ONE ON ONE WITH BATMAN NAMED ROBIN

By Jerry Beach

From: Mets Inside Pitch

June 2001

Other Mets hit for more power, hit for a higher average and steal more bases than Robin Ventura, but no one symbolizes the spirit of the club more than the easy-going yet focused third baseman. Not only is he a renowned clutch hitter (his 15 grand slams are more than any other active major leaguer) and efficient fielder, but Ventura- well liked and respected by everyone who comes into contact with him- has an uncanny feel for the day to day grind of a baseball season. He’s always reminding those around him that everything evens out over the course of 162 games, yet Ventura also knows just when to lighten the mood in the clubhouse or when to subtly crack the whip.

With that in mind, we figured Ventura would be a perfect first subject for Inside Pitch’s’ new Q&A feature, “Curveballs & Changeups.” Our questions are much like Ventura- a little bit tongue in cheek, a little bit serious- and he was a good sport about playing along. We hope you enjoy “Curveballs & Changeups” and we hop you learn something new each month about your favorite players.

JERRY BEACH: Describe what happened when you were first called up to the major leagues.

ROBIN VENTURA: We had just finished out season [at Double-A Birmingham in 1989]. Chicago {White Sox} was in Baltimore and I got called up. I sat the first day, [manager Jeff Thorberg] said I could just watch the first day. Then I played the next day.

JB: What’s the best part of being a Met?

ROBIN: Best part…best part…the guys I play with. Just the people that are collected here as far as players and people- owners, general managers, coaches.

JB: What’s you daily routine at Shea?

ROBIN: I don’t really have a routine (laughs). It’s different, I think. It’s different all the time because we’re always kind of changing a bit. So I don’t necessarily have a routine. Maybe I should.

JB: Whose has been the biggest influence in your career?

ROBIN: I think it’s more a collection of people you play with. I think you take a little bit from everybody you play with, and that’s the fun part, that you always take to the next place you go the people that you’ve played with. So there’s a big collection of them. From Carlton Fisk to Charlie Hough and Harold Baines, guys like that.

JB: Who is your best friend in the majors?

ROBIN: Todd [Zeile}

JB: Did you know him before he got here in NY and how did you hit it off so well?

ROBIN: A little bit. A lot of our friends have been friends, but we never really spent any time together. We had separate friends that knew each other.

JB: What’s the strangest think that you’ve ever seen on a baseball field? I imagine it was Steve Lyons dropping his drawers during a game in 1990.

ROBIN: No, that was planned [grins].

JB: Was it?

ROBIN: Yeah, yeah. That really wasn’t that strange.

JB: Well, then, the strangest spontaneous thing you ever saw.

ROBIN: Strangest spontaneous thing? [Long pause] I’ll pass [grins].

JB: What was your best moment as a baseball ball player?

ROBIN: You always think it’s winning or something. I mean just the feeling you have if you win- like last year, wining the division series and then the National League, those are just steps you keep going on. That was probably it.

JB: What was your best moment off the field?

ROBIN: Well, I’m married with four children. So everyday I go home and everybody’s healthy.