Former Player Panel at SABR 38
The player panel started out with a bit of a disappointment, since Len Barker couldn’t make it due to a prior engagement.
The former Indians players that did make it were Joe Charboneau, Dave Burba, Kevin Rhomberg and Vern Fuller.
As is so often true, the first few questions asked were awkward and embarrassing. The first question dealt with Charboneau being attacked in Mexico City by a mental patient. The second was also for Charboneau, when someone asked him, in a very circuitous manner, if he could only open beer bottles with his eye socket, or if he could open a “bottle that had been stopped up with a cork, as opposed to a crown.”
I love these SABR guys, but sometimes I think that a lot of them should get out a little more.
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The next question asked them what kind of manager they preferred, and used the example of Dusty Baker being a player’s manager, but not teaching good fundamentals. Their responses were far from insightful. Basically, the manager that writes your name in the lineup is your favorite one, and as long as he treats everyone on the roster equally, he’s good.
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When Dave Burba was asked what life was like after baseball, he responded, simply, “Is anyone hiring?” Best comment yet.
Burba has been the best quote so far. About his trade to Cleveland: “I joined the team in Seattle, walked into the clubhouse, and thought, ‘Where am I going to fit in? They’ve got an All-Star at every position, and then there’s Dave Burba.’”
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Vern Fuller, now the manager of the Radisson in downtown Cleveland, on preparing his hotel for players that stay there: “We’ve got a damage deposit, and make sure we have lots of beer on hand.” Plenty of laughter ensued.
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Dave Burba, on the hardest worker he’s played with: “Alex Rodriguez. Great talent, but spent plenty of time studying the game. Took batting practice daily, had guys throwing him groundballs all the time, working on his game. It was refreshing to see a guy making that much money working so hard to earn it.”
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As you might guess, there’s a lot of gushing to the local audience about how all the players loved playing here in Cleveland, even though the team was pretty poor for the better part of the last half-century. Dave Burba, who was a part of the Indians’ best teams in the mid-to-late 90s, is the only one who could enjoy his time on the field as well. Everyone agrees that for the most part, the Indians were just in a very tough division, and tried to be competitive.
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Now the subject turns to the best and worst pitchers they faced. Charboneau doesn’t want to throw anyone under the bus. Burba starts talking about how he tried to be a better pitcher, and when he was in San Francisco, he tried to learn a changeup to improve himself. He went to the pitching coach, who basically told him to forget about it, and just throw fastballs.
Burba maintains that most of his problems were mental, and that he felt like he couldn’t get any help from his coaches. He felt like he was letting his teammates down, and was very frustrated.
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Vern Fuller, on the best player he played with: “I’ll be honest with you. I played 40-something years ago, and I don’t remember a lot…”
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Dave Burba, on his worst game: “It was 1993, and we needed to sweep the Dodgers to force a playoff with the Braves. A rookie started the game, didn’t last long, and I came in. I just threw more fuel on the fire, and I felt awful because I knew we weren’t going to win because of that.”
Kevin Rhomberg, on his best game: “I hit the ball, and I was thinking three the whole way. I was running to first, rounded second, and headed for third. The umpire tells me ‘Slow down, slow down, it’s a home run’ and I sprinted home and all 18 fans in the stadium gave me a standing ovation.” It was his only MLB home run, he says.
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Kevin Rhomberg, on the most difficult pitcher he faced: “Mike Boddicker. That guy would throw you a 3-2 curveball, even to a punch-and-judy hitter like me. You just wouldn’t be expecting that.”
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Joe Charboneau says that competing with Cito Gaston in spring training in 1980 was one of the better learning experiences he’s had. He says Gaston taught him a ton about playing the outfield, and was one of those veteran guys you love having around. Gaston, of course, went on to manage the Blue Jays to two World Series titles, and just regained his post as Toronto’s manager last week after John Gibbons was fired.
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Everyone on the panel agrees with the opinion proposed by a SABR member — Bert Blyleven deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Kevin Rhomberg said that, “What does he have, 287 wins? What’s the ‘magic number,’, 300? C’mon, he deserves to be there. No question.”
There’s a lot of love for Jim Kaat, too. Everyone thinks he’s a Hall of Famer, and I agree. 283 career wins, and a ton of Gold Gloves gets you there, in my opinion.
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All in all, it was a nice panel. Not terribly insightful or profound, but for a bunch of ex-ballplayers, it was a pretty interesting discussion. Not quite as good as last year’s St. Louis panel, but still good.