Rob Dibble Interview

Rob Dibble was born on January 24, 1964 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.
"Dibs" was a promising young pitcher with a blazing fastball that often exceeded 99 mph, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the 1983 amateur draft, and made his debut with the Reds on June 29, 1988.
On June 4, 1989, Dibs struck out three batters on nine pitches in the eighth inning of a 5–3 win over the San Diego Padres. Dibs became the 14th National League pitcher and the 22nd pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning.
He was an MLB All-Star in 1990 and 1991, and was the 1990 NLCS Most Valuable Player (along with fellow "Nasty Boy" Randy Myers). Also in 1990, Dibble and his Reds won the World Series by beating the Oakland Athletics 4 games to 0.
As a member of the Cincinnati Reds, the reliever recorded his 500th career strikeout in fewer innings—368—than any other pitcher in modern baseball history. Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax and Lee Smith all needed more than 500 innings to strike out 500 batters.
During his career Dibs often was known for his temper. After one game, he threw a baseball into the outfield seats at Cincinnati and struck a woman. He was also involved in a brawl in 1991 with Astros shortstop Eric Yelding. That same season he was caught attempting to throw a baseball into the back of Cubs outfielder Doug Dascenzo as he ran down the first base line. Finally, Dibs was involved in a locker room brawl with Reds manager Lou Pinella after a game. In a "turn back the clock" game against the Mets at Shea Stadium in 1992, Dibble gave up a walk-off homer to Bobby Bonilla, and was seen on national TV ripping the old timers jersey off leaving the field.
Dibs required surgery to his pitching arm in 1994, and missed the entire season as a result. Dibs signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and also played with the Chicago White Sox. He signed with the Chicago Cubs at the end of the 1995 season, but didn't appear in a game. He signed with the Florida Marlins for the 1996 season, but missed the entire year due to injury, and retired soon after.
In 1998, Dibs joined ESPN as a baseball  analyst, working mostly on the radio show hosted by Dan Patrick. Dibble worked on The Best Damn Sports Show Period as a co-host until 2008, when he left to join FOX on their Saturday baseball program as an analyst. Dibble also spends time as a co-host/analyst of Baseball This Morning on on XM  Channel 175/Sirius channel 210. He formerly hosted The Show (on the same channel), with co-host Jody MacDonald. Dibs served as co-analyst with Kevin Kennedy for FOXSports.com on a weekly video segment entitled "Around the Bases," served as a Little-League baseball coach in Avon, CT during the 2001 season. Dibs also is a co-host with former Major League player Denny Hocking on Fox Sports Radio Sunday night programming. In 2009, Dibs signed a 3-year contract to replace Don Sutton as the color voice of the Washington Nationals on MASN.



HT:  Were you the rebel as a kid in Connecticut?
RD:  I was so out of control.  Even when I was a baby I was so high strung and so hyper-active, I could never sit still.  So my parents wanted me playing sports to kind of wear me out.  I’ve never been one who sleeps a lot.  My blood’s always kind of been boiling.  There was a time in my life where I was hanging out with the wrong crowd and we were stealing tires and stereos, but it never graduated past that.  I was raised by two God-fearing people, and we moved around because my dad was a news man on radio.
HT:    So sports saved you from evil?
RD:    Absolutely. Even when I was eight years old, I was really good at baseball and every sport but I never thought of making it a career. My dad would never play the sport because he was teaching at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting and newsman that did the news at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 am up until his death eight years ago.  He even started in the radio business with Bob Crane from Hogan’s Heroes way back in the fifties.  So my broadcasting side comes from my father.
HT:  You must’ve been one of those kids that was great at every sport?
RD:  Yeah.  I could have excelled at any sport.  At eight years old, I struck out sixteen guys in a game, but baseball wasn’t necessarily the chosen sport.  I was All State in soccer, and I had more college scholarships offers to play soccer than baseball.  I could kick and pass with both feet, and I could outrun anybody out in the field.  I could’ve easily been a great football or hockey.  We played all Black schools from Norwalk and Southern Connecticut in football, soccer, basketball and baseball, and that’s the stuff that toughened me up; it would be an all out war because these kids meant business.
HT:    How did you end up choosing baseball?
RD:  I was going to Oklahoma State on a full scholarship for baseball, and I got drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals out of high school in the eleventh round.  That kind of made my path a little easier.  But I always felt that I could have been a pro at any other sport.  I could’ve easily been a professional soccer player, or a defense man in hockey.  It was always a speed thing for me.  Whether it was throwing or running, that was one of the gifts that God gave to me.  He gave me speed.  
HT:  Did you hit and run before you got into the big leagues?
RD:  When I was in high school, I was the lead outfitter.  I still hold the record for triples at my high school.  Like I said, I was fast.  I played center field, short stop and pitched, and I threw a few no-hitters in high school too.  At that time, Dennis Eckersley was huge with the Boston Red Sox, so I would copy his mechanics and try to emulate him.  So I incorporated the high leg kick, and throwing side arm.  It was all fast balls.  I never had a breaking ball in my twenties.  
HT:  How did you end up with the Reds?
RD:  I played six months at Florida Southern.  I was going to Oklahoma State on full scholarship, then I went out there for some workouts and they said that I had to make the team to get your full scholarship.  And I said, ‘That’s not what we talked about’.  I could have taken the eleventh round Cardinals pick money and gone pro and I didn’t.  So they knew people at Florida Southern and so I went down there on a full scholarship which was a small division, two-school, top ten per cent as far as academics.  And because I got to school so late, I was in three junior school courses, and it kind of screwed me up academically to where I had very low GPA, so after six months I quit.  I was working at J.C. Penny, and I had to write a letter giving up my eligibility to Peter Uberoff, who was a Commissioner at the time in 1982, and then the Reds drafted me in the first round in ’83 in June.  So I got lucky.
HT:  Do you remember that moment when you were drafted?
RD:  I was actually so nervous that I wasn’t going to get drafted.  I was shooting hoops at a local elementary school, and my brother, who’s still a fireman in my hometown in Sellington, drove out and shouted, ‘Hey, the Reds drafted you in the first round’, and we both started crying.  So it was one of those moments.
HT:  Did you ever think ‘what if baseball doesn’t workout?’
RD:  No.  Because one of my brothers was in the Navy, my other brother was a fireman, and having a father that was a newsman; you know, we’re all pretty much civil servants.  I had aspirations to be a cop and had I not played baseball, I would have definitely gone into the military or have been a police officer.  That was more of a vocation for me because that’s the way I wanted to serve.  It wasn’t a question of playing baseball.  In fact, when I retired I was thirty-two years old, and I was studying to take the State police exam in Connecticut.  I knew that I had some pension coming from baseball, I had some great times but now I’ve got to get on with my life.  I’ve always been simple minded.  I’ve had simple goals, simple dreams, I’ve never really aspired to be great at anything.  I’m going to try to be the best I can.
HT:  So it was never about the money?
RD:  Never!  Money has never meant a thing to me.
HT:  But you like your bikes and watches like the other athletes.  Aren’t you a little materialistic?
RD:  Anybody who knows me, knows that I give most of the stuff that I own.  I’m constantly selling cars, selling bikes, selling my snow mobiles and moving on to the next thing.  It’s almost like a vicious cycle of ‘can I keep working long enough to buy another car or a nice bike?’
HT:  You try not to hold on to anything?
RD:  Never.  If you came to my house, you’d never know that I played baseball.  My NLCS MVP trophy, and my World Series trophy are behind empty clocks by the fire place.  They’re not even up front, because I don’t live in the past.  I just want to keep going forward.
HT:  But that’s the highlight of your life isn’t it?
RD:  Absolutely not.  My two children, my fiancé and my family, that’s the highlight of my life.  I never even wear my Championship ring.  One of my best friends is Paul O’Neil, and he’s got five World Series rings.  You’ll never see him wear them.  A good friend of mine too, and a former teammate, B J Surhoff, said to me, ‘Quit living out of your scrapbook’, and it makes a lot of sense.  People always say this or that about my career, all the suspensions or fights or whatever, but they forget the first five years of my career were great; they were All-Star years.  But to me, those were just years for a job.  When we won a World Series that was awesome because it was a team thing.  I never thought I deserved the NLCS MVP award.  You know, you could have easily given it to anybody on our team because that’s the type of person I was raised to be; a team player, not an individual.
HT:  There are those that choose to look at that moment as ‘I’ll never be better than this’….’It will never get better than this’.  You have the right to look at it that way, but I guess it’s a lot healthier to look at it your way and just move on.
RD:  Some people are empty.  They have no spirituality.  They like to try to hold on to materialistic things, like championships.  But I’d rather have a beautiful sixteen year old daughter, and a beautiful thirteen year old son.  I’m lucky enough to have a second chance at marrying somebody.  Those are the things that I’m very blessed in this life.
HT:  It is sad to win a championship or an Oscar, only to think it’s all downhill from here on out.
RD:  No, I’d much rather be remembered in this world as a great broadcaster.
HT:  Really?
RD:  Oh yeah!  This is actually my eighth year now which equals how long I played in the majors.  So, for me, that’s a testament to my upbringing more so than anything I’ve done athletically.
HT:  Did you have tough years in the minors?
RD:  No, they were some of the greatest years of my life because you have no money but you have nothing but friends and time.  Four and a half years of great memories.  If you don’t put pressure on yourself and it’s even sweeter when you do make it.  You know, I’ll never forget the when I made it, I was supposed to be traded to the Philly’s, but when the trade didn’t happen, they called me up two weeks later.  I was shocked because you get passed over enough that you start to put that in the back of your mind and you never think it’s going to happen.
HT:  I think a lot of athletes put pressure on themselves to succeed for their families, or to get rich.
RD:  Yeah, and that’s the wrong reason to play.  The reason you play is because you love the game, you’re passionate about it.  The greatest blessing that God gave me was the ability to throw as hard as I did because I was so competitive and I love torturing the hitters.  I love having the ability to throw it by you at a hundred, or throw a ninety-three mile an hour slider and strike you out.  But I loved it when it was just me and the hitter.  I don’t think I would have had as much fun if I was an outfielder or a short stop.  I don’t think there’s anything better in the sports world than being a pitcher.  During the playoffs of the World Series, there was a moment of clarity for me in the playoffs against Pittsburgh where there were fifty-five thousand people at Riverfront, and I’m just sitting there, and I’m going…’This is one of the greatest moments of my life’…not the fact that I was pitching in the playoffs, whatever, but the fact that fifty-five thousand people, whether they hated me or loved me, were there to see me pitch against Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, and Andy Van Slyke.  And then in the World Series, it kind of replayed itself again.  You have Canseco, McGwire, Ricky Henderson, Dave Henderson, and it’s like you’re standing there, and you see the tattoos, it’s all about being a warrior in the coliseum.  My favorite movie is Gladiator; and if you’ve ever been in a baseball stadium like Riverfront, which is why I love Riverfront and I used to go there sometimes when I couldn’t sleep, and I went home late.  When I turned the lights off, and it’s just the lights in the exit alleys, it looks just like a Roman coliseum.  Every time I was out there, I’d just felt like, not a gladiator, but it was one on one.  And it didn’t matter how many fans were out there or who was my team mates.  It was me and that guy and I loved that.
HT:  Did you come in to the majors as a starter?
RD:  My first two years in the minors I was a starter, and a great coach I had in the minors called Jay Ward saw something in me that said ‘this guy is not a good starter’.  I ran out of gas by the fifth inning.
HT:  Sort of like Eric Gagne?
RD:  Yeah, exactly.  It was a very similar career.  I became a more erratic and I always got deep into counts; I was able to get out of it earlier in the game, but by the fifth inning I was really laboring out there.  So my coach said, ‘Listen, this guy has such an attitude that he’d make a great closer someday at the major league level’, and this was back when I was twenty-one years old.  They drafted as a starter.  I give all the credit to Jay; I pitched against the Blue Jays in spring training where I threw sixty pitches in the first inning.  I couldn’t even get out of the first inning and that was my last ever start.  He said, ‘You’re a reliever from this point on’, and he staked his reputation on it.
HT:  Was there specialization already?
RD:  No, closing wasn’t as refined as it is today.  The Reds had a twenty minute warm-up rule where you had to warm up twenty minutes before every start.  I was loosened up in five minutes, so the next fifteen minutes were the first five innings of the game for me.  So by the time I came out of that warm-up, I was gassed!  I was pretty much in the sixth inning in the first inning.  Thank God I had a manager that saw that.  He said, ‘Listen, if we don’t make him a reliever soon, we’re going to burn this guy out’.
HT:  I remember Mike Stanton of the Yankees saying that warming up in the bullpen was what wore out the arm of relievers, and not the innings.
RD:  Tony LaRussa is the best at preserving a pitcher’s arm.  He did it with Eckersley and got him to the Hall of Fame, and now he’s doing it with Isringhausen and all the guys that go through St. Louis, where if I get you up one, two, maybe three times and if I don’t get you in the game, you’re done.  I’ve shut you down.  There are some managers that warm guys up five times in a game and the next day that guy can barely throw.  The more you get up and don’t get in the game, the more you’re going to get worn out.  All those pitches add up.  In the last ten years, they’ve started to keep track in the bullpens.
HT:  What do you think of Mazzoni’s program of throwing everyday?
RD:  I love his strong program.  Both starters and relievers throw everyday to build arm strength.  I would have loved to have pitched under Leo.
HT:  Was there a significant turning point in your career?
RD:  I went down to Puerto Rico in ’87 to close in winter ball.  I made the All-Star team down there as a closer facing Barry Bonds, Bonilla, Juan Benikez and all these other major league, and almost major league players.  I got the confidence that I needed, not only as a pitcher, but the thing that changed me was Ed Figueroa.  Ed taught me the slider that put me in the major leagues; and Ed said, ‘if you can’t throw 2-0, 3- 0, 3- 1, three or two bases loaded in a count, you can’t pitch in the major leagues’.  So he said, ‘Anytime you’re 2-0, 3-0, I want you to throw your slider, I don’t care how crappy it is’.
HT:  You didn’t have a slider yet?
RD:  No, I didn’t have anything.  I didn’t have a change-up!  I was still throwing just 100mph fastball because I never felt comfortable trying to break off a change-up, take something off, I just couldn’t do it.
HT:  So if you were erratic that day then you were in big trouble.
RD:  Oh yeah.  There was one game in particular I threw a fastball, and he told me, ‘if you do that, I’m going to take you out of the game’.  So he walked out; nobody warmed up, pulled me right out of the game.  And so out of fear of never being embarrassed to be pulled out of a game, to get confidence in my slider, from that point on, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, I could throw slider, fast ball, or whatever I wanted.  That was the turning point.
HT:  Pete Rose told me that he went winter ball in Venezuela just to work specifically on his weakness.
RD:  Robby Alomar, Benito Santiago, Ron Gant was on my team, I mean, it was a future all-star team down there, and you lived with all these guys that played in different organizations.  Some guys were major league players; to be playing against Barry Bonds and all these guys at the beginning of their careers, and Puerto Rican players like Juan Gonzales and Ivan Rodriguez were down there.  I had a seventeen year old Bernie Williams on my team that was all legs and all he could do was run like a gazelle.  Guys were like ‘who in the hell is this kid’?  And then, to see him where he is today, that was all about winter ball.  It was like an all-star game every day, and you learned how they used their techniques, their work ethic, loads of talent, but it was also a wonderful experience because at night, nobody had a whole lot of money and a lot of the families couldn’t even come down there.  So once again it was the minor leagues, and you bonded with these guys and to this day I have friendships that are stronger that I got from winter ball than any time I played in the United States.
HT:  Wow.
RD:  I think the respect that I got from Latin and African American players, a lot of that was built in winter ball and not even in the minor leagues; because you really get to know guys when you’re living four guys in a condo over three or four months, and you’re driving in a car with four guys, 3-4 hours to a game everyday and riding 3-4 hours back and just surviving, trying to find your way around when you don’t speak Spanish.  It was culture shock and it was all the above, but it was one of the greatest experiences in my life.  
HT:  You all had baseball in common.
RD:  That was the common denominator.  We all knew how to play baseball.  We all played it well, and when we got down on the field, man, you busted your ass because you knew you were either going backwards or going forward.  And everybody wanted to go forward and your payoff was the major leagues, and everybody knew it that was there.  That was my edge coming into spring training in 1988.  I came back with all the confidence and I’d been throwing all off season against hitters, when I came back into the camp in ’88, they couldn’t stop me and three months later I was in the major leagues.
HT:  How many years did you end up playing in the big leagues?
RD:  Seven and a half, and that eight and a half year was with the Marlins but I was hurt the entire season, so I only count seven and a half.
HT:  And you won the championship early on?
RD:  Yeah, within three years of my career I was a world champion.
HT:  How did the Reds come up with the idea of closing by committee?
RD:  The Nasty Boys really weren’t closing by committee.  Randy Myers was the closer and Norm Charlton and I were the set-up guys, and I did finish with eleven saves in ‘90, but Randy had thirty-one.  He was the guy…We actually liked him closing.  He had a more defined role as a closer.  It was perfect because he was great at getting the last three outs.  But anywhere from the sixth inning on, any bases loaded jam, no outs, two outs, whatever, Norm and I loved it.  We thrived on it.  We were roommates for seven years, and I think that the best relationship I ever had in baseball was with Norm Charlton and we’re best friends, and I thought I was competitive until I met him.  I mean he ran like Sciossa over.  He went first to home and ran one of the greatest plate blocking catchers ever.  Here’s a …I’m not going to say skinny, but a two hundred pound, six foot three pitcher ran him over and knocked the ball out of him.  That’s the kind of guy he was, and I was very, very blessed to have a roommate like that in the major leagues for seven years.
HT:  Randy Myers was a hell of a closer.  He kind of left the game suddenly.
RD:  He was hurt with the Padres.  He had huge insurance policies with Lloyds of London, but you know the funniest thing that you might know about Randy, he started sixteen games in ’91.  We had so many starting rotation injuries, he said, ‘Hey look Skip, let me start.’  He started sixteen games.  So Norm and I were the closers.  Then in ’92, and I still think this is the only time that’s ever happened, both Norm and I both had twenty-five saves on the same team, because I got hurt and started the season on the disabled list.  Norm was closing, I came back.  We didn’t care who closed out the games.  We were both making over a million bucks and he had twenty-six.  I had twenty-five.  I think it’s the only time ever that two guys ever had twenty-five plus saves.  The beautiful thing about playing with the Reds and the world championship team we played on, there was so much unselfishness.  There wasn’t one guy that thought he was the guy, even though Eric Davis was obviously the guy; Barry Larkin was the guy.  When I say team, I mean team.  We had a team party, every guy showed up.  If you didn’t show up, you might get an ass whipping in the club house the next day.  If you were a trainer you showed up.
HT:  It built team unity.
RD:  Absolutely.  It builds a family.
HT:  Randy had a bit of a koo-koo reputation.
RD:  Randy was eccentric.  I wouldn’t say he was nuts.  The craziest of the three is obviously Norm.  He had three degrees from Rice University, brilliant guy, the practical joker.  He would fight anybody at the drop of a hat because he’s a proud kid and that’s the kind of guy he was.  I was more of the adrenalin junky.  I was willing to drive my car a hundred fifty miles an hour or a motorcycle, or anything.  I crashed one of my motorcycles going 80mph once and totaled it, that kind of stupid stuff.  The team never knew about it.  I was a risk taker.  Norm was the brilliant, crazy man.  Randy was more of the soldier of fortune, but that was just as much as an act I think as it was Randy.  The Randy Myers that I knew was a very nice guy.  But the guy that he gave the perception to everybody publicly was this soldier of fortune with the cut-off camouflage T-shirts and the fake grenades and all that other stuff like the real raspy voice.  He wasn’t really like that.  
HT:  What a closer though.  He had a couple of amazing years with the Orioles before he retired.
RD:  With the Cubs, Padres, I mean you know he was amazing.
HT:  Could there be another situation like The Nasty Boys?
RD:  Never.  You’ll never get three guys who will throw ninety-five miles an hour again in the same bullpen, and two of them left-handed.  It will never happen again.  Had we stayed healthy, stayed together for five years, I think it would have been the best five year run of any team.
HT:  Rivera, Stanton and Nelson were amazing too.
RD:  Yep.  Rivera, Wettland was amazing too.
HT:  By the way, weren’t you a Yankee fan growing up?
RD:  No.  I was an Oakland A’s fan.
HT:  Really?
RD:  My dad was never really a big fan of sports because he was a news guy and one of my brothers liked the Red Sox, another one liked the Orioles.  I didn’t want to be pinned with a New York team because they really weren’t fascinating to me until Reggie Jackson, who I loved, went to the Yankees in the 80’s.  I was a short stop so I loved Burt Campaneris.  I loved the names on the team; Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, and then you have Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Gene Tennison.  It was an amazing team.  The biggest thing was because I idolized my brother.  And my brother, when he was playing American Legion baseball, their uniforms were very similar to the Oakland Athletics.  They had the gold socks but they were gold and blue stirrups but still, I was an Oakland A’s man growing up.  I just loved the white shoes.  In fact, Joe Namath wore the white shoes of the Oakland Athletics, so I wore white shoes in high school, white spot belts, because of that.  I was a hot dog, big time (he laughs).
HT:  I remember you saying on The Dan Patrick Show how Norm Charlton kept telling to you to make a comeback.  But you ended your career somewhat early didn’t you?
RD:  I tried to make a comeback in ’98 with the Padres and it took me six months to get back to throwing in the nineties.
HT:  You never really wanted to change your style?
RD:  No.  I’d never be a finesse guy.  In fact, in ’96 they wanted to reconstruct my shoulder again and I said no.  So that was the end with the Marlins in ’96.  Dave Dumbrowski and Rene Lachman was the manager there.  They believed they could get me back close to where I was, and one day I could throw a ninety-five, throw twenty-five strikes.  The next day I could throw eighty and throw twenty-five in the third, and I just could not get any consistency out of my arm, and I did not want to go out that way.  So then I went to Dr. Andrews again and he said, ‘Listen, the only thing we can do is slice you down on this side, like the Orel Hershiser surgery, but you’ll throw from the side at eighty miles an hour; and I said no, I won’t do that, I wont go out like that.  I’m too proud to do that and I doubt that eighty would be good enough so I wouldn’t do that.
HT:  I remember you saying on the radio…’I know I can still pitch’…last year.
RD:  I could probably still pitch now.  I mean, now that my elbow’s been reconstructed and my shoulder’s healed, when I play softball, it’s not the way I wanted it to end.  I could still go out and do it.  I could guarantee, if you gave me six months, I could go out there and get up to ninety, but it won’t be the same stuff I had when I was twenty-five, and it’s not worth it.
HT:  The great thing you felt that way back in the late 90’s and you still feel that way.
RD:  No, I didn’t want to be a role player and I definitely didn’t want to be eighty per cent or seventy-five per cent, and to have people say…’Man, that guy sucks’!  That’s just not me.
HT:  Right.  You want people to remember you as ….
RD:  As I was…exactly.
HT:  Looking back now, do you feel like you’ve made the most of your given ability?  No regrets?
RD:  I do have some regrets.  I wish I could have played football in high school and had seen what kind of football player I could’ve been.
HT:  What about in baseball?
RD:  Baseball was just one of the sports I was blessed to play.  I definitely got the most out of it I could; absolutely no regrets.  With what they know now surgically, I think they could have repaired me in a different way, and I may have added a couple more years.  But they wouldn’t have been as good as the first five, and to me the statistics could have been nice but they would have never have been to me, because I was such a perfectionist, it wouldn’t have been worth it to me.  No, I definitely got out when I should have.
HT:  That’s refreshing to hear.
RD:  I could honestly say, though, the one regret I do have is not being able to give the Marlins a little bit of something.  I mean, for the year that I spent and traveled with the team and all the effort that Larry Rothchild and Rene Lachman put, they went out on a limb.  Dave Dumbrowski went out on a limb to bring me in there; all the strength coaches and staff down there, everybody to a man truly believed that I could get back to being an all-star type pitcher; and when I fell short of that, that probably bothered me the most.  It’s been ten years.
HT:  They won it all soon after right?
RD:  They won the next year in ’97!
HT:  They really loaded up though.
RD:  Yeah, they really loaded up but they had a great closer in Rob Nen; and I think people may not remember how great he was in his hay-day.  And there’s a guy, reconstructed a Tommy John.  He was a guy that had a very, very odd delivery where, in the middle of his wind-up, would actually kick the ground again, and then come up and throw a hundred miles an hour.  And to this day, I’ve never seen anybody who can do that.
HT:  He was gamer.  I think it was Jack McDowell once said that the whole closer thing was way overrated.  He was pretty outspoken but he said that any decent starter that throws heat could converted into a closer.
RD:  It’s a mentality more so.
HT:  Yeah, you’ve got to have the right make up.
RD:  It’s not even about your ability.  It’s your ability to forget your failure, and the one thing…
HT:  It’s coming back day in and day out.
RD:  Yeah, exactly.  They have four days in between.  I was a starter so I know.  I’ve done both.  You have to come back the next day and forget that game with a home run.  That’s why I understand when Phil Garner didn’t bring Brad Lidge back in a final game against the Cardinals in that game they clinched.  I think he had too much time to think about it.  Had he brought it back just out there for one out, to just get that off his mind, I think the results against the White Sox might have been different.  The thing about closing though, you can’t have a fear of failure.  Throwing a three-two-slider with the bases loaded in a World Series game, you can’t have fear of failure.  And I think the best closers in the game, whether it’s Rivera, Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, they don’t have that fear.  So for Jack Mc Dowell to say that, that’s because he’s never closed.  Go out there, and it’s a lot harder to swallow, like the game I gave up that home run to Bobby Bonilla and I ripped off my shirt.  Tim Belcher had pitched one of the best games I’ve ever seen.  He had a two-hit shut-out in the eighth, and I blew the game.  It was one of the worst nights I can remember as a professional athlete because that guy worked his ass off.  I went in and threw fifteen pitches and lost the game.  Show me a guy who can swallow Tim Belcher’s effort, and then have to walk up to him and say, ‘Dude, it was my fault we lost tonight…I’m sorry I fucked up your game’.
HT:  Is that what you say to them?
RD:  Yeah.  There’s nothing I can say that can help a guy out.  Like Roger Clemens was shut out nine times last year.  There’s nothing they can say to him to bring back that body of work.  He’s already done it.  It’s in the past.  So Tim Belcher, he went out there and threw one hundred and twenty pitches of the best baseball he could; and I failed him, and I failed my teammates.  So, to tell me that closing is easy is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard, because you have to swallow that and know that twenty-four other guys did their job and me, I was the failure.  I was the weak link.
HT:  I’ve always been a fan of yours on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio.  But did Dan and Phil ‘the show killer’ get to you when you had to pull out the ‘I’m a world champion, and you’re not!’ or ‘I played the game, you didn’t!’?  
RD:  I would say it as a joke, but I was also dead serious.
HT:  But I have to say that certain closers don’t really have what it takes to close out play-off games though.  I’m taking about Isringhausens, and the Benito Santiagos.
RD:  Because every guy is different.
HT:  They’re blowing play-off games!
RD:  Because they have their own demons that they fight out there.  That’s the one thing that people don’t understand.  When you’re standing out there, and you’re sixty feet, six inches from a guy, you’ve got a million things going through your mind.  You have to be able to clear it all out and have nothing, and just be able to concentrate on what’s going on.  Some guys can’t block out their last game, or Barry Bond standing up there; or the fact that a…’God, I hope I throw this slider where I want it’.  I always knew where the ball was going.  Whether it got there or didn’t, I always knew.  There was a moment, where you have to…and I try to teach this because I coach my son’s basketball team….that I’m going to shoot the ball or I’m not going to shoot the ball.  I’m either going to throw this pitch for a strike or I’m not.  I’m either going to throw this slider 3-2 with the bases loaded, or I’m not.  There can’t be any kind of doubt in your mind whatsoever.  The guys who give up the game ending home runs, I truly believe it’s that milli-second of doubt that puts that pitch right where it is.
HT:  But to fans like myself, we go ‘you’ve got a two-run lead…Can’t you close it?...You’ve been doing it all season!’
RD:  Because there are different things that are involved.  Momentum is a big thing.  There were games, I’d come in a 10-0 blow-out, and the team that had just been sitting there half asleep.  But because there was so much hatred for me now they’re all standing up and cat-calling me from the dug-out.  A lot of my friends, relatives and my family used to say, and I asked my dad about it, he loved what I did for the game.  He loved that I would inject some life into a dead game.  I loved that part of my career.  I loved the fact that I was, and I used to always say this, I was either the black knight, or the cowboy wearing the black hat.  I was always the bad guy and I loved being the bad guy.  I think I would have been a great wrestler because I can play the bad guy.
HT:  Kind of like Charlie Sheen’s character in ‘Major League’.
RD:  Right, exactly.
HT:  Who brings that kind of life in today’s game?
RD:  Gagne!  Without a doubt, Eric Gagne.  He had better stuff than I did.  I mean the velocity…
HT:  He’s not a bad ass dude though in person.
RD:  But, you know what?  Anybody who knows me, I’m not like that.  In every day stuff, I’m a teddy bear.  But when I’m out there, I was an ax murderer, and I think that Eric Gagne can turn it on and turn it off.  Nobody’s a nicer guy off the field than Mariano Rivera.  On the field, I guarantee he would take your head off.  That’s the difference.  Billy Wagner is one of the nicest country boys from West Virginia, and you get him on the field, he’ll take your head off.  That’s the difference.
HT:  Do batters certain pitchers more?
RD:  Batters have no fear, but they don’t know how crazy we are in our heads.
HT:  I’m talking about how certain guys were terrified of Nolan Ryan, and I guess some fear Randy Johnson, or Clemens.
RD:  Nolan, Clemens, guys like that would do something like that…
HT:  Rivera wouldn’t though, unless there was a reason..
RD:  Absolutely.
HT:  He would?
RD:  He would in a second.  He would do it in a second!
HT:  Really?
RD:  Yeah.  Bob Gibson, Drysdale, Sandy Koufax…. There would be nothing sweeter than throwing a pitch and watching a guy’s head explode for any pitcher who has ever stood out there.  Because there’re times when they hit that game winning home run, and in their head they’re laughing at you.  So you know that.  You’re just like…’all right’….but it’s not illegal.  You can’t kill anybody.  And you know what?  You can’t put anybody on base, so there’s this insane part of the job that nobody understands that I would love to cross that line; and a couple times I did, and I got penalized for it.  I look at guys like Ron Artest, Dennis Rodman, guys like that.  Even in football, there’s always the henchman, like Dick Butkus.  Over the course of history, there were guys that, when they were playing, they’ll play it was a reckless abandon.  What he was, was insane.  He was out of his mind, and there was at no point where you could have pulled that guy back.  The only thing that pulled him back was himself.  And I was my own worst enemy many, many times.  Dennis Rodman, his own worst enemy.  You know, there are a lot of athletes that I’ve always had so much respect for, like Nolan Ryan that could always pull himself back; a Roger Clemens can always pull himself back.  But there are some guys, you’ll see them get out of control and people will go ‘How could he do that’?...because in a moment, you know you’re going to cross that line because you’re willing to cross that line.  People don’t understand it.  They can’t understand that that’s the beauty of the game is that pulling yourself back from the point of no return.  Sometimes you can’t do it.
HT:  Remember the critical stance you took against the Mets for not protecting Mike Piazza from Clemens?
RD:  You see Estes disrespected Mike by not drilling him…
HT:  And that became unfinished business for a long, long time.  It dragged on.
RD:  Yeah, because it was eighteen months from the time that Roger hit Mike in the head; now whether he did it intentionally or not, my point was, as a pitching staff though, we have to send a message to any other pitching staff or any other team that you’re not going to injure our hitters, whether it’s right or wrong, whether it’s a grey area, whether Roger intentionally tried to nail Mike in the head.  If Mike’s my teammate, in order for Mike Piazza to do his job, in order for Mike to be comfortable and stand up there and be a free swinger, and not worry about Roger Clemens drilling him in the head, you had to ‘an eye for an eye’ on Roger Clemens, and Estes didn’t do it.  He threw a ball behind him on the ground, and I said ‘that’s it!’  The fans waited eighteen months, the team waited eighteen months, Mike Piazza waited for some justice and that’s the best he got.  And even Roger Clemens looked at him and it was like ‘Is that all you’re going to give him’?  
HT:  Right.  And I think you even said on the radio the next day, I think it was Leiter.
RD:  Yeah.
HT:  That maybe he should be in the first inning to finish the job.
RD:  He should have done what should have been done, because it’s not so much whether it’s right or wrong, or tit for tat, or whether you should stay in the ball game or get suspended, fight or whatever.  It’s not even …see people…it’s way too much thought processes.  The thought process is Roger wasn’t going to come up in the next game, and now you can’t do anything about it.  Until they face Roger Clemens again, you don’t have that chance.  It’s kind of making things right, and Mike Piazza being in the Hall of Fame, he deserved that much.  But you know what?  I still like Shawn.  I mean, it wasn’t a personal attack on Shawn Estes.  What people didn’t realize it’s just as a professional courtesy for your teammate, you have to stick up for your teammates.
HT:  Piazza is a nice guy, but he must felt disrespected.
RD:  Right.
HT:  Why aren’t these guys sticking up for me?  The Yankees would’ve!
RD:  This is the bottom line.  You walk down a dark alley, you want to know that guys have your back.  If I’m like Piazza and I’m walking down a dark alley, I’d know that there’s not a lot of guys on that pitching staff that had my back.  That’s what bothers me.
HT:  Like when Benitez drilled a Tino on the back.  Strawberry went ballistic!  But I thought the insight you shared at that time was the most honest.
RD:  Well, thank you and I didn’t like the fact there were people that thought that he had evened the score.  There was a lot of New York media that thought that he stood up there…. That was one thing that pissed me off was that he was standing up there laughing about it….’Uh, I got away from it’.  That’s not the point, even if Shawn Estes wasn’t the guy and it was somebody else, for a player to sit up there and kind of laugh about it, you’re not laughing at Mike Piazza.  You’re not laughing at Roger Clemens.  Clemens is going ‘Hey, thank God he didn’t hit me; I don’t want to get hurt; he could have hit me in the head, he could have killed me’…You know there’s a million things that Roger could have been thinking but Mike Piazza’s got to be sitting there somewhere thinking …’Man, eighteen months and that’s the best I got!?’
HT:  Right.  But as far as the baseball protocols goes Estes became the designated guy, but if they’d sent Benitez to care of the business it would’ve started a war.
RD:  Right, but they should have brought a closer in, in the middle of the game to do it.
HT:  Interesting; interesting.  What’s the protocol?  You hit someone else or you hit one of ours, we’ll hit one of yours?
RD:  But there’s always a time and a place.
HT:  Do you have to drill a guy in the ear?
RD:  No, You don’t have to try and hurt a guy.  I never hit a guy in the head.  Like I said, I only hit twelve guys in my career.  But it’s…you know what?...You hit one of our guys, we might put three of your guys on their backs and still strike them out, but we’re going to scare the crap out of you.  I mean, it’s a question of, you want to make sure that nobody is going to take advantage of our hitters.
HT:  You put down three guys, then it’ll become a head-hunting contest.  
RD:  No, as long as you don’t hurt anybody.  And there’s a place to hit guys.  You hit a guy under the arm pit, in the ribs, that’s where you’re supposed to hit a guy.  I never would want anybody to throw at somebody’s head.  That’s the wrong way to do it.  First of all, you are exciting the other team and making it more than it should be.
HT:  Right.
RD:  And if you police yourselves correctly, he hits one of our guys in the ribs, we hit one of your guys in the ribs, and it’s over.  But if we hit you in the ribs and then you hit us in the head, well now, you’ve started it all over again.  It’s a vicious cycle.  You know, that’s what people don’t understand   I learned that stuff from a God-fearing man and people might say, ‘Oh you’re crazy’, or something.  My dad was the one that said ‘what’s right is what’s right’, and if protecting your teammates at all costs is what you have to do, and there are many times I had to protect my teammates and I took the four games suspension; I took a week’s suspension at one time.  I paid the ten thousand dollar fine.  I was willing to do that.  And like you said, Jack Mc Dowell can make fun of closers, or whatever, but …and I love Jack, he’s a good friend of mine, but there’re certain guys on a team that have to enforce the rule of what’s right and what’s wrong; and some guys are willing to do it and other guys aren’t.  And it usually should be the guy who can make the most noise which is the guy who throws the hardest.
HT:  You probably feel like you do your job and we’ll do ours.  You know what I mean?
RD:  Absolutely.  There was one time when Dennis Martinez was on the Expos and he was hitting a lot of our guys, and this had nothing to do with me.  This is our starting pitcher….
He went out and hit him three times in the mouth.  And by the third time, he was like…‘okay, I get the point’.  I mean, that’s just the way things have to be taken care of.
HT:  Do you think it gets a little out of hand because pitchers get a little brave because they don’t have to bat?
RD:  .Yes and No…But you know what, it goes far beyond hittin guys.  You might hit one of our guys; we might take out your short stop at second base.  We might run over your catcher.  Your pitcher might be covering first base.  We run em over at first base.  It’s not even an unwritten rule.  It’s just the way it is.  It’s the way our game is played and the way it was played for a hundred years.  I look back and I can recall an incident when Bill White, the then President of the National League, flew out to San Diego because Norm Charlton and myself had hit a few guys, we started a few brawls and we’re dusting guys, you know 0-2, putting them on their back; but then we’d strike you out.  For us, it was very effective.  It was psychological warfare from where we were coming from, and it was very effective at giving us an edge and helping us to finish our job off, which is striking you out.  That’s the bottom line.  Bill White came out, had a private meeting with myself and Norm Charlton and said, ‘You guys are dinosaurs; the owner is afraid you’re going to injure one of their high-priced ball players; you’ve got to stop throwing at heads’.  Never once did we ever throw at a guy’s head.  But that was the perception that by 0-2 pitches under the chin, or by drilling a guy in the numbers was headhunting.  And yeah, I was called a headhunter.  Pedro has been called a headhunter; Pedro Martinez!  You know, headhunting is just stupidity.  That’s a guy that doesn’t know how to send a message.  Sending a message is 0-2, having a guy looking up going, ‘That was pretty close’; then standing up and striking out.  That’s sending a message; that at any time, if I want to hit you, I will; but I don’t even need to hit you to get my point across.
HT:  Do your teammates get pissed when a short-tempered pitcher, or he’s getting pissed because the guy’s crowding the plate so ends up hitting the guy?
RD:  Like I said, you don’t want to cross the line of losing games and putting unnecessary runners on base, and that’s about being good.  If you’re good at your craft, you don’t even need to hit a guy.  You can send a message, you can scare the hell out of a guy, and I’ll tell you, Norm will throw two feet behind your head.  And thank God a guy never went backwards instead of forwards on those pitches, or he’d be dead.
HT:  But if a pitcher’s just hitting the guy because he’s getting pissed in the fifth inning, that’s not being a good teammate.
RD:  That’s just a guy that’s stupid.
HT:  Right.  If one of your guys hits Manny then your franchise player will get hit back?
RD:  But see, they understand something like that.  If Randy Johnson hits Manny Ramirez, and Josh is pitching in that game and he’s got to come back and hit one of them.  They know they’re going to get hit.  They expect it.
HT:  But at what point can A-Rod or Jeter get pissed; if it gets kind of too close?
RD:  If it gets too close to the head, then it’s gone beyond sending a message to this guy who can’t control the ball, and that’s scary because now he could stop my career, or he could end my career.  There’s a difference between messing with a guy’s livelihood which the bottom line is his job, and good sense.  And good sense is drilling a guy in the ribs; it’s over with.
HT:  Do you guys think in terms of ‘if I hit Sheffield, he might charge the mound so I’d rather hit A-Rod?  Did pitchers think that way?
RD:  I actually tried to throw at guys that would charge the mound.
HT:  Oh yeah?
RD:  Yeah, because a lot of times we can be on a losing streak or we were kind of lifeless and we went on a lot of runs, the quickest way to get some team unity and some life going on in that clubhouse is start a fight, because that’s all you talk about over beers that night…’Oh, that was great…Did you see this guy that did this?...This guy was hitting us…” then you replay it the next day, and it’s all good fun as long as nobody ever gets hurt, it’s fun.  The moment a guy gets hurt, then you’ve screwed up.
HT:  ‘We’re in it together’.  That’s why managers get ejected too right?
RD:  Absolutely.  Trust me, brawls, ever since I was in high school, I was in a brawl.  I mean going to the minor leagues, I was in way more brawls than I was in the major leagues.  Everyone is different.  There were times I’ve been at the bottom of the pile with ten guys on my back, I’m being choked, I mean I’m purple because I’ve been choked out by the Coach of the Houston Astros.  Some guys are out of control at a brawl.  Other guys are going over at what restaurants they’re going to eat at, so everybody has an agenda and those are the guys you have to be nervous about at a brawl.
HT:  But you know how the benches clear, a couple will come out and kind of fraternize or laugh at shit with the other team.
RD:  I have no problem with that; I have no problem with that as long as you’re grabbing one of their team mates.  Here’s another thing about a brawl, never grab your own teammates, because if you grab me, there’s an extra guy for them running around.
HT:  And you become a free target too.
RD:  Oh yeah, I’ve been there.
HT:  Were you combative with your managers?
RD:  No, never.  Are you referring to the Lou Pinella fight?  Lou and I are best friends so we can talk about that.  You know what…That has nothing to do with Lou or me.  It had to do with a reporter that was actually miscommunicating things between Lou and myself, and it got to a point where it erupted into a fight.  But you know what?  It wasn’t much of a fight, it was more of a wrestling match and it was all in good fun   The next day we were the best of friends.  But, I got the save the very next day, Lou came out and threw a few fake jabs into my stomach and it was all over with.  You see, when you love somebody and they’re part of your family, having two older brothers, you can fight with people no matter what.  If they’re family, they’re family forever.  So, that reporter has gone on to another town, but Lou and I will always be family, and we won a world championship together and I’ll always love him and his entire family because they’re just like my own family.  So a lot of my relationships run a lot deeper.  You know, I knew Lou from watching him as a player, and I was blessed to have him as a manager.  He made me a better player.
HT:  He’s old school but he’s a real player’s manager.
RD:  He’s from the old school but nobody hates to lose more than Lou, and he’s taken years off his own life by taking the game home with him too much.  The most wonderful part about having a manager like Lou, is that he cares; he really, really cares and gets it.  That’s the bottom line.
HT:  Right.
RD:  And if you had started a team today and I could still play, I’d play for him.
HT:  How did you like playing for Pete Rose?
RD:  Loved playing for Pete!  Pete was as knowledgeable about the game as you’ll ever find.  He’s probably the smartest baseball mind that’s ever lived and that’s the biggest shame about this whole thing where he’s not allowed to be around baseball.  People are losing the knowledge that they can gain from Pete Rose.  Forget the Hall of Fame, the suspension and all the other crap; they lose what Pete could offer them.  So in any capacity at major league baseball had any clue, they used Pete Rose for his baseball knowledge.
HT:  He said on your show that ‘Baseball can really do with me right now’.
RD:  Right.  Let’s put it this way.  I think we get after fifteen years, don’t gamble on baseball.  I think we get that.  So what can you do to Pete Rose?  You’re killing the guy because you won’t allow him in the game.  They’re killing Terrell Owens this year, of the Eagles, by not letting him play football.  Okay, he gets…’I better keep my mouth shut or I’m not going to be allowed to play’.  That’s what Terrell loves to do.  That’s what makes him Terrell Owens.  It’s the same with Pete Rose.  For fifteen years he loves to coach, he loves to be around the game, he loves to teach, that’s what’s killing Pete more so than the Hall of Fame and all the other stuff.  I know him.  We’re very good friends.  He let me live at his house one year during spring training when my housing fell through.  I mean, he’s a beautiful, and wonderful man.
HT:  Right.
RD:  That hurts me more than anything.  That pisses me off more than anything.  Let the guy back in the game.  He can’t manage, can’t coach; that’s fine.  Let him be a consultant.  Let him do something to where at least you’ve let him in the game.  And another thing is, it cheapens the Hall of Fame every year when you have to talk about Pete Rose not being in it.  Let him in it.  Just put him in the Hall of Fame.  That subject is over with and done and Bruce Sutter goes in, or whoever keeps going in, in the future, and you don’t have to talk about it.  Listen, he’s the all-time hits leader!  
HT:  He’s a baseball treasure.  
RD:  He is…You know what?  The bottom line is, he’s baseball royalty and the guys that are keeping him out of baseball, are not.  It’s that simple.  Like I said, I’m a simple person.  It’s this guy, came from nothing, made himself into something, one of the greatest, if not the greatest players that ever played, couldn’t throw that well, couldn’t run that fast, couldn’t hit that far; yet he’s got the most hits ever in the game and every other records that he has that are ridiculous but … Did he help the game when he was playing?  Absolutely!  You know, I look at the same thing with Mark McGwire or Barry Bonds, or Sammy Sosa, even Ralphael Palmeiro for that matter; so what, the guy cheated and used steroids, do you wipe away everything he did before that moment?  Hell no!  He was so great to the game for fifteen, eighteen years, you can’t take that away from him; and it’s not fair, and that’s the way I look at it.  People are hypocrites.  The same people that are keeping all these guys out of baseball or suspending people, or even politicians that wanted to get involved…. Are you perfect?  Are these politicians perfect?  That’s the saddest part about it.  When they were mud slinging in major league baseball, what happened this year?  Most fans ever went to games because fans get it, they’re smart.  Seventy-five million people went this year, a major league record in a hundred and forty years.  Do the congressmen understand that?  No.  But those, the constituents for baseball are our fans, and that’s the bottom line.  If they get it, they understand.  They know that less than one per cent of the players are cheating.  And you know what?  All those guys were dealt with and they’ll be embarrassed.
HT:  You know, I interviewed Derek Lowe last year, and I asked him if he considered taking steroids cheating, and he said, ‘No, I don’t care’.  
RD:  Hell no!
HT:  He said, ‘If the guy wants to take it in his body, that’s his choice’.
RD:  I played in the steroid era.  I played against Canseco in his time in the nineties and I blew him away.  To me, it’s a feather in my cap that you got to cheat to try to beat me.
HT:  It was also before there was any policy too.
RD:  Right, and to that McGwire cheated, you’ll never know but he retired before they started testing for it.  That’s like saying…’Okay, this guy is a heroin addict and he was using heroin and now it’s illegal but he stopped before it was illegal, but we’re going to go back and arrest this guy because he used to use it ten years ago.  You can’t do that kind of stuff!  But that’s the type of society…You know what it is?  Everybody wants to knock everybody else down a notch because Mark McGwire had such a great run, brought the game back from the ashes in ’98.  We destroyed the game in ’94 with that strike.  He brought it back in ’98 with Sammy Sosa and there’s so much jealousy in this world, we want to knock people down a notch.  So we want to say..’I know Mark McGuire cheated…Were you ever there?...Do you have any kind of proof that he cheated’?  No.  Did he want to incriminate anybody?  This is how hollow that congressional hearing was.  They wouldn’t give any of those guys immunity.  But the only reason they were there, was because of one guy’s book.  None of those guys would have been brought up to Washington unless Jose Canseco outed them all.  So now, if I’m sitting there and I’m Mark McGwire, I might say…’I’m not going to say anything…I’ve got nothing to gain by saying”…’Well you, you know what?  These three teammates that have nothing to do with this cheated with me and so I’m going to drag them into it’.  Where I lost respect for Raphael Palmeiro was when he incriminated Miguel Tejada.  Miguel had nothing to do with your problem.  What’s my business is my business.  If I killed somebody, I killed somebody.  It wasn’t even the three guys I was with when I robbed that bank, if you get what I’m saying.  There’s no reason why I have to drag anybody else in.  But that’s the kind of society we live in.  I’m around enough kids that make excuses where…you know what?...Where’s the accountability?  We always want somebody to accountable for the two… You know, God bless the two families that lost their kids to suicide over steroids.  But you know what?  Not one major league player forced those kids to make that choice to use steroids.  But congress wanted to have major league baseball be held accountable for those deaths.  That’s not fair….That’s not fair.  Yes, we all mourn for their kids but we didn’t force those kids to take the steroids, and I try to keep everything simple.  But we live in a society where we want to always go a step further and hold somebody accountable for our mistakes.  And that’s the problem I have with that.
HT:  In the case of Mark McGwire, look what a good guy he was to the game?
RD:  He brought the game back and made it where it is today.
HT:  Everyone thought he was the great person back then and now he’s not?
RD:  Everything he has done, all the money that he’s donated, all the things he’s done for charities and communities, and the game, and the country as a whole, we want to just erase all of that just because of somebody else trying to hold him accountable.  It’s not fair!
HT:  I’m going to ask you a simple question.  There are steroids all over sports now, right?
RD:  Yes.
HT:  Guys like John Salley chose to answer me by saying there’s not much steroids as people think, which I thought was total bullshit. He's always looking out for the athletes, and defending Kobe or whoever his buddies are.
RD:  This is the way I look at it.  It’s about believing in your own ability, and if you have a lack of belief in your own ability, you’ll do anything or everything to succeed, and that means cheating; that means using steroids.  Now if you’re doing everything within the rules, which at the time in major league baseball, using steroids were within the rules, to me you’re not cheating.  You may be cheating yourself because that’s a selfish act but you weren’t cheating.  So the people who want it say that their records don’t count, and these writers, that have the Hall of Fame votes, keep saying, ‘Well, we can’t put them in the Hall of Fame’.  You know what?  That’s a joke, because if you’re doing everything within the rules at the time, you’re not cheating.  You’re only cheating yourself.  And like I said, if you don’t believe in your ability and you need to cheat to try to beat me, I’m actually more proud of my accomplishments knowing that there guys cheating to try to beat me.
HT:  Right.
RD:  And still couldn’t. 
HT:  I think we talked a little about…Would you consider yourself short-tempered?
RD:  No.  I would consider myself a perfectionist, and I think I expected so much out of myself, not only on the field but even in my profession now that I guess short-fuse could be used but I look the word perfectionist a little bit more because I was raised by two deacons and my father, me and a teacher at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting and my coach many, many years of my life from farm league baseball up through Babe Ruth, he put that into me.  He instilled that into that you should always give your best effort, whether you’re a garbage man or a cop, or a fireman; you should be the best at what you do.
HT:  That’s also one of the misconceptions about you because I mean the fact that you actually didn’t hit a lot of guys in your career.  But people often kid you about being out of control and short tempered.
RD:  Oh yeah.
HT:  It probably takes a quite a bit to push your buttons, but I know Dan Patrick used to get you all worked up.
RD:  My partner now, Kevin Kennedy on XM, we get along so well because he’s identical to me in personality, the way he managed in the major leagues and the way he managed close to two thousand games or more in the minor leagues, he expected, not perfection, but a certain amount of professionalism and I think that’s the way I am.  I approached …Whatever I’ve done in my life, I’ve approached it with a certain amount of professionalism and I guess having a method to my madness, I always planned out a lot of the things that I did on the field.  I didn’t plan out my melt downs but for the most part, I planned out a lot of the intimidation and the psychological warfare because being blessed with the arm that I had, it was fun.  It was fun to get into the guys’ heads and see whose head could you get into and whose head couldn’t you get into, and a little bit different in the game now especially with broadcasting.  It’s more of your smarts and being prepared and your preparation for presentation kind of stuff but… It’s a little bit different but I want to be a professional every day.
HT:  I loved you on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio.  You know, I thought you were the best thing about it actually.  Obviously, because you brought them baseball, but also because that was your mentality looking at other sports too as a professional.  I haven’t had a chance to check out your XM show yet but is there much ball busting between you and Kevin Kennedy like there was on ESPN?
RD:  Never, never.  There’s none of that.  We’ve doing this for over a year on XM.  I respect him as much as anybody as I’ve ever worked with, played for, played with.  He’s the consummate professional and we’re very good friends on the air and off the air.  I don’t think….There’s nothing I could ever say to attack Kevin.  He’s very good natured and our producers will joke with us a little bit.  But his approach is so identical to mine, I would say the worst part of our show is we agree too much.
HT:  So it’s all about the game.
RD:  Yeah, we both have such a passionate love for the game, and basically the whole MLB, home plate philosophy and why they got the sport for XM for the next ten years is to bring back the romance and the passion, and the love for the game, the traditions.  Even today, we were talking about the way major league players are so sloppily dressed off the field.  Their responsibility is not of the player; it is of the ball club, the organization and major league baseball, Bud Selig and major league baseball.  That’s why I respect the heck out of Paul Tagliabue in the NFL, David Stern in the NBA.  You know what?  You come to the field dressed like a professional.  When you step out on the court and you’re on the company’s time, MLB’s time, you have the same traditions and standards that they’ve had for the last hundred and thirty years.  And you don’t waver.
HT:  What about on the field these days with the oversized caps and wearing them crooked?
RD:  There shouldn’t be any jewelry on these guys.  There shouldn’t be none of that stuff.  It’s one thing if you want to have goofy hair, whatever, and stuff like that.  I love the long hair and stuff like that, but you should not have baggy pants.  You should not have loose fitting uniforms.  Everybody should look the same.  That’s what the NFL adheres to, that’s what the NBA adheres to, and they have boards of discipline.  They have guys that go to every game, walk around during stretching.  When you’re on a football field, or you’re on a basketball court, and you’re on a baseball field, if you’re not dressed properly, they should fine you heavily.  But there should also be a certain amount of respect from the players for the game.  And you saw that in the World Baseball Classic; the Korean, Japanese, Cuban teams.
HT:  Right.
RD:  You didn’t see one guy with his uniform out of place.  You didn’t see one guy hot doggin it.  When any of them did their drills, and I’d watch the pitchers or the every day players, it was all in unison.  It was always like a beautiful ballet or an opera, and that’s what the major leagues should learn from the World baseball Classics.
HT:  To me, the undershirt should be a strict part of the uniform.  Guys like to wear different color shirts or beat up good luck shirts or whatever.  If you’re superstitious and you want to wear the same shirt every day, wear it underneath the uniform shirt.
RD:  Right.
HT:  One thing that was great about your ESPN Radio days was that we got to see the goofy fun side of you, which I’m sure has helped you with your popularity today.
RD:  Absolutely, yeah.
HT:  You have a lot of fun now on the Best Damn Sports Show Period now right?
RD:  That’s where I get my fix of having fun; the Best Damn Sports Show is definitely a blast and there’s never a dull moment on that show.  And that was a lot like the Dan Patrick Show on ESPN, whether it was Baseball Tonight or Sportscenter.  They were great to me.  They treated me with a lot of respect and let me grow into the person I am today, and I wouldn’t be what I’m doing today without ESPN.  But XM is serious baseball stuff.  It’s for the passionate man and the serious man; and then the Best Damn Sports Show, as far as they allow us to take it is where we’re going to take it.
HT:  When you have to get your balls busted on the air, does it make a difference when guys like Salley and Rodney Peete bust your balls because they’ve been there like you have?  I mean it must get annoying when Phil the show killer, or Dan, or even Chris Rose try to bust your balls?
RD:  Well, not so much because Chris respects the sports; Dan really respects the sports; and Phil is a great kid.
HT:  I remember Phil got you pissed a couple of times though.
RD:  It was annoying; it was annoying because I think the role that I played on the show, that more times than not, I think they believed that I was that guy.
HT:  Right.
RD:  They never saw the serious guy.  They never saw how I worked my ass off to get to where I was.  There’s a lot of people over at ESPN and other networks including our own, where the talking head guys have no clue about the difficulty of being a professional athlete and getting to where you are.  It has nothing to do with the money.  It has everything to do with the work ethic, the discipline and the sacrifice.  So broadcasting is broadcasting but professional athletes; and even Olympians and people like Lance Armstrong, there’s a higher respect that I have for a lot of those people.  I’m not saying I don’t respect Dan Patrick or Chris Rose, but making jokes over highlights is a hell of a lot different than actually making the highlights, if you can understand what I’m saying.  For many years, it lost a lot of respect for people at ESPN and a lot of the people they put on the air, because first of all, those people wouldn’t have the guts to walk into a locker room and say to an athlete’s face what they say over highlights.  They joke about professional athletes like you would like guys on your softball team.  I have more respect I think with guys on my softball team that I played with my brother and all my friends back in Connecticut than I do a lot of those guys on air, not just for ESPN but a lot of networks.
HT:  I don’t think you would’ve made a joke about the ball bouncing on Canseco’s dome and going over the wall for a homerun.
RD:  Never!  Because you know what?  The fact that that happened is not a joke and …
HT:  Look at his positive accomplishments!
RD:  Nobody in Jose’s day was as good as Jose. Period!
HT:  Right.  Sportscenter’s fun and entertaining and everything but they’d bring up these sports mis-haps all week long.
RD:  You know what?  And the way I look at that?  Those guys couldn’t carry their jock.  On Jose’s worst day, there wasn’t one guy in there that can carry his jock.  And that’s the thing that was annoying.  The guys that I loved were Mark Schlereth, Mark Malone, the guys who played.  Look at Sean Salisbury, people bust his balls about being a backup quarterback.  Hey, you play ten years in the NFL buddy, I don’t care if you’re backup quarterback or the third string kicker, you’re in the NFL.  I have a certain amount of respect for those guys because you make those teams, you have to be good enough to make those teams and stay on the roster, and there’s not too many of those guys who have played can say that.
HT:  Sean takes it very good though.
RD:  Yeah, and he does and that’s why I love Sean.  The people that I don’t respect are the people who can’t respect the professional athletes because of the jealousy they have.  So what they do is when they’re on air, they joke.  So it’s like the guys who joke are the guys who couldn’t do it, they couldn’t hack it.
HT:   Also, because you’re a nice guy, do they think they can push you?
RD:  Oh and that’s the thing.  You know what?  I was an All-Star; I did all that stuff but that’s in another life for me.  That was my baseball….
HT:  You talk about crossing the line; some people just go over and become pushy…
RD:  The one thing that Dan always had for me was the respect factor.  Dan never let anybody try to … Dan was allowed to joke with me because we were friends.
HT:  A lot of people went a little too far too.
RD:  As far as Dan, he can be an anchor on any of the networks as far as news goes.  He’s that talented and his professionalism is second to none.  But it was some of the other guys that I worked with, even on Baseball Tonight, and things like that, some of the producers were a joke.  It was a joke to me because you get twenty-five, twenty-two year old kids in a production meeting telling me what I should say about baseball, and that’s where it becomes laughable.  And I know that John Kruk and Peter Gammons, who’s a Hall of Famer, and guys like that, they sit in those meetings, Bobby Valentine, Jeff Brantley, we used to laugh, Mike Mc Farland.  They don’t know anything about the sport of baseball other than what they see on television.  And in order to really understand the game, you need to have done the spring trainings and basically the cattle calls in spring training.  I’ll never forget when my family came down to spring training when I was in the minor leagues and saw a hundred and eighty kids with my talent fighting for one hundred and twenty jobs.  Sixty kids would be packing and their dreams would end.  They don’t appreciate that.  They have no respect for it.  And so a lot of those people that you see on air, behind the scenes, they have no respect for the athletes.
HT:  The fact that you moved to XM and FOX, was not just a contractual and financial?
RD:  Absolutely not.  It got to the point where…
HT:  There’s more freedom now?
RD:  Yes, there’s definitely … but I can honestly tell you the respect that I’ve gotten at XM and at FOX, and even now I’m doing Saturday’s FOX sports radio, that I started a month ago, I’ve gotten more respect in the last year than I got in seven years with ESPN.  It hurts me because it hurts me because I grew up a mile from the ESPN, and you always think that ESPN or FOX should be the two.  It’s like the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers of baseball.  It’s just that you have to understand that the people that were hiring some of the people that are on there, it’s very political.  And what they’ve done to a lot of, and I’m just saying former baseball guys, but the way they treat some of the former football guys, the way they treat some of the former hockey players they ran there, and the former basketball players, they just don’t get it.  They think it’s just…’Okay, come on in and do this, that…and we’ll bust your chops and at the end of the day, we should still be friends.  They just don’t get it that these guys are used to being warriors and competitive guys that would rip your heart out.  And now, all of a sudden, you’ve got some guy that’s twenty-five year old telling you about your sport.  It’s laughable to me.
HT:  I’m sure a whole bunch of retired guys next year will be ready to take your spot, whether you want to play ball or not.  Obviously, you’ve got a lot to offer.
RD:  And that was the whole thing, they had no respect for me as far as knowledge of the sport, my preparation and all that stuff.  The only time on Baseball Tonight they wanted me to talk about something is when it was controversial, because none of the other guys, and I won’t say all of the other guys. Tim Kurkjian, Peter Gammons, and Jeff Brantley would always give an honest opinion.
HT:  You’ve got to be in the trenches every day.
RD:  Right.  Guys like Rick Sutcliffe that do games and also have the guts and the balls to go down on the field and talk to the players, and be in the clubhouse.  There were some other guys, that they wouldn’t form an opinion because basically they want to befriend the ball players.  They don’t want to offend anybody.  And the one thing that ball players respect is you’re honest.  If they stink, you have every right to say that they stink.  When they’re doing great, you better tell people out there that they’re doing great.  Just give them the credit when they’re due and then when they’re stinking up the joint…Listen, if you’re making ten, fifteen, twenty million or three hundred thousand dollars, you’re making more than the average Joe; and when you’re stinking up the place, I’m going to tell you about it.  But there’re guys there, and there’re producers there that didn’t want to go on the air and actually do that.  They want to show homeruns, they want to show great highlights, and web gems and make up cute little phrases like ‘walk off home run’.  First of all, unless you’ve ever been out there, and given up and I’ll tell you, it’s a game winning or game losing home run.  Unless you’ve actually given up one of those, or hit one of those, or been on the field for one of those, it’s a joke that they sit there and talk about it; their own OPS.  ESPN made up that stat, you know ‘slugging’, and ‘you’re on base percentage’ to get.  It’s a meaningless stat that they think is a cute stat.  For me, it’s playing a game.
HT:  You told me last time about how you gave up Tim Belcher’s game.  He pitched the game of his life and you lost that game for him.  That kind of stuff, people should hear more of that.
RD:  Exactly, they should see the more human aspect of that.
HT:  Try to relate the human stories.  Like in the movies.
RD:  Try to relate to how devastated you feel when you got to walk in there in front of twenty-four of your peers, and your coaches and the trainers and know that you’re the one that just cost them a win, cost them a championship, cost them a play-off spot and what it’s like to feel like a man to walk into there and those people don’t care what…
HT:  They love to show the guy breaking his hand hitting the water cooler over and over.
RD:  They miss the big picture.  They want to show you the little cute little pictures and try to paint the game in a different way.  You know, people that are hanging on to this Barry Bond steroid thing.  You know what?  I’ve made the analogy on radio and T.V. that when I was eighteen, the drinking age in Connecticut was eighteen, and two years later they changed it to twenty-one.  Well, are they going to go back now and arrest me for drinking when I was under age because at 19 and 20 I had a beer?  No.  It wasn’t illegal then.  It wasn’t cheating.  And in ’98 to 2003 from the so-called experts, who wrote these books, unless the Federal Government charges Barry Bonds with the crime, it wasn’t cheating in baseball, it wasn’t a crime; and whether or not he did it or not, it shouldn’t be the point.  The point is if he’s cheating now…boom…we’ve got to nail him for it.
HT:  So in a nutshell, as long as he’s not using now he shouldn’t be accused of any wrong doing?
RD:  No!  As long as he’s not doing it now if he was working within the rules of major league baseball.  The only person, the only entity I blame for the whole steroid thing is major league and the union.  Background’s a player rep wanted complete testing; and I’m going to tell you right now has nothing to do with steroids.  When I stood up and I was a player rep with the Reds at one of the player rep meetings, I said, ‘We want to test everybody in the union, not just for drugs and all the negatives.  How about saving lives?  How about some of you who have cancer?  How about some of you who have some kind of disease?...you know, could have HIV or Aids?  And it was shot down so quick and it was amazing to me.  And to come ten or eleven years later, have a congressional hearing on steroids and people think that the game is dirty or cheap, or these records have been lessened or cheapened, to me hurts me personally, because these guys would sacrifice everything they have; their health, their wealth, their fame for one more game; and unless you’ve done that, you can’t understand the sacrifices that these guys go through.
HT:  How would you feel if and when Bonds admits that he is still using steroids?
RD:  I won’t lose any respect for him.  If it was McGwire, Canseco or anybody, you know I’ve been there and if taking steroids would have prolonged my career for one more game, I would have done it.
HT:  You know, if a certain vitamin or something was outlawed tomorrow, then we’d all have to go back and say, look….”
RD:  Right.  It’s the same thing.  If you knew now what you know about aspirin and things like that, I mean some of this stuff would be outlawed.
HT:  Right.  
RD:  It’s amazing to me that there’s such a hysteria about steroids.  So many of these people are not knowledgeable.  Now I’ve been in the weight room the last ten years since I’ve retired, and I can tell you that steroids can only take you so far; whether it’s in the weight room, on a baseball field, on a football field.  Without that God-given talent, you’re nowhere.
HT:  Right.
RD:  So for people who are not knowledgeable that say…’Oh, well it makes you hit the ball fifty feet further’ or ‘You can throw five miles an hour faster’ but can you throw strikes on steroids?  Can you actually get better hand-eye coordination?  
HT:  But the thing is though, Salley and I had this argument.  He said, ‘no, you’re not going to turn warning track power fly ball into a homerun.’  But I say, if you’ve got the talent to do that, ten home runs can be twenty home runs!
RD:  Absolutely.
HT:  He disagreed.  He said, ‘no it doesn’t’.
RD:  Well, I can also say the way the ball parks are built, the way the balls and the bats with the fifteen to twenty coats of lacquer that make the baseball like aluminum bats now, the way technology has improved the game, and the way they’ve shrunk the ball parks and shrunken the strikes zone, has also improved a lot of guys’ games.  And nobody talks about that stuff.  Nobody talks about the watered down pitching.  There’re guys, there’re are fifty pitchers in the major leagues now that wouldn’t have been drafted when I was playing, and that’s one of the most laughable things that’s going on.  There’re guys down there that are throwing balls straight down Broadway to Alex Rodriguez or Bonds saying ‘hit me’.  Did Barry Bonds, when he walked over two hundred times, did the steroids help his eye?  Did the steroids help his hand-eye coordination when he hit four hundred plus home runs, and stole four hundred plus …
HT:  So the percentage of pitches he’s getting, he’s driving out anyway.  I mean, that’s an amazing talent and unbelievable stat.
RD:  He should be allowed to take steroids anyway for as little as they let him play the game, and they take Barry Bonds’ talent out of the game, it just shows you it’s sad.  It’s a sad hysteria that the world is in right now.
HT:  So if you had a vote, he’d be a first ballot Hall of Famer?
RD:  There’s no doubt.
HT:  But Palmeiro, no?
RD:  Palmeiro, no doubt, first ballot Hall of Famer.  The most laughable thing about Raphael is?  Raphael should have come out quickly and said…’I screwed up; I screwed up royally; I tried…
HT:  You wouldn’t punish him for that though…
RD:  Absolutely not…oh my God.  It’s like saying a guy taking Viagra so he can sleep with his wife.  Would you be pissed at a guy for doing that?  No.  You know what?  To me, the fact that I pitched so well in the steroid era as people will say, it makes my career look that much better.  To me, it’s like, if you have to do anything to enhance your game because I’m good, that makes me feel better about my games.
HT:  You mentioned earlier how you knew certain guys were taking ‘roids and you were still blowing them away.
RD:  You see, jealousy is such a huge thing in this country.  People hate to see people be successful and to have Barry Bonds coming up on the Babe Ruth record and the Hank Aaron record, you know, when Hank Aaron was doing it, there wasn’t a steroid question with Hank Aaron.  It was the color of his skin.  So they threatened his life.  He had to have a guy walk around with a gun to protect his life.  There was a hysteria back then that was racial.  Now it’s chemical and its steroids and stuff like that.  So to me, we’ve changed how much we hate people, but it’s just a different thing we’re now talking about.
HT:  Okay, let me ask you … If this is controversial, we can take it out.  But could you say for sure that certain closers are on steroids?  
RD:  No, absolutely not.  I couldn’t say that without a shadow of a doubt fact but I’m sure there are probably guys who have tried those treatments though.
HT:  Even with the type of injuries that some of the closers are getting these days?
RD:  Yeah, but you know what?  There’re also signs of guys getting too big, too strong, throwing too hard and doing too much.  Just the act of throwing a baseball, you’re going against nature.
HT:  What percentage of players do you think are on steroids right now?
RD:  Well last year, they caught twelve guys out of twelve hundred with the random testing and testing guys twice a year.
HT:  You don’t think that’s to protect the majority of players from a total scandal?
RD:  No I’m not a conspiracy theorist.  But one thing I do know about major league baseball, they care nothing about the union.  They’re not going to protect their people.  It was funny when I listened to that one reporter from one of the Boston newspapers absolutely lie to the public and say there were fifty guys that were going to be caught, there were going to be huge names guys that were going to be caught, and never have anybody get caught other than guys like Ryan Franklin and Ring Carter.  All these other guys that got caught and Raphie Palmeiro.  They got one big fish so far out of twelve hundred major leaguers on the roster.  To me that’s nothing.  There’s less than one per cent of the major leaguers for all the congressional hearings and all of the stuff that they said.  And now in all the sports, we have the toughest drug testing policies and the toughest suspensions of one year.  We went from ..’we’ll suspend you for ten games’ to ‘fifty, hundred, to one year’ just because that’s … First of all, that’s another misconception.  The players wanted the drug testing.  That’s another thing that really upsets me.  The players wanted the drug testing.  The owners didn’t want it, didn’t care.  They weren’t pushing for it in the last agreement.
HT:  Right.
RD:  It was the players who said…’If there’s going to be a work stoppage for putting this in the agreement.’  They went against the union.  Marvin Miller, I’ve interviewed him two or three times in the last year.  Marvin Miller, who basically is the biggest thing for the union ever, was totally against it.  He said..’Don’t ever give in to the owners; don’t ever go back and open up the basic agreement’.  He said the players hurt themselves, but it was the players that wanted to clean up the game.  And the players, I guarantee it, when ninety nine per cent of the guys were clean and one per cent is dirty, those ninety-nine guys are tired of staying silent.  They’re not going to be the silent majority anymore.
HT:  Right.  You and Dan were really the first guys to talk to Jose Canseco when he announced he was going to write a tell-all book, two years before it actually happened.
RD:  Right.
HT:  I could tell just on the radio that you were really holding back but …
RD:  While I was also with Kevin Kennedy, we were the first ones to interview him on XM.  He was our first guest when we started our show back in February of ’05.  But I didn’t want him to do it from the standpoint of …just not going to talk about yourself, you’re going to injure a lot of people and he hurt a lot of people.  It’s unfair.
HT:  But at least from a premier player and culprit #1.
RD:  I believe that most of the things that Jose said in his book were true, and I’ve never known Jose, and we’re friends, to be a liar.  And the one thing I can say about him that at least …
HT:  It’s going against the code.
RD:  Well, there is a code and there isn’t a code, and I think the one thing that the players respected was that it was something that people had been talking about for over a decade that major league baseball, the union, everybody was turning a blind eye too because they were making so much money, and enough was enough.  The last people you want to alienate, and we know that from ’94, are the fans.  The game is all about the fans.  And last year having seventy-five million people come back and show that they didn’t believe the whole congressional hearing, the best year of fans going to baseball games ever in the history of the game, just shows that people are much smarter than the media perception.
HT:   Did Jose do good for baseball?
RD:  Oh he did a great service to baseball.
HT:  He sacrificed himself.  
RD:  He sacrificed himself.  The guy threw himself on a grenade.  He’ll be black-balled forever.  He’ll always be the guy that …
HT:  He probably doesn’t deserve to be back in baseball again, right?
RD:  I have no problem if Jose came back to baseball.  The one thing about Jose or Pete Rose, I mean, are they any worse than some of the other people that are in the game?  The one thing you want to do is you want to leave the game better than when you found it.  And I think Jose, after everything is said and done, he’s put the game in a better place than it was when he was playing.
HT:  Right.  You know, I’ve got to mention this because I know both you and Salley, and Salley loves Kobe, and Salley would never say anything…well basically would always take Kobe’s side.  I respect that.  He’s got his back.  He’s not going to turn on him.  But I remember one time when you guys were talking about Kobe and all of you were giving your opinions, and you went completely against Salley and said …‘no, you’re wrong; this guy’s selfish etc.’  But I remember that moment when I was hoping ‘Dibs won’t let us down; he’ll say it like it is.’  And you went completely against Salley of course.  That’s what I love about what you do because you know, Salley’s got Kobe’s back but much like, you’ve got Pete Rose’s back.
RD:  I love Pete and I know Pete and he’s a very unselfish person.  He would give you the shirt off his back.  That’s the one thing about Pete that I love and we all make mistakes.  He’s lived in his own purgatory for the last sixteen years and nobody’s had a worse go of it than Pete.  Yeah, he can make all the money and sign all the autographs and all that stuff.  But the one thing that baseball took away from him was baseball.  They won’t allow him in the game; they won’t allow him to coach; they won’t allow him to teach kids the game.  That kills him.  So at the end of the day when you’re sitting there by yourself and you’re thinking ‘what do I have?’, he doesn’t have the one thing he loves the most and cherishes the most, which is baseball.
HT:  He’s arguably the greatest player ever, and he’s still can’t have anything to do with baseball.  That’s unbelievable.
RD:   I don’t see why there can’t more mercy towards Pete.  If anything, use him as a tool and say…’Listen, here’s the greatest example of what not to do’ and use him for the next five years, you’re on probation, and for the next five years, you’re going to go around and talk to kids and high schoolers and college athletes, and professional athletes about the ills of gambling; it’s a disease, it’s an addiction, it’s all the above, and use him talking baseball and allows him at the same time to be a consultant, to still be able to teach and be around the game and things like that.  And I don’t understand…
HT:  I like that opportunity you guys give Pete on BDSSP.
RD:  Yeah, I don’t think he’d ever talk to ESPN again after everything they did, that fake trial B.S., that whole…if you saw me after they did that movie about him, I was there for that.  Yeah, I was a part of that whole thing and so much of that was not true.  I thought it was a cheap shot at Pete, and that’s one more thing I can say about ESPN that that was in order to make a backer, or get people to watch your show, casting a guy who’s got more personal issues than Pete.
HT:  It kind of a dig at him.  Okay, real quick…Predictions for 2006, now that spring is through and guys are still coming back from the WBC…Generally across the board do you think A’s look like the team to take it all?
RD:  You can’t discount the White Sox.  I’d pick the White Sox over everybody.
HT:  You think they’ve improved?
RD:  Oh….Javier Vasquez to go with that starting rotation, they picked up Jim Thome and if he’s healthy he can have twenty home runs.  That’s going to be great.  The Frank Thomas thing is behind them.  I just truly believe that being the reigning champs and being as talented as they are, I think with that rotation…the A’s have to be there in the top five…but …
HT:  And Iguchi and Crede, those guys are going to be even better.
RD:  There’re going to get even better and I also think Bryan Anderson, if he just has an average or above average season, can be a stud.  The kid that took over Aaron Rowand.
HT:  Okay.
RD:  So they’re able to trade Rowand to bring Bryan Anderson in.  I mean that’s the thing.  I think that they’re as talented or more talented the last year, and they were one of the toughest teams to beat last year.  So I think….
HT:  And AJ’s got the attitude you know.
RD:  They have a swagger.  That’s one thing I like about the White Sox.
HT:  Yanks, are they a possibility or a question mark?
RD:  I think the Yanks could fall this year.  You know, that eight-straight division titles I think can go down.
HT:  Really?
RD:  Yeah, I think the Blue Jays can catch em.
HT:  Oh yeah?.
RD:  Oh, absolutely.
HT:  The Red Sox have a ton of question marks too don’t they?!
RD:  The Red Sox have a ton of question marks.  They’re not as strong.  But the Yankee’s rotation, Johnson’s old, Mussina’s still big-choke artist, Pavano’s health’s in question, Jarret Wright is going to add nothing, Small’s hurt already, Ching Ming Wang will add but…
HT:  Chacon?
RD:  I think Shaun Chacon is going to be great.  I think he’s going to be great.  His change up and his attitude are perfect for the New York Yankees.  With that offense, you give him six or seven runs a game, Chacon wins twenty games.  I truly believe that.
HT:  What about the middle relief?
RD:  I think Farnsworth’s going to be excellent.  I think their bullpen’s going to be excellent.  I think that’s something that was hurting them last year but as far as that rotation, that rotation’s just shot.  I think this is the year that they crumble.
HT:  What about the National, the Cards, Mets, Astros…?
RD:  National, the Cards, they lost a lot.  You lose Matt Morris, Walker and Reggie Sanders and all those guys, I mean, then Grudzalonick on top of that.  I mean him and Eckstein were a nice double-play combination.
HT:  You got Puljols and Rolen.
RD:  Rolen really needs to come back but I think a great pick up was Braden Looper to set up Isringhausen and that makes the names of the games tough.  I think they’ll be fine.  I think the Astros aren’t any stronger than they were last year.  I definitely think the Cubs are hurting if Woods and Prior start the season on the DL.  I like the Cardinals in the Central.  I like the Dodgers in the West.  I think they’ve gotten a little bit better than the Padres and I think the Braves are going to be tough to beat in that East.  You know, the Mets have really improved but I will never go against the Braves when you get when you get fourteen straight division titles.
HT:  Who are your dark horses?  The Angels?
RD:  I love the Indians in the American League.  I love the talent that they have on that ball club, and I’m a really big fan of the Milwaukee Brewers.  They’ve done an awful lot in the last few years talent-wise.  I think they’re going to have a kick-ass team.
HT:  You think a small market team can stick around till September?
RD:  I think if the Milwaukee Brewers get close and they’re close to the wild card team, they could shock a lot of people.  And then if you can go out and add maybe a good starter, and they’ve got the bullpen, and they’ve got the offense and defense so they could win.
HT:  A L West?
RD:  A L West?  Well I think the Angels are going to be tough again.  I think Jeff Weaver’s pitching good in the spring.  You’re going to have Jarod Weaver and if he makes that rotation or he gets called up there in the season to go with Bartolo Colon, Cy Young guy, I think that they’re going to have a kick-ass team.
HT:  Was WBC a positive?
RD:  Oh absolutely.  Close to a million fans, you saw some great baseball from a lot of the foreign teams; the Koreans, the Japanese, the Cubans, the…..
HT:  What needs to be done for the next WBC to be more successful?
RD:  I would like to see it every two years.  I hate the format of three, four years.  Every two years would be way better.  People were so into it because spring training exhibition baseball is worse than exhibition football.
HT:  I heard that the ratings in Japan were unbelievable.
RD:  Oh, absolutely.  I played over in Japan in the All-Star tour fifteen years ago.  But the thing about it is, that I just love the whole team thing, the whole Korean team thing, the whole Japanese team thing.  There’s just an honor factor there too.  There’s just an honor about their people and their tradition.
HT:  Right.  And I’ll tell you that Korean team was not that good compared to the Japanese.  This Japan team, for first time, this was a real true All-Star team from both leagues, even though we didn’t have Matsui and …
RD:  I just thought that they out-classed us.  I mean, everybody’s talking about the small ball.  I just thought they were just from Sadaharu Oh, and all the way through their lineup; the whole Korean thing.  Even the Cubans, you know.
HT:  The Koreans beat everybody with the major league pitchers that everyone was down on.
RD:  Yep, yep.  Because you know why?  When you’re one through nine guys all can do the exact same things, they can all but, they can all run through bases, they can all hit the cut-off guy, they played flawless baseball to the most extent you can do, and an occasional error here and there; but they’re all so disciplined, that’s my favorite thing to watch.  If you could ever think about doing the best job as a coach and having one through twenty-five on your roster all be the same, that’s why I love the WBC.
HT:  But it takes the U.S. to really show up for continued success.
RD:  You know what?...Not to offend the U.S. at all, because it’s very hard but Buck Martinez’s hands were tied.  They made him take a lot of superstar guys, a lot of big name guys.  Next time, we need to throw guys out there, especially against the Japanese and Korean team that are well versed in fundamentals.  David Eckstein type players that don’t try to do too much; Brian Roberts, Chawn Figgins; we didn’t have any of those guys on the team.
HT:  You know, I’ll tell you what, because I know the Japanese teams, I mean they had Chiba Lotte Marines, ….That team, they were eight, probably Bobby Valentine it seems, those were like twenty-one year olds, possibly like rookies last year, but they played together.  You know, it’s like having the Chicago White Sox team out there peppered with a Clemens and Jeter and whatever.  You know what I mean?
RD:  Let’s put it this way, I’d rather have twenty-five guys that play together than ten super stars.  And you saw that that’s why the Japanese won.
HT:  Right.
RD:  You get the Cuban team; the Cuban team’s the exact same way.  That whole Cuban team; yeah there were about five guys that were excellent players but maybe two or three that could play in the major leagues here, or even play in the Japanese major leagues.  But as far as team, one through twenty-five, the guys in the rotation, the guys that were in the bullpen being able to pitch every day and pitch five innings out of the bullpen and not question your coach.  That’s baseball; that’s fundamental sacrifice for the team baseball, and that’s what I love.
HT:  It’s almost like being back in the high school days.  You have to do whatever the team needs you to do.
RD:  Absolutely.  You do whatever the coach asks of you without question.  And I think that’s what we do too much here.  And the one thing about why the Dominicans, the Venezuelans, Mexicans…they’re all part of our league… so when you splint the United States, Dominican, Venezuelan, and Puerto Rican, Mexican, and all those teams, you splint them apart, yeah it’s nice to see those big name guys but there’s no unity there.  The Japanese team, the Korean team, even the Chinese Taipei team, there’s a certain amount of ‘we’ve been together, we’ve played international baseball’…We had no clue what we were getting into when we did that.
HT:  Well, Japanese were All-Stars but they all spent time training and preparing together.
RD:  Oh yeah.  The Korean and Japanese teams both had six weeks to prepare but the Cubans were in the middle of their season.  So they were already playing for half their season before they came into this.
HT:  Okay, finally… Do you think baseball is dying among the American youth?
RD:  Absolutely, absolutely!
HT:  The best athletes are going to…?
RD:  I don’t even think that.  I think all the best athletes are sitting in front of television and they’re playing video games, and actually imagining that they’re playing but they’re watching it on the T.V. screen.  The one thing I would love to see, parents including myself, is to just get rid of the video games in the house, make the kids go outside and play…
HT:  Can you predict the future of the game?
RD:    The future of the game… Well I think they just showed you the future of the game.  It’s going to come from Japan, and Korea, Cuba, the Netherlands; it’s going to be a wake-up call and it’s going to….
HT:  Just like the NBA players are coming from Europe and Argentina now.
RD:  The thing is nobody is more developed especially technology-wise than Japan, but we’re going to have to go to far-reaching countries to go to places that kids don’t sit in front of computers every day, that they’re willing to go out there and experiment in baseball, see what they can do, talk to Bruce Hurst and Jim LeFevre that have been over in China for three years.  Out of 1.3 billion people, they can only find a thousand kids that were willing to try baseball.  Ten years from now, hopefully, we get fifty thousand, hundred thousand, a million kids in China that want to play baseball and a few years after that, two or three decades from now, a lot of them will be playing here.  Our society is such a text-message computer oriented country that it wasn’t like thirty years ago.  These kids, there is no motivation, even my thirteen year old son to get his butt out and play baseball.  He’s playing video games that are so realistic.  He’s in the game.  He believes that playing the Madden game or playing a war game or playing the new Godfather game, that he’s actually a part of that game doing something; where in reality, he’s sitting on his butt doing absolutely nothing just moving his fingers.
HT:  Right.
RD:  That is what’s going to be the problem in trying to get baseball back out of the houses and into the streets.

 Dibs' 'ICHIRO' kanji tatoo on his butt cheek. Dibs manned up and got the 'Ichiro' tatoo for an on-air bet he lost to co-host Dan Patrick. He bet Dan that Ichiro wouldn't hit .300 in his rookie year. The great Ichiro hit .350, lead all votes to become an All Star, was AL Rookie of the Year, and MLB MVP!

Barry Zito Interview



Barry Zito (born May 13, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a left handed starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He previously played seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics, where he won the 2002 American League Cy Young Award and made three All-Star teams.
Zito never missed a scheduled start in his career until 2008, and led the American League in starts four times. After the 2006 season, Zito signed the most expensive contract in history for a pitcher at the time. Zito is well known for the drastic difference between his pre- and post- All-Star Game pitching.
Zito played collegiately at UC Santa Barbara, Los Angeles Pierce College, and the University of Southern California. In the 1999 draft, he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick of the first round. Zito is known for his idiosyncrasies, and his offbeat personality. He created the charity Strikeouts for Troops which provides money to hospitals for soldiers wounded in military operations.
Zito transferred from San Diego's Coleman High School to University of San Diego High School, a Roman Catholic school where he earned all-league honors with an 8-4 record and 105 strikeouts  in 85 innings as a senior.
He then attended UC Santa Barbara where he earned Freshman All-America Honors with 123 strikeouts in 85? innings. Transferring to Los Angeles Pierce College, he posted a 2.62 ERA and went 9-2 with 135 strikeouts in 103 innings, and was named to the all-state and all-conference teams.
He then transferred to USC, where he was a first-team All-America selection by USA Today Baseball Weekly, Collegiate Baseball, and Baseball America. With a 12-3 record, a 3.28 ERA, and 154 strikeouts in 113? innings, Zito was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year.
While in college, Zito also played in the Cape Cod League, a summer wooden bat league which showcases the nation's top amateur prospects. He led the Wareham Gatemen to the league championship in 1997, and a runner-up finish in 1998.
Zito was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 59th round (1,586th overall) of the MLB Draft, and in the third round (83rd overall) by the Texas Rangers in 1998, but did not sign with either team. In the 1999 draft, he was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick of the first round, and signed for a $1.59 million bonus.
In 1999, Zito began his professional career in Visalia, Oakland's Class-A team. He went 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 8 starts. He struck out 62 in 40? innings. Zito was promoted to the Midland RockHounds, and went 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA to finish the AA schedule. He then got one start for the AAA Vancouver Canadians, allowing a lone run with 6 strikeouts in 6 innings.
Zito began the 2000 season with the Sacramento River Cats (formerly the Canadians). He pitched 101? innings in 18 starts, going 8-5 with a 3.19 ERA, 91 strikeouts, and 41 walks.

Oakland Athletics (2000–06)
Zito made his major league debut on July 22, 2000, against the Anaheim Angels. He allowed one run in five innings, and got the win.
In 2001, Zito finished third in the league in strikeouts per nine innings (8.61), fourth in strikeouts (205), sixth in wins (17), eighth in ERA (3.49), and tenth in winning percentage (.680). Zito became the sixth lefty aged 23 or younger since 1902 to strike out at least 200 batters in a season.
In 2002, Zito won the AL Cy Young Award with a 23-5 record, narrowly defeating Pedro Martínez in the voting. He led the league with 23 wins, was second in winning percentage (.821), and third in both ERA (2.75) and strikeouts (182). Martínez, who'd led the AL in ERA (2.26), strikeouts (239), and winning percentage (.833), became the first pitcher since the introduction of the award to lead his league in each of the three categories and not win the award.
In 2003, Zito was seventh in the AL in ERA (3.30). He was tenth in strikeouts in 2004 (163), and fifth in 2005 (171). Zito had a streak of 14 consecutive starts (and 20 out of 21) in which he gave up fewer hits than innings pitched. In 2006 he led the league in batters faced (945) and games started (34). He was third in the league in innings (221), eighth in wins (16), and 10th in ERA (3.83).
He threw 200 or more innings in each of his six full seasons with the A's. Zito never missed a scheduled start and led the American League in starts four times. He was named to the American League All-Star Team in 2002, 2003, and 2006.
Zito replaced his agent Arn Tellem with Scott Boras in July 2006. Zito was a focal point of the 2006 trade deadline, and was widely rumored to be headed to the Mets in a potential deal for prospect Lastings Milledge. A's general manager Billy Beane decided to keep him for the rest of the season.[4] Zito was offered to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Michael Bourn, Ryan Madson, and Chase Utley, but the then-GM of the Phillies Ed Wade said the price was too much and turned it down.

San Francisco Giants (2007–Present)
Following his seventh season with the A's, Boras negotiated a seven-year deal with the San Francisco Giants worth $126 million, plus $18 million option for 2014 with a $7 million buyout. Zito's contract on December 29, 2006, became the highest for any pitcher in Major League history at the time.
During spring training in 2007, he and Barry Bonds made shirts that read "Don't ask me, ask Barry" with an arrow pointing to the other Barry. By all accounts, Zito and Bonds got along well during their short time as teammates, and Zito made a point of saying he would stand by Bonds through onslaughts from the media.
On May 18, Zito made his return to Oakland as a Giant. He lasted only four innings as he gave up seven runs while walking seven, including two bases loaded walks. The A's beat the Giants, 15-3. He faced his old team again on June 9, this time in San Francisco. Zito pitched four innings while giving up three earned runs on nine hits.
Zito made his first Major League relief appearance on August 5 against the San Diego Padres, due to an early exit by starter Noah Lowry and an overworked bullpen. Zito pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He recorded his first career RBI two days later against the Washington Nationals, in the same game that Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th career home run.
After Zito's start on August 12, his ERA was 5.13. Over his next four starts, he lowered his ERA to 4.46. He admitted that he had put pressure on himself to perform because of the large contract and was learning that he just needed to be himself. Zito also said that it had been difficult for him to adjust to a new league, team, and ballpark. On the final day of the season, in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, Zito allowed two runs on five hits and had four strikeouts in an 11-2 win.
Zito began the 2008 season as the oldest starter and the veteran presence in the Giants' starting rotation. In April, Zito went 0–6 with a 7.53 ERA and 11 strikeouts. He was the third pitcher in the last 52 years to go 0–6 before May 1. On April 28, 2008, the Giants moved him to the bullpen. Zito did not make an appearance out of the bullpen and returned to the rotation on May 7, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that game, Zito allowed 5 hits and 2 earned runs over 5 innings and took the loss, his 7th of the season. On May 23, 2008, Zito collected his first win of the 2008 season against the Florida Marlins. On June 13, 2008, Zito became the first pitcher to record 10 losses in the Major Leagues following the 5-1 loss to Oakland. His 5.1 walks per 9 innings pitched for the season, 51.5% first-pitch-strike percentage, and 14 sacrifice flies allowed, were all the worst in the majors.
The 2009 season seems to have marked a rebound in Zito's pitching performance. Though starting the season 0-2 with an ERA of 10, Zito ended the season with an ERA of 4.03. Though going only 10-13 in the season, Zito's record was much more the fault of his spotty run support (the second-lowest in the major leagues) than his performance on the mound. On June 21, 2009, Zito pitched a no hitter through 6 innings against the Texas Rangers before giving up a hit and then a home run to Andruw Jones in the 7th inning. He won the game, his fourth win of the season. On July 7, 2009, Zito pitched what could be considered his best game of the season. He pitched an 8 1/3rd inning shutout against the Florida Marlins, giving up 4 hits, striking out 6, and walking 1. He won the game, his fifth win of the season.

Pitching style
The velocity of Zito's fastball has hovered between 86-90 mph. He augments it with a very good changeup, and a traditional "12-to-6" curveball that was widely recognized as the best in baseball. Though very slow, his curveball was voted the best in the Major Leagues in a player poll conducted by ESPN The Magazine; Zito's curveball is also his strikeout pitch. Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees once stated that he'd never seen anything like Zito's 12-to-6 curve, commenting that the pitch dropped 3-4 feet, and, "You might as well not even look for it because you're not going to hit it".
Since mid-2004, Zito has added a two-seam fastball and a slider to his arsenal; in the 2009 season, his slider became a prominent part of his repertoire, used more frequently than his changeup. Zito's diminished velocity at the start of the 2007 season (his fastball velocity went from 87-90 mph to 83-86 mph) and loss of command are the key reasons for his recent struggles, as he more often got behind in the count and had to rely more on his fastball. Most recently however, his pitching performance has rebounded due to the increased velocity on his fastball and regaining control on his curveball. During the 2009 season, Zito made changes to his delivery, lowering his arm slot from an over the top angle to a three quarters delivery. This change helped his fastball velocity go back up to the 87-90 mph range as well as sharpening the break of his curveball.

Awards
- 1999 - Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year- 1999 - First-Team College All-American- 1999 - Pac-10 Conference All-Star- 2000 - AAA All-Star- 2002 - Baseball America First-Team Major League All-Star- 2002 - Cy Young Award (AL)- 2002 - All-Star (AL)- 2003 - All-Star (AL)- 2006 - All-Star (AL)


Zito is known for his idiosyncrasies and his offbeat personality. He has earned the nicknames "Planet Zito" and "Captain Quirk". He once made it a practice to buy his own autographed baseball cards on eBay; when asked why he bought them at auction for high prices rather than acquiring unsigned cards and signing them himself, Zito replied, "Because they're authenticated." Despite batting and throwing left-handed, Zito signs autographs for fans at the ballpark right-handed. He has previously dated Alyssa Milano and Hilary Duff and shares a home in San Francisco with fellow Giants pitcher Brian Wilson during the season.
At his introductory press conference with the Giants, Zito said he liked the way his uniform number 75 looked, because the 7 and the 5 are like a "shelf" to hold the name "Zito" up. He carries pink satin pillows on the road, collects stuffed animals (such as a good luck teddy bear, with which he used to travel), and burns incense to relax. Early in his career, Zito dyed his hair blue. He plays guitar, surfs, practices yoga, and follows Zen. He has done yoga poses in the outfield, and meditates before games. In 2001, Zito espoused a universal life force that he credited with his midseason turnaround. His mother Roberta named him after her brother Barry, a beatnik “freethinker” and acolyte of Zen who mysteriously vanished in 1964 at the age of 22 near Big Sur, California.
He created the charity Strikeouts for Troops, to which he donates $400 for every strikeout he throws. The charity benefits hospitals for soldiers wounded in military operations.
His father composed and arranged music for Nat King Cole in the early 1960s (ca.1961-64), and arranged for the Buffalo Symphony. Zito's mother is a classically trained musician who also sang with Nat King Cole's band, in a choral group known as The Merry Young Souls.
His uncle is TV's Patrick Duffy.
Guest-starred on the hit TV show JAG, season 9 episode, "The Boast."
He is a big fan of the San Francisco punk band, NOFX. His favorite musician is Ben Folds.

 

 

 

HT:    Okay Mr. Z., first question, when are you going to be wearing the pinstripes?

BZ:    You know, I’ve been asked that a lot.  Obviously being Italian,  all the fans in New York ask me that.

HT:    Like Jason Giambi, it’s a natural fit isn’t it

BZ:    Yeah.  With Arne Telem, being my agent too… the first year it was Mike Musina who went there and then the next year Jason, and then now Matsui.  So everyone is like so when is Zito?  The whole thing about going to the Yanks, my primary place is Oakland.  I think we got the coolest team in baseball: we got the young guys, the studs, and the best clubhouse by far, I think. I want to take every opportunity I can to stay there when I’m a free agent in four years.

HT:    So you just signed a new contract?

BZ:    I signed one last year and I have four more years.  So right now I have two and a half more years so I have to wait four more.  If something doesn’t work out with Oakland then I’m going to explore other possibilities but I’m focused on keeping our guys.  We have a lot of young guys in Oakland and if we can sign all those guys, then we’re going to be great for a lot of years.

HT:    Are you familiar with the farm system there because you were in the majors soon after pitching at USC?

BZ:    I spent a year in the farm system.  I went to A ball, double A, triple A. 

HT:    I know you guys have a young team now but are there people that you are excited about who are coming up also?

BZ:    Yea, we have a couple of pitchers in triple A that are coming up.  But, the thing about our team now is if we can keep everyone together.  I mean we have a team right now where they are going to look back at us in ten years and they are going to say, “Holy shit, I can’t believe those guys all played on the same team.”  I mean me, Mulder, Hudson, Chavez, and Tejada.  Unbelievable!

HT:    And Jason before that too!

BZ:    And Jason was also homegrown too.

HT:    Who is really unbelievable!  You know considering what he has become now, had he resigned at that time for what he was asking for that off-season in ’99!  But what can you do?  Your Management made a choice that seemed sensible at the time, I guess, but he went on to have even better years in 2000 and 2001.  There have been recent rumors that Oakland weren’t going to resign Tejada.  With that kind of stuff going on with Jason and now Tejada…

BZ:    We have great owners.  We want everyone in the entire organization to see the greater picture, which is that we have a very special team.  We have a team like the Braves in the 90’s that can go to the playoffs and win their division every year.  I think if we can’t get Tejada signed there’re going to be a lot of upset people. 

HT:    The Yankees, we just think in terms of the guys who can just fit our team whether they have to change positions or not.  I mean, you are like a natural.  The first time we saw you in ’99 we thought he’d be another great guy for us.  Lefty and filthy stuff!

BZ:    …Italian.

HT:    And like Jason, Tejada too.  How does it feel thinking  that you may only have one season left with them…

BZ:    We’ll see what happens.  There is going to be a lot of negotiating going on.  It’s unfortunate how it works because with Jason, he said “I want to get whatever is going on during spring training. If I don’t sign then that’s it.”  And it ended up turning into a big battle the whole season.  And it’s hard for players when they are negotiating in the morning and at night they have to go play.  And they feel like if they go 0-4, their price goes down and if they go 4-4… It’s tough like that.

HT:    It’s a very special thing you got going… Zito, Hudson, Mulder, in whatever order.  That’s like Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz!.  You guys still have Harang?

BZ:       Yea, and we have Ted Lily who used to be with you guys.

HT:    I don’t know why we got rid of him.  I heard that the way because of the way he throws, he was going get hurt a lot.

BZ:    Actually, he got hurt with us and we hope he can come back.  He may still be hurting, I’m not sure.

HT:    You guys all signed long term right?

BZ:    That’s what you have to do with a team that doesn’t spend a lot of money.  You have to sign your guys early.  Chavez would have gone to arbitration and made a killing.  Miguel Tejada would have gone to arbitration.  I would be eligible for arbitration after this next year.  And they wouldn’t be able to afford everybody.  So, the fact that we signed guys to long-term deals was important.

HT:    You just try not to think about three, four years from now?  You guys could be like the Braves as long as you three stay together. Did you guys get a replacement for Koch yet?

BZ:    Yea, Keith Falk from the White Sox.  And that’s when you asked about the minor league.  We got that guy from the trade, Joey Valentine, who may or may not be a closer.  He’s a good guy.  Four years from now you never know what could happen.  We could have new owners, a new stadium, you just don’t know.  In the game of baseball it’s easy to look ahead and to think long term but you really got to focus day to day and worry about your next start, next game and this year only.

HT:    Our payroll for the Yankees was sixty million or something four years ago and now it is one hundred and sixty million.  A hundred million more but still they do all the work.  Yanks have a great owner who wants to win.  But I have respect for you guys because you guys really kept together even when they talked about the A’s moving to Las Vegas, and you guys stayed together and kept on winning and getting the fans excited.  The question is, how much longer you can keep on doing that, but you really don’t have a choice do you?  You just got to keep on doing it.  And when it comes down to it, no matter who’s there whether it is Jason or Tejada, it comes down to the big three again doesn’t it?

BZ:    I think our team is based around pitching and we have great hitters.  Chavez, Tejada, Hatteberg, Jermaine Dye, obviously tremendous.  Mark Ellis, Terence Long you can go down the list.  But, our team is based on pitching and defense mostly because when you have a staff like that, your main goal is to make sure your defense is good to back up your pitching.

HT:    You were able to overcome losing Jason Giambi last year.  But the fact that you guys proved that you could stick together and continue to improve, that must make you guys feel positive no matter who you end up losing?

BZ:    Oh yea, definitely.  No matter what, we are going to keep pushing and this year we didn’t lose anybody really.  We lost Billy Koch but we got somebody back.  And David Justice is gone too.  But, for the most part we have our group.  I’m more confident coming into this year than I’ve been since I’ve been with the A’s. 

HT:    Another hurdle is that you lost your manager.

BZ:    We still have a guy who was with us so it’s not like a new manager coming in.  Ken Macha’s a great guy, he knows the team and how we work.  He has a great relationship with our general manager, Billy Beane.  I don’t really expect anything crazy to happen. 

HT:    Macha played in Japan you know?I know you are the player rep.  Who has emerged as the leaders on the pitching staff and on the field?

BZ:    I think Huddy, Tim Hudson, definitely a leader.  And Frank Menachino, he wasn’t an everyday starter but this year I think he’s going to win a job. 

HT:    He had a good year two years ago in the playoffs.  He was awesome!

BZ:    He is such a gamer man!  So he’ll be battling with Mark Ellis for a second base spot.  Frankie’s amazing!  This guy has so much heart that it is contagious on the team.

HT:    It seems like even if he’s sitting on the bench he is totally ready.  It is important to have guys like that with that kind of professionalism.  Were there guys that influenced you coming up?

BZ:    It’s weird, I never really had a mentor coming up.  I never looked to a guy and said, “I want to be like him.”  I always did my own thing.  Sandy Kofax is a guy now that I know about and reading his book...  I never had a guy.

HT:    You are a big reader of biographies right?  As far as reading about other people’s approaches…

BZ:    Yea, the one book that I lead my life by is this right here.  Creative Mind by Ernest Holmes.   This book was written 100 years ago.  It’s all about the power of your mind and how basically everything on the inside of you predicts what’s on the outside.  They say if you take a picture of your mental outlook of yourself and your environment and then you take a picture of your life, it’s the same.

HT:    How long have you been reading this book?

BZ:    My dad has always instilled some beliefs in me.  My dad always told me you are going to be a great champion, you can do whatever you want to do.  Whereas some parents say you shouldn’t try that it’s pretty hard and what are the chances(?).  He never got into that.  I got into this book in 2001.   It was late July, I was 6-7 with a 5.5 something ERA and I was really struggling, scared to pitch and didn’t want to go out on the mound.  I just had had two terrible outings against Minnesota and he stayed with me in Oakland.  We went over this book everyday for four days until my next start.  And since that day, my record has been 34-6.  This showed me what I’m capable of up here.

HT:       That’s very impressive for a young man.  And if you can keep that up you’re going to have a very healthy career.

BZ:    I think so too.  I even think health is in your mind as well.  Someone who’s sick and weak is always feeling sick and weak and pitying themselves and saying “poor me, poor me.” 

HT:    I heard stuff about you before you came up to the Majors, but your first couple of outings were unbelievable.  When you know that you got the stuff, pitching is so much about the mental and physical health.  Obviously being a lefty with some absolutely filthy stuff helps.  David Wells has got some nasty curve balls and hooks but your stuff is obscene!  But, you basically only use three piches?.

BZ:    Yea, only three.  Fast ball, curve ball, and change up.  My change up has become, probably, my best pitch.  I know my curve ball is good but that pitch has gotten me out of more jams than anything and I really have focused on that.  I’ve worked with Rick Peterson, our pitching coach, who is an absolute genius.  He’s really taken me to the next level.

HT:    When you were at USC were you a two pitch pitcher?

BZ:    Mostly, fast ball and curve.  If you have a good curve ball in college you can get along with that.  The change up in college isn’t used as much.  Not, at least, in my case.  When I got to the big leagues, he said, “I don’t care how good your curve ball is, these guys can hit it.”  And he’s right.  If guys are looking for the curve ball, they are going to hit it hard.  But the change up, you can’t really look for the change up because it looks like a fastball.

HT:    Did you hit at USC?

BZ:    No, just pitch.  I haven’t hit since I was 14 or something. 

HT:    We haven’t seen you in the World Series hitting yet.

BZ:    No, I don’t think you want to.

HT:    Are there guys out there that you liked watching as you were coming up?  Randy Johnson, Glavine or Pettite?

BZ:    David Wells, actually.  David Wells and Eric Milton.  Those are two guys I like to watch pitch.  Of all the guys in the league, I think David and I have similar stuff.  Milton throws a bit harder than I do but he doesn’t have the big curve.  I just like how both of them throw.  Both of them live inside.  And I live inside.

HT:    Is it Wells’ toughness that you admire?

BZ:    I like how he competes.  He goes out there and no matter what he’s got, he is going to give it his all.  He’s going to win most times.

HT:    What about Jimmy Key?

BZ:    I remember watching Jimmy Key.  I grew up in San Diego, so I was a big National League fan.  He was in Toronto obviously.  I didn’t watch tons of baseball growing up so I wasn’t really aware of pitchers before ‘93 or ‘94.

HT:    You just played?

BZ:    Yea, I just played.  I was involved in so many other things; music, surfing, and that’s my life now.  Baseball is just one facet of my life.  I play around town with my sister in bands.  She’s a singer, songwriter.  I sing, write songs and I started acting.  There is just so much out there.

HT:    Do you have a stipulation where you can’t surf during the season?

BZ:    Most guys do.  That was a negotiating point in the contract.

HT:    I know Trevor Hoffman isn’t allowed to surf during the season.  He’s a big surfer.

BZ:    During the year, I never surf.  In the off-season though…  The biggest thing is you can do whatever you want but if you get hurt doing something that you are not allowed to do, say Jeff Kent motorcycling, they can void the contract.  I’m allowed to surf, I’m allowed to mountain bike, that’s it.  If I get hurt skiing and break my leg, then they can void my contract.

HT:    Can you talk a little bit about the influence you had from your parents? Your dad was a composer?

BZ:    He was a composer for Nat King Cole.  He always told me dream big and dream always.  Like I said before, so many parents tell their kids, “Oh I don’t know if you want to do that, that’s hard, what are the chances of being in the big leagues, what are the chances of making a living at baseball or music or whatever it is.”   So many kids are discouraged from their parents and I think a lot of times it’s from parents that came from a blue-collar family; they learned that you got to work full-time for thirty years at the same steel factory or whatever and that’s how you do it and I think when kids want to follow their hearts and do something creative they get discouraged.  That’s such a wrong thing to do.  So, my parents always encouraged me.  My dad brought me out on the backyard everyday, it wasn’t like he forced me but, “Dad I don’t feel like it today”.  Then he would say, “Do you want to be great at this or do you want to be like everyone else and be mediocre.”  And I’d say, “I want to be great!”

HT:    Was he an athlete himself?

BZ:    No, he was all music!  He didn’t know anything about baseball.  We would go through baseball books and he’d be two pages ahead of me the night before, and then we would go over what we had to do and he would never tell me he was two pages ahead, and I thought he knew the whole thing.

HT:    He instilled the hard work in you?  If you do your homework you would be ahead of the game.

BZ:    Yes!

HT:    He never pushed music?

BZ:    No.  He never pushed music.  I started playing guitar three years ago.  It was my first big league spring training in 2000 and I wanted something else to break the monotony of baseball.  So, I started playing guitar.  I’ve been playing three years.  I’m doing stuff on the guitar that I’ve talked to people playing seven to ten years who say they can’t do it.  I think I have that musical knack.  I have a really good ear.  I feel like I can write pretty complex music and stuff and so that’s definitely something that is instinctual.

HT:    When you sang on Jim Rome’s show.  I thought you showed a lot of balls to sing live on a Radio Sports Talk Show.  Because Rome’s radio show is so much more intense.  He could play it over and over on his show.  He wasn’t making fun of it but he was saying, “I love this guy, he just comes on out here and does this!”  But of course, the media started saying that you were this quirky guy and stuff.

BZ:    When people talk about me being a flake or me being quirky or different, I think they want a story and that’s understandable but the bottom line is, I’m real!  I think I’m more real than a lot of guys because I’m not afraid to show who I am.  I’m not trying to change to become this image of being some superstar ball player.  I’m just being me.  Now, I’m also proving on the field that I’m a good baseball player, but I love music and I love so many things about life that why should I act like I don’t.

HT:    I knew the Media would take that situation out of context.  The whole point was that you’d just stated playing, and even Romie loved it!  Besides, I bet you sound pretty good now!  Going back to your dad, he also helped you with your rhythm.  That must be so important to pitching?

BZ:    The timing and mechanics are huge.  As far as pitching, you can only delve on mechanics for so long and then you have to say, “These are my mechanics, I can change them a little bit, but this is how I have been doing it for fifteen years.”  So with me everything is mental.  I read this book before I go to sleep, I start having positive affirmations and that’s where my dad helped me.

HT:    Relaxation too right?  To be able to stay within yourself?

BZ:    Yes.  Stay within yourself.

HT:    Do you get nervous?

BZ:    No, I don’t ever get nervous.  I think anxious is more the word because, like before playoff games…

HT:    Don’t you get butterflies?

BZ:    I think when you are nervous is when there is some doubt that you can get the job done.  I know I can get the job done.  It’s more anxious, it’s like, “I don’t want to sit here for four hours until the game starts, I want to start right now!”  That’s more what it is.  Because once you get out on the field, that’s when I’m normal.  I feel so comfortable on the mound.

HT:    A MMA fighter I recently talked to called Bas Rutten apparently never gets nervous or butterflies!  Even seconds before a fight, with thousands of screaming fans in the stands.  It’s hard for me to believe people like that exist!  I can understand your explanation of staying within yourself, but what about game five at home against the Yankees in the later innings or at Yankee stadium in a playoff game to go to the World Series.  You don’t feel pressure when people are yelling and Derek Jeter is up there with two men on…

BZ:    It’s all in your mental concept.  It goes back to what I talked about, it’s your mental outlook.  The reason why that fighter doesn’t get nervous is because he has such a conviction inside of himself that he is the champion and that he can win and he can beat anybody as long as he stays in himself.  All the power to do anything you want in your life is inside of you.  A lot of people look outward.  If you’re not pitching well, you do get nervous and you go “wow” there are a lot of crowd or you go this umpire back there is not a good umpire, this guy’s a good hitter and you start looking at all this other stuff and you forget about you.  When you are pitching well and your mental concepts are correct you never look outside.  You don’t care if there are nine Babe Ruths in the line-up as long as you know in your heart that you are going to succeed.

HT:    I can see a player in his late twenties or in his thirties talking like that, but you’re still only twenty-four, you’ve grown up pretty fast.

BZ:    It’s because of my parents.
2001, was when I started studying this book.  It was the season that was such a turnaround otcpills.net.  I was 6-7 with like a 5 ERA; that was four months of the season.  And my next start was the first part of August and in order for me to save my year, I would have had to say, “Gosh, I have to be the best pitcher in baseball for the next two months.”  And I could have said that and said, “What are the chances of that?  You got guys like Clemens, Pedro Martinez...”  But I did what I do and stayed up here and played one game at a time and for the rest of the season I was 11-1 with a 1.3 ERA.  I ended up going 17-8 that year.  That’s a good year and I turned the entire year around.  Since those four days where I discovered the power that I have in my own life it was 2001.

HT:    That’s very impressive!  When Clemens won his Cy Young in Toronto, he started off 1-6 or 2-6 and he was treated rough but he ended up winning the rest of the games.  That’s similar to what went through.  People saw your first half-season and they knew that you had the stuff to compete for the Cy Young fairly early on.

BZ:    After that first half season of 2000, they said, “The sophomore slump” for the second year a guy does that.  The mental reason behind a sophomore slump is that when you come up and you’re new and a rookie you don’t really know that all this shit is insane, you don’t know that, “Oh my god, I’m pitching in a stadium”, you just know that you’re pitching.  I bust my ass to get here, there isn’t any expectation for a rookie.  You’re never expected to do great so then you do great and the next year you come back.  It happened to me and I was like, “Oh god, now they expect me to be the number two or three guy.”  After that, things were terrible!  That was when I realized that I was totally giving power to all this instead of what was inside of me.

HT:    That’s a great story.  Was there any religion in your family?  It seems like you guys have some kind of discipline of that nature.

BZ:    This is the religion.  If you call it that. 

HT:    Did you guys go to church?

BZ:    My grandmother founded a religion.  She started a religion in ’69 called Teaching of the Inner Christ.  The main teaching of that is that we are all a Christ, basically God is everywhere.  People might say, “God is in me.”  And you might say, “Are you God?”  “Oh no, I’m not God.”  “God is this huge powerful thing that we need to be afraid of.”  “But, I thought you just said that God is in me.”  “Yea, God is in me.”  So, it kind of contradicts itself.  So I was always taught that we are all Christ, we can all use this great power and the way we use it is through our mind.  And you always hear things like self-fulfilling prophecy; if you think something’s going to happen but nobody ever translates it into religion, they just think that.  Think of the placebo effect.  Someone takes a sugar pill and their illness gets better.  They didn’t take any medicine.  How come that isn’t a completely startling realization in the medical industry?  Where, all we have to do is have people think healthy and they will become healthy.  This was written one hundred years ago and only now, in the last ten years, can I talk about this stuff.  Thirty or forty years ago you talked about this stuff and you could have been shot or burned at the stake.

HT:    And your mother was an ordained minister wasn’t she?

BZ:    Yes, my dad didn’t work.  She was a pastor in a church, a minister, and that’s how we put food on the table. 

HT:    Why?  Because he was composing?

BZ:    No, I actually was born in Vegas and when I was six I came here to San Diego and my dad stopped working to help me.  Incredibly dedicated to me from seven years old till I was eighteen.  For eleven years we worked together.

HT:    So the Nat King Cole stuff was before?

BZ:    That was all back in the ‘60s, before I was born.  So, my mom was a minister.  She is now retired and they live over here in LA.  I did go to that church and those teachings are right in line with what I think.

HT:    But your parents didn’t force you to believe in Christ?

BZ:    We believe, of course, that there is a god.  What created all these beautiful things around us?  But, I don’t fear god and a lot of people do.  And a lot of people think that they’ill be judged.  It’s seems a contradiction in my eyes.  When you see how intricate the body works.  You know, we breathe in oxygen and blood cells come and take it to this and this and all the millions of functions.  Every human is the most perfectly working system and you think something that creates all that perfection and then people think that there is a bad power too?  I just don’t see it.

HT:    When you are through with your Hall of Fame bound career, can you see yourself coaching or managing?  Or, do you see yourself more involved in show business?

BZ:    Yes, I love the entertainment industry.  I love creative outlets.  Right now my creative outlet’s mostly music.  Obviously, baseball is something that always challenges my mind.  But music, acting I just did and I fell in love with it.  People told me, “Hey you’re a natural.  We can’t believe that you never acted before.”  Art and photography, there are so many things I want to get into that I don’t have time for right now.  But I think after baseball there is so much stuff that I want to do.

HT:    Did you graduate college?

BZ:    No, I went to four schools in three years and came out as a junior like most baseball players do.

HT:    Did you go to junior college?

BZ:    I went to UC Santa Barbara for a year and a half, then I went to two junior colleges and then I went back to USC for one.

HT:    Because of baseball?

BZ:    Yea, the career is what we had in mind.  We went to Santa Barbara.  You can’t get drafted by a team until you’re a junior.  So we wanted to go to a junior college so I could get drafted after my sophomore year.  I didn’t want to wait.  And I went to Pierce JC, here in the Valley, got drafted by the Rangers in the third round in 1998.  I didn’t end up signing there, and then I went back to another junior college back home in San Diego got my AA, which is required, and then to USC. 

HT:    Did you get drafted before that as a high school player?

BZ:    Yea, I got drafted in the sixtieth round by the Mariners out of high school.

HT:    Your uncle is Patrick Duffy?

BZ:    My mother’s sister’s husband.

HT:    Do you see him much?  Talk to him about acting?

BZ:    He’s actually kind of semi-retired now.  They live up in Oregon.  They used to live here in Tarzana.  I never really talked to him about acting but we would have family dinners over there.  We see him about three or four times a year.

HT:    I could see you in a solid role in a sports movie to start with maybe

BZ:    That’s probably the next thing.  I want to get away from the baseball.  When I was on the Chris Isaac show, that was a major role for me.  I was in eight scenes and tons of lines, I had a kissing scene, I had a scene where I sang a song with Chris and the band.

HT:    Did you play a baseball player?

BZ:    I played myself.  It was still a pretty big role.  Arliss was very small.  I would like to get away from that.  I feel like I can do a lot of things. 

HT:    You could’ve played the boyfriend in Blue Crush?

BZ:    Yea.

HT:    What’s it like on the road?  Do you guys have curfews?  Or are most players so tired that they just sleep?

BZ:    We have our fun on the run.  We go to restaurants.  I always make sure I prepare one hundred percent when I’m pitching.  See, I pitch every fifth day.  So I start on Sunday, my next start isn’t until Friday.  I’ll take a couple of nights and have some fun.  It’s a great opportunity.  Great cities.  Chicago, Boston, New York, Toronto.

HT:    You like the museums and concerts…?

BZ:    I love doing all that stuff.  When we’re in New York I love going to Broadway, seeing some shows.

HT:    Do you do the whole nightclub and the drinking?

BZ:    Yea, I mean I like having a good time too.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a complete homebody.  In LA, I don’t really party at home.  I come home and do my music.  Even though I’m ten blocks from all that stuff down there.  A lot of times, it’s a headache to go out in LA.  It’s hard to get into clubs here and when you do, it’s tough.  I think LA’s great if you’re known and you’re what’s going.  I love the energy of LA.  I love the entertainment. I love the fact that yesterday I could go to the gas station and see Johnnie Knoxville.  It’s so alive here.  It’s the industry! It’s great.

HT:    Being a young man, you hear the stories of Darryl Strawberry or Dwight Gooden and the excess.  They do their jobs on the field.   But, so many guys with Hall of Fame potential lose their focus.  You’re probably not afraid of that because of your discipline.  You seem to know when to call it quits before things get out of hand. 

BZ:    I can always sense it.  If I’m in a club or something…  Just two weeks ago, I was at The Lounge and it was a big party and guys were trying to get me to their hotel room to party with a bunch of people and I just get this thing.  It’s like a red light and then all of a sudden I’m in a cab and I’m home.  I just totally remove myself from the situation because I don’t want to get involved in all that stuff.

HT:    I don’t think you are the kind of person to get mixed up in all that.  Congratulations on the Cy Young Award, by the way!  Especially, in the American League last year!  23-5, that’s amazing!  You’re going to be the Man for years to come.  But. could girls become a distraction?  Do you have a steady girlfriend now?

BZ:    I just got out of a relationship.  The thing with me, I’m only capable of having a girlfriend during the off-season.  During the season, I’m so focused, so intense, I’ll literally go into my room for three hours, read this, make signs.  These signs are mental anchors or positive affirmations.  I’m always doing this.  It’s a total project.  If I’m doing all that and I have to call a girl and I don’t and then she is upset.  I can’t have that burden.  Before I go to Spring training every year I have to detach from everything so I can attach to everything mentally.  I had a girlfriend for two years but before my full year in the big leagues I had to end it and it was simply because of baseball.  The next off-season I had a girlfriend but had to end that.  The last girl I dated was a great girl in San Francisco.  She was probably the greatest girl I’ve met up to this point in my life.  We had to end it. 

HT:    What if you went out and saw a terrific girl during the season?  Are you going to just be up front and tell her how it is during the season?

BZ:    Yup!  I meet everyone and I’m completely honest, I’m not into being mischievous or deceiving. 

HT:    Isn’t it a temptation when all the hot ladies desire this studly, rich, young athlete like yourself?  You have needs too; you know what I’m saying?

BZ:    It is a temptation.

HT:    Are you that disciplined that you can stay focused?  And you have many more years before your career ends.

BZ:    I know, and when that point comes I’ll deal with it.  But right now, to be honest with you, I can’t believe how guys can maintain relationships let alone marriage and kids and give one hundred percent of what they have to the game.  For me, where I want to go in this game is definitely takes priority over any girl.  Look, if I meet a good girl here in LA, we go on a couple of dates, have fun, she knows by the first or second date that my complete focus is on baseball. 

HT:    That’s why young men like you and Derek Jeter are different!  You know where you want to go with the game.

BZ:    To be honest with you, I’d much rather spend a night playing a guitar hanging out than be with a girl and … a lot of times, when you are not completely comfortable around her and you sleep in the same bed together, you’re up with her till five or six.  Because you’re talking and you’re massaging and you’re doing all these things.  Instead of that and losing sleep.  Yea, maybe if it’s sex or whatever, that’s great, but I can’t take that.  I need sleep and prepare my body for what I’m about to do and that definitely takes priority.

HT:    Right now, the sky is the limit right?

BZ:    Yes.  It is rewarding to see that when you do your hard work and you do make it your priority, and yea you do make sacrifices.  Some guys love going around and dating all the hot chicks and going out with the movie stars but that is taking away from what they have to do.  I would rather see the Cy Youngs every year.

HT:    Whether you played for the Dodgers, Yankees or Mets wouldn’t have made a difference how you approached the game?

BZ:    No.  I still live in San Francisco.  It’s a great town, a great city.  There’s a lot of stuff to do, lots of things that can take from your focus but I take it all in stride.

HT:    What kind of girls do you like?

BZ:    I love Latin woman.  Brazilian, Mexican and Puerto Rican.  The biggest thing that sets me aside from guys I know is that I like a girl that you can talk to.  I like a girl that you can get deep with and talk about things.  I have little tests I do when I’m on a date.  I just went out on a date and I was drinking a margarita.  I connected four straws and I’m at the bar waiting for her.  I’m drinking from the glass with the long straw with a straight face and from her reaction I can tell what kind of person she is.  Is she going to laugh?  Or is she gonna look at me weird and think, ‘dude, what the fuck are you doing?  There’re people watching us.’  See, I’m not in to that.  I’m not that guy who wants meaningless sex and not even be able to talk to her.  I like to at least have a great girl I can talk to, I can laugh with and do stupid things and act like dorks.  That’s more than anything!  When you have that, in a person, an emotional connection, I think that girl gets that much more attractive.

HT:    What qualities do you like about Latin women?

BZ:    I love dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin.  Latin people are very classy.  Be it from their Catholic background, they’re just classy.  They’re nice, sweet people.  They are very family oriented.  They are very warm and I love that.  I’m the same way, I consider myself a warm person.  I was going to Spain during the off-season, but I just couldn’t do it because I had to train. 

HT:    What do you do in the off-season?

BZ:    I take three weeks off in October complely.  Starting in November I start lifting, running for two months.

HT:    Is it a specific kind of lifting?

BZ:    All specialized balance stuff, dynamic stabilization.  I’ll get on a physio-ball and lift one arm at a time. A lot of stability stuff, cause when you pitch you are unstable. 

HT:    You’re naturally right handed?

BZ:    Yes, I do everything right handed.

HT:    Are you ambidextrous?

BZ:    I do everything right handed, except swing and kick.

HT:    Can you talk about your mother and your involvement as a spokesperson for the national organ donation?

BZ:    My mother had a liver transplant in ’99 and from ’95 she was having problems.  The liver controls the skin so she started having itchy skin.  In ’99 she got so sick and her skin started turning orange and her eyes turned a dark yellow color and she finally got a liver transplant from a donor.  Ever since she’s been great.  I just want to help others realize how something I think insignificant… if I’m dead whatever cut me into a million pieces because I’m gone, I’m somewhere else.  This woman who wanted to donate saved my moms life, saved our family.  I think it’s something that’s so easy to do.  With one body you can save five or six lives, who knows?

HT:    You do fundraisers and special events?

BZ:    I started being the spokesperson this year.  So I’m trying to get the word out.  Obviously donor day is coming up on the fourteenth.  I’m going to start doing stuff.  Not golf tournaments; I’m not a golfer.  I’m a beach guy.  I’ll have a big day at Manhattan Beach; volleyball tournament or surfing or something.

HT       Is it important for you to be a role model?

BZ        Yea. My biggest thing for kids is ‘you can do it!  You can do whatever you want if you so believe.’ And that’s for anything in life.  I want kids to value my opinion.

HT:    Have you started mentoring other guys on your staff?

BZ:    It’s not selfish, cocky or arrogant, and you can tell by talking to me.  I can pick out things that I like about other guys and what I’d like to see them do.  When you start looking at another guy and starting saying, “God if I could only be like him.”   That’s when you start to tell yourself that you’re not that.  I’ll never look at a guy and wish I could be him.  I’ll tell myself, “I can be him.  I can be whatever I want.”

HT:    Do you, Mulder and Hudson do things together?

BZ:    We’re all three are so different.  Huddy is from Alabama, Mulder is from Chicago and I’m from San Diego.  We’re all alike in that we get along and we have a great time off the field… we like going to restaurants and doing fun stuff.  Our team’s very tight.  That’s why I love the A’s.

HT:    How about Tejada and Chavez?

BZ:    Tejada not so much.  Tejada keeps to himself.  Chavez and Mulder are like best friends.  Me and Adam Piatt, another backup outfielder at this point, are best friends.  I get along great with Huddy, Eric Byrnes, Chavez, everyone.

HT:    What has Billy Beane meant to you guys?

BZ:    He’s everything!  Billy and Rick Peterson are the two reasons why our team is the way it is.  Because Billy gets the guys, he tells everyone in our organization how we are going to run the minor league system.  Billy saw me at USC when every other team said, “He doesn’t throw hard, he’s never going to be anything, he’s an average pitcher.”  Billy said, “No this guy can pitch.”  And of course now every team is like, “Hey Barry, you’re great!  We love you, we were going to take you in the first round.”  And I’m like, “Yeah, whatever.”  Billy is a genius.  I feel blessed everyday when I think about him being with us because he could be turning any team around in the league.

HT:    There are talks about other teams wanting him.

BZ:    Oh yea, every team wants him.  He was going to go to Boston.  For two days in the off-season someone told me Billy was leaving.  And I had this sick feeling, like almost helpless, like now our team is going to be very different now.

HT:    If Tejada and Billy Beane were to go could your decision change?

BZ:    If everyone starts to not sign and goes different ways, things could change.  But that stuff hasn’t happened yet.  Who knows what could happen in a year?

HT:    Who is the toughest for you to face?

BZ:    It changes every year.  2001, there was Manny Ramirez.  Last year Garrett Anderson, I had trouble with.  Every year it changes and there isn’t one guy I just can’t figure out.

HT:    What is it about Manny that’s tough for you?  He seems so relaxed.

BZ:    Manny doesn’t think up there.  Manny hits the ball hard every time.  He doesn’t really have a scouting report.  A lot of guys… there is a certain way to get them out.  With the great hitters like Manny Ramirez, A-Rod, Garrett Anderson, and Jeter you just have to mix-up every time and if you don’t he’s going to hurt you for it.

HT:    What about facing Jason Giambi.

BZ:    We always wondered what it would be like to pitch to Jason when he was on our team. It’s great, I love facing G. 


HT:    As great as he had been with you guys, he turned it up a notch last year didn’t he?

BZ:    Yea, he sure did.  He’s done great under the spotlight.  He is one the most professional and the classiest guys I’ve met.

HT:    Do you guys keep in touch?

BZ:    Jason always did his own thing.  He was a great leader in our clubhouse but he never hung out.  He was so focused mentally, that he couldn’t do a lot of those things.  He had to focus on his game.  He would go out a lot with his own buddies.  Totally understandable.  To be at that level you need to kind of remove yourself.

HT:    Are there pitchers you find tough to go up against?

BZ:    You know you’re going up against a guy.  Mike Mussina.  I pitched a lot against Mussina last year.  His mental focus is…..unbelievable.  I would say Mussina. Like in the third game of the 2001 play-offs I lost to Mussina 1-0.  That could go to your head, but coming into that game I couldn’t tell myself ‘if you give up two runs you might lose.’  You just got to do your work and hopefully get some runs.  And Brad Radke, for the Twins.  Beat us twice in the playoffs.  He also ended our twenty game win streak.  He pitched a complete game shutout, man, which is unbelievable.

HT:    What was more satisfying to you, 2001, when you guys came so close or last year, the way you guys came together after a disappointing start?

BZ:    Last year for sure.  Last year we started out slow and it looked like Seattle was going to pull away from the pack again, and then we started getting it done.  Last year was amazing, we pulled together, we won twenty straight, it wasn’t the outcome we would’ve liked in the play-offs, but we showed everyone that ‘hey, Jason left us but we still did what we had to do.’  It really made us a solid team.

HT:    Are there any places where you do like to pitch and don’t?

BZ:    I like to pitch in Seattle.  I love the atmosphere, the fans are amazing, it’s always loud as hell.  The crisp air in the northwest.  And New York. 

HT:    Ichiro?

BZ:    Very tough.  Another guy who doesn’t have a scouting report.  You pitch him, you hope you can mix.  He doesn’t hit pop-flys, he doesn’t walk, he’s putting the ball in play, and he doesn’t strike out.  If there is one guy who is going to hit .400 it’s Ichiro.  Hands down!

HT:    How about Hideki Matsui?

BZ:    I don’t know, I haven’t heard much.

HT:    Did you go to the Japan All Stars?

BZ:    No.  I had to train.  Well that was in November so I couldn’t do it.

HT:    What about the San Francisco Giants doing well?  Towards the end, the A’s are just as good.  People were predicting a Bay Area World Series.

BZ:    Well, San Fran has Barry Bonds, we’re on the other side of the Bay, we don’t get as many fans as they do.  You can go on and on.  We don’t care if we get publicized.  We just go out to play. 

HT:    Would you mind playing out in Vegas?

BZ:    Wherever we have to move, that’s fine.  We’ll play anywhere!  As long as there’s a commitment to win.

HT:    Spending money is important?

BZ:    I think to keep your players and to understand how important key guys are and to let those guys go and to hope that you can still maintain a good winning team, it can only work so many times.

HT:    Two years ago when A’s went with Cory Lidle at four, rather than pitch you guys (the big three) again.  Was that a questionable call?

BZ:    See, Lidle was having a great second half. That was the decision that they wanted to go with.  Last year we didn’t go with that and went with the three-man rotation.  But we were confident running Lidle out there.  He was one of the best pitchers at the end of the year in 2001.

HT:      That’s also the thing about great teams, you support each other and don’t question those decisions, right?

BZ:      Yea, exactly.

HT……What about that Clemens versus Piazza situation in the 2000 Subway Series, Al Leiter, and later Estes, took some heat for not decking one of the Yankees, if you were in that situation would you have had a problem putting one in Derek Jeter’s ear?

BZ:    Nope!  I would do whatever it takes to protect a fellow teammate of mine.

Derek Lowe Interview

Derek Lowe was born June 1, 1973, in Dearborn, Michigan. Lowe is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. He throws and bats right-handed. He is 6'6" and 230 pounds. Lowe attended Edsel Ford High School (Dearborn, Michigan) and was a four-sport letterman  in baseball, golf, soccer, and basketball. He was an All-League honoree in all four sports, and was a first-team all-state pick in basketball.
Lowe was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in round 8 of the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed with the Mariners on June 7, 1991. The Mariners immediately assigned him to their rookie league team, where he went 5-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 12 starts.
He spent the next several years working his way through several minor league teams: 1992 - Single-A Bellingham (7-3, 2.42 - 13 starts), 1993 - Single-A Riverside (12-9, 5.26, 26 starts), 1994 - Double-A Jacksonville (7-10, 4.94, 26 starts), 1995 - Double-A Port City (1-6, 6.08, 10 starts), 1996 - Triple-A Tacoma (6-9, 4.54, 16 starts).
Lowe made his major league debut on April 26, 1997, working 3 2/3 innings in relief against the Toronto Blue Jays. He made his first major league start on May 27, 1997, against the Minnesota Twins, giving up four runs in 5 innings. His first career win came on June 6 against the Detroit Tigers, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up 3 runs in the Mariners 6-3 victory.
Seattle, however, was desperate for immediate bullpen help and packaged Lowe and catcher Jason Varitek into a deal with the Boston Red Sox for Heathcliff Slocumb. The Mariners' willingness to trade Lowe may have stemmed from his involvement in an incident earlier that year in Federal Way, Washington. Lowe was charged with fourth-degree domestic violence by King County police after his girlfriend claimed that he struck her. Lowe was released on $1,000 bond the next day, and he allegedly violated a no-contact order by returning to her home shortly after his release. However, given the subsequent careers of the three players involved in the trade it is now viewed as one of the most lopsided in recent MLB history.
Lowe compiled a 5-15 record over his first two seasons, during which he split time starting and relieving, but came into his own in 1999 after being transferred into the closer's role, finishing the season with 15 saves and a 2.63 ERA.
Lowe had his best season as a closer in 2000 when he led the American League with 42 saves. He was regarded as an unconventional closer, however, as he didn't overwhelm hitters. As a result, despite 24 saves early in the 2001 season, Lowe lost the closer's job soon after the trading deadline, July 31, when he lost the job to the newly acquired star closer Ugueth Urbina. Lowe was left in limbo, forced to take various setup jobs in the bullpen.
In 2002, Lowe moved back into the starting rotation, a move which paid off immediately. He posted a 21-8 record, a 2.58 ERA, and finished 3rd in Cy Young Award voting behind Barry Zito and teammate Pedro Martínez. Lowe also no-hit the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Fenway Park on April 27 that year, becoming the first pitcher to do so at Fenway Park since Dave Morehead in 1965.
Lowe struggled through much of the 2003 season, but boosted by the strength of Boston's thunderous offense, posted a 17-7 record despite a 4.47 ERA. He recorded an improbable save in deciding Game 5 of the American League Division Series, helped by two clutch strikeouts.


Boston Red Sox
In 2004, he finished 14–12 with a 5.42 ERA in 33 starts, spending part of the season demoted to the Red Sox bullpen. During the postseason he rebounded with a 3–0 record and 1.86 ERA in four games, three of them starts. He was the winner in the final game of all three postseason series — American League Division Series against the Anaheim Angels, American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, and World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals (where he threw shutout ball for 7 innings in game 4, to defeat Jason Marquis) — as the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years, extinguishing the Curse of the Bambino. Lowe was the first pitcher in baseball history to accomplish this feat. With the curse extinguished, he said that the team would no longer hear "1918" at Yankee Stadium.


Los Angeles Dodgers
Lowe pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006.
On January 11, 2005, he finalized a $36 million, four-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite his signing with a new team, Lowe wore a Boston Red Sox uniform, with his career-long number of 32, during the Red Sox World Series ring ceremony on April 11, 2005, after already making a start for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On August 31, 2005, Lowe nearly pitched the second no-hitter of his career. After giving up a leadoff single to the Cubs' Jerry Hairston, Jr., Lowe did not allow another Chicago hit, picking up a one-hit, two-walk, 7–0 complete game victory while facing only 29 batters.
For the 2008 season, after being the opening day starter for the Dodgers for the last three years, he was moved to the second starting position, with the honor of the first position going to Brad Penny. Lowe was chosen by manager Joe Torre to start game one of the National League Championship series against the Philadelphia Phillies on October 9, 2008. Lowe opened the game with five scoreless innings.
Both times that the Dodgers acquired Greg Maddux midseason, Lowe performed visibly better afterwards. He indicated that Maddux helps him considerably, and Maddux was often seen sitting next to him in the dugout.


Atlanta Braves
On January 13, 2009, it was reported that Lowe had agreed to a four-year, $60 million dollar deal with the Atlanta Braves that was confirmed two days later.
On March 29, 2009, Bobby Cox announced that Lowe would start both Opening Night and the Braves home opener for the 2009 season. Lowe beat the Phillies 4-1 on Opening Night, going 8 innings and giving up just 2 hits and 0 runs. On June 20, 2009, for the first time since leaving the Red Sox, Lowe pitched at Fenway Park against his former team. Despite losing the game giving up three runs, he received a standing ovation coming into and exiting the game due to his crucial part in the 2004 curse breaking World Series team.
In 2009, Lowe was one of only three active players, along with Brad Ausmus and Livan Hernandez, to have played 12 or more seasons without going on the disabled list.
On August 3, 2005, FSN West in Los Angeles announced that Carolyn Hughes, anchor of the network's Dodger Dugout show covering the Dodgers, had been suspended pending an investigation into a potential relationship between her and Lowe. Shortly thereafter, Lowe filed for divorce from his wife of seven years, Trinka Lowe, with whom he fathered two children. Hughes's husband had also filed for divorce. In the aftermath, Hughes ended her broadcasting career, while she and Lowe continued their relationship. The two were married on December 13, 2008 at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan.




HT:  Well, thanks for your time.  
DL:  You're welcome.
HT:  I really appreciate it.  Congratulations.  What a great…I mean, you can't think of a better story than your Boston Red Sox last year.
DL:  Yeah, thank you.  
HT:  Unbelievable! And I should tell you that I'm a die-hard Yankee fan too…
DL:  [laughs] I don’t want to NOT know! [laughs]
HT:  But you guys were just tremendous. OK, let’s get started. Tell me a little bit about your background…you were born in Detroit?
DL:  Yeah, Dearborn, outside of Detroit
HT:  And tell me a little about your upbringing?
DL:  I had one sister, came from an athletic family.  We played pretty much every sport underneath the sun.  That's where I got my competitiveness from…playing my sister who was 4 years older.  And my dad never let me win at anything, since I was a little kid.  So it was a big day in my life when I could finally beat my dad.  I went to public schools.  I came up through your public school system.  I guess I played every sport and got drafted in '91 by Seattle Mariners.  
HT:  So what did you beat your dad in?
DL:  Probably in basketball at about 9th grade.  
HT:  I heard that you were really good in a lot of sports?
DL:  Yeah, I got to play a lot. I mean, I think a lot of athletes are similar with me.  I didn't specialize in any one sport when I was a kid.  I really enjoyed basketball.  But I would play tennis, golf, and a lot of my aunts and uncles are the same way, so a lot of our get-togethers are just pretty much, rally round sports.  
HT:  Do you think you could have made it in another sport?
DL:  Basketball would have been my best try, but I don't know.  I mean, I would have liked to try.  I used to like basketball better than baseball.  It's more enjoyable to play, I'd say.   
HT:  So you're probably a small forward?
DL:  No, I was actually a point guard.
HT:  Oh really?
DL:  Yeah.  
HT:  See, you forget how big these basketball players are.
DL:  Yeah. I was able to make All State Michigan.  I played with some pretty big name guys.  But that was back then.
HT:  Oh yeah, back in Detroit, huh?
DL:  Yeah.
HT:  Who were some of the guys you played with?
DL:  It was the year of the Fab Five.  So Chris Webber was around then.  Jalen Rose.  Vishon Leonard.  We all played on AAU Basketball team together.  
HT:  I interviewed Chris last year actually.  Those were some special times back then in Detroit, huh?
DL:  Oh, absolutely.  Detroit has good basketball.  
HT:  Were you a University of Michigan fan?
DL:  Oh, I love University of Michigan, to the day.  The basketball is struggling, but I'm still a huge football fan.  I watch it as much as I possibly can.
HT:  Was College an option for you?
DL:  I would have.  I was going to go to Eastern Michigan to play college basketball.  My mom wanted me to go to school and my dad wanted me to go play sports.
HT:  Were you fairly highly recruited as a baseball player?
DL:  I wasn't.  I had no recruiting…I never got recruited to play college baseball.
HT:  Really?  That’s weird. But professional baseball have that long-term project mentality, don’t they?
DL:  Yeah, exactly.  At the time, Seattle drafted a lot of tall skinny pitchers.  I fit the mold, so I figured I'd just give baseball three years.  Because you can always go back to play college basketball.  So that was my plan.  
HT:  Were you a Detroit Tiger fan?
DL:  Yup.
HT:  Who did you like?
DL:  Alan Trammell and Chet Lemon, the centerfielder, were my favorite players.  
HT:  Oh yeah?  Not Bird Fidrych?
DL:  No, he was a different guy.  But no, I grew up with the '84 team.
HT:  Who was your biggest influence growing up?
DL:  Yeah, I didn't really have that until Minor League Baseball.  I give a lot of credit to a guy named Pat Waika.  He was the athletic director at my high school.  And he allowed me to play, I was playing three sports at one time.  And so I give him a lot of credit for allowing me to play that many sports.  Because a lot of times you have to pick one.  But Jeff Mengers, he was my pitching coach in Double A that taught me the most about pitching.  
HT:  Right.  Did you always have the ¾ delivery?  
DL:  Yeah.  I was always able to, for the most part.  I was always able to throw strikes.  Because I never really could throw hard, still really can't.  But as I gained more weight, I was able to throw a little bit harder.  
HT:  I remember way back when you first came to Boston, and you obviously went through so much as both a closer and starter where you pitched in huge games. And the whole curse of the Bambino thing that you guys were constantly reminded of in a tough sports town. But, did you believe in the curse?
DL:  I didn't personally believe in the curse.  I think you create your own good luck and bad luck.  But like you said, the longer you play there, just a negativity of the city, it's always just they’re just waiting for the other shoe to fall.  Every August, the negative talk starts coming, Okay, here they go, the Red Sox are going to fall, this is the time, they do it every year, ‘Curse of the Bambino’!  The media talks about it pretty much daily the last six weeks of the year.  So, if anything, it just keeps reinforcing the negative.  And so, no, I don't really believe in curses.  I think, for the most part, the New York Yankees have just had a better team for a lot of years, and I think that's what made this year so special, is because we had to go through New York to get to the World Series.  
HT:  It made the total story really, didn't it?
DL:  Oh, it made the whole thing.  People in Boston were saying, once you beat New York, they were fine with that.  That, to them, is like, that was the World Series.  Beating New York was more important than beating St. Louis.  
HT:  Because the whole curse took the heat off of the rest of what it takes to win, really, to go all the way.
DL:  It will be interesting to see how the fans react, because there was actually something to be said about the loveable loser.  You know everyone loves to be a Red Sox fan because everyone can enjoy the misery.  But now that that's over, I think hopefully they'll have a different outlook and I think all the weight shifts to the Chicago Cubs now, because they've had the longest wait now.  
HT:  Were you always vocal about it in the media.  Because, obviously the Boston media is pretty crazy and pretty relentless.  Were you always fairly vocal like Pedro, “I don't believe in curses”?
DL:  The thing about Boston is, you gotta watch what you say.  Because if you try to tell people in Boston, I'm serious, I get to New York, and it's no big deal, or you don't believe in curses, it actually has a backlash.  A lot times in Boston, or a lot of big medias, you've got to lie, to save your own butt. Because if you act like you don't think it's that big of a deal, you don't want the home fans turning against you.
HT:  But you kind of have to respect it because there were generations of Red Sox fans, people who are not even alive now, that took it dead seriously.
DL:  I think this perceptions that playing for the Red Sox, is that people think—now as far as the fans go, absolutely, they're die-hards—but again, the perception is that all of us players grew up Red Sox fans or knew the history of the Red Sox.  People think that as soon as you put on a Red Sox uniform, you're supposed to hate the Yankees, believe in the curse, think you're never going to win, but as far as the fans go, you have to almost speak to please the media and the fans more than speaking to please yourself. Like I said, if you say that you don't care, you won't be able to last there very long.  
HT:  Looking at it from my standpoint, you hear Boston fans saying that every year, it's like the good guy dying at the end of the movie, you know?  Again, you have to respect and understand their standpoint, but I felt there was always this negativity where they weren't really with you all the way.
DL:  No, absolutely.  Playing there is different than any other stadium, because they support you, but in turn, they'll turn on you in a heartbeat.  They don't really have a lot of patience.  But again, I think the longer you play there, you realize that…the negativity really doesn't get to you.  But if you’re a first time person there, and hearing all the negative stuff, because, as I said, patience isn't too high on the people in New England’s list.
HT:  Because I remember when the Yankees won in '96, I'm finally beginning to relate a little bit, a little bit, a tiny…maybe a few percentage of what it's like – 86 years, but when we won in '96 that was an unbelievable relief for us, but for you guys, I mean, what a story, to be a part of it, and the part you had to play in it, it must have been unbelievable.
DL:  Yeah, it was great to, 1. to see the actual true joy of people's faces at our parade.  Almost 4 million people to celebrate a team.  I mean, you saw all kinds of generations.  I was just fortunate to pitch in the right games.  I was able to pitch in like Game 4 and Game 7 against New York.  We were both losing.  Actually, losing in Game 4, tied the series in Game 7.  I happened to pitch well.  I think the beauty of playing for the 2004 Red Sox is the team is never going to be forgotten and you could be sitting around a campfire having a cold beer in 20 years and bring up Dave Robert's name and people are going to remember him because he stole a base in Game 5, or Game 6 it was…or Game 5.  That's the beauty of playing for a team like that, is because no one's ever going to forget what people did on that team.  
HT:  Obviously it was a nightmare for us watching it.  But that's the beauty of baseball.  You could be two outs away in the bottom of the 9th…it's like the Diamondbacks thing too in the World Series a couple of years ago, and even the Florida Marlins when we played them in the World Series, but you could be a couple outs away, but one stolen base or a bloop hit or an error could just…
DL:  Absolutely.  And we're down three games nothing, against the New York Yankees, down 3-2 in the 9th inning, and it's the best closer (Mariano Rivera) in the history of the game.  And he walks the lead-off guy.  I mean, thing guy probably hasn’t walked the lead-off guy in the whole year.  You always use that thing, 27 outs, you play the game until the last out, and I think Game 4 is a perfect example of don't ever give up.  But who’d ever thought we'd win 4 in a row, let alone 8 in a row.  We were going to try to get back in this series and not embarrass ourselves and lose 4 in a row.  
HT:  I think this has to be one of the greatest post seasons in the history of baseball.  I mean, it's not like it Game 7 like against the Diamondbacks.  You guys won 4 in a row, from there.
DL:  I think what makes it even more…I don't want to say impressive because I was a part of it, but Game 3 we lost, I think it was 18 to 9.  They had 27 hits; they embarrassed us.  I think everyone in baseball thought, OK, this is over, they're going tomorrow, they're going to beat them, move on, same old story.  But we knew if we could win Game 4, and we had a Pedro Martinez and a Curt Schilling in Game 5 and 6 and who knows what would happen in Game 7, but it was an unbelievable ride and millions and millions of fans, I think, really enjoyed the 2 or 3 week stand that we played.
HT:  It was unbelievable.  Because I really…Obviously, I refused to believe it, but the media and everybody started talking about, well, now they have a momentum.  Because we'd been through it recently with the marlins and even with the Diamondbacks and when we got 3 more games to play with, I just didn't see it as possible.  But you guys…and a lot of your guys weren't playing well, you know, Damon and Belhorn.  Papi (David Ortiz) was always there.  But then you guys suddenly put it all together and it was unbelievable.  You guys actually did it.  
DL:  I think of that has a lot to do with the amount of games that we play against the New York Yankees.  I mean, if you are a team that doesn't play them a lot, you can get completely awed by everything that they bring to the table.  That Inter League, or that unbalanced schedule, you play them 18 times.  You look over the last 3 years, I think our record is absolutely identical.  So we knew that we could get back into the Series, and we just had to play it one day at a time.  We used the whole team all year long and there were certain guys who were struggling during the New York series, and look who basically were the heroes.  Belhorn in Game 6 and Damon in Game 7, guys that weren't playing the way they would like, but we all believed in them and they turned it around and did a great job.  
HT:  What about this whole thing about you and Terry Francona, did you actually use it to fuel you?
DL:  Yeah, because, as a competitor, you never want to be told that you can't do something.  So, I was told in the Baltimore Series I wasn't going to be used as a Starter.  So you use it as a motivation to…you're not trying to prove it to yourself because you know you can do it, but to just prove it to the organization and the guys that make the decision, that they may have made the wrong one.  And so that was my motivation the whole Series, and it worked out.  
HT:  But do you still believe that up until that point that you didn't get a fair shake?  Or does it not really matter that much anymore?
DL:  Oh, it doesn't really matter right now.  But my last 3 games of the year were terrible, so I kind of understood why…the reasoning behind it, but my reasoning back them was you can't base someone's year on 3 starts and I believe my track record in the playoffs was good enough to get a start, but it didn't work out that way.  But ultimately it worked out for the best.  
HT:  At one point it looked like, especially with Game 4 and stuff, it looked like…no, up until Game 3 against the Yankees, it looked like maybe you won't even pitch at all.  
DL:  Oh they had marching orders not even to pitch me.  It was as obvious as you could be.  Against Anaheim, me and Curt Leskanic who got to pitch in Game 3, like I said, there were marching orders not to pitch me and then I was able to get a start in Game 4.  And you could tell that they were trying to get you out of the games as quickly as they could.  But like I said, they make the decisions and we kind of live by them, so to speak, but I was happy to get the opportunity to get in Game 7 and go a bit longer.
HT:  But you sound like a guy who realizes how lucky a position you've been in.  I mean, obviously you've been part of a great team.  You've had ups and downs with Boston, but the things you've been involved with, you've had great success as a closer, you've had the opportunity to start again and do very well, being part of All-Star games, and to be the first guy to be pitching in the deciding game of all three post-season series.
DL:  Yeah, again, playing there for 7 years, I've felt like, individually and team-wise, I've felt like we've done a lot of good things, but there were a lot of inconsistencies along the way.  It wasn't exactly the kind of year you were hoping to have.  But there's no better way to leave an organization, than when you win a World Series.  Your biggest fear was, the time you left…you knew they were going to win a World Series at some point, you just wanted to be part of it.  And now that you won one, I think it makes leaving there a lot easier.
HT:  So, does it look like you're going to be leaving?  
DL:  Yeah.
HT:  So you wanted to leave?
DL:  They kind of made it perfectly clear.  You know, when they make a decision that they're not going to put you in the starting rotation and then once this World Series is over, not really speaking to me a whole heck of a lot during the playoffs and then not offering you a contract, it kind of tells you where you stand.  
HT:  But they offered you arbitration, right?
DL:  Yeah, but they know I'm not going to take it.  They do that so they can get draft picks.
HT:  Oh, I see.
DL:  But I have nothing but good things to say about the organization, how they treated me great.  It's a classy organization, it's just a time, I think, for both sides to go different ways.  
HT:  But what if they came up to you after the World Series …?
DL:  No, never.  Never.  Like I said, the old thing, the writing was on the wall.  It just played out good that we won a World Series.  But once the season was over, you kind of knew that in 2005 you'd be playing somewhere else.  
HT:  So, you wouldn't have listened to them even if they said, Look, we really want to work it out with you.
DL:  Yeah, you would have listened, but I could tell that they weren't going to do that.  Them not offering a contract was really not much of a shock.  
HT:  I want to talk a little bit about your whole Boston experience.  I mean, obviously, the media and the fans--relentless.  But you got to experience the ultimate stage, pitching in Yankee Stadium and Fenway.  You've experienced all that stuff and the post-season, and you can pitch anywhere now.
DL:  Yeah, there's this saying in baseball, if you can pitch in Philadelphia, Boston and New York, you can pitch anywhere.  But there's something that you enjoy about pitching those Series too, because every game is magnitude, everything you do, good and bad, they kind of cover every little step you take.  So that aspect can be kind of frustrating because some things get blown out of proportion.  But, again, when you play there, you know these things are going to be attached to playing there.  But if you can win there, this city will always love you for coming back there.  
HT:  They're going to love you, no matter what now.  You, Papi, Pedro…I mean, all of you, but especially you and Papi, you guys really came up big.
DL:  I think a lot of people, visiting teams, always enjoy playing Fenway and enjoy playing Yankee Stadium.  But when you're part the Yankees and the Red Sox rivalry, I wish every single baseball player could feel what that's like, because it's not like any other game of the year.  It's Game 7 of the World Series, even though it's April 7th.  It's not like any other game.
HT:  Do you personally think the turning point of this past season was when Varitek had the brawl with A-Rod?  Do you look at it that way?
DL:  It could have been.  I think you see when you actually watched this all year long, I think it was more simple that a starting pitcher pitched well.  I think a lot of people like to point towards the Veriteck fight, point towards the fact that Nomar got traded.  I think I was the biggest culprit in the first half.  We were just very inconsistent at the starting rotation.  But once I think end of July, beginning of August, we put together about 30 quality starts in a row and I think we won about 27 of them.  So I think that was the biggest thing, not just the Variteck fight.  
HT:  Is there like a turning point for you in your career?
DL:  I would say getting back to the starting rotation.  I think 2001, they brought in Urbina, and our manger at the time, Joe Kerrigan, was nice enough to put me back in rotation.  And at that time I was probably getting to do something that I'd always wanted to do and start. I had a good year that year.  This year wasn't the best you could hope for and I was just trying to get back to the 2002 season.  
HT:  But you were a very successful closer.  Did the closing experience really help you?
DL:   Yeah it did.  I mean, I think you can use that experience in starting, because there's a point in every single game where you need to get a big out or make the big pitch.  And I think if you've closed before you understand what that feeling is all about and the past success, I think it makes it easier to settle down and make the big pitches when you have to, even though you're a starter.  
HT:  You were kind of a natural in the Closer role.  I remember one day when Peter Gammons on ESPN said “Derek Lowe is probably going to become the closer now.”  I wasn't sure if you were going to be able to do it, but you were pretty natural at it.  And very successful at it obviously – All Star.  
DL:  Yeah, I think the mentality of closers is hard throwers, intimidating pitchers, and I was everything completely opposite.  I relied on control and throwing strikes and I think you see more of those guys come along the line.  You know, we had a great closer this year in Keith Foulke.  Not overpowering.  He's got, you know, the old saying “Big Cojonians”.  And he throws strikes, so I don't think there's like one formula to be a great closer.  You just have to be able to pitch under pressure.  
HT:  Right.  But do you think when you were the closer, you had Pedro in the starting lineup, do you think Boston should have got a legit, a real closer, so that you could have been in the starting lineup without you having to ask?
DL:  At that time, they had enough guys and I hadn't earned the right to start yet.  You just didn't want to blow any of Pedro's games.  Those were the most nerve-wracking games as a Closer was when Pedro pitches.  You know he's got a chance to win the Cy Young every year.  But, no, they had enough quality guys.  And I wasn't even on the radar screen as far as Starting goes until 2002.  
HT:  And also because Tom Gordon went down, too, didn't he?
DL:  Yeah, exactly.  I was a Set-up guy for a year and then he had surgery.  And so I was the so-called next guy in line and moved in.
HT:  Was it pretty much on-the-job training for you?  To be pitching every day?  To be closing?
DL:  I think Set-up and Closing are the same way.  Sometimes as Set-up guy, you pitch even more.  I think I've always been fortunate to have an arm that bounces back, and so Jimy Williams was the manager at the time and he loved using the bullpen, and so I got in a lot of games, a lot of on-the-job training in '98, '99; until I was able to become a closer in 2000, so it really wasn't that big of a transition.
HT:  UmHmm.  Do you think you're not suited to be the bullpen type guy, you know, waiting every day?  You know, eating, and munching those stuff, and napping, and all that kind of stuff?
DL:  Again, it depends on where you're in your career.  When you're a young player, like I was at the time, Relieving's great.  'Cause you can get in there every single day, you fail, and they put you back out there the next day.  That's what happens when you're a young kid when you're Starting, you pitch bad and you got to wait 5 days, maybe an off day, 6 days.  But, the older you get, those extra days come in pretty handy.  
HT:  Right.  So, I mean, you wouldn't rule out being a closer towards the later part…
DL:  I wouldn't rule out anything.  I mean, I enjoy pitching.  But right now you want to start. I mean look at John Smoltz: He's going back and forth, and look what he’s doing.  I think he's going back to Starting.  So, I think as long as you have the arm, you should do it.  You know, it always leaves you up for the opportunity in your career of doing something else.  
HT:  But that's not an option for you right now if a team came to you and said, “We want you to close for us.”
DL:  No.  Not right now.  No.
HT:  Now, you shared the closing duties with Tim Wakefield in '99, right?
DL:  Yup.
HT:  So that's, I mean again, going all the way back, that's five years ago.  I mean, you and ‘Wake’ went through a lot together.  
DL:  Actually, he's got more of my money than I do on the golf course. (laughs) We did play golf a lot.  But he's been there since '95 and Varitek and I’d been there since '97.  So I think that's the one thing that you miss most about leaving teams when you've been there a long time, is not necessarily the actual playing of the game there.  It's the friendships that you've made along the way and I have a lot of friends there.  
HT:  So, were you particularly close with anybody in particular?
DL:  Yeah, Wakefield. And I've lived kind of in the same community for seven years, so we have a lot of friends there.  So, that's the hardest part about picking up and going somewhere else, but its part of the game and you just look forward to wherever you are in 2005.
HT:  So, and you're married with two kids, right?
DL:  Three, actually.  
HT:  Oh, yeah?  And how long have you been married?
DL:  Since '98.  
HT:  Did the future of your family life factor into your where you considered signing?  
DL:  Yeah.  Yeah, I mean, again, this is my first time through it (free agency).  So, you like to have opportunities where you can kind of pick and choose.  But, you're family is definitely a priority, as far as where the spring training is and where the home city is.  Yeah, I think it's still early in my career yet to be making decisions based on where I go just on that alone.  
HT:  Like with Hampton when he went to Colorado?
DL:  Oh, Mike Hampton?
HT:  Yeah, he went to Colorado because he wanted his kids to grow up there.  But it kind of backfired, you know?
DL:  Well, he got a lot of money.
HT:  Yeah, he did, that's true.  
DL:  [laughs]
HT:  So, yeah, you gotta weigh the options.  
DL:  Yeah, there's so many things that go into free agency.  You've got your family, you've got obviously the financial part of it.  Yeah, so there's a lot of things you take into consideration.  But, you know, it's a fun process and it's something eventually, you know, that you make a decision.  
HT:  Now, you talked about down the road you might consider being a closer.  Because you'd be effective at it no matter what, now or later, I'm sure, because you've shown that you could do it at a very high level.  But would you consider pitching in Japan way down the road?
DL:  Uh, that'd be tough.  You know what, to be honest with you, I would say no because I think if you have an effective big league career then financially you're already set, if you play long enough. And I love the game, but I don't love it that much to continue my career and go and play in Japan or in another country.  
HT:  Well, okay, that's interesting.  
DL:  I did that in 2000 in that All Star tour, to get a taste of it.  But, like I said, it's probably not for me.  
HT:  Boston's got this notorious, sort of racist reputation as a tough sports town, you know.  But, I don't know if that affected you at all, but as far as you as a player, how devastating did it get personally, being an athlete in town?  
DL:  I think it's a hardest thing, as far as the racism goes.  And I've heard things bad there before.  You know, we had Jim Rice there as a coach.  And I believe back in the 70s, 80s, whatever, they might have had problems.  Nowadays, I would say it's not, I would say it's zero.  I mean, look at David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez, our two most popular players on our team.  
HT:  Boston Celtics too.
DL:  Yeah, exactly.  I think the hardest thing is just more the popularity of playing there.  I mean, everyone knows who you are, it doesn't matter how long you've been playing there.  And when you're struggling up there, people will flat out tell you what they think.  And they don't care if you're in a restaurant, if you're with your family, if you're leaving Fenway.  They’ll tell you exactly what they think.  It's also good and bad, I mean when you're going good, they're saying the same things, but it's a positive.
HT:  Did you ever get to the point where you felt like, “I'm through with this.  I want to pitch somewhere else”?
DL:  Yeah.  It's probably 2001 I remember I blew a game against New York and I sat in the club office for like two and half hours after the game because people were just, you know...every time a player would go out, they'd ask where I was, because they wanted to let me have it.  
HT:  Really.
DL:  They key your car.  You know, there were all kinds of incidents there but, again, that's what comes with playing.  I think anyone that's played in a big city, a big market for a long time…
HT:  But you never came out and said, “I want out of here!”
DL:  No, I would never say that.  I mean, I think when you're struggling, it makes it tough, it really does.  I mean, there's so many more positives and negatives playing in a Boston and New York, as long as you can get through those hard times, its well worth it.  
HT:  Right, but it says something about your character to me, because so many others in your position would have said, “Look, I want out of here, or I want to be a Starter somewhere else, or I want to be Number One on another staff, so trade me!”  Even last season, you could‘ve said, “if you’re not going to put me out there then trade me.”  But you stuck it out!
DL:  When you're in that situation, it's not going to happen.  Because, I wasn't a free agent, and so all that's really going to do is create more negativity.  Again, playing in these big markets, you've really got to watch what you say in the media and how you act, because if people think you want to get out of there because you don't like the city or you're afraid to pitch there, they'll eat you up.  
HT:  But you played through all of that, and look at the rewards now, you know?
DL:  Yeah, that's true.
HT:  And you got the experience of Game 4 and 7, you know.
DL:  I've been through the hard times, and there's always good times in every single city.  It's a matter of getting through the hard.  
HT:  Yeah.  Because, you know, from our perspective, Kevin Brown got the same kind of opportunity that you did, but he failed, you know.  But he's had a tremendous career.  And even El Ducque got a shot to pitch and close it out.  But you came through, so that really is…from a Yankees standpoint, we really respect you for coming through the way you did.
DL:  I thank you!  And I think that it's just a lot of years of playing.  I probably wouldn't have been able to do that three or four years ago, because you'd probably would have been caught up in the moment or caught up in the pressure of playing in Boston.  You know, the Billy Buckner thing is brought up all the time.  But if you play there long enough and you have confidence that you get the job done, bringing the World Championship to Boston is probably like nothing I'll ever do again.  
HT:   Did you hear about David Ortiz was driving into the stadium I think before Game 4, or something?  And he saw a woman crying on the sidewalk of the street with Boston gear on.  And he felt that he couldn't let down the Red Sox Nation, so he was going to hit no matter what.  
DL:  [chuckles] I tell you, I never heard that.
HT:  There are a lot of dramatic stories out there, you know?
DL:  Yeah, I just know, when we won the World Series, there was all kinds of people going to families of the gravesites and open a bottle of wine, champagne, smoking a cigar.  I mean, they’re beyond obsessed.  Now David Wells is obviously going to Boston so he’ll get to see both sides of it and I think he'll fit in just fine there.
HT:  Yeah.  Well, yeah, you know, he's a Babe Ruth fan, you know, so…I kind of knew years ago that he would end up there one way or the other.  
DL:  Yeah, it's kind of, like you say, sometimes you gotta kinda watch what you say.  He loved Babe Ruth and he believes in the curse and but now he's with the…I guess it's not a curse anymore, but now he's with the other side.  
HT:  Yeah, because you know, Bill Lee was saying that, he was also very… before the post season started, he was talking about how…he was very vocal about how he didn't believe in the curse because the failures of the Red Sox in the past was just…was because they didn't have smart baseball people running the team.  He was very vocal about it.  Even McNamara's decision to replace Clemens with Shiraldi was stupid because he pitched the same way as Clemens.  And even with the integration of black players, I mean, Boston took twelve years after the integration, or two years after Jack Robinson retired already, was the first time Boston had a black player.  
DL:  Really?
HT:  Yeah.  So those kind of thing do…I mean, whereas Bill Lee was talking about the Yankees just have been more committed even in the front office, with Steinbrenner and smart people like Cashman and their scouts, so there's no curse.  So, I thought that was interesting.  
DL:  Yeah, I agree.
HT:  Umhmm.  And I think this year, all the pieces, you guys had all the pieces.  And I it really was this year or nothing.  Or not for a long time.
DL:  Come on.  You've got to look at…let's look at what they've done.  They've built this team to win for this year.  I mean, we had a lot of free agents at the end of the year or the beginning of the year.  And, if you look, they didn't sign any of them.  I mean, they had no intention of signing any of these guys because they wanted to see what happened.  If we won…I really think they were going to get rid of everybody either way.  So it's easier for them to get rid of guys because you won.  You know, you get rid of Nomar Garciaparra,you know, we got Orlando Cabrera, and got rid of him.  They can also get rid of Pedro Martinez.  But a lot of guys have been there a lot of years and helped that organization win, and ultimately, and these guys have helped this organization for a lot of years to get to where they are.  It takes years to win a championship, not just one year.  And to have them just let everybody go, was kind of disappointing because I think what made the New York Yankees so tough for so many years, it was the same group of guys.  There wasn't such a turnover as the rest of us have every year.  Like I said, they make their decisions and a lot of us have moved on and whole new group of people are coming in.  
HT:  Yeah, because, you know, we heard so much, about the Red Sox are built for the Playoffs, so don't worry about what they're doing now, don't worry about the fact they're 14 games behind the Yankees because they're built for the playoffs, but, you know, when we're at 3-zip up, I'm a Yankee fan, of course is saying so much for "built for the playoffs," but you guys really were "built for the Playoffs," you know?
DL:  Yeah, well, because you win with pitching and defense.  And they got a Cabrera, a Dave Roberts, and Doug Mientkiewicz: they've got all of these defensive guys.  And then they hand us our starting rotation, we had the closer, so, yeah, we were built for the playoffs.  It was a matter of if we really got there, but once we got in, we felt like we could do some good things, even though we were down 3-nothing, like I said earlier, we felt like we could get back into the Series.  But once we got past New York, I think, we were determined to bring a championship to Boston.  And to do it in the way we did, we didn't think we'd do that, but, you know, it worked out really good.  
HT:  St. Louis were hot too, but you guys weren't going to slow it down, you know?
DL:  Yeah, I think it was, our offense was on such a tremendous roll there.  It was tough for anyone to pitch nine innings against our lineup.  We scored a lot of runs.  And our pitching was good.
HT:  And your bullpen!
DL:  Yeah.  I mean, all aspects was working.  I mean, the thing about the Playoffs and the World Series, it isn't necessarily the best team that wins, it's the team that gets hot.  And winning eight in a row, was about as hot as you could get.
HT:  Now, I've heard you saying, that it was a personal challenge for you to come up in the big game, in Game 4 and Game 7 against the Yanks, but still, it was a personal challenge and you came through, but did you ever think about, what if you blew either of those games?  
DL:  No, but I know a lot of people that thought that, because look how Billy Buckner got treated.  The guy makes an error and he's living somewhere out in Wyoming or something, because they threw him out of town.  But, no, I mean, I never thought that.  
HT:  Because I love how you talked about how you went just go one pitch at a time.  
DL:  Yeah, I did.  Because that's what I thought that was the best way to go.  You go into Yankee Stadium, and you think you're going to shut that lineup down for a seven, eight innings that could be overwhelming.  It’s kind of a boring saying, the old one pitch, one out at a time theory, but I think it worked.  I should try to bottle that up and try to bring it into the 2005 season.  
HT:  You really slowed things down in Game 7.  Was that difficult for you?  Because you tend to work kind of on the faster side, don't you?  
DL:  Yeah, sometimes too fast.  You get going so fast you never really stop to think exactly what you're doing.  But a lot of things, I tried to slow the game down because I felt like it was going to work, but also I slowed the game down because I was trying to enjoy it at the same time.  That was an unbelievable atmosphere, and we got out to a big lead, and so you could kind of enjoy what was going on, and take it all in.  So I was trying to slow the game down as much as I could.  
HT:  Right.  Yeah, because it wouldn't have been the same if you had beaten the Twins in one whole thing, you know.
DL:  Absolutely not.  
HT:  Even if you swept the Yankees 4-zip, but you did it 4 to 3, I mean, God…!
DL:  It was dramatic.
HT:  How was Schilling as a teammate?  Was he a guy that you'll never forget?
DL:  He was good.  If you've ever played with the guy, you'll never forget his preparation.  He's second to none.  I mean, this guy's prepares, prepares, and then just prepares.  I mean, this guy knows everything about what hitters are doing, about what he's trying to do.  He studies during the game.  But I think that taught me a lot, you know, you can't just go out and throw your glove out there and expect to have a success.  But he was actually a really good teammate.
HT:  I would imagine Schilling probably works out like Clemens, I mean he's probably pretty heavy duty, every day working out too, isn't he?
DL:  Yeah, he does and he doesn't.  I think he's just one of those guys that has a naturally gifted arm.  No, he's not one of those guys that you see in working out in the gym working out for an hour and a half, but he's also going to study for three hours a day.
HT:  What about you, do you work out year round?
DL:  Yeah, yeah, I try to.  I mean, I take about two weeks off and work out.  But I think Schilling, he's just blessed with a phenomenal arm and preparation which brings him a lot of success.
HT:  Right.  And where are you at right now?  Are you planning on getting bigger?
DL:  Yeah, you try to gain as much weight as you can…
HT:  'Cause you lose it anyway, right?
DL:  Yeah, in about six to eight weeks you go out and try to lift weights.  Definitely during the season, you try to gain muscle mass, because throughout the course of the year you’re probably going to lose some.  But when you win the Series though, by the time we do all the activities and stuff, it does cuts into your off-season time.  The realization of Spring Training's two months away, you've got to get ready for the next year.
HT:  But as a pitcher, do you mostly do leg workouts or do you…
DL:  Oh, I do both.  You're not really going to put that much on in six to eight weeks.
HT:  Hitters do.
DL:  Well, I mean, yeah, you could.  But as a pitcher, you don't want to be in there bench pressing.  I mean, you could do it, but not to the extent…you don't want to hurt your shoulder.  You do a lot of legs.  You do a lot of running.  Sports nowadays you have to work out pretty much 12 months a year because everyone else does.
HT:  Now we talked a little bit about what, when you're a Closer in the bullpen, you have a lot of time in the bullpen. But when you're a Starter, you have the four days in between.  What do you do?  
DL:  I golf a lot.
HT:  Oh yeah?  
DL:  Yeah.
HT:  So just take it easy…
DL:  Yeah.  We have a lot of guys that golf, so we go out and play as many courses as we could.  And so, it worked out good where as far as, golf courses allow us to play and in turn we give tickets so it's one of the perks of playing for a big city.
HT:  Do you do…I know, you chew tobacco, right?  
DL:  Yeah.
HT:  But are you a big drinker or smoke cigars or stuff like that?
DL:  I do everything in moderation.  I only chew tobacco during the season.  I think and other stuff too.  During the season you’re spending more time with the guys than during the off-season, you're more with your family, so you can't be doing the same with both.  
HT:  Would you say you've always had a fairly good work ethic, or has it gotten better over the years?
DL:  I think it's gotten better.
HT:  Because obviously you're a natural athlete, you know.
DL:  The older you get, you realize you can't just…you have to work at it.  So often, you expect your body to bounce back.  But when you're younger, you don't have to work that hard because of your natural ability.  The older you get, you have to work harder.  
HT:  Right.  Now I don't know, where you're leaning towards, which teams or which league you're leaning towards.  We'll know by the time this interview comes out, but in your career, you've experienced playing with, in the Mariners, A-Rod, and Junior and the Unit, and in the Red Sox, big time organization, with Pedro and Manny and Nomar and…
DL:  I was very fortunate.  I've seen a lot of…I've seen arguably maybe the best right hand hitter in Nomar in back to back years.  Pedro's Hall of Fame career, you know, the two years he put together were unbelievable.  
HT:  And A-Rod, Junior and The Unit..
DL:  Yeah, all on one team!  So, yeah, I've been very fortunate to see a lot of great players and now be part of a World Series.
HT:  Now, what's important to you, though?  If you…I don't know where you're leaning towards, but you might miss some of that big time pressure, depending on where you go.  But is it more important for you to step up to become the number one pitcher?
DL:  Uh…I think having one World Series makes it a lot easier.  I mean, it really does.  If you had never won one….
HT:  You have more options now.
DL:  Yeah, I think, yeah, exactly, you have more options on where you want to go.  But winning's always your number one priority.  You always want to to somewhere where you know you've got a chance to win.  But, like I said, I guess time will tell.  
HT:  Because I think, financially, you're gonna get what you deserve.  Especially with Scott Boras representing you.  And you deserve it, because of your performance.  You’re obviously a big game pitcher but are you looking to become the number one somewhere?
DL:  Yeah, you always want the next challenge in your career.  And the last three years we had Pedro, and then we got Schilling.  I think you'd love to be the guy on the rotation where the players on the team expect you to go out there and give a number one type job.  But there's a lot that comes with it.  You’ve got to be somewhat be a role model for the young guys, and kind of show them what you've learned throughout your career and I think the guys that I've played with have taught me a lot and you feel like it's an opportunity now to go to a city and try to bring a Championship there.
HT:  I asked you about, you said you wouldn't want to play in like Japan or something like that, but is it important for you perhaps end you career in Detroit maybe, or…that's not so important.
DL:  No, it's intriguing, the fact that I was a, you know, I grew up there.  But I would never, you know, you'd never say never to any major league team.  You have no idea where you career's going to go.  There's obviously a lot of intriguing places out there. But, no, as far as where you want to play next year, or where you want to end your career, it's the old saying, that time will take care of that.  You've just got to work hard and look forward to bringing your talent to another city.  
HT:  Right.  By the way, you guys gave Nomar a full share, and a ring, didn’t you?
DL:  No, they only gave him a ¾ share and I don't know if he got a ring or not.  
HT:  Oh, really?
DL:  As far as guys who weren't there all year getting a ring, I don't know exactly how that works.
HT:  I think I heard that the team decided, or the organization decided that he was going to get a ring.
DL:  Oh, really?  I hope they do.  Again, a World Series championship is not made in one year, it's made over time.
HT:  Look what he meant to the organization before, until he fell out of favors.
DL:  So, hopefully he does get one.  He deserves it.
HT:  Because, he was in the franchise even before Pedro came into town.   
DL:  Exactly.
HT:  Is there any chance that you might settle in Boston, living in Boston in the future?  Because, you know, a lot of sports stars, when they become heroes in a town, they end up living in the town that they were…
DL:  Uh, probably not.  
HT:  Oh, yeah?
DL:  Just because of, well, 1: not playing there, and 2: I'm not a particular huge fan of the cold.
HT:  So you're like a Florida guy, huh?
DL:  You try to live somewhere that's warm in the winter.  But I know Luis Tiant lives there and Dwight Evans, and Jim Rice lives there and they reap the benefits of being a hero. I don't think they've paid for a meal yet.  
HT:  Right. You're a five pitch pitcher?
DL:  Yeah, fast ball, change up, slider and a curve ball.  
HT:  So that's five, is it?
HT:  Okay, sinker, cutter…
DL:  Yeah, sinker, cutter, curve ball, change up.  
HT:  And slider?
DL:  I call it cutter.  I mean, it's actually a cutter or a slider, though it's more of a cutter.
HT:  And a full scene fast ball, right?
DL:  Yeah.
HT:  Now, obviously, it's important for you to have a good infield, isn't it?
DL:  Uh, yes and no.  I mean, you create your own.  I think a lot of infields depend on how you pitch.  You can have the best infield in the world, but if you're out there throwing balls and taking thirty seconds in between each pitch, you're going to bore them to death.  You can put a mediocre team out there and work fast and throw strikes and keep everyone in the game and make them look really good.  
HT:  Right, because you're a ground ball pitcher, right?  
DL:  Yeah.  But it doesn't guarantee success or failure either way.  A lot depends on how you pitch and how you control the flow of the game.  
HT:  At this point, is velocity still important?  Or are there things like command and delivery?
DL:  Command is everything.
HT:  And deception?  
DL:  You have to be out there six to eight innings each time.  Overpowering stuff can get you by for a little bit, but you've got to be able to command the strike zone and mix it up.  
HT:  Right.  When you've had your down years, was it because you didn't have good command?
DL:  Yeah, I mean, some of it had to do with it.
HT:  Because it seems like you always had a good sinker, right?
DL:  Yeah, and I kind of added the other pitches over the last…I added the cutter, as a starter, the sinker, change and curve ball, as a reliever.  
HT:  Is it more satisfying for you to strike 'em out or to have a ground ball out?
DL:  Oh, definitely a ground ball.  A double play or to get a big power hitter to hit the ball on the ground is more satisfying to me than a strikeout.
HT:  Right, because it's your bread and butter.
DL:  Yeah.  
HT:  When you're really on you’re pitch count stays way low too.  
DL:  I try and have them hit the ball as early as possible.  
HT:  You probably take pride in the quick games you pitch, but do you think from your experiences recently, that you need to take more time to be more successful?
DL:  Um, probably, in certain situations, yeah.  Especially when things aren’t going your way.  You can't just play rapid-fire sometimes and I get the ball and just keep throwing it.  Sometimes, things are going bad for a reason.  If you can sometimes step back for a moment and assess what's going on, I think it makes you a better pitcher.  But for the most part, I think working fast benefits everybody.  
HT:  Tell me, how difficult is it to snap out of a bad season or a bad string of starts, because Kevin Brown didn't look good in the second half and we kind of knew he wasn't going to be good in the post season, but you were able to turn it around.
DL:  Yeah, I think you've always got to believe in yourself.  But, as far as slumps, I mean, they're hard to get out of because I think the biggest thing what happens is you start, you overanalyze everything, instead of just realizing in the course of a year, everyone's going to struggle and try to make not that big of a deal, and you end up making a big deal of it, and instead of having one or two games, it escalates into four or five.  But, I mean, slumps will happen.  The good players and the good pitchers stop them probably shorter than most.  
HT:  Right.  Because, when you're given the ball, in the stage that you always dreamed of, in the Game 7 or the Game 4 or whatever, kids…bottom of the ninth…you know, whatever, World Series, you know, kids dream of that, but when you actually get it, you know, as viewers, we actually see the fear in some players when they actually get, when they get the ball, you know?
DL:  Yeah.  Again, I think it comes from when you were a kid, and you always wanted the ball, you were never that kid who said ‘Please don't hit me with the ball!’  And, you know, it was that opportunity of a lifetime, you wanted to make the most out of it, not only for you, but for your teammates and the city and so that was more my mentality than fear of…You can't have a fear of failure, because you'll fail every time.  
HT:  Right.  Because like Tony Clarke was up at bat, and it was one of those moments several times and he looked scared shitless, you know what I mean (off the record).
DL:  Well, again, I mean, I think that's what makes sports great, I guess.  A lot of times, unfortunately, people's careers can be marked by what you do in big games and the Playoffs, and so you kind of make a name for yourself if you can perform well, and, unfortunately, if you perform poorly.  
HT:  Yeah.  You know, because I tell you, I've always known that you were a great pitcher because we played you so many times over the years.  Because I watch every game, even living out in L.A., I watch every Yankee game every day.  But, I tell you, the way you pitched and the way you responded this year in the post season, you've gotten thousands of fans from your performance this year.
DL:  I've probably got a thousand fans back, because I probably lost them for a while.  No, I think, this year, I hope people can kind of respect what I was able to go through.  You know, everyone struggles in life, and has a bad day or a bad month, you've just got to hang in there and believe in yourself and a lot of people maybe don’t. And as far as when you get an opportunity maybe of a lifetime to pitch a Game 7 or Game 4 of the World Series.  And don't be afraid to fail, go out there and enjoy it and pitch well.
HT:  Have you ever wished you could work with and be taken care of by a coach like Leo Mizili or a Petersen?
DL:  Uh, no, I've been fortunate.  The guys we've had in Boston have always been good.  But, no, I think Leo Mizili or a Mel Stottlemyre, those guys come to mind…Leo Mizili, you look at what he's done, with all the group of guys that he's had.  The last year they were probably picked to come in 8th in the National League, and then they win it again.  And these guys are special talents and you'd like to pick their brain for the course of the year.  
HT:  Yeah, I mean look at Jared Wright, you know?
DL:  Yeah, exact…
HT:  And people forget this guy was like the golden child for the Cleveland Indians back in…
DL:  Yeah, absolutely. He got hurt and was off the map for a while, and he goes to Atlanta on a minor league deal and ends up this year reaping the benefits signing with the Yankees.  
HT:  Yeah.  And he's not all heat anymore, you know?  
DL:  No, he's turned into a…Yeah, you've got to give a lot of credit to the pitching coach there.  
HT:  What's your take on this whole steroids issue?  Is it cheating to you?
DL:  No, I would say it's not, because we didn't have a policy before.
HT:  Okay.
DL:  You know, for the longest time, basically until last year, even last year…I didn't really study the program that they put in place.  But I think they probably caught you three times before actually anything happens.  I mean, this goes back to 2003 and before that.  It wasn't cheating because there was no rule.  So, everyone had free reign to do what they wanted and I think people got to keep that in mind.
HT:  That's interesting because as a pitcher though, if second guys are hitting home runs off of you…and then you get guys like Ichiro who's doing it all natural.
DL:  Yeah, but its personal choice.  I mean, they weren't breaking any rules because there were no rules.  And again, I hope people keep that perspective that you can't get on these guys for using steroids back before because it was perfectly legal to do.  
HT:  Interesting take.  What about, I've heard rumors from baseball insiders that there's certain pitcher that have been taking it, and their stats have gone up. Do you…so, even with pitchers…
DL:  No, I mean, you ask any baseball player, you know if someone, maybe if it’s a pitcher or a position player, maybe not a member of your team, but maybe someone in baseball.  But I think the percentage of what people think use it is a lot less than maybe what is being talked about right now.  I don't know what the percentage is, but…Again, just because I don't take it, doesn't necessarily mean the guys that do take it are doing anything wrong.  We're all grown men and we can make decisions on our own, good or bad, they’re decisions they made…But I guarantee you this year there'll be a whole new policy for it, though.
HT:  Right.  You got the experience of pitching a no-hitter.  Does that rank way up there with your list of accomplishments?
DL:  Yes, that's a complete an individual achievement, but yeah, there's so many, a lot of teammates helped me along in that, but…I think the no-hitter, I think, Starting in the All Star Game was great, and definitely this year at the World Series tops it all.  Having played a little over seven years and you look at nowadays, how long guys can play.  David Wells is getting 18 million and he's 42 years old.  I hope to do just as much if not more with my career.  
HT:  Going back to the no-hitter, was it, as a lot of people say, like a surreal feeling?
DL:  It's a feeling that's hard to describe.  You really honestly felt like they weren't going to get a hit.  It's kind of not making much sense, but you get that feeling that you can throw the ball pretty much right down the middle and they're going to hit it at somebody.  You know, I've always felt, having been part of one, and having one almost pitched against us, there's actually from the sixth inning on, there's more pressures on the hitters to get a hit than there are on you to get them out.  
HT:  Yeah, the interesting thing is, Mike Mussina’s come close so many times, but when he's on, he strikes them out.  But in your case, your infielders can't make any mistakes.  
DL:  Well he almost had a perfect game against us in 8 2/3’s and Carl Everett got a hit, I remember being in the dugout, or it might have been the bullpen, either way, you could feel the intensity.  Again, there's a lot more pressure on the hitters.  They end up trying harder than you as pitcher, because they don't want to have a no-hitter thrown against them.  
HT:  Do you feel it coming at around the sixth inning or…?
DL:  Um, yeah I think the sixth inning we, I might have struck out the side for maybe the first time in my career.  At that point I felt, at that time, one time threw the lineup away.  And it was a special day and, like I said, these are moments, no matter what happens in your career, you can always put a tape in and watch the game.  
HT:  And you bought everybody Tag Heuer watches, didn't you?
DL:  Yeah, yeah.  
HT:  That's nice.  Do you think you'll be wearing your ring?
DL:  Every single day.  I can't wait to get it.
HT:  Oh, yeah?  So you're not one of those guys who's just going to put it away and never wear it?
DL:  No, absolutely not.
HT:  Oh, yeah?  That's great.
DL:  It took hard work to get it.  I just hope wherever I am, they special deliver it to me instead of sending it through the mail.  
HT:  Right. Are you a very superstitious pitcher or person?
DL:  No, not at all.  
HT:  No, okay, cool.  But you do you have your routine and your quirks when you're pitching?  
DL:  Yeah, you try to do similar things.  I mean I don’t take the same route every day to get to the ballpark.  One thing I do is I go out to the field the same time and I start throwing at the same time. That's about it.  Other than that, I just try to fly by the seat of your pants type of thing.  
HT:  You mentioned a little bit about like Wells still pitching at 42 years old.  Do you have specific long-term goals?
DL:  I'll play until they take the jersey off my back!
HT:  Oh, yeah?
DL:  You've just to look at life as a whole.  Now if you’re fortunate enough to live a complete life, and you retire at 40, you've got a long way to go.  I mean what else are you going to do?  And as long as I'm not embarrassing myself…I probably wouldn't end up going to a team and being a long reliever at age 40.  As long as I'm playing a competitive role, and doing it at a high rate, I'll play as long as your body let’s you.
HT:  Because, fortunately, with an agent like Scott Boras, the money's going to take care of itself….
DL:  But again, if you played that long, if you're a David Wells or a Roger Clemens, and if you're playing at 42, you've made enough.  C’mon!  Money's not really an issue.  You're still playing 'cause you still can.  And I think that gives you more of a reason to work out at an earlier age because you know longevity is there if you keep yourself in good shape.  
HT:  You're the first pitcher to win all three deciding post-season games and obviously this season's performance was unbelievable. You've had a no-hitter, you've gotten 42 saves, what was it, 21-game winning season?
DL:  Yeah.
HT:  You were close to winning a Cy Young once and you're going to be involved in more future All-Star games.  How would you want to be remembered?
DL:  For the Red Sox?
HT:  Well, as a pitcher, as a player.
DL:  Hopefully to keep pitching in Playoff games.  People remember you for that.  If someone says, “What to do think of Derrick Lowe in 2004?”  No one's going to say, “Oh, he was 14 and 12 with a high ERA.  They're going to say, “Oh, I remember the Playoff games.”  On the flip side, if I were 21 and 8 and had a terrible post-season, they would remember that.  But I think, the more you can pitch in the Playoffs…You know, I've closed games, started games in the playoffs and had success, you hope people remember you for that, than just what you do in the regular season.  
HT:  How many total games have you won?
DL:  I have no idea!  Not a lot, because I've only started the last three years.  
HT:  So you don't think to yourself: “if I win this many games, and Cy Young awards, I could still have a shot at the Hall of Fame?”
DL:  No, the only way I can make the Hall of Fame is if played until I was about 75 years old, and they’d have to take my softball stats in.
HT:  You think so?  Because you've closed and you'd still have to win a couple Cy Youngs probably but…  
DL:  Yeah, like 75 wins!  I mean, you're going to have to kick it in high gear here for about the next ten years.  
HT:  Yeah, that's true because they say even David Coen isn't a Hall of Famer, you know?
DL:  Yeah.  When you're talking about a Hall of Fame career, you're talking…you've done really well from probably age 22 on, where I didn't really start having a lot of success until I was 28.  But you don't play the game for the Hall of Fame.  You play for the love of the game and to win championships.  
HT:  I'm really beginning to get the feel of your attitude.  You've got a very good realistic attitude and you're enjoying what you're doing and the moment.  I like it.  
DL:  Yeah!
HT:  What’s the best pitching performance you had before the 2004 post season?  Would that be the no-hitter?  
DL:  No, actually I would say the Game 5 against Oakland in 2003.  
HT:  Oh yeah.
DL:  We were down…I would say that for me personally.  
HT:  Best pitching performance you've seen.
DL:  Pedro Martinez.  I think it was in '99 in Yankee Stadium.  He had one hit, struck out 18.
HT:  Best game you've seen from bullpen or been involved with.
DL:  Best game?
HT:  Yeah.
DL:  Again, the Pedro game was the best game my eyes have ever seen.  
HT:  Oh yeah?  Not Game 7, or Game 4 of this year's…
DL:  No, because…Again, I think it's different when you're playing in it, but the best game I've ever seen, you know… if that makes any sense  For me personally, Game 7 was one of the best games I've ever pitched in.  
HT:  Pedro's been in the news so much this off season.  Is Pedro one of the guys that you really always looked up to?
DL:  We've actually had a very good relationship over the years and I value him as a good friend.  And I think the sad thing about him is, just because it is Boston, it's not going to get any easier for him to go to New York Mets 'cause he's misunderstood.  I mean, this guy does so much for the community and so much as a teammate.  And I think, no one cares if he shows up, instead of being there at 4:00, he gets there at 4:45 or 5:00.  As players, we don't care because we know what he brings to our team every five days.  But they're going to miss him.  I think they're making a big mistake by letting this guy go.  Because you can bring guys in, but they're not going to be a Pedro Martinez.  
HT:  Right.  So, it sounds like the fact that you got to play with him was a like a big highlight?
DL:  Oh, absolutely.  I mean, people pay thousands of dollars to watch this guy play and I was able to sit back in a chair and watch this guy for free every single day and you know, it's memories like that that you'll always remember.  And plus, he's a great guy on top of it.

Karl Malone Interview

Karl Malone was chosen by the Jazz in 1985 out of Louisiana Tech with the 13th overall pick in the draft. Malone's first season was a success, averaging 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds. After his rookie season, the Jazz saw in him the potential to be the cornerstone of their offense. So, they traded star forward Adrian Dantley to the Detroit Pistons and decided to build around Malone. This turned out to be the correct move, as Malone upped his production to 21.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
At the same time, reserve point guard John Stockton was winning the trust of the coaching staff and the love of the fans. By the 1987–88 season, Malone was the foundation of the offense and Stockton was the floor general. Malone made his first All-Star Game in 1988 on the strength of 27.1 points per game, and made his first All-NBA team at the end of the season. This would be the first of 14 consecutive All-Star appearances for Malone. The Jazz went 47–35, third in the Midwest Division, and defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. It was in the next round however, that the Jazz as a team rose to national prominence. The Jazz took the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, led by perennial All-Stars Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to seven games. Malone upped his production to 29 points per game in that postseason.
The next year, Malone averaged 29.1 points, good for second in the NBA behind Michael Jordan, and 10.7 rebounds, which was fifth in the league. At the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, Malone finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists en route to his first All-Star MVP. The Jazz finished 51–31, but were upset in five games in the first round by the Golden State Warriors. The next year Malone increased his scoring to 31 points and his rebounding to 11.1 a game, but the Jazz were once again eliminated in the first round, this time by the Phoenix Suns.
For the time Malone and Stockton played together on the Jazz, the two formed one of the most productive guard–forward combinations in NBA history. Playing Jerry Sloan's scrappy and tough style and perfecting the pick and roll to a maximum degree of efficiency, the Jazz became a staple to make it to the playoffs and to have a winning record in the regular season. Malone led the Jazz to multiple 50-win seasons with the exception of 1992–93 (47–35) where the Jazz stumbled after the All-Star Game (when he and Stockton won co-MVP honors).
Through this time, Malone continued to put up stellar numbers, averaging 28/11.2, 27/11.2, 25.2/11.5, 26.7/10.6 and 25.7/9.8 from 1992 to 1996. The Jazz however, only made it as far as the Western Conference Finals in this period, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers (1992), the Houston Rockets (1994) and the Seattle SuperSonics (1996).
During the 1996-97 season, Malone put up a resurgent 27.4 points per game while leading the Jazz to a 64–18 record, the highest win total in Malone's 12 seasons with the Jazz. The Jazz were the best team in the Western Conference and the second-best in the league, and for his efforts Malone was awarded his first NBA Most Valuable Player honor. After sweeping the Los Angeles Clippers and easily defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, the Jazz took on the Houston Rockets, led by Hall of Fame-bound, but aging trio of Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and Clyde Drexler. The Jazz beat them in six games (the last victory coming on a memorable last-second shot by Stockton). Malone finally got to the Finals in 1997, where he was pitted against the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. In a matchup of the two previous MVPs, the Bulls took the first two games at the United Center. Malone struggled from the field, going 6 of 20 for 20 points in game two. However the Jazz rebounded to take the next two games at the Delta Center behind Malone's 37 points in Game 3 and 28 in Game 4. The Bulls took the next two games and the series.
The next season saw the Jazz once again dominate. Malone put up 27 points per game and just missed out on his second MVP award, losing to Michael Jordan. Nevertheless, the Jazz posted a 62–20 record, which was the best in the NBA. The Jazz once again were seated at the top of the Western Conference, and in the 1998 playoffs they defeated the Rockets, Spurs, and Lakers en route to their second consecutive Finals appearance. The rematch with the Chicago Bulls would start differently, as Malone put up 25 points and the Jazz won Game 1, 88–85. Malone found himself unable to put up consistently stellar numbers, due in large part to the swarming defense of renowned defenders Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen. Despite Malone's 28 points in Game 6, the Bulls won the game and the series.
In the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Malone won his second MVP award and the Jazz went 37–13 in the abbreviated season. They lost in the second round to the Trail Blazers, and for the next couple of years the Jazz fell out of contention for a title. Despite the decline of his team, and his advancing age, Karl Malone still put up All-Star numbers, averaging 25.5, 23.2, 22.4, and 20.6 points per game in his last four seasons with Utah. In the 2002–2003 season, Karl Malone passed Wilt Chamberlain for second on the all-time scoring list with his 36,374 points. He became a free agent after that season.
Malone stayed on active duty for one more season, joining the Los Angeles Lakers in an attempt to win a championship, the only major achievement absent in his career. His bid failed as the Lakers were defeated in five games by the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, a series where Malone sprained his right knee and played injured for four of the five games before missing game five, with the Lakers down 3–1 and the series almost over. Although several NBA teams such as the Lakers, Heat, Timberwolves and even the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs sought his services for the 2004–05 season, Malone decided to retire as a player on February 13, 2005. The Jazz retired his number 32 jersey in his honor. Despite his retirement, the Lakers never renounced his rights.

 

HT: First of all, congratulations on your Lakers signing.
KM. Thank you
HT: Like I said before, I’ve never seen you so happy.
KM: right.
HT: When you were at the signing with Gary Payton.  
KM: Ya - right
HT: You had the biggest smile and every time I’ve seen you around recently you’ve got that big smile.
KM: Right, well you know its like in life, you have to make changes, it’s not always going to be popular with everybody. But in the end of the day, you do what you feel is in your heart and you follow the right reason.
HT: Right
KM: Wasn’t for the money, you know, I have an opportunity to win a championship at my age, if it don’t work out, I will be the first one to say it, but you have to give it a chance, you have to make an opportunity and so many times in life, well we want to do things but we don’t and five years from now we always say we wish and we should have. It’s too late then.
HT: I am going to start off with a tough question, I mean  you took a hit of 18 million dollar pay cut to be here?
KM: Right
HT: That’s for the year! Would you have taken the plunge like this had it been without Gary Payton coming with you?  Did Gary’s commitment seal the deal for you?
KM: Well, it sealed the deal but you know, Gary wouldn’t have came if I had made more.  In our situation, I made the choice to let him make the most and I make the least.  But one of us had to, to make it work.  So, if Gary wouldn’t have came I would have made more.
HT: Who, who had the idea of going with the Lakers first?
KM: I think, I did, but I think I kinda read about Gary saying, “you will I will.”
HT: Because I heard about you may be taking a pay cut to come over here.  I really thought no, there’s no way.
KM: Right
HT: Who’s going to take an 18 million dollar pay cut and then from there, I started hearing that maybe Payton will too.
KM: Right
HT: Is tha it?
KM: Its kinda of. But initially said that if we’re able to pull it off I’ll take the least amount. Which hey, Gary had to take a big one and I and I had to take a big one. So we both did. So, now we’re here and I think we know what people expect out of us.
HT: Right
KM: So, we’re here to do a job and do it the best of our ability.
HT: Right. A winner always prepares for a new season believing that you have a chance to win a championship.
KM: Sure
HT: Obviously with the Utah Jazz you could always realistically expect a chance, because you guys got to a couple of NBA Finals and you were always in the playoffs.
KM: Right
HT: And I know you always prepared hard.  Maybe you didn’t want people to know how hard you trained in the off-season, but I’ve known about it for a few years.
KM: I trained like this for the last 16 years.  I trained like this.
HT: It’s like Jerry Rice-like!
KM: Yes.  Absolutely.  I heard about his summer training.  But yeh, that’s what it’s like.
HT: How many hours are we talking about?
KM: I don’t know.  It just depends.  It depends on how I feel.  The least amount being an hour to an hour and a half.  It can be up to three hours.  Sometimes four hours. That’s my job and you feel good.  I‘m just saying that right now, I’m kinda on off time.  I will take about three to four days off and I get started again tomorrow.  I’ll hit hard tomorrow and I’ll go from there.
HT: Do you always do the court stuff too?
KM: No. I do no court stuff.
HT: Oh really.
KM: No court stuff at all.  No basketball.  It’s all training, weights, cardio stuff.
HT: So it’s like baseball players really.
KM. Yes
HT: See, I know Vlade will workout and play at UCLA.
KM: I don’t play any sports.  No basketball in the summer. I don’t touch a basketball!
HT: People don’t realize how tough it is mentally!  16 years of just working your ass off for the prize..
KM: 16 years of preparation to get ready to play every year.  I’ve knocked years off my career by training so hard in the summer.  Maybe.  But I think I added years to my career by training and staying in shape year round.  In the summer time I fluctuate four to five pounds in my training weight.  Which is, like right now, I’m at the peak of my training. That’s why I took four to five days off because I was peaking.  And then I will take four to five days off and I will start back in probably in the morning, the next day.  And I got the Olympic games coming up this summer, I’ll do that and then probably take a week off and then I’ll get ready for training camp.
HT: I’ve been familiar with how hard you work year round, but you must be hitting it extra hard this summer?
KM: Yeh!  Cause ha
HT: But then again its kind of a nice pain isn’t it?
KM: It’s the excitement of what I’m about to embark on.  I did have an opportunity to speak to Jerry Rice the other day and he said, “God how do you feel?  You should feel like a kid in a candy store!”  He said, your exercise, everything, should be different, he said you know, not that your trying, just because that’s how you are going to feel.  You know, that’s exactly how I feel.  I just feel that I feel energized.  I just feel like I can’t wait to get started.  You know, after 18 years it’s like, I’m proving myself all over again. Because I’m with a new team and I know the expectations.
HT: Oh yeh.
KM: I know its 30 to 35 minutes a night.  But it’s the excitement that go along with it . You know.  It’is saying something that every game means something.  From the start to the finish.  That’s what I’m looking forward to.
HT: You and your old team mate John Stockton, up until now at least , it’s always been ‘Stockton to Malone’.
KM: Right
HT: Or ‘Malone to Stockton’.  If he’d played one more year, would it have been hard for you to not stay with him?
KM: Oh, absolutely!
HT: So, you were committed to him, no matter what?
KM: Well, I’ll say that he made my decision easier. If he would have stayed it would have been tougher.
HT: Were there any other good fits that you could think of?
KM: Yeh. you know,  I thought about it.
HT: This is obviously ideal, but you had to make a sacrifice.
KM: NO, no. I thought about it
HT: But others were willing to pay!
KM: Well yeh, I thought about San Antoino. I thought about Sacremento and Dallas.  Of course a lot of them could have paid more , but I just chose to come here.  And like I said once you make a decision to do something, you give somebody your word, then all of the sudden you can’t play to the end when somebody’s start offering you beaucoup money and say, “God, I tell you, I change my mind”.  Once you give them your word, you give them your word and that’s what I did with them from the start. They made the call in the beginning and now we’re here .
HT: I saw an interview with you, maybe four years ago.  It was the whole talk about guys who didn’t have the help.  Like Barkley in his career, and Ewing.  You had Stockton but you were talking about that maybe one day I’d like to play with a big man and be able to say, “Okay, you got it tonight, ‘Big-man.”
KM: Right!
HT: “I get you tomorrow!”
KM: Right!
HT: Was that a factor, that you can’t get any better then Shaq?
KM: Aww!  No, that was a definite factor.  To be able to play with a dominant center like him.  It’s awesome!  Awesome feeling to have to know that you are going to line up with the best center in the league every night.  ‘You’re going to make me better and I’m gonna make him better’.
HT: That’s a factor too isn’t it, because he’s been the greatest player in the league at certain points, but you must have felt that you’re really going to be pushing him too?
KM: Oh yeah!  Well I’m going to push him without saying anything. I’ll work hard.  I’m going to get the rebound and run the floor and I feel he is going to do the same thing.  So, I think we’ll push each other.  We’ll make each other better.  And I think as a team we’ll get better as a team.  I think it is going to be exciting.  I think it is going to be very exciting!
HT: Was there any thought at any point that you’d ask GP to come to the Jazz?
KM: No.
HT: This just started going this way and you just went all the way?
KM: It just started going this way.
HT: And the whole package just seem to get better and better
KM: Right
HT: The more you think about it, then there’s Shaq, there’s Kobe and GP
and it’s LA.  Big market.
KM: Right. So, it just stared going this way, we just didn’t turn around, we just kept going in this direction and now….
HT: Was it partially that you felt like ‘for a change, I don’t want to have to carry the load?’
KM: Well yes.  But then, I think it was better for everybody.  Think is was better for the Jazz.  I really do.  I think about me going to another situation, would put pressure on them.  Because obviously they’re rebuilding and it would have been hard for them to tell me, Thanks but no thanks- kinda.  So, I had to make that decision. I had to bite that bullet and say, ‘you know what, I’ll make the decision and go’.  And I tried to do it with a lot of dignity….
HT: I saw that heartfelt letter you wrote to the people of Utah.
KM: Right, I tried to do it the right way.  And that’s how I felt.  Why did I do it?  Because that’s what I felt like I wanted to do, not that I had to do it.  This Friday we’re doing a fan appreciation that me and my wife put together.  So, that’s who I am.   And that’s the kind of things I do.
HT: And you didn’t want to go to a young really promising young team because you’d have to teach and lead all over again?
KM: But I felt that I’d be holding them up. That is why I left the Jazz.
HT: I am talking about going to another situation.  A young team for the future?
KM: No. I couldn’t go to a situation like that, I had to go to a team that I felt needed me and needed me right now.  I couldn’t go to a team like that.  So, I went to this situation and I am happy.  I’ve never been less paid and more happier then I am now!
HT: It’s fantastic to see in sports today.  It really is.  Now, having played with Stockton , one of the greatest point guards ever.  Did you feel that it was crucial to get a point guard like Gary Payton to put it all together between you, Shaq, and Kobe?
KM: Right I think that Gary is definitely key.
HT: No disrespect to Derek Fisher but..
KM: That’s what I am going to tell you now.  We’re forgetting about Derek Fisher, Devean George and those guys that can learn a great deal, and the two young kids coming in.  So, I think that we are going to learn a lot, all of us.  I’m 18 years in and I’m still willing to learn.  So, that’s what its about.  It’s about a team.  It’s about now coming together as a team.  And not being a traveling circus but being a team that everyone wants to see play.  From the start of training camp to hopefully the NBA Championship game.
HT: You know what’s fantastic about this, is that in baseball or in basketball when you get a veteran coming in, it usually takes up so much of the cap space that they either get the championship within the couple of years, or not, and then the team has to rebuild.
KM: Right
HT: But in your situation, you are not taking up cap space and you’re also going to help all the young guys coming up, as well contribute to the championship run.
KM: See I looked at this situation as, I took a huge pay cut, but opportunities I want to do away from basketball I think will help off set some of that.  I want to do movies.  I’ve had numerous inquiries about endorsements, the right ones. So, no, it’s not going to $19 million, but it’s a sacrifices you have to make.  Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice to get some kind of reward or benefit whether it be a championship or whatever.  And if it’s meant to happen, it is going to happen!  If it can’t happen here in LA, it wasn’t meant to be.
HT: Right.  So you must feel like, having had the success and the money already got that you’ve already won in life?
KM: Right!
HT: So now is the time to do something more meaningful?
KM: Well, doing the things that I want to do, I feel  like I already won in life.  What I do now is I just try to enjoy life.  Enjoy my family, enjoy what God gave me, which is a great talent to do the things I am capable of doing.  So, I’m excited.  I’m looking forward to the season.  I can’t really explain it to you, but it’s like 10 years ago.  Hoe I’m like pumped up for training camp and I never get excited about training camp.  I am excited to run out of the tunnel the first night at the Staple Center and get the first introduction.
HT: And the excitement you are going to feel once you feel that ‘my God we’re really finally gelling together!’
KM: Right
HT: Because the expectations are that you guys are going to win more then 70 games!
KM: Well, I know.  The expectations are huge. So, there is going to be some teams out there that will tells us we are not.  But the expectations are huge.
HT: Exactly. It happens that the western conference was loaded for a couple of years, but now even more loaded!
KM: And a lot of teams re-loaded.
HT: People have always looked at you as a real nice guy, opinionated and honest.  And you’ve always remained faithful to help fulfill the dreams of a small market team.  But have you always had the ambition of one day playing in the spotlight in a big city like New York, Chicago, or LA with national exposure?
KM: That’s why I did it now.  Everything is timing.
HT: Right.
KM: I just feel that the time was right.  I just feel this was the time to make a move and not look back five and ten years from now and say I should have.
HT: Right
KM: This was a perfect time for me to move and I did it the way I wanted to do it which was with a lot of class.  And I took the initiative to do a lot of things myself and that’s why I’m here right now, because this is how I wanted to do it
HT: Right. So, you’re just open to the way life came about, because had you guys won the championships in 1998 with Utah, you may not be thinking that way now?
KM: I probably would have though.  But sometimes change is good.
HT: I don’t know if you are familiar with the sports talk show world, but there’s a lot of positives and a lot of negatives about your signing.  Some of them are saying things like ‘Karl Malone and Gary Payton are basically trading their salaries to buy a championship’.
KM: No!  If we’re buying a championship, then maybe we wrote a checque!  You’re not buying a championship taking a pay-cut!
HT: You’ve still got to earn it right?  No one’s giving you nothing!
KM: You ain’t buying a championship and taking a pay-cut!
HT: No.
KM: How refreshing is it for the fans out there to say it isn’t about the money anymore?  It’s truly about a team to winning a championship.  Focus on that!  We’re not buying anything.  We’re the ones that gave up the money!  Is that buying?And if my memory serves me correctly, I am going to be playing 30-35 minutes a night and so is GP.  So, we are going to earn it!  So, for all those guys….those’re guys that wish they could have did what me and Gary is doing now.  But they didn’t have the balls to do it.  And they let somebody else tell them what to do.
HT: This is unprecedented isn’t it?  You can’t think back in NBA…
KM: Right.  You can’t think back, but you tell me that we did not pick out one or two fans about what we did?  True fans!  It is about winning.  It’s not about the money all time.  So, they didn’t have anything to write about but that.  Those Clowns that are saying that is the ones that have no balls!  And they get behind the mike and the TV and they can talk about it, but when they see you in your face then they all buddy buddy with ‘ya.  So, I’ll say they’re little punks!
HT: You know, that’s a great thing you said about, winning fans over, because I am a New York fan.
KM: Right
HT:  LA has always been to me a show boating team.  They’re great players, Kobe and Shaq, but fans leave in the third quarter and so forth.  But with what you guys did makes me want to come out and watch the games and root for you.
KM: Well, the thing about it is.  It don’t happen.  Like you said, I can’t see what negative you can say about what Gary and I did, because it never have happened in sports!
HT: No.
KM: How about never happened in sports?!  Why you gotta make a negative spin on it? We did something that have never happened!
HT: Right!
KM: And probably will never happen again.  So, why don’t you say “This is great for the NBA” and what they needed.  ‘Not these guys are trying to buy a championship and trying to do all of that’.
HT: You say it like it is man. That’s cool.
KM: I don’t be bullshittin’man.
HT: Now you are regarded as the greatest power forward in NBA history.  We talked about the sacrifice you made to win the title.
KM: But you know what
HT: But now would you feel your career is incomplete if you don’t win the championship?
KM: Well, why do you think I did what I did?  I go to Arkansas and I train in 90-95degree heat out there.  I’m not doing that just to show up to the season in good shape.  I’m not doing it just to make the playoffs.  I’m doing it to win a championship.  I wouldn’t have went through all this if I felt that my career would have been complete by not winning a championship.  I made this move to win a championship.  But it don’t say it is going to happen.  And if it don’t happen I can be the first one to say, “ You know what, I tried something that 95 percent of the people wouldn’t even dare try.  If you look at the BIG picture.  So, that why I did what I did.  And you know what , respect that!  And for all those people out there that’s negative,  respect that!  Because they didn’t have the balls to do it.  You know, they didn’t have the balls to do it. I did!  Gary did!  So, why do you respect it and stop hating!  That’s all you have to do.  Because it don’t happen in sports!  Commissioner Stern got to be smiling  from here to here, ‘cause it’s refreshing!
HT: I know you’ve been critical of  the league from time to time.  But right now what you’re doing makes the product better.  And it says something for Commissioner Stern and the NBA that we got athletics like this
KM: When you look at all the negative going on now, they need this.
HT: I don’t know if you’re familiar with Paul Kariya?
KM: Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.  They used to play together in Anaheim?  Kariya took the one-five?
HT: But they’re still young.
K.M.: Right
HT: And there going to make theirs.  They’re probably not going to make up what they lost this year.
KM: Now the Jazz got $27 million and nobody want it!
HT: They tried to get Cory Maggette, right?
KM: Any they offered me $5 million.  That’s what they wanted to pay me.  Then I saw what they were offering some these other guys they were trying to get.  Are you kidding me?  I just seen the day they traded Keown Clarke (laughs)!  Figure that one out.
HT: So, you don’t dwell on the dough that you’ll probably never make up.  We’re talking upwards of maybe $30-$50 million dollars.
KM: Don’t get me wrong.  Hold on, yes.
HT: Some team might have signed you up for four years?
KM: Yes.  I’m not blowing it off.  If you got 30 million, you want 40 million, if you have 40, you want 50!  No, I am not blowing it off, because its huge.  But at this point…
HT: You are going to get endorsements and ….
KM: You hope so!
HT: But it’s still not going to make up a $18 million loss.
KM: Right. I like to say you hope to get endorsements.  It don’t say I get endorsements, I’m saying you hope you do.  But somewhere in life, you draw the line.
HT: It’s not about the money?
KM: It’s not about the money!  That’s what I’m saying.  How can anybody turn this into a negative because it’s not about the money.  It’s about team, it’s about wanting to win a championship.  It’s about putting yourself in a position to maybe win a championship.  That’s what I chose to do.  And people have to respect that. Or they should!
HT: We have to admire you for not playing for the buck, or the points!  You’re rolling the dice for life.
KM: Right
HT: Because you might make up that money from a movie opportunity or something?
KM: Might!  I never count my chicken before they hatch.  Of course, that would be awesome.  If it was in the real world, I’d been in action movies, all over the place, and I’ll make up that money.  But I’m a realist, and it might not happen.  So, I am prepared either way.  I know what I want!  But what you want you don’t always get!  I want a championship, but there’re 28 other teams out there that say they don’t want you to have one.  And I want to have a movie career, but it might not happen.  That’s how I am as a person, you know.  But I’m not content, I’m content with life, but I’m not content with my profession, because I want a championship.  And that’s why I did what I did.  And if all the other stuff come along with it, it would just be gravy, it would be awesome!
HT: You know the fans are so sour with baseball, they’re all complaining about the, it a big deal that Ken Griffey got 14 million instead of 20 million.  That was a big deal!  That he took that kind of pay-cut per year.
KM: But look how they booed him?  When he got hurt they booed him.  In his home! That’s unbelievable.
HT: It’s not always their fault, but fans are just generally down on sports.  The move you’re making is a tremendous gesture to sports isn’t it?
KM: I think as a whole.
HT: Would you encourage that for other top athletics to do that?
KM: I can’t encourage any other athlete!  Only you know what you what to do, only you know in your heart what you want to do.  No, I can’t encourage it.  I can only control me and what I do.  I can’t encourage anybody else to do anything other than what they want to do.  And you can’t make them do that.  That’s something they’re going to have to want to do themselves.
HT: The Lakers are doing what George Steinbrenner does with the Yankees, except they’re not spending George Steinbrenner cash!
KM: Well, because they got it all in two guys pocket, and you have to realize it, respect that, and go on.  Things can happen, they will if they want.  The decision has been made and it’s been done, and you go from there.
HT: And lets not forget, just like a college junior, instead of coming out and making all that money, decided to stay all four years for the experience, but he might get hurt.  Have a career-ending injury, and that could happen to you guys.  People don’t even think about that!
KM: No, they don’t talk about that.  It’s amazing!
HT: People aren’t even talking about that!  What if GP gets hurt, or you get hurt?
KM: That’s what I said, everybody said we’re supposed to win a championship.  All of us have go to stay healthy.  You’re right.  We are rolling the dice.  Big dice Vegas is 7/11.  That’s why I picked number 11, ‘cause it’s a lucky number.
HT: So, you’re going for the 11 are you?
KM: Yeah. (laughs)
HT: Oh, that’s beautiful!  So, you didn’t want to take # 32?
KN: No.  Because out of respect to Magic!  That’s the ultimate respect to say that his jersey is retired for a reason, and I don’t have the right to come in and take that jersey down.  I want that jersey to stay up there. That’s my ultimate respect to him.
HT: But that’s some gesture that he made to you though?
KM: Ya! That was a hell of a gesture he made to me.  He let me know how bad he wanted me here.  But I wanted to show him how much he meant to the league by returning the gesture.
HT: That’s like Joe DiMaggio saying, ‘hey take my number, kid.’
KM: Oh yeah, absolutely!  What he done for the league, it don’t deserve to come down.  For me or anybody else.  It deserves to stay up there.  So, that’s why I did what I did.
HT: But it’s mind boggling that four out of five players on the floor are going to be first ballot Hall of Famers!  Its more then ‘Showtime’, or Bird’s Celtics or even MJ’s Bulls.
KM: Now what we’ve got t do is go out there and put it together
HT: right. Now you guys got to go out and do it.  But the rest of the team, right now, its week lot, in my opinion.  I watch the NBA, you know, compared to the rest of the western conference teams.  There a lot of players who have done very well to win the championships and fit in with Kobe and Shaq.  But still they’re barely B plus players?
KM: Well, that’s why we gotta make sure.
HT: That why its not a given.  No one is giving you anything.
KM: That’s right, nobody’s giving us anything!
HT: Even those guys have to play better than they ever did.
KM: Right.  And we have to play even better!
HT: Give me your assessment of what your rivals San Antonio, Sacramento, Houston?
KM: Oh, they got better!  Every team in the west.
HT: Is there any particular that you think have done excellent.
KM: I think all of them have.  I definitely Minnesota have done better.  That’s why nothing is a shoe in.  It is going to be some exciting basketball this year.  And like I said, we’ve got to be ready to play every night.  But they’ve gotten better as well.  So, we realize that.
HT: Houston’s just going to keep getting better and better.
KM: Yeah. Houston is going to get better and better.  Phoenix’ young, up and coming team.  The whole west is going to be tough.  I’ll say it again, the team that win it in the West, could win the championship again.  So, it is going to be tough.
HT: San Antonio, I think they did the right thing not going for Kidd, and instead getting deeper.  It’s almost in preparation for you guys, really.  I know you don’t want to talk about Kobe’s situation.
KM: No. no.
HT: But should Kobe not be available, or if his availability is limited.  How do you think you guys will handle a situation where there is already an existing power struggle between Phil Jackson, Kobe and Shaq?  And what if Kobe has to be in and out during the season?
KM: Well, we’re going to support Kobe, no matter what as a team.  He’s not going to be in this thing by himself.  He got a support system that we‘re going to give him, and that’s what we’re going to do.  We’re not going to dwell on what happened in the past, we’re going to help him get through a tough situation.  And we are going to be there for him when he needs us.  That’s my assessment.  And me, when I’m your friend, I’m your friend for life!  I’m your friend from now on, not just tomorrow or the next day, it’s for life!  That’s who I am.  Even though I’m just coming into this situation, that’s who I’m going to be.
HT: You know, having talked to you for a few minutes, these questions that I came up with are generally negative but it seems to like these situations are not even going to be a problem for you?  Because you’re going to be there to support him.
KM: Right
HT: People are worrying about whether there might be chemistry problems, but if you made this kind of sacrifice there ain’t going to be no selfness!
KM: I knew all this going into it.  The most selfish act you can have is money.  Greed.  I eliminated that already.  So, it is not about that.  A guy don’t need you when he’s scoring 40 points and hit the game winning a jumper.  A guy needs you now, and what he’s going through now.  That’s when he needs you.  That’s when you get stronger as a man, it’s not when he’s scoring 40 and making 20 million in endorsements, and 15 to 20 million from the Lakers.  That’s not when he needs you, a guy needs you when he’s down and out.  That’s when I’m there for him!
HT: How about in terms of adjusting your game?  You won’t be getting as many touches.
KM: Hey, I’ll adjust my game.  Like I said, I go back to selfishness.  I knew what I was getting into before I did.  It’s not going to be ‘I need more shots, or I need this’.
HT: With you rebounding, my God!
KM: Rebounding.  And I’m going to run the floor.  And I’m going to make Shaq run the floor.  If he don’t run the floor, I’ll be getting the lay-up.
HT: Potentially this could be absolutely dynamite!
KM: It could be.  But I’ll tell you what, I ‘m going to come in shape, and hopefully he do to, because we’re going to push the ball.  And I want to be one of the first down the floor!
At age forty!  So, if you’re 28 or 29 year old and you want a 40 year old be down on the floor before you, I’m not going to look bad, you are.  So, we’re going to see.
HT: How many more years do you think guys like Barry Bonds and yourself could play?  I mean you guys are practically in your peak!
KM: I don’t know. Barring injuries, who knows!
HT: As long as you’re enjoying the game?
KM: Enjoying the game.  It’s like I got a new lease on life, right now so who knows.
HT: Right now it looks like you have a whole bunch of years?
KM Right!  So, I’m just going to see what happens.  But its like this, I want them to want me as well as I want them.  And when you do that and you have that combination, who knows how long you can play?  Playing with Shaq and Kobe might take years off my career.  So that’s just going to be one of those things.
HT: You’ve had a lot of experience against Phil Jackson teams, what has your opinion been of him?
KM: I always respected coach.  As a coach and a person.  And I like his philosophy, and I buy into it.  And I am a veteran and I adjust to the situation.  But I’ve never had any problems with him away from anything else.  Just been great and a smooth transition and like I said, I am excited about the opportunity to learn things from him. I go into this situation almost as a rookie.  I’ve got to prove myself all over again.  I am not expecting my teammates to warm up to me.  I have a responsibility that I gotta’ warm up to them.
HT: Because you have to learn the whole system too right?
KM: Oh yeh.  I never been a guy that studied tape but I’ve study some of the tapes already so, I’m ready for this.  I’m ready for it already!
HT: Are there types of coaches that you tend to like more?  Or are you just a person that just respects whoever is in authority?
KM: I respect whoever is in authority.  It doesn’t matter what coach.
HT: Whether it’s Pat Riley or Jeff Van Gundy?
KM: I respect whoever is in authority , but there’s a lot of things I don’t need. Maybe a young guy do. So, as a coach, you gotta respect that as well.
HT: Know that you got 18 years under you belt.
KM: Right.  I don’t need a whole lot of line drills and all that.  I know what I need to do to get in shape.  I don’t need head games being played because that’s not what I am all about.
HT: It about getting the job done.
KM: Right!
HT: You know, this European trend, young European players coming in.  There’s a big thing about people being critical about the young players not developing, because they don’t work on the fundamentals.  Do you think the drafting of the young Europeans is a trend?  You played with Kirilenko, who is excellent.
KM: If you look at what is happening now, those young European players know how to pass, dribble and shoot.  While we over here as Americans ‘street ball’ between their legs, behind their back.  That’s not getting it done!  So, of course that is what’s going on. And the sooner we realize that the better off we will be but we’re not getting it done right.
HT: So, do you think there will be a backlash on this whole European player trend?
KM: Ain’t no doubt basketball is an American game, but now we have to go out and prove it.  Seriously.  Because I think they are definitely catching up with us.
P.10; That’s what I think.  Because if the Dream Team could lose in the Olympics to the Yugoslavians.
KM: That wasn’t a real dream team.  That was a fake.  The Dream Team was number one and number 2.  That we sent over there last year were imposters. (Laughs)
HT: Buy there’s going to be another one because you’re involved, right?
KM: Right.
HT: Are you an emotionally guy?  You talked about your loyalty to your friends and so forth.
KM: Yes. I’m an emotional guy.  I’m a very sensitive guy.  I do like to make people happy, I like to be happy.  I try to be happy all the time, because people feed off me.  I don’t like to be a guy that go around and mope, thinks somebody feel sorry for me.  I like to make my own breaks, I don’t like nothing given to me.  I like to think that I earned it.  And I look into the mirror every night and say “You know what, I earned this”.
HT: So, Larry Miller (Utah Jazz owner), and your ex-coach, Jerry Sloan:. Is it sad to leave them?  But still your friends forever?
KM: Sad to leave them, we’re friends forever, but it’s not my fault, it’s their fault.
HT: It is going to be strange for you not to be playing next to John Stockton?
KM: It’s going to be strange, but I got Gary Payton!
HT: You’re going to be so excited!
KM: I’ll go from one to the other, so I think that’s awesome.
HT: How important is the points record to you?
KM: Its important but
HT: The chances are you’re going to get there but might take a little longer?
KM: 12.8 points a game.  I should be able to do that in two years.
HT: You got a nice grin on your face there.  That would be a hell of an accomplishment though?
KM: It would be great accomplishment, but it would be a personal one that I don’t get caught up in.
HT: Can you talk a little bit about your daughter, Cheryl Ford?
KM: I’m very proud of her!
HT: She’s having a terrific year as a rookie in the WNBA.
KM: She’s awesome, man!  When I see her play, its like, ‘god that’s my daughter right there!’  She’s awesome.  Her Mom did an unbelievable job raising them.  She has a twin brother, majored in Forrestry at Louisiana Tech. that’s going run our business one day.  But I’m proud of all of them, and I’m proud of the career that she’s doing.  I’m just happy for her and what she’s doing.
HT: She’ll be able to come out see you play out here now too?
KM: Yeah!
HT: Man, everything is going great for you!
KM: I have my days.  I have my moments.
HT: Isn’t it amazing you initially make that sacrifice.  It’s a big sacrifice, $18 million dollars a year.  But you look like the happiest guy in the world!
KM: I am making less, but no, don’t get me wrong its a lot of money, but I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, because I made this decision myself with my family.  There wasn’t anybody dangling any carrot.  Once it got close, a lot of teams came out of the woodwork, and started dangling a lot of things.  But I stood firm to what I believe in and I came here and I am not looking back.
HT: Are you moving out of Utah completely?
KM: Well, we bought a home here.
HT: So, your house is on the market over there?
KM: Yeah, we put it on the market, but I build homes for a living too.  I have a construction company.
HT: So, you can always have a place over there?  You have a lot of businesses over there, right.
KM.: Yes.
HT: What kind of businesses?
KM: I have Toyota-Honda dealership there.  Real Estate company there.  So, we’re gonna always call Utah home as well.  We’ll be back and forth.
HT: Now the picture’s coming together.  You’ve done very will over there, now you’re going to spread out over here too.
KM: Yes. That’s what life’s about. (Smiles)
HT: You are going to be like Magic Johnson!
KM: Right, right!  Magic’s definitely a hero of mine.  Like you said, I will be expanding a lot of things.  Of course I want to get into acting, while I’m out here.  We’ll see what happens, basketball first and all the other stuff will fall in line, once you do what you’re supposed to do and that’s play basketball.
HT: I know you like to drive to trucks and you like log and hunting and fishing and camping and all that kind of stuff. Its just the way this excitement being in LA, that sort of like the
KM: Yes. It’s the excitement, or whatever
HT: What kind of movies you think you want to do. I think you’d be great in something like “The Last Boy Scout”.  Wasn’t a great movie but if you were in it with Bruce Willis it would have been great.
KM:  Oh man, I would love to been in action packed movies!  That’s something I’ve always thought about doing.  I like to do some of my own stunts.  Lot of stuff I would like to do.  We’ve had opportunities, but I want the right situation.  I just don’t what to do something just to say I did a movie.  I want to do something that really means something and really matters.
HT: Even if you won two or three championships in Utah.
KM: I still had this ambition.  I still had ambition to do this.
HT: I think in the past people had you wrong, you know, that you’re  a serious guy, and you’re committed to basketball.
KM: I always had other interests other then basketball.
HT: People were surprised that you did that wrestling thing with Rodman.
KM: That’s what I wanted to do. I don’t go out to try to shock and surprise people.  I go out to be myself.  And that’s something I like to do.  And that why I did what I did. When I’m ready to do something I do it, I don’t really get caught up in what people think or what they say, because this is what I want to do.
HT: I think you’ll be good in one of those Jim Brown roles.
KM: Yeah!  I’m looking forward to it, but I ‘m not looking to do the ‘starring Karl Malone’, I just want pick and chose the roles that I’m in to become a great actor.  I want it to matter.  I do a small part this time, I want to do a bigger part next time.  And that’s how I want to do it, I don’t want to be just thrown out there.  I want to pick and chose the things I do.  I have a great opportunity now that I’m kinda mix about because I don’t want to be that basketball player.  I’d  rather be a cop and have two or three lines and a basketball at 40 lines because I want to get away from that.
HT: And the other thing is, you got a great personality, you got great presence for film, it’s better for Hollywood to want you and let them spend their money rather than spend your own money to be in a movie like some athletes
KM: It just like an endorsement.  You want the people that want you to come to you.  You don’t want to call them.  They know how to get in touch with you.  The same thing here.  If you want me in a role you’ll find me.  If you don’t you won’t.  It’s the same as when you’re endorsing a product.  It’s the same thing.  I am who I am, I’m not going to change because I’m in California.  I’m going to be the same person I am.
HT: Did you even seen the movie call the “Amazing Grace and Chuck” with Alex English?  That was a nice role.
KM: Yes.  It was a nice role he had.
HT: He did a great job too.  You be great at a role like that.
KM: I want action!  Like “Predator” or “Sniper”.
HT: Who would you like to work with?
KM: Jackie Chang, Wesley Snipes, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzennegger, Mel Gibson, Danny Glover!  I would like to work with those guys.
HT: Guy mostly, villains also?
KM: I would like to be really just a Bad Ass!  Not a bad guy or good guy, just a Bad Ass.  A nice guy but I could flip a switch like that!
HT: But you’d be great in Jim Brown kind of roles.
KM: I love war movies.  I love that kind of stuff.  “When We Were Soldiers” with Mel Gibson.  “Black Hawk Down”, “Platoon”.  I love war movies.  I would love war action packed westerns.  That was my favorites.
HT: You’re just so excited aren’t you?
KM; Oh, yeah!
HT: It’s all out here.  You are in the right place.
KM: I’m excited but my focus is basketball.  I feel that everything will come together after that.
HT: So you don’t think you’ll necessarily be more active with NRA activities because you’re out here now?
KM: I’ll be what they want me to be.  I’m NRA!  I am who I am.  I’m not changing just because I’m here in California.  I’m NRA.  That’s what I believe in.  I believe in rights to bare arms.  Guns don’t kill people.  It’s the people who’re using them.
HT: What would you consider your highlights?  I know the Olympic gold was one of them.
KM:  I think the Olympic gold was one.  The second was the second Olympic gold.  Those were my career highlights.
HT: And, of course, you could be 8 months away from your first NBA Championship?
KM: That would add to it.  That would be the cream of the crop.
HT: Everything else is gravy!
KM: ya
HT: Oscar nomination!  Everything else is gravy.  Icing on the cake.
KM: ya (Laughs)
HT: Any regrets?
KM: Nope!  I have no regrets.
HT: mmm
KM: Because I think about thoroughly my decisions I make, and once I make ‘em.  It’s like anything else.  Me and my brother’s gotta saying we always say,
“It is what it is-deal with it!” and that’s what we do.  That’s my saying.  I don’t regret, no!  It is what it is and I deal with it.
HT: Do you think you might want to get into commentating in basketball?
KM: I don’t know, but I won’t close the door on anything, but I’ll just see.
HT: I know you did a radio talk show, you’re a great talker.
KM: I love that!  I love doing a talk show, but I’m not going say what I will and won’t do, I’m just going to let it happen and see.
HT: Yes, because you can do so many things and if you’re but if you’re busy with movies or something you’re not going to be able do any of that.
KM: Right
KM: But I just want to do smart things that’s going help or enhance my career, not, you know, make it bad.  So I’m just going to pick and choose what I do.
HT: That’s beautiful. OK. Thanks very much.
KM: You bet!

Ron Artest Interview

Ron Artest, Jr. (born November 13, 1979) is an  professional basketball player who is currently with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. Artest gained a reputation as one of the league's premier defenders as he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004. He was also criticized for assaulting a fan in the Pacers–Pistons brawl and is known for his sometimes eccentric, outspoken behavior.
Artest was born and raised in the Queensbridge projects in Queens, New York. Artest has 2 younger brothers, Isaiah and Daniel. He played high school basketball at La Salle Academy and college basketball at St. John's University from 1997–1999 majoring in mathematics. In 1999 he helped the Red Storm to the Elite Eight, losing to Ohio State in a classic game. He gained fame playing in some of New York City's high profile summer basketball tournaments at Nike  Pro City, Hoops in the Sun at Orchard Beach, Bronx, New York  and Dyckman Park at Washington Heights, earning himself nicknames such as Tru Warier and The New World Order, a name he received from Randy Cruz (one of the co-founders of the Hoops In The Sun basketball league at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, New York).
As a teenager, he was teamed with Elton Brand of the Philadelphia 76ers and Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers on the same AAU team.
Growing up in a rough neighborhood Artest claims he witnessed murder on a basketball court. "It was so competitive, they broke a leg from a table and they threw it, it went right through his heart and he died right on the court. So I'm accustomed to playing basketball really rough."

Chicago Bulls
Artest was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft.
Artest played a total of 175 games for the Bulls over 2-1/2 years, the bulk as a starter, during which time he averaged about 12.5 points and just over 4 rebounds per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in the 1999–2000.
Midway through the 2001-02 season, Ron was traded by Chicago to the Indiana Pacers along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, and Kevin Ollie, in exchange for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a 2nd Round draft pick.

Indiana Pacers
Following his trade to the Pacers, Ron Artest had the best season of his professional career. In 2003–04 season he averaged 18.3 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, and 3.7 assists per game. Ron made the 2004 All-Star Game as a reserve and was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Artest wore three jersey numbers for the Pacers: 15, 23 and 91.
Pacers–Pistons brawl
On November 19, 2004, Artest was at the center of an altercation among players and fans during a game in Auburn Hills, Michigan between Artest's Pacers and the home team Detroit Pistons.
The brawl began when Artest fouled Pistons center Ben Wallace as Wallace was putting up a shot. Wallace, upset at being fouled hard when the game was effectively over (the Pacers led 97–82), responded by shoving Artest, leading to an altercation near the scorer's table. Artest walked to the sideline and lay down on the scorer's table. Reacting to Wallace throwing something at Artest, Pistons fan John Green threw a cup of beer at Artest, hitting him. Artest jumped into the front-row seats and confronted a man he incorrectly believed to be responsible which in turn erupted into a brawl between Pistons fans and several of the Pacers. Artest returned to the basketball court, and punched Pistons fan A.J. Shackleford, who was apparently taunting Artest verbally. This fight resulted in the game being stopped with less than a minute remaining. Artest teammates Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson were suspended indefinitely the day after the game, along with Wallace.
On November 21, the NBA announced that Artest would be suspended for the remainder of the season (73 games and playoff), the longest non-drug or betting related suspension in NBA history. Eight other players (four Pacers and four Pistons) received suspensions, without pay, which ranged from one to thirty games in length. Each of the Pacers players involved were levied fines and ordered to do community service. Several fans were also charged and were banned from attending any events at the Palace for life. Artest lost approximately $7 million in salary due to the suspension.
Aftermath and trade
Early in the 2005–06 season, Artest requested a trade from the Indiana Pacers and was put on the team's inactive roster. Artest's call for a trade created a rift between him and his teammates. "We felt betrayed, a little disrespected," teammate Jermaine O'Neal said. As for their basketball relationship, O'Neal said: "The business relationship is over. That's fact." Pacers president Larry Bird said he also felt "betrayed" and "disappointed."
On January 24, 2006, reports from NBA sources confirmed that the Sacramento Kings had agreed to trade Peja Stojakovi? to the Pacers for Artest. However, before the trade could be completed, many press outlets reported that Artest had informed team management that he did not want to go to Sacramento. According to Artest's agent, his original trade request was only made because he was upset when he heard rumors that the Pacers were going to trade him to Sacramento for Stojakovi? early in the season. While not denying his agent's story, Artest did deny that he had rejected the trade to Sacramento, saying that he would play anywhere; hence, contradicting earlier press accounts stating Artest was holding up the trade. Given conflicting accounts, it is unclear why the trade was delayed, but it was nevertheless completed on January 25 and Artest was officially sent to the Kings for Stojakovi?.

Sacramento Kings
Though traded midseason to the Kings franchise, Artest quickly found his place on the team by providing some much needed defense. Though many feared his abrasive personality would be a problem, he worked well with his teammates and then-coach Rick Adelman. Artest wore #93 for his jersey number with the Kings. After acquiring Artest in late January 2006, the team immediately went on a 14–5 run, the team's best run of the season. The Kings broke .500 and landed the eighth spot in the Western Conference. This prompted ESPN to declare that "Ron Artest has breathed new life in the Sacramento Kings and enhanced their chances of reaching the playoffs for the ninth straight year."  Fox Sports proclaimed, "Artest has Kings back in playoff hunt."
He was suspended for Game 2 of the team's first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs following a flagrant foul (elbow to the head) on Manu Ginóbili. The Kings eventually were eliminated from the playoffs in six games.
After the playoffs, Artest offered to donate his entire salary to keep teammate Bonzi Wells with the team, who became a free agent after the 2005–06 NBA season. He even jokingly threatened to kill Wells if he did not re-sign with the Kings. Wells was later picked up by the Houston Rockets and then traded to the New Orleans Hornets for former Sacramento Kings player Bobby Jackson. Artest also offered to donate his salary to retain the services of head coach Rick Adelman, whose contract expired after the same season. Adelman and the Kings did not agree on a contract extension so the two parted ways.

Houston Rockets
On July 29, 2008, it was reported that Artest was to be traded to the Houston Rockets along with Patrick Ewing, Jr. and Sean Singletary for Bobby Jackson, recently drafted forward Donté Greene, a 2009 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations. The deal was made official on August 14, due to Greene's rookie contract signing on July 14. In response to the trade, Yao Ming was generally positive, but jokingly said that "hopefully he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands." In response, Artest said, "This is Tracy (McGrady) and Yao's team, you know. I'm not going to take it personal. I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto. That's not going to change. I'm never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don't think he's ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture."
Since then, Artest and Yao have exchanged extensive phone calls. Artest has also said, "Whatever Adelman needs me to do, whether that's come off the bench, sixth, seventh man, start, I don't even care. Whatever he needs me to do, I'm 100 percent sure it's going to work out."
On October 30, 2008, Artest received his first technical as a Houston Rocket, as he raced towards a group of Mavericks players and then quickly went to Yao Ming who bumped Josh Howard after play stopped. Artest was trying to pull Yao Ming away from the play and to the foul line, but contact was made with Maverick players. The TNT broadcast crew felt this technical was not warranted, and was based upon Artest's prior reputation as a feisty player in the league.
On April 30, 2009, Ron Artest helped the Houston Rockets advance past the first round for the first time in 11 seasons.

Los Angeles Lakers
In July 2009, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Ron Artest to a five-year deal worth about $33 million. Artest chose the number 37 jersey, which he said was in honor of Michael Jackson. Jackson's Thriller album was at No. 1 on the charts for 37 straight weeks.
On May 6, 2009, Ron Artest was ejected in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers after Kobe Bryant committed what was later ruled to be a Flagrant 1 foul, for elbowing. Artest was indignant after having Kobe's forearm jabbed into his throat but finding himself called for the offensive foul. He then proceeded to antagonize Bryant after the play, which eventually led to an ejection by Joey Crawford. The TNT broadcast crew felt this technical was not warranted, and was possibly due to Crawford confusing Artest's protestations that he was elbowed in the throat with a throat slashing motion, which is an automatic ejection.
On May 8, 2009, Artest was again ejected from Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter after a hard foul on Pau Gasol, who was attempting to dunk on a fast-break. Commentators and even Kobe Bryant, who had had an altercation with Artest in Game 2 in which Artest was ejected, agreed the flagrant two foul and subsequent ejection were not warranted. True enough, it was determined the next day that the foul was not serious enough to warrant an ejection, and the flagrant two was downgraded.

Career transactions
* June 30, 1999: Drafted 16th overall by Chicago Bulls in 1999 NBA Draft.
* February 19, 2002: Traded by Chicago along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller and Kevin Ollie to the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson and a future second-round draft pick.
* January 25, 2006: Traded by Indiana to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovi?.
* August 21, 2008: Traded by Sacramento along with Patrick Ewing, Jr. and Sean Singletary to the Houston Rockets for Bobby Jackson, Donté Greene and a future first-round draft pick.

Controversy
Artest has been a subject of frequent controversy. In a December 2009 Sporting News interview, Artest admitted that he had led a "wild" lifestyle as a young player, and that he drank Hennessy cognac in the locker room at halftime when he was playing for the Chicago Bulls at the beginning of his NBA career. During his rookie season in Chicago, he was criticized for applying for a job at Circuit City in order to get an employee discount. He once attended a practice with the Indiana Pacers in a bath robe. He was suspended for two games in the early 2004–05 season by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle after he allegedly asked for a month off because he was tired from promoting an R&B album for the group Allure on his production label. Artest had also been suspended for three games in 2003 for destroying a television camera at Madison Square Garden, and for four games for a confrontation with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley in 2003. He has also been suspended several times for flagrant fouls. Artest was also involved in the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl in 2004.

Legal troubles
According to a Placer County report obtained by the Sacramento Bee, on January 30, 2007, Animal Services officers issued a "pre-seizure" notice to Artest, on the suspicion that a dog at his home in Loomis was not getting adequate food. On February 5, officers returned and seized Socks, a black female Great Dane, removing her into protective custody with a local veterinarian. The seizure cited a law that requires animal caretakers to "provide proper sustenance". Artest later sent an email to the Bee, writing "I'm glad to say all problems are solved now, and I'm looking forward to getting my dog back." In March 2007, his dog was released under a foster care agreement after being treated for more than a month. In April 2007, the Placer County District Attorney's Office announced that it would not file charges against Artest for the incident. It also was reported by Placer County Animal Services and by Artest that he agreed to allow Socks to be adopted by a new owner.
On March 5, 2007, Artest was arrested for domestic abuse, and excused from Sacramento Kings indefinitely by GM Geoff Petrie. On March 10, Kings announced that Artest would return to the team, while his case was being reviewed by the Placer County District Attorney. On May 3, he was sentenced to 20 days in jail and community service. Artest spent only 10 days in the jail, as the judge stayed 10 days of the sentence, and served the remainder in a work release program. On July 14, 2007, the NBA suspended Artest for seven games at the beginning of the 2007–08 NBA season for his legal problems.

Artest is currently endorsed by Chinese athletics brand Peak.

In 2008, Artest appeared in a video promoting companion animal spaying and neutering for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals entitled "Have the balls to spay or neuter your dog."

In April 2010, it was announced that Artest would help develop and produce his own reality show, They Call Me Crazy, in conjunction with E1 Entertainment and Tijuana Entertainment.

 

 

HT: Yo, Queensbridge in the house Ron!
RA: Yo, no doubt.
HT: I’ve been following your career since your St. Johns days man.
RA: Oh, ok.
HT: I remember when you took the Red Storm all the way to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tourney in ’99.
RA: Where you from in New York?
HT: Manhattan, but I worked on Roosevelt Island right next to your hood.
RA: My father lives over there.
HT: Queensbridge was no joke, man.
RA: I grew up in the projects there for 19 years until I went to College.
HT: I know you came up with Lamar Odom back in the days in New York. Who else were the top players you came up with?
RA: Me and Lamar are the exact same age. The top guys were me, Lamar, Elton Brand, Eric Barkley, and a couple of other guys but they didn’t make it though.
HT: You have a chance of becoming the most successful player to come out of St. Johns when it’s all said and done. That’ll be something considering guys like Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, and Jayson Williams came before you.
RA: I have a good chance, man. We had a lot of good players come out of there.
HT:  Are you surprised some of old teammates like Eric Barkley and Lavor Postell never made it in the league?
RA: Eric got into some difficulties but he’s back home trying to work himself back in. Lavor played in the NBA for 3 or 4 seasons, and Marcus Hatten played a year in the league and is doing really well in Europe now.
HT: Felipe Lopez was supposed to be the next Michael Jordan. He got the Sports Illustrated cover and everything! He was better than Iverson going into college.
RA: Yeah, Felipe had that bad knee injury though, and he never really recovered from that. I played with him for one year when I was a freshman he was a senior.
HT: I’m sure you were recruited by every school but did you go to St. Johns because you wanted to stay home?
RA: Well, I knew I wanted to go to the NBA in a couple of years so I thought I may as well stay home.
HT: What are the colleges recruited you?
RA: I was recruited by any everybody but the top five schools. Like Duke didn’t recruit me, and Kentucky didn’t, but it turned out alright.
HT: How about the local schools like Seton Hall?
RA: Seton Hall recruited me.
HT: You’re starting a full season at Sacramento now. It’s amazing how everything worked out for you because you’re a great fit for the Kings.
RA: Definitely. Sacramento is the best NBA city in whole league.
HT: With your game you’re a good fit for any team but there were all kinds of rumors that the Pacers were going to send you to send you to some losing Franchise. I guess you have get back quality when you’re giving away quality.
RA: Yeah, I got very lucky because I got to come to a team with a Mike Bibby and Brad Miller. Most people in my situation don’t get to come to a situation like this.
HT: You were traded for Kings’ fan favorite Peja Stojakovic in mid-season and he’s not even at Indiana anymore. Do you think your bosses, the Maloof brothers, should be given more credit for pulling that trigger on that situation?
RA: I think they’re gonna’ get credit now.
HT: Sacramento had just parted ways with C-Webb and Vlade, and beginning to struggle a little bit, but you guys are looking like legitimate contenders once again.
RA: Definitely. Geoff Petrie made a couple of moves and turned the whole program around. We have an All-Star caliber squad now.
HT: When you took time away from the Pacers last season you campaigned to be join the Lakers. In retrospect, do you think you could’ve co-existed with one Mr. Bryant that doesn’t like to give up the rock?
RA: First and foremost I’m happy to be here, but if I had gone to L.A. I could’ve played with anybody.
HT: I’ve always been a Laker hater but come to think of it, you would’ve brought defensive intensity to the squad and provided Kobe with all the shots he needed.
RA: Yeah definitely, man. He wanted me to play with me, and I always wanted to play with him too.
HT: And you would’ve been reunited with Lamar Odom from your streetball days.
RA: Yo, Lamar’s going to be a hell of a player in this league.
HT: But he still has to be a disappointment considering how he played in Miami, and of course who he was traded for.
RA: No, Lamar was on winning team last year, and he went to the playoffs. And he’s always filing up the stat sheets so he’s doing well there.
HT: Everyone’s waiting for him to emerge as the next Scotty Pippen to Kobe’s MJ, but if Lamar played like he did in Miami in 2004 then maybe they’ll get what they expected.
RA: Yeah, he did play real good that year. Lamar’s a tough player!
HT: You were originally traded to the Clippers last season until the deal fell through. Realistically, would that have been a much better fit for you in L.A.?
RA: What happened was Corey Maggette got hurt and he failed the physical, and Donny Walsh didn’t want to pursue the trade after he found out that Corey had a bad foot.
HT: But the Clippers were a top team all year, and they took the Suns to Game 7 in the Playoffs. If you were there who knows how far they could’ve gone?
RA: The Clippers did a really good job last year, but they’re going to be even better this year.
HT: Well, the Kings had an unbelievable second half when you joined the team too, and you guys took 2 games off of the Spurs. But did you think about how far much further the Clippers might’ve gone if you were there?
RA: I guess. Because every team that I go on is going to be a better team just because of the way I play. If you lost the game I can probably give you a better chance to win, but at the end of the day it’s the team that wins the game.
HT: How did you like playing with the Clippers’ Elton Brand when you guys broke in with the Chicago Bulls?
RA: Elton’s one of my friends. He was always there for me and I was always there for him. He’s a great All-Star, and definitely one of the best power forwards in the league.
HT: The Bulls have a really nice young team now. Do you have any regrets that things didn’t work out in Chicago?
RA: I don’t regret it at all because I love Sacramento, but Chicago is a great city, you know.
HT: And you had some great years in Indiana too. Let’s face it.
RA: Yeah.
HT: You established yourself as an All-Star and a franchise caliber player at Indiana.
RA: Those were some good years.
HT: Yo, what the fuck were the Knicks thinking passing up on you for a stiff at the 1999 NBA Draft?! You were a steal at the 15th pick!
RA: All the New Yorkers wanted me to play for the Knicks, but they passed me by, which was kind of disappointing.
HT: You would’ve already been a steal at 15th, but they picked Frederic Weis from France, who never even suited up for the Knicks, and the Bulls took you at 16th.
RA: I never heard about Frederic Weis again but hopefully his family’s doing well. I can’t wait to see him play one day.
HT: He played for France in the FIBA World Championships this summer.
RA: How did he do?
HT: So so. He’s just a 7’ 2” center, you know. France had a decent squad with Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf, but Tony parker was out with an injury so they lost in the quarters to Greece. Greece beat Team USA for third place. But you’re one the top players in the NBA now. Great players get drafted low for some reason all the time but the Knicks should’ve known better considering you had just lead your ‘Johnnies’ to the Elite Eight!
RA: You’re right about that.
HT: Do you regret the way you handled your departure from Indiana?
RA: Yeah, it was a bad situation because Indiana had to take care of their business by trading me, but some things you just can’t publicly. I kinda went about it the wrong way.
HT: Seems like they were going to make the move anyway.
RA: They probably were anyway because of the type of player I am, and the problems I caused in Indiana after the incident in Detroit.
HT: You made a statement that you don’t always play at a 100% if the team doesn’t treat me like you and pay you like an All-Star.
RA: I feel like I should be treated like all the best players in the league. In the past I’ve given less than 100% when a team wasn’t treating well, but in Sacramento they treat me like a good person over here so I’m going to give a 100% and play hard. I was trying to say that I’d be off going to another team that appreciated my caliber of play in that statement.
HT: I think you are definitely underpaid considering what you bring to the table.
RA: And I wanted a team to appreciate me to be Ron Artest on the basketball court. And that’s what Sacramento did.
HT: I think you have the goods to be the NBA MVP in the near future. No doubt especially if you have an impact on both ends of the floor.
RA: When I’m playing straight and on the top of my game, definitely!
HT: When you returned to the Pacers from your one year suspension last year you demanded to be a more focal point of the offense. Have you made such demands in Sacramento?
RA: No, I’m not worried about that in Sacramento cause I’m just thinking about winning now. I’ll do whatever I have to do for the team, and I’m sure coach will put the ball in my hand too.
HT: You’ve always been able to score but you concentrated more on your defense in Chicago in order to become a more valuable player right?
RA: Yeah, I definitely did that. I thought it was important to establish myself as a good player that way and I knew I could worry about offense later, which is kind of what I’m working on right now. I was doing the same thing at St. Johns, I was playing good defense. I wasn’t averaging as many points because we had a lot of good scorers, you know.
HT: The brawl at Auburn Hills in 2004 was very unfortunate situation. I didn’t think you were totally at fault for the melee that ensued, but your teammates definitely had your back that night didn’t they?
RA: They definitely did. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. Those guys were stand up guys and I wish I could’ve stayed there at Indiana, but in a situation like that you can make your decisions with your emotions. You have to do what’s best for your personal self. I thought it was best for me to leave for everyone.
HT: Again, that brawl was a very frightening thing for everyone. You lost millions, and everyone there suffered at some level. You definitely got carried away in the heat of the moment but if you ask me the crowd has to stay off the court or the field no matter what. We see it happening in baseball where players get a hand in their face or beer thrown at them when they’re fielding the ball. This whole idea of the crowd being the sixth man has to be addressed too.
RA: Yeah, things definitely got out of hand. I think the guy that tried to get me was a bit on the racist side. He was treating me like an animal which wasn’t fair.
HT: You went after the wrong guy at first but the guy that got you in the first place was sucker punching you and everything. And apparently he had a bad wrap sheet too.
RA: He’d been arrested and he was a racist.
HT: The Pacers made a good run at the playoffs without you, but you must have felt guilty for your teammates because you guys could’ve gone all the way.
RA: I did feel bad because you don’t get too many chances at a championship, and we had such a great team. I kind of let myself down.
HT: It was Reggie’s last shot a ring too. The way you guys were playing you would’ve been tough to beat in the playoffs.
RA: We were rolling that year. We had a great record but unfortunately situations happen.
HT: Nobody could see anything like that coming.
RA: I definitely didn’t see anything like that happening.
HT: How are you going to handle your situation in the future because you know some fools going to try to throw something or say something to piss you off?
RA: Well, I’m always going to protect myself.
HT: Sebastian Telfair was recently questioned for a shooting in New York, and Stephen Jackson was arrested for firing his gun outside a strip club in Indianapolis this off season. Do you pack heat?
RA: I don’t live that kind of lifestyle so I don’t need no guns.
HT: I must say, we never hear any problems with you off the court.
RA: Nope.
HT: Have you made a decision to tone down your antics on the court? If you even get involved in a minor incident that escalate into anything the NBA are going to heavily fine you and suspend you again.
RA: I’m going to continue playing my game the same way.
HT: Again, none of us know what’s around the corner, and I know that for the most part you just play hard, but if you’re involved in another incident the NBA may even try to kick you of the league to make an example out of you.
RA: Yeah.
HT: The media and the TV analysts and broadcasters often refer to you as a crazy guy. Does that piss you off when people label you like that?
RA: When you get bad mouthed that pisses me off, but that’s why I do things for the community and charity groups to give people a chance to get to know me. It’s important that people don’t think of me for that one event that happened. My album is another good opportunity for people to get to know me from the inside out.
HT: Your record label is called Tru Warier. What does that mean?
RA: People in New York used to call me Tru Warier, and when I was looking for a name for my label I thought it sounded good. It’s a name for someone striving to reach his goals. Hopefully it’ll be in the dictionary one day.
HT: Who do you consider to be the best defensive players in the NBA?
RA: Outside of myself, I’d say Bruce Bowen, Trenton Hassell, Lindsay Hunter, Ben Wallace, and I like Brian Skinner too. And I got to say Shaquile O’Neal cause Shaq’s a big guy.
HT: You and Ben Wallace are usually on the top of the list. Do you consider yourself to be the best defender in the league?
RA: I think so, but individual defense is not as important as the team defense so I’m trying to get away from talking about my individual defense.
HT: It sounds like you’re grateful to have been given a second chance?
RA: Definitely. I want to do whatever it takes for us to go all the way and win the championship.
HT: You are very fortunate to be in a franchise that is committed to winning, because you’ve experienced being part of a rebuilding post Jordan Bulls team, and Indiana could’ve traded you to one of the bottom dwellers in the league.
RA: There was a chance of that. That’s why I’m more committed now, and we want to see what we could do here. We got a great team!
HT: Were you were always an exceptional defender?
RA: I was playing defense since I was a little kid, you know. It was something I always loved to do. I just always played intense and hard. It came easy to me.
HT: I remember hearing from one of the NBA analysts about 6 years ago that MJ said that you were on your to becoming one of the defensive players in the NBA.
RA: Yeah, that was my first or second year when MJ said that after a couple of workouts with him. He gave me a lot of pub by saying that and word got out that I could play some defense. I got to thank Michael Jordan for that.
HT: Didn’t you break his ribs too?
RA: Yeah, I was playing so hard and I hit him with an accidental elbow. I just wish that it had never happened.
HT: Who’s the toughest guy to guard in the NBA?
RA: Probably Kobe Bryant.
HT: Why?
RA: He could do everything. He could shoot, go right, go left, fade away going right, fade away going left, he can shoot the 3 ball, and he’s very athletic. That makes it hard to play against.
HT: Do you think some players in the NBA juice up with steroids?
RA: Nobody in the NBA uses steroids cause they test for steroids.
HT: Yeah, but the NBA test for marijuana too. Don’t tell me guys don’t smoke marijuana during the season.
RA: They test for all that.
HT: Some say that the NBA is the marijuana league.
RA: Yeah, they say that all the time but I don’t think that’s true as they make that out to be.
HT: You have a song called ‘Haters’ in your album where you even rap about how Matt Lauer treated you on the Today Show. Don’t you think some of the reaction you get from the haters is self-inflicted too? Or do you feel like you’re misunderstood?
RA: I think some people have misunderstood me and that’s understandable, but some people want to say something to put people down, those people are called haters.
HT: I know you really like Dennis Rodman, but his antics were disruptive to a team. You’re never late to practice, or miss flights, or go MIA on game night like he did.
RA: Yo, Rodman’s my man. I enjoyed how he played, and he did a lot of good for the NBA. He won 3 championships for Chicago, and the Bulls made a killing from him and MJ in those championship days.
HT: But do you look up to Rodman for his game, or the whole package with his marketing of his antics and shocking behavior?
RA: I look up to him for his game. I love his basketball mind.
HT: Did you hear about Zinedine Zidane head butting the Italian player in OT and being sent off at the World Cup Finals this summer?
RA: I heard about that. That wasn’t too smart.
HT: I would’ve thought that you of all people could understand him?
RA: Why did he do that?
HT: Because the Italian dude was allegedly calling him a terrorist and that his sister was a whore. I mean, Zidane was one of the greatest soccer players ever, and this other guy Matterazi is nothing in the big picture, but he got into his head at such a crucial moment.
RA: Oh, okay. Life is bigger than sports, and someone’s disrespecting you like that you can’t fault him for head butting him in the chest like that. He was standing up for the people he loved.
HT: Where do you draw the line as far as personal insults and not letting your teammates down?
RA: You have to realize that this is territory you built, but if you want to win you have to know how people are going to be out there bad mouthing you and stuff. You still have to stay in the game.
HT: The trash talking out there doesn’t get that personal does it?
RA: Some of the fans can get pretty nasty.
HT: Your album entitled My World is your first. How long have you been rapping?
RA: I’ve been doing it about 8 years, ever since I got into the league. I’m just striving to be really good you know what I’m sayin’.
HT: You got some great stuff in there. You probably don’t want people to see you as an “NBA player’s record” but someone that’s legit?
RA: I definitely want to be a legitimate rapper, and I think I have a good chance to be one. I love to perform in front of people, and I just love the pure artistry.
HT: When you opened for guys like Young Jeezy and fat Joe this summer it’s not good enough to get a “He’s good for a baller” response from that audience right?
RA: I’m definitely out there to prove them wrong. I’m not just somebody playing basketball just trying to rap on the beat. I’ve got some points to get across, and hopefully people will like it. In this album I wanted to be versatile and give people a chance to know and have some fun at the same time. I got some songs that are fiction, songs that are for the clubs, and songs that are fact. I wanted people to get an opportunity to see my creative mind, I tried not to have any song sound the same, and I tried to cover a variety of topics.
HT: You don’t glorify gangsterism, and you really don’t curse in any of the tracks.
RA: No, definitely not. That’s not what I’m about. I just try to be myself, you know. I have some heartfelt stuff in there about the hood. To me, being a thug and people that choose to go in that path, that was passed onto us from slavery, and that’s how we were raised. That was the culture and environment we were around. And us young fellas that’s all we knew, and we grow up as the product of our environment.
HT: Do you want the youngsters to hear what you got to say?
RA: Some of tracks I would like the youngsters to listen to, but my whole album is not for youngsters. I got some songs in there where young people could take some advice and better their lives because not everyone you grow up with tell you the difference between right and wrong.
HT: You never took sides on the East Coast West Coast rivalry right?
RA: No. I’m a neutral guy cause I’ve always loved music.
HT: There‘s even battles between the boroughs in New York.
RA: I love Queens because that’s where I’m from but I’m not the kind of person to battle other boroughs.
HT: Who are your style influences?
RA: I like Outkast a lot. I like Nelly, Slick Rick, Tupac, and of course Mobb Deep. I love Eminem’s first album.
HT: What about New York’s finest Jay-Z?
RA: I love Jay-Z but he’s just not one of my favorite rappers if I had to pick my favorites or whatever, you know. But he’s an icon. Jay-Z’s flawless.
HT: It sounds like you can deliver the goods with the mic but it’s definitely advantageous to be Ron Artest starting out in the rap game isn’t it?
RA: Yeah, I kind of got a jump start, and hopefully my next project will be highly anticipated.
HT: Did you fund the project by yourself?
RA: Me and an investor. He doesn’t like me to say his name but he was very interested in my project, and he helped me through the album.
HT: You put your own money where your mouth is.
RA: I had full confidence in my ability. I’ll bet on myself any day!
HT: What’s your ultimate goal in the music business?
RA: This is a marathon so I’m looking for longevity. I’m not banking on this first album to make me or break me, you know. I’m more ready to just start running this marathon.
HT: People are going to give you props for this first album for years to come because you said what you wanted to say and you put it out there.
RA: Definitely. And it’ll give me a chance to see what people like to hear from me creatively and I can give them more of that in the future.
HT: Some of these tracks dug a lot deeper than the typical NBA player album.
RA: I wanted to give people a little bit more insight into my life whether it was with a hood song, or a girly song, or a club song, or a political song.
HT: You’re married with four kids, and you hang with your crew, but you don’t live the crazy private life like Rodman’s do you.
RA: No, definitely not. I like to try to help the youth on how to act especially when you have a girlfriend or a wife you’ve had for a long time. I’ve got a song where I was a wild animal when I was younger, and then I have a track called ‘Bad Karma’ where I sing about a life of an entertainer who thinks he’s bigger than what he is and before you know it you lost the one you truly loved, and you’re lost in the world.
HT: Again, I know that you hang with your boys but we never hear about you behaving wildly or inappropriately off the court.
RA: When I hang out with my teammates not all of them are married, and some of them are single. We all go out sometimes but as far having a lot of women and stuff that’s not me.
HT: This album’s a nice start though. Isn’t kind of equivalent to your freshman year in college?
RA: Yeah, definitely. I’m a rookie-freshman, and people are just getting a chance to see my creativity and my art. It’s like when I started at St. Johns, I could shoot but can you play defense? It’s the same thing now.
HT: What other artists contributed in your album?
RA: I got Juvenile, Puff Daddy, and Mike Jones. They definitely gave me some credibility. I’m hoping I could work with people like Alicia Keyes, Keisha Coles, Outkast, and artists like that in the future.
HT: So this is just a head start to a career that you want to be pursuing long after your NBA career?
RA: No doubt. I love it, I enjoy it, and I think I can be successful at it.
HT: No matter how good a rapper you become it’s still a plus to have a whole lot of F-you money in your pocket already. You’ve said in the past that you’d retire after winning one championship; your game still hasn’t hit its peak so you could potentially play for a number of years and make a whole lot of cash.
RA: I take good care of my body so I think I could play for a couple more years.
HT: But you did say that you’d ride off into the sunset if you won before?
RA: If we won last year or a couple of years I probably would’ve quit, and that would’ve been the wrong move. So maybe God was showing me that I still loved the game a lot.
HT: What do you think of T.O.?
RA: I only met him once, but that’s my man so whatever he does I support him. He’s a real good guy.
HT: Well, he delivers the goods.
RA: He sure does.
HT: I know that you’ve always talked about winning the championships, but do you think about things like getting into the Hall of Fame, or making a run at MVP?
RA: I want to win first and then think about the other stuff after that. I definitely want to win. That’s much bigger than any individual goal.
HT: When you were at Indiana you guys were in the mix every year, but opportunities and years come and go before you know it.
RA: I’m already at 7 years so now it’s all about laying all on the table for me.

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