New Mexico in Focus; 412; Making It and The 10th Inning

Partial funding for the production of New Mexico in focus provided by the McCune Charitable Foundation. Corporate funding for the 10th inning is provided by Bank of America. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service. I had this week, it's battered up for PBS Filmmaker Ken Burns latest project, the 10th inning. Plus, aspiring local athletes get tips of the trade from Albuquerque's professional team, the isotopes. This baseball is just my life, it's a part of who I am. Play ball. Our first pitch is coming up now on a New Mexico in focus special, making it. Baseball. It's called America's pastime in part because it's been weave into the fabric of our nation's history. But it also ties many fans to their own personal history. We may remember the time our parents took us to our first game, or we'll remember where we were when Barry

Bonds broke the home run record, or Cal Ripkin when he broke the record for the most consecutive games played. But baseball is also fascinating for the way it reflects our society. This is our fascination with celebrity, cheating scandals, not to mention the lessons learned about teamwork, overcoming failure, and the pursuit of the almighty dollar. These are just some of the things that originally attracted PBS Filmmaker Ken Burns to the topic back in the 1990s. His documentary series baseball has been watched by more than 43 million people. And later this month he's back with a new series called The Tenth Inning. It picks up where the original series left off and covers everything from the 1995 strike to the steroid scandal, the Latin American explosion in the game, and much, much more. Here's just a taste of what's in store on The Tenth Inning. As the tumultuous 20th century drew to a close, and a new millennium began, the game of baseball, now more than 150 years old, remained remarkably

unchanged. Three strikes still made it out, six outs in inning. The distance from home plate to first base was still a perfect 90 feet. Ball players, managers, and even fans continued to cling to their cherished superstitions, hoping against hope to intervene in outcomes actually determined by talent and preparation, accident and error. Superstars continued to retire as heroes in the full glare of the spotlight, while lesser players continued to quietly disappear. Their statistics, the only residue of their existence in the game. But baseball was changing. New franchises would spring up in new cities. Interleague play would be instituted during the regular season as the lines between the American and national leagues began to blur.

One team would even change leagues, something that had never happened before. And baseball would expand the playoffs, allowing wildcard teams into the postseason. It would now be possible for a second place team to win the World Championship. Salary levels, attendance, and home run totals would all be shattered, while new stadiums and new television networks brought in new fans. Latin and Asian players would transform the game, just as new waves of immigrants continued to enrich the country that had created it. A trio of remarkable pitchers would lead the Atlanta Braves to 14 consecutive division titles. While a hard luck old school manager would guide the New York Yankees who had made the playoffs only once since 1981, to the World Series six times in eight years.

Baseball had never seemed so healthy, but in a time of unimaginable wealth and unbridled speculation throughout the country, the age -old battled between the owners and the players would bring the national pastime to its knees. The game would have to go through its own dark ages before it would emerge stronger than ever before. And behind the scenes in secret, players on every team found themselves making life altering decisions about how far they were willing to go to succeed. Meanwhile, an unstoppable assembly of free spirits, playing for one of the sport's oldest teams, would do the impossible, erasing decades of despair for their followers. Through it all, baseball, still the best game that's ever been invented, managed to create some of the most vivid memories, and provide some of the most dramatic moments anyone had

ever seen. The idea that you can walk into a ballpark, whether it's Fenway Park, Yankees Stadium, or wherever, and sit down and watch a game played by boys who have become men. So you can imagine yourself still playing this game, the amount of what age you are. And when you sit there, the door to your past life, which occurred fifteen minutes ago at the office, on the bus, in your home, that door closes and you get lost in the technical details, the intricate details of baseball as it's played out, there's always a surprise in baseball. God, I never thought he'd be able to get to that ball. That's part of baseball's magic. The 10th inning airs in two parts on

September 28th and 29th at 7pm here on Cana -Me, but the film is just part of the story this week on New Mexico in focus, though. That's because New Mexico is very much a baseball state. From the Connie Mack World Series in the four corners, to the Albuquerque Isotopes Triple A team, and its history with the Los Angeles Dodgers, I had this week a special line roundtable discussion about our fascination with the sport. But up first, we wanted to give aspiring players a chance to talk to the pros about the sport they all love so much. So, we brought together some of the Isotopes players and managers with high school athletes from Rio Grande High School and the Natani baseball program in Gallup. The players talk candidly about their love of the game and why many of them still dream of making it one day in the big leagues. Baseball is just my life, it's a part of who I am.

As a hitter, you should have as much confidence as you can in yourself, because if you don't have confidence in yourself and you go up there thinking, oh, I'm not sure if I can hit this guy, it's not really going to help you. If you go up there, I'm going to hit this guy, you're going to end up hitting him. It's exciting sometimes, because you're just thinking, what is he going to think? Like, as a batter, you think as a pitcher and as a pitcher, you think as a batter, like, you think what's coming. And I was last batter and I went to bat thinking, it was just in my mind, I'm going to get this hit, I'm going to get this hit and I ended up getting that hit and we ended up winning to go on to the next game. My favorite position is part of their base. I like the hot shots, I like the catch and I don't know, reaction times. When I, once I've seen in my glove, I'm like, oh my god, I just made an incredible play. The team where you can win games without

team, you get to close like a family. I like to be able to bat in the heart of the lineup so that it's kind of like, in a way, threatening sometimes. A lot of times I try to stare you down or something like that and you just try to ignore it and try to just relax up there. That's better. I like catching because being a catcher, you really got to be the leader of the field. I mean, you're really the only person that can see the whole entire field. My favorite has to be pitching. I love being in situations where space is loaded, maybe on the up one out, three two count. I love it. It makes the game what it is. I mean, I've been playing baseball since I was in T -Ball and haven't missed a year since. Being in college and getting a scholarship for baseball has done a lot for me and in my opportunities to go to a good education. So it's probably one of the, I mean, baseball is one of the biggest things in my life. I always love the game of baseball no matter what happens. More than anything else,

what adheres me to baseball and always has, is this sense that I am essentially watching the same game that somebody saw in 1860. The history of it, it is the only sport that goes forwards and backwards. Other sports have some interest in their own history and will occasionally make reference to it. But baseball, it's there. You come in at the start of the game or the start of the season or at the start of your own fandom. You feel as if you are joining the river midstream. And all that has gone before, you can enjoy as much as if you were there. It's as simple as that. Now that they're doing well, they've

done a lot of well, they've done a lot of well, they have done a lot of well. The game reflects life in so many ways, and that's what makes it so fun is you get the opportunities to teach. And you also get to be humbled as well. And how you react to those things, it gives you many opportunities to display integrity, to display sportsmanship, to display teamwork. And those are the things that are really great about this game. Certainly, I still players are, you know, they're one step away from the major leagues. And I hope that they listen to those guys because I want them to work with that same diligent work ethic to be the best that they can be. And if they play that same thing in life, whatever endeavor they choose to pursue in life, they're going to be successful at it. For

today, I'm hoping the players, when they talk with the I still players, that they get to understand what it takes to be a professional athlete, because a lot of these kids, yeah, they may have the talent, but you've got to have it up here and you've got to have it in here. It's work ethic and perseverance, it's more than anything else. So I'm hoping that they get a few stories like that. And I hope that, you know, just interacting with people that are at that level, it gives them a renewed sense of awe and a new sense of perseverance. Like, hey, I want to be there. That dream of getting there is what drives people. And if that drives them to get a better education, that drives them to get to a next level, then that's, it's worth it. Obviously, you guys are very talented or you don't get to this level without the talent and the ability, but some of the keys as far as your work ethic and some of the things that you did outside of baseball to prepare yourself to get to this level of competition. You know, when you're in high school and middle school, you know, you only see the guys that are in your

town that are, you know, immediately around you, but, you know, once you start to get to college, you start to get to play against, you know, kids from all around the country. So I think your work ethic, you know, instead of, you know, trying to outwork guys that are around, immediately around you and your state, county, whatever it is, I've got to think on a broader perspective and think, you know, I've got to outwork guys in the world and take that to it. So from, probably from the time I was four or five, me and my buddies, we've got, if there was two of us, we'd find a way to play baseball. If you stand against the wall and fire tennis balls as hard as we could from 20 feet. We did a lot of the same thing in my neighborhood. We would have pick up games from the time school was out until it was dark every day, just played. And that's, you know, I mean, that's the best way to get better is to play. As Hispanic players became increasingly prominent, the media began to highlight their inspiring rise from poverty.

And few big leaguers could lay claim to a childhood filled with greater privation than Samay Sosa. He grew up desperately poor and fatherless in the Dominican sugar mill town of San Pedro de Macarice, birthplace of dozens of major leaguers. He scuffled for art jobs, shine shoes to bring a few centoffers home to his mother and idolized Roberto Clemente. Sosa was fast, skinny but strong and determined and attracted the notice of a scout who signed him for $3 ,500. Sosa worked his way up through the minors and played for two different big league clubs before eventually landing a three year, $16 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. As Samay Sosa, he would have been a day laborer. He would have been someone who would have come

to New York as an undocumented immigrant, but for baseball. It's one thing that's talked about living through hunger, it's not a thing to actually do it, to be hungry. And he was hungry, as a child, really hungry, not hungry to be a successful player. He was hungry, as in I don't have enough food. And so it was those experiences that really drove him and really drove him to be a great success, and I believe later brought him down. I absolutely think it's necessary in life to have a dream, whether it's a professional athlete or a doctor or a pilot or an astronaut, whatever you want to do, you have to have that dream. That's what makes you continue wanted to try and strive and be better at anything. That dream doesn't come true, but you've gone out every day and you've given it everything that you have, and you've given your heart to the game. I think that you can walk away from us saying, I had fun doing it, and

I got an opportunity that a lot of people would kill to have, which is, I get to put on a home, I get to play a game for a living. It's taken me places that I never would have gone ever in my life. I mean, Taiwan, Europe, I mean, you name it anywhere in the US pretty much, I've been there, and a lot of places I probably would have never chose to go on my own. So it's been great for that to just see places and just meet new people, and it's been an awesome ride. How do you guys prepare yourselves mentally for every day? Just relax, just rid the Bible or listen to music, and just let it go, and when the game is so, just ready to play. I think more than anything, it's just getting into a routine, whether it's to be out on the field at a certain time before every game, or how you take your batting practice to your ground balls, or whatever, you know, early, that's part of your mental preparation as well. Like, you may listen, you know, hard rock music, and you might listen to symphony music or something, and just, you know, it just all depends

on, it depends on the guy. And you watch, I mean, like he was saying, you watch each one of these guys, and it's all different, you know, not the same thing works for everybody, I think that it starts when you're young too. I mean, I'm sure all you guys have favorite baseball players, and it starts in the backyard and in the living room, and you're playing catch with your dad, or, you know, whoever it may be, you know, you imitate that person, and that kind of becomes a part of you, then as you get older, start to add a little bit from this guy, and this guy, and it eventually molds you into what you are, so. Like, who do you guys idolize when you're growing up, that bass pretty much, like, how you play and go after the game? Being a catcher, I wanted to be like Benito Santiago, I just, I liked everything he did. I liked the fact that he could throw from his knees, I just never do that, I don't have that kind of arm strength, but just the way he approached the game, that was who I wanted to be when I grew up. I was like, I reconjuned, just the way he used to play, used the way he wanted

to stuff he'd do, and in the field, and out of the field, he's just a great baseball player, and a great guy. I have to say, my dad grew up, and he got to play with guys like Frank Tanana and John Polone, that, you know, had opportunities to play in the big league, so he kind of molded me in the, kind of like an old school pitcher, so I really like watching guys like Nolan Ryan, guys that were, you know, power pitchers that, you know, had, you know, good, the good velocity, and they're fastball, but they, they pitched. I think being an outfield, I grew up like in King Griffey, Jr., he could just do it all, you know, he could throw, hit, just, he was fun to watch, so. In general, I just grew up loving the game of baseball, and anytime I could watch or listen or do whatever, that's what I did, and, you know, like Trent said, I mean, I like watching Griffey play too, I mean, it was, when he was 19, 20, 21, 22 years old in Seattle, he was doing some amazing things, and it was just awesome to be able to go out in the backyard and try and, you know, get your stance like Griffey and have the rock and do everything, you know, we imitate it everybody, I mean, that, that's what you did. Growing up as a Mexican -American kid in Northern California, there weren't

a lot of positive images. And then in baseball, it was Roberto Clemente, and the 71 series was an epiphany for me, because he just controlled that world series, he seemed to jump off the TV screen, but when the series was over, he spoke in Spanish, it was really something for me, to see somebody, um, recognizing his parents. He was so ramrod straight, spoke so much pride, and he carried himself in a certain way, and he reminded me of people in my life who I knew, who I respected, who I admired. Roberto Clemente had come north

from the cane fields of Puerto Rico to become baseball's first great Latin star, his fierce pride and dignity and inspiration for an entire generation. Although Clemente and many other Latin players of his era played with tremendous flair and brought an electrifying intensity to the game, it was not until the 1980s that Major League teams began to fully open their doors to talented players from outside the United States. You know, in my hometown, you know, there's a lot of guys that have, you know, made it to the Major League and played in the Major League, so I think that it, it feels you to be that next, that next big player, it feels you to, you know, be the next guy that, you know, kids can look up to and, you know, be a role model for people. And I think that's the most important thing that sometimes you lose sight of is, you know, that, you know, I'm fairly, I'm still young myself, but I remember when, you know, I was that kid in the stands that wanted the autograph, and I remember, you know, you know, how broken -hearted I was, you know, when I didn't get that autograph. So, you know, anytime you see a kid out there that, you know,

they want to be like you one day. And then, you know, that's an honor and a gift that, you know, we have these fans that come out and watch us play and, you know, one day a kid might say, you know, I want to be Josh Lindblum or just like, you know, when I was younger, I want to be like, you know, Nolan Ryan or something like that. So, that's pretty cool to think about. There is a responsibility. I mean, you see it every day on the news. I mean, there's people going through stuff all the time, professional athletes going through stuff all the time. And, you know, it leaves a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, even us as professional athletes, when other athletes do things, it leaves bad taste in our mouths. So, I definitely think there is an aspect of our lives that is scrutinized more than, more than, I guess you say, normal people. But that's part of the responsibility of being a professional. So, what do you guys think about the whole steroid scandal that's been going on and how does it affect, you know, how you guys have played and what goes on and how you have come up in stuff like that? I can't say for sure, but it's definitely slowed

down from what it possibly was before. Just because of our, especially in the minor leagues, the drug testing program that we have is really, really, really tough. And, like you said, now we're going to start being tested for HGH and our, you know, human growth hormone. And, it just makes it, makes it really hard to try and do anything like that. I mean, I personally don't really know anybody that ever did, but I mean, obviously, if they felt like it was something that was necessary to institute that kind of testing, it was something that happened in the game. The reason it needs to be cleaned up is because of you guys and younger guys coming up. But, if you're going to test any professional players, they should test all the professional players, not just the guys in the minor leagues that aren't on the 40 men. It's not fair. They're not on the same playing field and they're all professional players. I think that when people have done it, they don't realize that they're repercussions. It doesn't just affect you, it affects your family, everybody around you because

that's a hard mark to get off of you if you get caught. So, you're just cheating yourself in the ability that you've been blessed with. Everybody's trying to get to the big leagues and once you get there, there's always somebody trying to take your job. So, there's always that pressure that's on you. And, you know, I'm sure that's what drives guys to do it is to try and get that little extra advantage that everybody's looking for. But, you know, at the same time, like Wallace said earlier, it's cheating and it's not right. And, it's unfortunate that guys did do it, but, you know, it's tough. I mean, it's just, it's a tough game. I kind of have gone from starting and going and relief in college and stuff and I just wonder how you keep yourself, when you're leaving, how you keep yourself mentally prepared during the game, when you're sitting in the bench, not knowing if you're going to go in and keeping yourself in the game while you're, while you're, you know, it's an unknown. Just watch the hitters get a feel for the game, know the situations, know, you know, who I might be coming in a face, things like that. But, that mental preparation starts, you know, in that, you know, a

third, fourth inning for me and it's different for everybody. I know that, you know, some guys going a little later, you know, our closer goes in and probably the fourth or fifth because he's going to come in later in the game and get stretched out. So, I stay in that, stay in that routine and I don't, even if I'm not throwing like last night, I threw two and he's not before. I knew I probably wasn't going to throw, but still I went in and just stayed in that routine. So, that way mentally I'm prepared every night just in case. What things are you doing strength wise right now to maintain or do during the off season to keep you guys playing at optimal points? As a position player, we lift twice a week, at least of one full body twice a week. Different guys break it up different ways and then as far as the hitting and stuff like that, that just varies from guy to guy. Some guys like to take more swings than other guys. I mean, we have guys that go into the cage and take maybe 15 swings and they're ready to come out for batting practice and then you take your 20, 30 swings and batting pressure ready to play and then you have other guys who, for example, Chen Lung likes to take about 6 ,000 swings a day. He'll go in the

cage and just hit for hours, but you know, it's different for every guy, but mainly during the season it's more of a maintained. You're not going into the weight room and just crushing yourself and so you're sore the next day, especially for us with our travel schedule that we have. It can be miserable. During the season is six months playing baseball every day. You only got like 10, 12 days off probably in the six months. So you got to sleep well, eat well and that's it. Did you ever think of quitting or has it been your priority to play? I mean, this has always been what I wanted to do and I think I'm going to play until they don't give me uniform anymore. It's just what I love and I have a passion to be here and I've never wanted to quit, but it's always a question when you become a free agent as to, you know, did I do enough the year before to impress another team to sign me or is the same team going to sign me back? When I was in college, my freshman year, I struggled pretty bad. And you know, towards the end of the year, I was wondering if I could get anybody out. And you know, facing

guys that are in the big leagues now, you know, Matt Laporta, guys like that. And you know, you definitely have to do some soul searching and figure out if it's what you want to do with your life as you know, play this game, but like Wally said, you know, everybody struggles in this game and you know, you might be hot at one point, but you're eventually going to come back down. That's about, you know, keeping your, your highs low and your lows high. It's definitely a trying game and every time you think you're really good at it, the game will definitely turn around and kick you right in the butt and show you that you're not as good as you think you are. Coming from everyone's the best of the best. When you come over and you meet up with everyone and everyone will have been the best from the high school and the college I've never struggled before and then didn't get a hit like my first two weeks. And I was like, oh, I need to go home. And these Americans are pretty good over here. So, you know, I just stuck it out and it's, that's one of the things you learn to overcome failure and it helps you through life, you know, nothing's always going to go the way you want it. So it makes you a better person and a better baseball player in the long run. With the clubhouse and in the constant state of flux, what guys coming in and

out, how was the concept of team maintain from a coaching aspect as well as from a players aspect, in terms of chemistry, jelling, so on. The biggest thing for a staff is to be consistent with how they react, how they treat guys, how you, you know, what you expect, make sure that they know what you expect. If they don't know what you expect, then how can you expect them to give the effort that you want or to play the game that you want? Out of every level in Pro Ball, the AAA level has way more transactions than anywhere else. I mean, for example, we had 28 different pitchers, just pitchers pitch for us in the month of June. You just learn how to deal with people and we, you know, everybody that comes in here is trying to accomplish the same thing. So you just welcome them in with open arms and, you know, kind of just make them feel, feel welcome. And, you know, you have the core group of guys that kind of stay around and kind of control, you know, keep everybody together and everybody knows everybody from this game because it's a small world. So it's not like it's a brand new experience every time somebody comes in. The first reason that

I played baseball is because I had a passion and love for sport. How do you mix having that love and passion and also having the back of the mind, knowing that all you guys are right on the cusp of making it to the major leagues and playing with that type of pressure? The passion and the love of the game, you know, is first and foremost. Because if you don't have that, then you're going to show up in the field every day and not want to be here. You can make, you know, $20 million and be the most unhappy person in the world. But, you know, I come to the field every day, you know, get to hang out with, you know, these are your best friends for, you know, six months out of the year and, you know, building relationships and, you know, we all talk in the off season, things like that. I mean, that's really what drives the team. And, you know, you see, you hear a lot of the teams are successful and that's the one common bond that they share is that, you know, it's like a, like a family almost, like your old brothers. I don't, I mean, obviously my major league debut is a, is a huge memory. But, just everything that I've been able to do in this game has been,

has been awesome. I, for some reason, I remember a lot of really silly stuff and, you know, if it's from bus rides to early morning plane rides to whatever it is, there's lots of little memories here and there that, that have shaped my career. And, just part of the reason why I have such a good time out here every day. What were you guys best moments playing here at isotopes? For me last year was, you know, winning our division. That was probably one of the most fun things that I've ever, you know, accomplished in baseball, you know, to be with a group of guys. I was only here for half the year, so, but, I mean, the group that we had last year, like I said earlier, when you get to share something like that with somebody, you know, it's something that lasts a lifetime. And, you know, that's probably one of the best members I have, you know, playing here in Albuquerque. Coming in the second half of the season last year, we were, we weren't in first place and we were only a couple games above 500 and they come together like we did in the year last year and, just the celebration of it all. I mean, it kind of stunk that we ran into a team that was really, really hot and Memphis, but it makes it, it makes it a lot of fun. Especially the fans here, that we have a great fan base here

and, to be able to share that with them and it was the first time in, what, seven or eight years that they had had it or whatever it was, they had a team go to the playoffs so the excitement level was awesome. Get 18 hits in a game and score 15 rounds against my old team, and that was a lot of fun. You know, the playoffs stuff, yeah, that was great. I enjoyed that, but I enjoyed just the daily, something different every day. You guys are all talented, but what separates you guys from playing at this level versus someone in double A single A? I know people say the mental is the mental part of it, but I like to know what, what, what part of it? There's a player, every guy that's playing in the minor leagues is talented. Some more than others obviously, but those guys with the greatest talent are best talent. I don't always make it because it comes down to who works for me, who works the hardest, who wants it the most, who can get the most out

of whatever ability is, ability it is that you have. That's basically it, and who can handle failure. If you can't handle failure, you'll never make it in this game. It's just a desire, you know, I always wanted to do it, and I came from a small town, so I was always told that I would never be able to do it, so I think that that drove me a little bit more. And then also the willingness to sometimes sacrifice yourself to help the team, especially in AAA and in the big leagues, that's what you have to do. You know, you get a runner on second base with nobody out and hitting a ground ball to second base and giving up a hit and maybe sacrificing your average a little bit to help the team. Those are things that will help you get to the next level, especially the major league level when the major league team calls down and asks him, you know, what's this guy do to help us win and he can say, you know, he can bond, he can move runners, he can hit and run. He can do all the little things that don't necessarily take all the talent in the world, but he understands how to play the game, he plays the game the right way, and he goes

about his business right and works hard every day and does what it takes for that team to win, whether it's for himself or against himself, it doesn't matter. You talk about the mental game, I think the biggest thing is just having confidence in yourself, and you know, every time you step out of the mound, you believe in yourself. And like JD said, the sacrifice, because I know that, you know, when I was younger, I'm sure a lot of these other guys were younger. There were a lot of times I wanted to, you know, go out with my friends, you know, have fun, stuff like that, but, you know, I made the choice that this was important to me and this is something that, you know, I wanted to do the rest of my life. You know, instead of, you know, going to the water park or, you know, whatever it might be, you know, I chose to, you know, work on baseball. And, you know, that love and passion for the game, like we've talked about, you know, it's something that, you know, goes through courses through all of our veins every time that, you know, you know, with Trent or Ivan or JD, you get the opportunity to get a big hit, you know, with the game on the line, or, you know, I can get a big out of the game on the line. I think that, you know, it makes all that sacrifice worth it. You just work every day every time you come to the field, work hard before the

game, play hard during the game, play the win, and, uh, next day, be ready to play baseball, you know. You know, just to go out on that field every day and put this jersey on is just something you dream of. You know, I'm sure you guys would do anything to trade places with us, and, you know, we know that, and we want to go up there and try and be in the major leagues, and we'd do anything to put that jersey on. So it's just, that's what a position play will play about 140 games a year, so that's running out in that field every single day, so you need that fire within to go out there and give it all you've got every day. I think the best piece of advice I ever got from anybody was just to go out and work as hard as you can and just leave it on the field every day. You know, the biggest thing is just to be patient and not be in a hurry to get new work. The second you get, you know, grafted, and you want to, you want to get to the big leagues, but, you know, when you're playing, and, you know, Clinton, Iowa, you know, that's a long way from Los Angeles, California. And, so the biggest thing is, you know, take it one day at a time, and just

each day get better, and each day, you know, come and feel the purpose and a point to the ultimate goal is to play immediately from Los Angeles, but, you have to have those daily goals, kind of like rungs on a ladder. You know, you can't get to the top of a ladder without, you know, touching each wrong, and I think that's the most important thing. And there's been, you know, a couple of good quotes that I've lived my life by, and one of them is, Jordan Maggio said that if somebody came out and watched me play, and it was the only time they ever got to see me play, and I didn't run a ball out, and that would be their opinion of me, and that's not how I wanted them to see me play. And also, coming from a small town, Johnny Bench had a quote when he was younger, when he was in third grade, people asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said a professional baseball player, and everybody laughed at him. And they asked him the same thing in the eighth grade, and he got the same response by the eleventh grade, nobody was laughing anymore. So, you know, I think those are a couple of things that I wanted to do, and just go out and respect the game and play hard. Ever since I've been younger, you know, my dad has always told me that, you know, every night before you go to bed,

you know, when you look yourself in the mirror, you're the only person that you can't lie to. You know, you can kind of put on this facade of, you know, what, tell other people what you did during the day, what you've done to get better, but, you know, that can all just be, you know, kind of smoking mirrors, but at the end of the day, when you've got to look yourself in the mirror, and, you know, judge yourself as a person, and, you know, a man, you can't lie to yourself, because, you know, in your heart, what you've done, and, you know, to go along with that, he's always told me that, you know, preparation and opportunity, or, you know, two parallel roads that run, and everybody's lying. And at some point, you know, those roads are going to cross, and they're going to intersect, and if you're prepared, you know, then you're going to be ready for the opportunity, but, you know, those, those might not, you know, coincide at the same time, but, you know, so you have to prepare, you know, every day to get that opportunity, and, you know, when it comes, hopefully you've done everything you can. Our thanks to both the isotopes for letting us

put together that event with the high school players, as well as real grand and a tiny baseball. You can find out more about both programs and the isotopes on our website. Just log on to canabee .org, and look forward to the New Mexico and Focus link, and don't forget, you can see Ken Burns' new film, the 10th inning. It's four and a half hours long, and it airs over two nights here on canabee, so tune in Tuesday, September 28th, and Wednesday, September 29th at 7 p .m. Right now, we want to further the discussion about the game of baseball with a very special line roundtable. Here they are. Here with us in studio is Robert Portnoy, director of broadcasting, and your voice of the Albuquerque isotopes. Terry McDermott, one of my all -time Albuquerque television heroes. He's a former Albuquerque Duke and Los Angeles Dodger, who still lives here in New Mexico. Gary Herrin, official scorekeeper for the Pacific Coast League, and an amateur Duke's historian, will dig in that a little bit. And Scott Stigler, a long -time sports broadcaster here in Albuquerque, and a current art in your host with KKOB -770 Radio. Thank you all for being here. Let's start with this. Terry, you

played some major league ball. You also played for the dukes here, a long time. In your opinion, you hear this a lot. All of us have heard this a lot. You get to our age, maybe. I don't know how you were. I think I passed your age a while ago. Bigger. Professional ball. Professional ball players. How has it changed? What are the pressures they have to go through versus when you were playing ball? Oh gosh. The game is dramatically different. And it was different when I played from 20 years prior to that, because every sport, especially baseball, they're all bigger, stronger, faster. They might not be as well trained as far as the fundamentals are concerned, but they outrun and they outmuscle their mistakes. So as far as the talent is concerned, I think they're better ball players. I don't know if they're as good on the fundamentals as we were, but they really don't have to be. The ball parks aren't big enough. The arms are strong, the pitches are so fast. They're different pitches. So they are a better brand of ball player. And that's why it's very difficult to compare ball players with different errors, because each one had its own

specialty, each one had its own area of competition, what the level of competition was. But still, the best are the best. I think Babe Ruth, I think, could still play today. Not as many hot dogs, but he could still play. My maize could play, Aaron, the top of the cream of the crop could still play, but they are bigger, stronger, and faster. Sure. But Scott, and welcome. Thanks for being here, by the way. It's good to see you. But could Bob Gibson still knock people down today and still have a career? They had the higher mound when Bob Gibson was around, but Bob Gibson had that mentality of, hey, I don't care, I'll throw it inside. He certainly had the capability of doing that. The thing I think is different, Gene, is accessibility. Players, accessibility to fans. I think there's a divide now between players and fans. It's that guy who I can't reach anymore. I can't touch anymore. And there are some players I think that warm up and embrace that, but there are a lot of other players who are like, no, I'm going to walk, I'm going to ignore all the fans, I won't stop and sign an autograph. That's regrettable for me.

Are ticket prices part of that? Access, meaning get in the yard in the first place for young guys. I mean, we can all remember stories about young people going to the ballpark with their friend and being able to get in for a few bucks and falling in love with the game through that access. I remember when I was a kid, I did a teenager, and I used to work a laborers job during the day, and we could literally, after work was over, decide, hey, you want to go down to the ballpark tonight? And four or five bucks are in the park, and you know, for a 50 cents, about a bag of peanuts. And you don't do that anymore. It's very corporate. Now having said that, you know, the parks are nicer, and the amenities are nicer, and all of those things. But I think part of that charm is missing these days. And Gary, part of that charm for our history here in New Mexico is obviously, if you go back to the old dukes, you could get in for a pretty reasonable price, and all that kind of thing. What's the difference in that, in your mind, with that relationship with the fan, too? I'll tell you one word, the difference is eBay. And I've noticed this from the press box, almost

every game, every home series. I look for the guys that are getting autographed, usually from the opposing team, because they're in for four games, and they're gone. The exit tops are there all the time, and Robert can probably verify this. The exit tops player seem to be great about autographs, especially with the little lagers they introduced before the game. They run out on the field, they're signing all kinds of stuff. A lot of guys are apprehensive coming down, seeing the same faces when they come out. The opposing team, guys with stacks of cards and all this, and they're thinking that's going to end up on eBay. I remember a story years ago, our dukes had a pitcher named Kip Gross, and was telling people, you're just going to sell my cards, and we're thinking, Kip Gross, if you get 15 cents for a Kip Gross card, you'll be doing pretty good. But, and it's true, a lot of that stuff does end up on eBay, and that's why a lot of guys that do sign one, put two, two gene, and sign their names. It's hard to dispose of on eBay, and that is, unfortunately, the truth, and unfortunately, also, they think the kids are immune to that. The kids just want it for themselves. Well, adults have kids do it, and there's a lot of adults. There's one man I know from Rio Rancho, who gives these autograph cards to schools, and kids in hospitals and stuff.

He's there strictly as a hobbyist, and I've got a pretty big collection too. And I've never sold any of my stuff. I'm strictly as a hobbyist, and a fan of the game. But I think a lot of players are apprehensive that it's going to end up on eBay an hour later, the next week. And you look, you can Google anybody's name, or not Google, but you know, on eBay, sure. Find anybody's cards and anything. And, you know, the authenticity is a question, but basically, I think that's it. And I remember going to a Tigers game in 1970, having Danny McLean signed a program for me. I was the tall guy standing out there with all the kids, and I still got that, never went on eBay. Sure. You know, it's funny you're reminding me of Antiques Road Show every once in a while, you'll see a ball, something come up. Thousands of dollars, thousands. And you have to wonder what the upshot of that is. Yeah, I watch that. Yeah, I watch that. Yeah, I just lay myself out. Absolutely. Good for you. By the way, Robert, good to see you. Thank you. We always love to have radio guys coming in. That's for sure. From your perch, so to speak, what about the relationship that you're noticing with the fans? Now, clearly the isotopes do a lot of really terrific fan -friendly nights. Kids get to go out in the field. I remember my daughters got to do for the first time, the thing with the kids run around,

the bass pals, a big deal. It's a huge deal. How important is it for the isotopes to keep the game alive and young people's minds to do those kind of things? It's all about the families now. Yeah, and Terry was talking about this just a short while ago. It's catering to families from the very first pitch, right through the end of the ball game, and between endings as well. And I was going to go back to some of this guy mentioned as well. But the isotopes, you can still get into an isotopes game for five or six bucks, and that's where the intimacy and the connection with the fans and the players still exist. Maybe more so at the minor league level now than it does at the big league level. It's maybe a little less accessible at the major league level than it is here, and I think that's why we have one of the greatest things going. It's a legacy that goes back to the 30 years that the dukes were here, and it's carried on now in eight years with the isotopes. I think that this community is seeing it firsthand. This is the best that baseball has to offer in the 21st century now, is getting up close in a park like isotopes park, and getting to see people who are truly role models like John Lindsay and Michael Restovich who are on the tail end of a career.

They're actually going to school taking classes to prepare for their post -baseball lives, so they can continue to provide for their families after their careers are done. Yet, they're still doing the thing they love because it's what they know. Those are the real role models. Those are the ones that you want the kids to be able to see, and you want them to know about. I want to stay with you for a quick second on that. You also have the unique position to see players who are at the right at the cusp of a pro career. They're just right there. What do you notice in that dynamic? I mean, there's got to be this thing where guys are grinding every day if it's that close to get there, right? It's a collective grind, too. It's amazing. There's a selfish aspect to it because they all want to get into the big leagues, and certainly Terry could talk about that. But there's also a pool where they're all in the same rope, and they're all pulling the same direction, and the synergy of that, where they want to win ball games. They're trying to make the postseason at the same time, while they're doing that at the minor league

level, they know that that next great week that they have, if it's time just right when the big league team has a need, could be the one that they get the call. And they go to the big leagues, and everybody's ecstatic form if they go up. But at the time that they're together, under a guy like Tim Wallach, who's been the manager for the last two years, who's been there and done that at an all star caliber level in the big leagues, they're pulling together both individually and collectively. It's a great synergy to watch. Interesting. Very interesting, Terry. We had a little chat here at the table before we started filming, talking about the allegiance that fans have to favorite teams. And how deep that runs, generations for lots of families. I grew up in New York, and my father was a Brooklyn fan. And New York had a very interesting dynamic, and in those days in the 50s, you had the giants, the Dodgers, and the Yankees. And it was very cultural. The Brooklyn fans were mostly Irish Catholics, because that's where the Irish Catholics lived. The giant fans were the wasps. And then the Yankee fans were the

Italians and the Hebrews. And that's the way it went. The Italians really liked the Yankees, because you had De Maggio, you had Rosuto, you had Lawson. And so it was cultural. And it was really, those were the teams that you're rooted for. And of course, most of us grew up rooting for the teams that our dads rooted for. Those were our first role models. You wanted to grow up and be like your dad, or your dad rooted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. So I consequently wanted to be either Campanella, or Hodges, or Snyder. In fact, I thought every catcher in the league was Campanella, because they all wore the same outfit and had the hat on backwards. And irony of ironies, that was my dream. I wanted to play for the Dodgers. Well, they were about 3 ,000 miles away from Brooklyn, but that's what happened. But you're right. There is a cultural attachment. I mean, nowadays, it's not any more than it was 50, 60 years ago. It's more visceral. You take a look at the Red Sox. I mean, I played with Billy Buckner. And

when I saw that ground ball go through his legs, I was almost in tears because I cried for buck. Not for the Red Sox fans. So it is even more pronounced now. I think it's almost to the point where it becomes violent at times, but it's healthy. It's healthy for us to root for our teams. And we are notorious as Americans. We're notorious in a good way for rooting for the underdog. I'll sit and watch a football game with my sons, and I'll be rooting for the underdog. All of a sudden, the underdogs ahead. I'll switch allegiance at halftime. And they don't understand it. They think it's a frenic, but that's the way we are. Sure. Scott, it's been quite established now that foreign players from the Americas, from Japan, are doing great stuff in the game now. Now, how's that in your view? How has that changed the game? And you've got a dice game, Matsuzaka and Boston, who has an interpreter for the press. And you've got somebody from the Dominican that you see on on a Spanish language TV. The highlights are just endless. How has that changed the game

in your view? Well, I have to first say to tell it to Terry. In Baltimore, where I grew up, all ethnic groups hated the Yankees. No, I think obviously the influx of the Latin player has changed the game dramatically. I remember Mary Jo Fernandez came to town, the tennis player, and she was playing in a tournament. We were just chatting before the interview started. I was still doing TV at the time, and she said, you know, I'm from the Dominican Republic originally. I said, I thought everybody from the Dominican Republic was a shortstop. I mean, that was kind of the impact that that had on me, and certainly the Latino players have made a big, big difference. It's a worldwide game now. Now, there are some areas of the world that obviously put more emphasis into it than others. And I think that's what we saw what happened to the Olympics is that it went away as an Olympic sport, because there weren't enough areas around the world that had adopted the game. And so baseball has some challenges to try to

get indoctrinated into all aspects. You now see kids play soccer all over the world. You see them play basketball all over the world. And in fact, the United States team goes to a world championships, and they may not even be considered the favorite anymore. I would contend that if a team of major league baseball players went anywhere in the world, they'd be considered the favorites. There you go. Let me stay with you on that same point. When you think about SI some years ago did a great story about what we would consider here in the States is sandlot baseball. Meaning you got a bunch of kids with a ball and a stick, but they have space to be able to get into the game at a young age. And that's a challenge here in the U .S. because we have these set up parks, and they can't always necessarily accommodate all the kids that want to play. Is that going to be a problem for us going forward? One of the things that I don't like to see is when I go to any park and there are a lot of them here in the city of Albuquerque where it says no hardball. You can't throw the ball around. For me, that's kind of regrettable. I understand liability in all of those things, but it didn't matter where I was as a kid. We could go out in the street and play with a ball in the street, and that was

the fire hydrant was first base. The trash can lid was second base, and the next door neighbors forward was third base, and we just had at it, and we played from, you know, short till dusk. I don't necessarily know that that exists anymore. Yeah, and Little League has become a big deal. A Little League World Series is a big TV event, the whole thing. You know, I always say to friends, I said, you know, you could put a bunch of grownups against a bunch of 12 -year -olds and play a football game. Obviously, the grownups are going to win. You could a bunch of grownups who don't play baseball against a Good Little League team. You're not going to hit the ball. I mean, these kids are very, very skilled players. And I asked that in the context, what can we do to get more kids into the game? What's going on here that we've seen this drop over a generation? I think it's like Scott said. I drive by parks all the time. I don't see anybody playing catch anymore, and I did the same thing in the Detroit suburbs. We even made fields. We built our own bases. I remember one year, I hit 33 home runs, and there's an old tree out in the outfield, and we kept our own stats and stuff. We loved it, you know, and they don't do that anymore. Another

example, Jean, I was in big brothers, big sisters, and I had a little brother who was 13, and I took him out to the park one time. I mean, probably never played baseball. I had been bitter as a nine -year -old, and this kid was at 13 years. Both feet are moving, he's swinging a bat, he can't hit, or playing catch, he can't catch, he can hardly throw, and it's like, you know what, I don't know if it's because there's maybe more single parents now. There's not the following influence, but I was trying to introduce this kid as Scott play catch, you know, and it was like, we're not going to do that again. If they would make the park successful, let the kids go out there and play. There's too much adult influence, and then getting the little league. I see a lot of little league games, more than I'd like, and it's a coaching. I mean, you got the nine and 10 -year -olds, and all the kids are pitching from the stretch. I think I can't even lead off first base. Who's teaching them to do that, you know? And so the older pitching motion is from here. I saw one kid literally walk 10 guys in an inning. And at least batters just go up there, take ball form, go to base, and it's just, you know, somebody else got to be to throw a ball. It was pathetic. I thought the level probably we were playing at that age compared to little league now, or it was a lot different if we were to continue with that.

And I think a lot of it's, you know, probably the coach is some kids dad, and it's his turn to be the coach, and he watched the game the other night, so he's an authority. Right, you know, and he saw this guy pitch like this, and of his Mariana Rivera, and saw him buckle. I know we're putting his leg on the ground. You know, that's how you're getting it. That's right, that's right. High school, and even younger than high school, high school programs, that kind of thing. What's your sense of how baseball's fitting in for school systems and how they're developing kids? Well, I will say one thing, little league's getting right. They're using replay in the right way. Yeah. Major league baseball needs to take a cue right there. That would be a big one. The maybe Derek Gita doesn't get it with his acting job that he did last night. You know, I think it does come back to instruction. And there isn't the uniformity of instruction. It's a lot harder, I think, in baseball to do that from level to level. And there isn't a commitment you're around, it seems, sometimes. But I don't think that we should see kids specializing that young anyway. I mean, I don't know, Terry

would be able to speak to this as a guy who became a professional athlete himself. Shoot, when I was a kid, exactly what Gary did, exactly. I mean, shoot, we didn't just keep track of our annual totals. We had the home run list right through 800 plus for Sadaharu. Oh, now remember when we passed them, you know, all of them, you know, for our career. Lifetime, it was awesome. In two months. Yeah. Now we started over. No, but you got to play all the sports, you know, as a youth. And then once you figure out what you like, then go ahead and specialize. Sure. It definitely comes back to instruction. I just think it's because the game isn't being passed down generationally in the same way that it was. Previous generations. Sure. I'm a little bit older than these Jets because if you ever saw the movie Sandlot, that's what we did. You rode your bikes, you had your glove on the handlebar, you choose up sides. Have you ever heard anybody choose up sides? They don't know how anymore. And

so the other thing was, and I think it was a really societal change in us, is that when we came home from school, mom was at home and she said, get out of your school clothes, get outside and play it's a beautiful day. Mom's were in the neighborhoods. There was no air conditioning in the houses. The windows were open the summertime and they knew which kid let out with the four -letter word and they were on the phone to your mother. You were raised by the neighborhood. They got you outside. You were playing ball and if one of the fathers came home early, they would help you out. It was a societal change. Now these kids come home and it's not a question of not passing it down. The reason is not being passed down. They're large -key kids, mom's not home or dad's not home to throw them out and get them out to play. They're sitting down watching TV or playing video games. Scott, let me ask you a question about athletes as celebrities. Have we crossed a line in some manner and I bring this up in the context of thinking back to when many Rameras came down and turned this town upside down for three days. I mean people just went berserk. But he had all

that other stuff toting along with him. There were some questions about his will to play, steroids, all that kind of thing. Have we crossed a line on this idea of celebrity for ball players? And how does that affect kids? Well, look, the ball players are celebrities because they are always in the public eye. When you have a 24 -hour news cycle like we have these days, you're always going to be able to get news about players. So instantly they're celebrities. Now I think the question becomes, are they honorable celebrities? Are they people that you can look at and admire? And I still think of guys like, you know, when I was growing up a Brooks Robinson or a Cal Ripken. And you look at those guys and you go, that's a guy that I don't mind my son being like. I want to be like that person. Then you have the guys like a Manny Ramirez, who I mean, he was great for the box office for the isotopes. But by

golly, I don't think anybody got a word with him. I mean, there was at least not many people got a word with him. And so I think you look at some of those people who are a little standoffish, a Barry Bonds, who just makes everybody feel like they're second -class citizens. And so you have honorable celebrities and you have not so honorable celebrities. And I think fans, for the most part, are wise enough to be able to tell the difference. We hope you've enjoyed our New Mexico and Focus special making it. Next week on New Mexico and Focus, it's time to once again make your voice heard. I'm talking about our special public square. When we bring engaged citizens together with state leaders to tackle important issues surrounding our children. This month, the topic is nutrition. And if you want to get involved in a future public square taping, just shoot us an e -mail at in focus at canime .org or give us a call. The number, once again, 277 -1246. You can also grab a

camera and record your thoughts so we can share them with the rest of our audience. Directions on how to upload your video to YouTube or available at canime .org, just look for the public square link right there on the front page. So until next time, thanks for watching and stay enchanted in New Mexico. You