrop, a beautiful woman, a candlelit dinner, and slowly emerging from the dark, a big-nosed, goofy walking representative of your local minor league team. The youtube possibilities are endless. Teams could post the videos on their websites and have fans votes on the best “match”. It would also be great to see mascots be on their “best” behavior at the ballpark with their “date”.

Foursquare Season

Although the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs had a Foursquare special last season, I think Foursquare is completely undertapped as a promotional tool. Teams can incorporate Foursquare to raise the “buzz” of their games. Fans who “check in” the most in a month, half-season, or through the whole season can win a gift certificate or other exclusive prizes. Teams can post check-ins on their website or on a board at the ballpark. The check-in contest would add an element of competition to attendance.

Here is a list of all the stadiums on foursquare.

Star Wars Day (FSL only)

Although there have been Star Wars-themed days across Minor League and Major League Baseball, there has not yet been a Star Wars Day in the Florida State League. As a huge Star Wars fan, this bothers me greatly. I still get chills when I see Darth Vader and company and I really want to see them throw out the first pitch. I know there is an element of the 501^st Battalion in the Sarasota area and I know they have done museum openings and pro wrestling shows in Florida. They might have even also done the Florida Marlins Star Wars Night last season. So there is no reason why a team of the Florida State League can’t make the call to a galaxy far, far away and host a Star Wars Night.

Flair, Faith, and the Zen of Zobrist

There are very few Rays players more fascinating than Ben Zobrist. We in the Rays community know his story: marginally successful utility player tinkers with his swing and becomes one of the most under the radar versatile all-round all-stars in baseball today. I’ve even written about Zobrist before in regards to his fan base.

The problem with Zobrist is that he has a low “gut factor”, a term coined this week by acclaimed Sports Illustrated writer Joe Posnanski. Gut factor is the feel fans have for a player. In Posnanski’s article, new Hall of Famer Barry Larkin is said to have had a low “gut factor” in that he didn’t “feel” like a Hall of Famer while he was playing, but upon further look, Larkin’s career belongs in the class with other Hall of Fame shortstops.

Ben Zobrist suffers from low gut factor in the same way Larkin did. He doesn’t “look” like one of the best players in the American League, but upon further look, he definitely is. Interestingly enough as well, after their first three full seasons, Ben Zobrist actually had a higher Wins Above Replacement (WAR) than Barry Larkin did.

WAR:

Zobrist (2009-2011): 15.2

Larkin (1988-1990): 14.8

(True, Ben Zobrist was three years older than Larkin when he had his first three seasons. I’m definitely not saying Zobrist will continue to have a better career than Barry Larkin. The odds that Zobrist keeps up 10 more years of consistently high WAR as Larkin did are quite low.)

This past weekend, I watched the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Denver Broncos. I haven’t watched much football this season and when I have turned it on, it always seems the Bucs are down 35 to 0. But I watched this weekend’s playoff games. Which means I watched Tim Tebow. Although the Nole fan in me can’t root for Tim Tebow, I do understand he has done some pretty amazing things as a quarterback in the NFL.

What I don’t understand however, is the hype that surrounds Tebow. People cannot stop talking about him. Yes, he has made some great plays, to include the game-ending completion in overtime to defeat the Steelers. But most Tebow talk is based on more than just his on-the-field accomplishments. Most of the Tebow talk, whether on twitter, where his was the most tweeted name of the weekend, or on Late Night Talk Shows, includes some comment or observation of his faith. Perhaps the jokes are supposed to be the typical “knock the elite down a peg” fare and instead of attacking fame or fortune, they are poking fun at faith.

Observing the hype and discussions surrounding Tebow made me think of how we look at Ben Zobrist. There is no doubt Ben Zobrist is a Christian man. He has done interviews talking about his faith, combined baseball and ministry in Central America, and his wife is recorded Christian singer. But people don’t talk about Zobrist’s faith as they do Tebow’s. I doubt Tebow is any more pious than Zobrist, or that Zobrist is less Christian than Tebow. As a matter of fact, I don’t think there is a way to measure piousness anyway.

Is the Tebow faith talk a subliminal backlash against the hype Tebow has carried with him through his NFL career and through most of his collegiate career at University of Florida? Zobrist surely didn’t come to the Rays with much hype at all. As a matter of fact, he was practically a throw-in in the Aubrey Huff to Houston trade in 2007. There was no expectation that Zobrist would contribute more than just a utility glove. He wasn’t a highly recruited national phenomenon as Tebow was. There was no talk that the then-Devil Rays acquired a “Christian” utility infielder, just an infielder with a funny last name.

Then last May, Ben Zobrist had a monster double header in Minnesota, driving home 10 in two games. Baseball people around the country put Zobrist’s name in the headlines as the key part of the Rays sweep of the Twins. But nowhere was even one mention of Zobrist’s faith. The stories stayed focused on Zobrist’s on-the-field accomplishments.

There are few baseball players who ever carry the amount of hype of a premier college football player, especially one who succeeds in the NFL. Perhaps a top round draft pick such as Bryce Harper on Stephen Strasburg might carry such pressure, but they both have had the opportunity to hone their craft in semi-anonymity in the minor leagues. Tebow has gone from the beaming spotlight of college to the even brighter spotlight of the NFL.

Some people have pointed out that perhaps Tebow’s now-famous prayer gesture is the fuel that keeps the faith-based commentary alive. But baseball players also gesture in big moments. Rafael Soriano, for example, did a glove-pounding arm raise when he saved a game and other players looks to the sky after a home run.  Tebow could also look to the sky, but instead he chooses to genuflect.

What if a baseball player genuflected as Tebow does? What if before an at-bat a player took a knee for a short prayer? Would that spark the public interest that it has for Tim Tebow?

I wonder what would happen if Zobrist was more outward in his faith. What if he genuflected during the game or said a short prayer before an at-bat? Would he be the recipient of increased popularity? Would more people appreciate Zobrist’s on-the-field accomplishments if they knew him as the outwardly Christian baseball player? Would his “gut factor” be higher?

I don’t dare say that a player should use the illusion of faith to higher fame. If it were found that a player was faking the faith, that would surely have a negative effect and would probably lead to league decisions on any faith-based action. Remember, one bad apple spoils the bunch, or something like that.

I think the Tebow phenomenon is amazing. One might hope that little kids see past the sarcasm and use Tim Tebow as a role model. He seems to be a good enough guy.  But in case parents want to find a low-key role model who lives his Christian faith without the hoopla, they could do far worse than Ben Zobrist.

Review of my Rays Prospects.com Predictions

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

Before the 2011 minor league baseball season began, RaysProspects.com asked several Rays bloggers and Minor League bloggers their thoughts on players in the Rays system. As a writer here and at RaysIndex.com, I was honored to be part of the collective.

After the season, Kevin of RaysProspects reviewed everyone's picks and talked about how they did. Here are my picks and Kevin's responses to how I did:

Upper-Level Breakout:

Mike Lortz (of Bus Leagues Baseball) both hit and missed on Tim Beckham. Hit: "I also think this is year he breaks double digits in homeruns (12-15?)" (A late-season surge got him to 12) Miss: "I think he will be an all-star at Montgomery, and among the leaders in walks and OBP. He’ll also probably hit around .300." (Walk rate took a step back; hit .271).

Lower-Level Breakout:

Mike Lortz also went with Josh Sale, getting things backwards. He thought Sale would struggle with plate discipline but otherwise live up the hype, but Sale drew a decent number of walks.

Wildcard Prediction:

Mike Lortz: This is going to my BusLeaguesBaseball.com leanings, where we celebrate the minor league experience: On Monday, July 4^th a young father with take his son or daughter to their first ever baseball game at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. They’ll see Matt Moore strike out 10 Tennessee Smokies; Tim Beckham go 1 for 3, with a double, a walk, and a run scored; and the Biscuits win 5-2. The kid will be given a foul ball caught by a nearby fan, stay for the fireworks, and become a fan for life.

Verdict:

The Biscuits won 10-1 on July 4 thanks to a strong start from Jim Paduch, who fanned 9. Tim Beckham was 0-3 though he did walk and score. No word on foul balls.

Afghanistan-bound until 2013

Dear fellow Rays fans,

I am very sad to say that I won’t be joining you at Tropicana Field this season. I recently got a job working with the military and am going to Afghanistan in late January or early February.

For sure, a year is a long time to be gone. I’ll definitely miss going to see the Rays, watching them on TV, or listening to them on the radio. I’ve averaged going to 20 games a season for the last few years and now I’ll have to wait until 2013 to see live baseball again. For a year there will be no Longoria homers, no Price strikeouts, or no seeing BJ race into the gap for a flyball. There will be no Maddon ejections, no Jennings electricity, or no Shields mastery. No Raymond, no promo videos featuring Network and Rocky 2, and no getting dinner at the Boars Head Spaghetti Bar on the fourth floor.

Most importantly of all, however, and probably what I will miss the most, is the inability to be with other fans for a year. There will be no seeing the friends I go to games with, no seeing the friends I’ve made at the ballpark, and no chatting with other fans through twitter. There will be no meeting new people at Fergs, in the parking lot, or in the stands. No frolicking about with a three-foot afro on my head.

Way back in 1998 when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were chasing Roger Maris’s single-season home run record, I was deployed to Bosnia. News of who homered when was a common conversation between baseball fans and even non-baseball fans as it was THE news story and news stories of home are great ways to pass the time. I’m sure following the Rays will serve the same purpose. Two weeks after I leave, by the time I get acquainted to my new environment, pitchers and catchers will be reporting. Two months after I arrive, the season will start and following baseball will carry me through the summer and into the fall.

Bart Giamatti once wrote that the end of the baseball season “leaves you to face the fall alone” and “when you need it most, it stops”. In 2012, however, I will use baseball to serve the complete opposite purpose. The season’s passage will mean I am that much closer to coming home. Baseball will be my way to pass the summer and when the 2012 World Series Champion is crowned, my tour will be on its downhill path. And if by chance the Rays are the team to hoist the trophy, I’m sure the glow of being a fan of a championship team will carry me a few weeks further.

As for my contributions to Rays Index, I’m not sure I’ll be able to blog when I am in Afghanistan. As a matter of fact, I am not sure how frequent or infrequent I will be able to get on the Internet. Perhaps I will be able to email Cork posts that he could post here. Perhaps I will be able to tell you what it is like to try to follow the Rays from across the world. In a best case scenario, perhaps I’ll be able to keep up with the team and blog here as normal, just from miles away. If I can’t find a way to blog or get something posted here, I’m really going to miss that.

All that said, I’m not leaving for a few weeks and I hope to have a post or two up before I leave. I just wanted to let folks know my big news for the upcoming year.

Dwight Howard and Baseball Labor Etiquette

(It’s a slow time for baseball. It’s almost Christmas and the Rays are only making minor moves. This post might only be 40% Rays-related, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.)

Imagine you are a seven year-old boy or girl. Imagine the Orlando Magic are the first professional sports team you ever liked. Imagine your mother or father have taken you to several Magic games and you had the time of your life.

Imagine Dwight Howard is your favorite player. Imagine you have a Dwight Howard jersey or t-shirt and Dwight Howard poster on your wall. You haven’t known an Orlando Magic team without Dwight Howard. He has been there your entire life. He is what got you into the Magic.

Then imagine you woke up one morning and the Magic traded Dwight Howard, perhaps to Los Angeles Lakers, perhaps to the New Jersey Nets, perhaps to the Harlem Globetrotters. It doesn’t matter. Your favorite player is no longer on your favorite team.

Players get traded, get released, and their contracts run out and the sign on other teams. That’s part of sports and every kid has to learn that one day. But what happens to the heart of a child when this conversation occurs:

“Mommy, why is Dwight Howard not on the Magic anymore?”

“He didn’t want to play in Orlando anymore, dear.”

“So, he left?”

“Yes dear, he plays in New Jersey now.”

“So he didn’t like Orlando?”

“I guess not, dear.”

“Why didn’t Dwight like it here, Mommy? I like it here. You and Daddy like it here, right, Mommy?”

“Yes, we do, dear.”

“I want to go to New Jersey with Dwight Howard, Mommy. I don’t like it in Orlando anymore.”

Scenarios like this make me glad baseball hasn’t lost its collective mind like basketball has. Rays fans will never be in the same situation as the Magic fans are in currently with Dwight Howard. Baseball players don’t have the leverage or the power of basketball players. And although I am very much against The Man holding people down, it is incredibly bad to have the inmates running the asylum as they do in NBA.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge basketball fan. I think the players are incredibly talented and are exciting and fun to watch. But I hate the power basketball players have and I hate how they can hold teams and fanbases hostage with specific trade demands.

Rays fans have had their hearts broken by players leaving town. Anyone who didn’t hope Carl Crawford could have stayed in a Rays uniform forever is lying. He was the face of our franchise. But most Rays fans were honest with themselves when it came to the team’s economics. Crawford didn’t necessarily want to leave, he had no choice. The Rays couldn’t afford him. Of course, his signing with the Red Sox was not expected, nor appreciated, but Rays fans by and large knew Carl wasn’t going to play in the Trop after October 2010.

This year we face the chance that another of our veteran players, James Shields, could be traded. A Shields trade would be a big deal, but if it happens it would be team-driven. Shields, as far as I know, doesn’t want to be traded. He has never once said he wanted to play with Crawford, another pitcher, or even his cousin, Marlins outfielder Aaron Rowand.

The only Rays player comparable to Dwight Howard in wins and from a public relations standpoint would be Evan Longoria. (Yes, Zobrist was statistically more valuable. But if he was traded, although most analytical Rays fans would bang their heads against a wall, most fans would shrug.) But besides the fact that Longoria is locked into an amazing team-friendly contract, the only way the Rays would trade him is if in the last year of his contract the contract was so team-unfriendly compared to his production that the Rays saw it best to move him. The Rays have a better chance of Longoria wanting to renegotiate his contract than him requesting a trade. And even if he requested a trade to a specific team, the Rays front office would go for the best deal. I would guarantee that.

That said, what would happen if Longoria wanted to renegotiate? Would he hold out? Would he have a leg to stand on considering he signed the contract three years ago? I’m far from a sports law expert, but I don’t think the Players Association would stand alongside Longo as he pickets his contract. And Evan Longoria sitting out until he earns more money would not win him any fans in the Bay area.

Maybe a comparison of Howard with the superstars of the Rays isn’t exactly fair. Although Shields was an all-star and one of the best pitchers in the American League last year, he is only a starting pitcher. Using the most cumulative metric, Shields was worth 6.1 wins above replacement according to Baseball-Reference.com. The Rays won 91 games. Simple math says that replacing Shields with a replacement-level pitcher, i.e. someone who was good enough to be promoted to the Majors, but not good enough to contribute, would have meant the Rays would have won only 85 games.

Howard, on the other hand, had a 14.4 win share in 2010 according to Basketball-Reference.com. Again using simple math, Howard was doubly more important to the Magic than Shields was to the Rays in 2011. And 14 wins in the NBA is 17% of the season during a normal 81-game season. Shields would have had to be worth nearly 30 wins for him to match Howard’s importance to the Magic. That’s almost statistically impossible in baseball, since Babe Ruth was only person to break 14 wins over replacement since 1920. So dare I say Howard is worth two Babe Ruths to the Orlando Magic?

Maybe Howard has a point that he is carrying more than his share of the load for the Magic. Maybe he needs help. Maybe Magic general manager Otis Smith has done a poor job of roster management. Maybe Howard would be closer to a championship if he played somewhere else. Maybe he really would like to play with his friends or with some desired teammate. That’s his opinion and he is entitled to it.

But I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for Magic fans. Especially the kids.

The Art of Acquiring Intangibles

With the annual baseball winter meetings almost upon us (and no, I am not going this year as I did in 2006 and 2010), the Rays are looking to tweak, twist, and trade their way into a better roster than they had last year. Anyone who watched them last year knows they had problems. Even though they won 91 games, they were far from a perfect team.

But before talking about future acquisitions or who the Rays might part ways with, I want to talked about who the Rays have already added to the team this offseason. It is usually rare for the Rays for pick up players in the early days of the offseason. And the two players the Rays have added to the roster so far couldn’t be more diametrically opposite. One is a pitcher who hopes his personal past doesn’t affect his potential, and the other is a catcher who hopes his on-the-field contributions can merit keeping his knowledge.

The last time I wrote here I wrote a letter to Rays owner Stu Sternberg. I wrote about the need to market the team better. I mentioned how the organization could better use social media, how they could better push their personalities, and a few ideas for theme nights and other brainstorms that I thought may increase ticket sales.

One of the ideas I didn’t mention because I thought it was common sense was to stay away from problem children – those players who have somewhat nefarious backgrounds. I get that some problem children have very good stats or very good potential and they usually come cheap. But one slip up could mar public perception of the team and give the organization a deeper black eye than the same action would for the Yankees or the Cubs or any almost any other team.

So far the Rays have had success with players who might be considered “behaviorally risky”. And they’ve shimmied off players such as Elijah Dukes and Al Reyes after their misdeeds. For example, they took a risk on Matt Bush, he of the infamous drunk police dispute and so far Bush has been a success.

Although each player brings his own set of conditions and drama, I think the organization is playing with fire by taking chances with players with nefarious backgrounds. The Rays have to fight against a very difficult environment. For whatever reason the Tampa area is a hotbed for athlete misbehavior and unfortunately I think it’s just a matter of time before the Rays get burnt.

I’m not saying some players can turn over a good leaf in the right environment. Phil Jackson coached Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest and won with both. Some organizations are ideal to embrace and bring out the best in people with problems. Perhaps Joe Maddon has established that type of environment. But I am cautious. The Rays walk a thin line with attendance as it is. Any good will built by school appearances and charity drives will be driven to the back pages by a DUI, a bar fight, or anything far worse. Flawed characters come cheap but they are flawed for a reason. And character flaws are a lot more impactful than an inability to hit left-handers.

Of course, a guy might be a devil in public but a saint in the clubhouse or vice versa. Some players may not be well socially adjusted outside of the baseball clubhouse. A player may be awesome with fans and a complete jerk to his teammates. Most times, we never know. But for better or worse, we make judgments on what we do know.

And that brings me specifically to Josh Lueke. I don’t know the guy nor do I know what happened on a night in May 2008. All I know is he comes with baggage. Personally, I’m not going to roll out the red carpet for the guy, however, my on-the-field rooting for him will not be affected by what he did off the field.  If he strikes out Robinson Cano with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, I don’t care if he pushed little old ladies into cars and threw cats into trees, I’m applauding him in that moment. That’s not to say I’ll root for him to come in the game or even put on a uniform, but I will cheer his accomplishments. I’m a fan, it’s what I do. I’m not going to sit there with my arms crossed as he does what he needs to do. If Joe Maddon trusts him to get the job done, I will cheer when he does so. Not before. I think that’s fair.

That said, I do hope Josh Lueke does something to win over the fanbase as people. It would be nice for him to help a battered women’s shelter or a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Show us right off the bat that he is not a monster. Tampa sports fans have had our share of terrible people and law breakers either hail from here or play here. We are almost immune to players with baggage. Almost. But I would really like to see Lueke set himself apart from the Goodens, Strawberrys, Dukes, or Jeremy Stevens types.

Of course, some will never forgive. That’s apparent from the Mike Vick saga. Just like people will always hate Vick for what he did to those poor, helpless, defenseless doggies, someone somewhere will always think Josh Lueke is a lowlife. But outside of the nameless defendant and perhaps their family, no one should hold it against Lueke if he tries to put his best foot forward and tries to make amends for his negative actions.

Now on to the positive intangibles. For that of course I mean the signing of veteran catcher Jose Molina. I love this acquisition. I am a big fan of back-up catchers who barely hit their weight but reek of baseball knowledge. They provide veteran guidance to young players on how the game is played. They have been around the block, ridden the buses, and are the baseball version of the Star Wars B’omarr Order (enlightened monks from the planet Tattooine for the non-Star Wars geeks).

Molina is a baseball lifer. He started in the Angels organization while Joe Maddon was still there. He played under various former catchers such as Mike Scioscia, Joe Torre, and Joe Girardi and he is of course the brother of Yadier and Bengie Molina, recipients of six Gold Gloves. I have no doubt Jose Molina will be a coach or manager at some point after his career.

For now, however, Molina will be working with the Rays catching and pitching staff and playing on occasion. And he will add to his off the field contributions with some fine framing skills, where he was recently ranked the best catcher for framing pitches over the last five years. Even if Molina reverts back to his offensive mean, if Andrew Friedman can find some offense from the shortstop position, the Rays can afford to play Molina more than Jose Lobaton, who I am convinced will never hit Sam Fuld’s weight (180 for those keeping score at home).

Molina reminds me a bit of when the Rays acquired Gregg Zaun a few years ago. There is one big difference however. When Zaun was acquired in August 2009, he had to learn the pitching staff on the fly during the season. If I remember correctly, the staff didn’t do so well the first few times Zaun caught them. There is definitely a learning process when it comes to battery mates and Molina will have all spring to learn the staff.

We will see who Andrew Friedman brings into the fold during the Winter Meetings and through the rest of the offseason. Will we see the conclusion of the Upton Era, the departure of Wade Davis and Jeff Neimann, and the end of the Magic of Kotch? Will the Rays stick with Reid Brignac at short? Will they even entertain the thought of buying Prince Fielder a salad?

Be assured however that no matter who else they acquire, they will fall somewhere between Josh Lueke and Jose Molina in those off-the-field intangibles clubhouses and communities consider important.