May 13, 2025 • 42 mins
He was born and raised in Colorado, yet when Scott Elarton was told he was being traded to the Rockies from the team that drafted him while he was in high school, his first emotion was shock. The pitcher thought he would be an Astro for life. But as Scott would learn over the next almost decade: “for life” is extremely rare in Major League Baseball.
Growing up in Lamar, Scott excelled in many sports including football, basketball and baseball. He decided to forgo college after the Astros drafted him 25th overall when he was just 18 years old. He worked his way up the ladder and in four years, made his major league debut at the age of 22. That same year, Scott was a starter, reliever and gave up a game winning home run in Game 3 of the NLDS. He also dealt with injuries early and often. In fact, over the next few years, he became familiar with the disabled list and was actually on the DL when he was told he was being traded to the Rockies.
Coors Field was tough, as it is for most pitchers. He struggled with the thin air and more injuries but was named a starter to open the 2004 season. He was released the next month in May. From there, Scott had stints with multiple teams including Cleveland (twice), Kansas City, the White Sox, Phillies and the Twins along with many affiliates and independent teams.
Eventually in 2014, Scott retired and made the Denver area a permanent home with his wife and two children. These days Scott travels about every other week working for the Pirates organization, mainly helping young players with their mental game. It’s a job he pretty much created and one that would have been very helpful to him when he was fighting to stay healthy and in the game.
Listen to Scott’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Growing up in Lamar, Scott excelled in many sports including football, basketball and baseball. He decided to forgo college after the Astros drafted him 25th overall when he was just 18 years old. He worked his way up the ladder and in four years, made his major league debut at the age of 22. That same year, Scott was a starter, reliever and gave up a game winning home run in Game 3 of the NLDS. He also dealt with injuries early and often. In fact, over the next few years, he became familiar with the disabled list and was actually on the DL when he was told he was being traded to the Rockies.
Coors Field was tough, as it is for most pitchers. He struggled with the thin air and more injuries but was named a starter to open the 2004 season. He was released the next month in May. From there, Scott had stints with multiple teams including Cleveland (twice), Kansas City, the White Sox, Phillies and the Twins along with many affiliates and independent teams.
Eventually in 2014, Scott retired and made the Denver area a permanent home with his wife and two children. These days Scott travels about every other week working for the Pirates organization, mainly helping young players with their mental game. It’s a job he pretty much created and one that would have been very helpful to him when he was fighting to stay healthy and in the game.
Listen to Scott’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I was going to be an Astro for life. I mean,
I was all in, that's all I knew. I never
even considered being traded, and I had never seen anybody
get traded while they're on the DL. You know, there
was deadline buzz, not like there is now, but there
was some trade deadline buzz, and Jerry Hunsker, the general manager,
called me and said, well, I got good news and
(00:20):
bad news. Good news is you're going home. Bad news
is you're no longer an Astro. It was just weird.
I didn't know what to think, what to say, and
being injured was probably the toughest part because you don't
want to go to a new team being the hurt guy, right,
And that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome to Cut, Traded, Fired, Retired, a podcast featuring conversations
with professional athletes and coaches who have experienced being cut, traded, fired,
and or they're retired. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. Former
Rockies pitcher Scott Ellerton has a few ties to Colorado
for starters. He was born and raised in Lamar, where
he was a star athlete in football, basketball, and baseball.
(01:01):
When Scott was just eighteen years old, the Astros drafted
him in the first round twenty fifth overall, and instead
of college, he went straight into the system. It was
a system that would see him debut with the Astros
when he was twenty two and eventually get traded to
the Rockies, which was bittersweet because he was coming back
to Colorado, but Scott had never considered he'd be traded.
(01:23):
The Rockies weren't his last stop by any means. He'd
spend time with Cleveland twice, Kansas City, the White Sox, Phillies,
and the Twins, along with many affiliates and independent teams. Eventually,
he retired in twenty fourteen, and Scott and his family
made the Denver area of their permanent home. These days,
Scott travels about every other week working for the Pirates organization,
(01:45):
mainly helping young players on their mental game, a position that,
as you'll hear, would have been very helpful for Scott
when he was fighting to stay healthy and in the game.
Ladies and gentlemen, Scott Ellerton.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Gott traded fired. We're Retired podcast with Susie Warton Scott Ellerton.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
How are you.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I'm doing well good.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It's good to see you too. I caught you at
a good time when you said yes, And you haven't
done an interview in what decades?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It seems like it. Maybe not decades, but it's been a.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Long long time now that you haven't been a player
for a long time. Is it nice to not have
to do interviews?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It is, if I'm being honest.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Oh yeah, no, I get it.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, I'd love to stay in the game. And at
the same time, I love to fly under the radar right,
kind of be unseen and unheard from. And that's kind
of my gig.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, here you are. We're going to go through your
life and dissect like you can't believe.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Let's go. Okay, you know what's so cool about you?
And we just saw each other at the Coloro Sports
Hall of Fame where your daughter was honored as the
high school Athlete of the Year, which is very cool.
And get to bring up the fact that you are
a Lamar product and you are a Colorado through and through, guys,
So tell me a little bit about growing up in
small town Lamar where you were three sport star athlete.
(03:00):
When did you start getting into athletics, and obviously you're
a very large man. When you start growing. That had
to have been probably early on, I would.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Think, as far back as I can remember, is that right? Yeah,
My dad was a basketball coach while I was growing up,
so I spent actually more time in the gym than
I did on the baseball field. And really back then
it was play whatever sport was in season. So we
played on the street football season, we played baseball in
the backyard. That's what we did. Far back as I
(03:28):
could remember. We had a group of kids in the
neighborhood and we we went and played.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
And being in a small town. I know my husband
grew up in Rye, Colorado, so he's like, you played
sports because we didn't have enough people otherwise if you
didn't play.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Sure, yeah, exactly. That was just kind of the expectation.
If you're going to play sports, you're going to play
all of them. I don't know that we were quite
that small in the mar We had a few extra kids.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
But what classification were you when you were there.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
At that point for a but oh, that's when it
was the enrollments were set up. Okay, then, yeah, we
were basically at two A or three A school.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Okay, you did have a lot of kids then, I
mean comparatively speaking to some of the smaller ones, right, undt.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
About just under one hundred in my graduating class.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Okay, oh that's not bad. That's bigger than I thought
it was, all right. Okay, So you are a center
in basketball, which makes sense, quarterback and football, and then
were you always a pitcher with baseball or do you
play other positions as well?
Speaker 1 (04:20):
I think I played three years a shortstop in one
year of first base, okay, yes, and pitched and pitched. Okay,
Hitting's way more fun than pitching. I wish I was
better at that, but that came to an end once
high school was over.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Right, Okay, So how did you start to kind of
hone in on the fact that baseball was going to
be your sport because you did very well in the
other ones, and your team's really good. I mean, you
had three state championships in baseball, runners up a couple
times I think in basketball, and you set all kinds
of records as a quarterback too.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I think that probably became evident when I was about
a junior in high school. I was thrown pretty hard.
I actually came up here to Denver and played for
Mark Johnson at Creek. Okay, I played summer all from Mark.
Started to get some exposure to the pro clubs at
that point, and it was probably between basketball and baseball
at that point. Even though football I was getting some
(05:11):
attention as well, But at the end of the day,
my heart was in baseball and that was where I
was most talented. So that's the path I took.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, how tall were you in high school? Or did
you grow afterwards?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
No? I was six seven sixteen in high school.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Holy cow, Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
That was tall back then. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well it's still tall.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Now, still tall, but I see to eye with a
lot more people than I used to.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Isn't that weird?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
It's wild?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, people are getting taller. I feel like. Yeah. Okay,
So you graduate in nineteen ninety four, and that same
year is when the Astros draft you in the first round.
You're twenty fifth overall. You had a scholarship for college, right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I did. I had signed to go to Stanford. But
at that point, there had never been a high school
first round draft pick pitcher that chose to go to
college and actually did better improve their draft status.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, can't get a whole lot better than twenty five overall.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Probably, Well, No, and I honestly, I knew how my
arm felt. At that point. I was like, you know,
I think there'll be a little more kind to me
in pro ball, more rest between starts, that sort of thing.
And that actually was a significant part of the decision.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Oh I'm sure. Yeah, Okay, So you're eighteen at that
point and you already know your arm is not great.
I mean, no, I shouldn't say not great, but if
you feel like it's hurting at eighteen, you had a
lot of wear and tear before you even got to
the pros.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, you know, as far as far back as I
can remember, my arm would always get sore, and then
as I went along it was more sore and more sore.
Every time, you know, the intensity goes up, velocity goes up,
and the soreness came with it. So that was something
that I dealt with throughout the course of my career.
And then it did start very early.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
What did you do to try and alleviate some of it?
Was it technique? Was it the rehab? And obviously we're
talking this is in the early nineties when they did
and have all of the great technology that we have now.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Sure along the way, I've tested out just about every recovery.
I call them theories because most of them for me
were kind of like band aids. They may have helped
a little bit, but at the end of the day,
I figured out I was going to be a sore
guy and that was just the way. It was something
I had to deal with, and I guess I wouldn't
change anything if I could. Yeah, it'd be great to
(07:25):
have my arm not hurt, But I learned a ton
of things through that over the course of the years.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Well yeah, I mean nineteen years at pro ball you
dealt with that, and then obviously in high school as well.
So I think baseball players sometimes get compared to hockey
players or football players in and they're like, oh, I
mean soccers they're the worst people, always competing there, like
the floppers that don't you know, actually get hurt. But
I mean, I think baseball players they put up with
a lot of pain that people don't know about. And
(07:52):
the season is such a grind with one hundred and
sixty two games, that's a lot.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
It really is, especially for the position players. Yes, and
the guys starting pitchers are you know, they live the
life and right that's what I lived. But unfortunately, most
of the time I was just trying to piece things
together to be able to get out there and give
it my best for the next start. It was a constant.
(08:16):
If I had to describe my career in one word,
it would probably be pain, and that's bad to say,
but that was the overall overall theme. There was lots
of great things that came along with it. Don't get
me wrong, it was it was awesome, but the battle
with the arm was just just the constant.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Wow. Okay, so you go right into the Astro system
once they draft you and you forego college. What was
that like? Because it's so different than when you get
to the pros, which you finally make. You make your
major league debut in ninety eight, so you're twenty two,
so this is four years later, so it's almost four
years three and a half of being in the system.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, that was eye opening. I think the biggest difference
that I noticed immediately was when I when I got
to the Astros complex in Kasemmi, Florida, half the players
were Spanish speaking and Spanish only speaking, and there really
were no translators around. Now there's translators around everywhere, or
you got your phone. We didn't have phones for sure,
(09:15):
so the language barrier there was a huge difference. Being
away from home didn't really bother me that much. Oh interesting, Yeah,
I had travel a lot with Creek in the summers,
so that wasn't really new. We were just a bunch
of dumb young kids, you know, we were eighteen. We
were in college without the class.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Okay, still had some.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Fun, imagine too much, too much for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And then when you go into that role within the system,
whether it be you know, double A, TRIPLEA whatever, are
you starting? Are you in the bullpen? What are you doing?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah? I was. I was a starter all the way through.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
It was probably the only way I survived.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Honestly because of the pain, right exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
I was able to recover, make my next start and
look good enough, I guess on paper to be considered
to go to the big leagues.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Which you did. What do you remember that day? It
was June twentieth, nineteen ninety eight against the Reds and
you were out there for a while. Six and a third.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Six and a third that's a long long albums nowadays.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Right, did you start or were you? You did start?
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay? Right, my Campton had pulled a groin.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Oh Hampton was there.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Hampton was there?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I got called up and they had actually told me
I was only going to make two starts and be
sent back to tria A that day. Probably my most
significant memory would be feeling like calm, cool and collected
in the bullpen, kind of weird, like I should be
really nervous right now, but I'm not. I felt I
felt good, I felt like I belonged. But then as
soon as I got on the astrodome mound and I
(10:44):
raised my glove up to take the sign for my
first pitch, it was just absolutely shaking. That was an
eye opener. I'd go, Okay, this is this is real.
You know, this is the guys that you see hitting
homers on ESPN every night.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yet four earned runs, five hits, and a no decision
notice it.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, I had a lot of those and a lot.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Of losses, right, but still was like sex and a
third for your first start, Like that's huge.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Honestly, it was probably expected back then. That's what that's
true starters did. They went seven hopefully eight. I don't
want to say I was disappointed. I wanted to finish
the seventh That was really my goal for the day
was to get through seven innings. Unfortunately I didn't do that,
but I haven't lost any sleep over it.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Right, And then from there you end up staying with
them and you go to the bullpen, right I did,
And so what's the big difference there? Because I know
there's that starter versus bullpen time, and there's a big
mental difference there.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And Yeah, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Every
time the phone rang, I wanted my name called, regardless
of the situation. That part of it was awesome. The
recovery part was not. I was able to recover for
my first I don't know, let's say three months in
the bullpen, then started going downhill, didn't have the rest time,
(12:00):
and that's really where the where the arm problems started.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And then you have some shoulder surgery. I think, what
after the ninety nine season, is that your first surgery
that you end up having for surgery?
Speaker 1 (12:11):
YEP, I kind of pieced ninety nine together.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
They went to the NLDS that year.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We did ninety nine. The Padres beat us and then
the Braves beat us right in the opening rounds. But
it was able to get through ninety nine. As soon
as the playoffs were over, they called me in and
they they said, we think you have a tear. I
had been medicating all season with a sore shoulder. Back then,
it was you were way more apt to have the
(12:36):
medical staff and just players in general wanted to pitch
no matter what. It's not so much nowadays it's different.
It's probably better. I know it's better for the players.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Yeah, but we you.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Know, we just stayed on the field at all costs.
So that's what I did. And then ended up getting
my first laboram surgery after the ninety nine season.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
And what was that like? Because you're in baseball for
a very long time that point, and the injury part
and being in the training room is such a different
feeling and very difficult mentally. Not only are physically trying
to get back, but then mentally you're with the team,
but not with the team.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Oh yeah, the first one actually was kind of easy.
I make the joke that they just poked four holes
in me and sewed them up and sent me on
my way, because it really didn't feel much different. But
when I came out of surgery, really the following surgeries
were significantly different. But the first one. They I think
it just kind of cleaned things up and hoped I
could get back for the next season, which I did
(13:34):
and was a very successful season.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So that was your best season was two thousand, right?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
It was? Yeah, And I actually started that season on
a rehab assignment, so I didn't have a full season,
but wow, I was fresh again, you know, got things
cleaned up. Yeah, But honestly, by the time that season
was ending, I was already going downhill again. Oh yeah,
it's great, it's great, it's great.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
And back then, Scott, there's no rece Is there anybody
you talked to? Is there anybody that you can have
a conversation with and be like, man, you know, there's not.
And I think now they do such a better job
with that too, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
They really do. At that point, I don't remember there
being a resource.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
So no, it was you don't want to say anything.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Of course not. Yeah, you want to play.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Just bury it inside, right, right, And.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I think, you know, you go in the training room,
you get treatment, and then they know that something's going on,
but it just kind of goes unsaid and they let
you go until you can't go anymore. And I was
wonderful with that. I was absolutely fine with that. Just
let me pitch until i'd need surgery and we'll get
it fixed and I'll hit reseat and go again.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Which you did need surgery again in the next year
in one. That's when you have the biceps injury.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
I think there's too many of them to remember, are there?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
How many surgeries have you had? Do you think?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I had three laboring surgeries, same shoulder, yep, all right, shoulder,
one elbow surgery, a major foot fusion.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Uh oh geez.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
And then in the meantime I got my neck fused
and everybody says it's because I gave up to me homers,
But yeah, collateral damage. But yeah, there's.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Oh man, I was on the.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Table a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah, you were okay. So then July seventeenth, two thousand
and one, you get put on the DL with bicep tendonitis.
So that wasn't a surgery, sorry, that was just a tendonitis, right,
I'm here, that's when you came here. Yes, yeah, so
racking now I know. No, that's okay. So July seventeen,
two thousand and one, you go on the DL for
bicep tendonitis and then literally ten days later. So you're
(15:33):
traded to the Rockies for Pedro Stasio and some cash.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yes, well that was that, Like, that was wild. I
was going to be an Astro for life. I mean
I was all in, that's all I knew. I never
even considered being traded, and I had never seen anybody
get traded while they're on the DL. You know, there
was deadline buzz, not like there is now, but there
was some trade deadline buzz, and Jerry Hunsker, the general manager,
(15:58):
called me and said, well, I got good news and
bad news. Good news is you're going home. Bad news
is you're no longer an Astro. It was just weird.
I didn't know what to think, what to say, And
being injured was probably the toughest part because you don't
want to go to a new team being the hurt guy, right,
And that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
But what was it like to come back to Colorado?
That had to be cool, even though you were on
the DL.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, it really was. I was blind to the fact
that pitching in Colorado was tough. It was never tough
when I was growing up. I don't know what happened.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Is there a different from Lamar to Denver.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
There's a little bit, but not that much. Yeah, you
know what, I just I never knew any better. And
then when I got here on the DL trying to
get healthy again, it again became a monumental challenge. I
was able to get healthy enough to pitch in September
of that season, and then rehabbed all off season, did
(16:56):
everything I could, and then I ended up giving up
about three or four runs to the University of Arizona
back when we played college teams in spring training, and
I knew I was in trouble.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, wow, Yeah, so I forgot about that that they
used to play college teams.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, it was always like our opening opening game and
Ellerton went out there and couldn't get the U of
a out, So it was time to get things checked out.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Wow. So does that when you went to the sky
Socks or was that kind of all mixed in with
there because you were kind of up and down a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That was so I missed all of O two, Okay,
ended up having shoulder surgery that spring training. Missed all
of O two and then three I was on the
up and down rehab assignment, trying to pitch in Colorado
as a flyball pitcher and not healthy. Yeah, so that
made it a struggle to be at home. But overall,
I can't complain about my time here. I really liked
(17:50):
the organization. There's great people there, still great people there
and a lot of the same people. I wish I
would have been way more successful than I was, Oh absolutely,
but it was handy for family. There was always people
at the games, so that was that was great.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
That's cool. So explain to the layman, and I've had
Denny Nagel on the podcast about the difference of pitching
here compared to elsewhere, Like when you came from Houston,
what is it that makes such a difference and how
do you try and fix it? I mean that's the
million dollar question because there's so many guys that have
tried to do that and it's tough.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah. For me, the biggest struggle was the recovery.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Imagine that, oh, yeah we have less air and yeah, my.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Body just constantly hurt. And it wasn't just the arm.
It was you go to sea level and you feel
actually pretty good for a couple of days, so you
hope you pitch in one of those first couple of
games at sea level, but at the same time, while
you're trying to recover, you also have to maintain two
arsenals because when you pitch here, you have to rip
all your off speed pitches. There's no feeling for a pitch.
(18:53):
To get a pitch to move here like you wanted
to move, it's got to be full intent. And then
you go to sea level and everything breaks really easily.
Then the release point is different. So it's a challenge
of the physical challenge, but also the grind of wow,
this is this is gonna be rough. We know it
from day one, and that I think once we landed
(19:16):
on there is no fix for it. It's just something
you deal with. It seems like that's the guys who
have done the best here.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah, well, it's like and Denny I remember him saying,
you know, I wanted to come in here and do
so well, and it just it just didn't happen. I
know Hampton did the same. Everybody comes here wanting to
be the one that goes yep. I got it. I
figured out how to do this sure, and it's hard.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
It really is. When I was here, it was Jason
Jennings had a great season Rookie of the Year, but
then really, I think the toll that it takes on
your body year over year is just extremely challenging.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Absolutely. Wow. All right, So then in June of two
thousand and four, you go to Cleveland. Did you get traded?
Are we on the released from the Rockies?
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yeah? Okay?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Really who was your manager in O four? Was that Clint?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yes? Clint? Yeah, buddy? When I came over and then
and then.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Clint, did Clint call you in when you got released?
Or how?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
It wasn't much of a surprise. They put me out
of my misery. I think I gave up about nine
runs against the Yankees, and the writing was on the wall.
But really the best thing that could have happened for
me and for them, you know, it just wasn't It
wasn't going to work. I got to go to Cleveland.
(20:29):
Mark Schapiro was the general manager, and he called me
and said, we're going to give you three starts at
Buffalo and Triple A, and then we're going to call
you up. And I literally was thinking, Mark, you obviously
have not been watching me pitch because it's rough. But I,
for whatever reason, I remember going to Richmond, Virginia, and
I was just in the it might've been my first
(20:51):
throwing program down there, not even pitching that day, and
I spun a curveball and it had the bite that
I was used to it having, and I knew I
wasn't going to have to go back and figure it
out again next week, So I was able to get
my feet on the ground again. Really enjoyed my time
in Cleveland, had some success there, and was just kind
of able to regain some traction again.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
When you were with Houston, they were in the National League,
So you go National League, National League, then the rest
of your career is in the American League, right, Yes,
So that had to have helped because then you don't
ever have to hit, or did it.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
I would never blame hitting on on anything because hitting
is the best part of the game.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Okay, I know. So it didn't take it much out
of you as far as body wise to be hitting. No, no, no,
Are you a National League purist or do you like
the Okay?
Speaker 1 (21:37):
All right, yeah, me too, A big d fan.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah, even though you me when they change the rules.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yeah, I just love I was. I loved hitting and
I think the strategy involved and I just think.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
It's fascinating your game, absolutely yeah, okay. So you're in
Cleveland for a couple of years, then you become a
free agent and you sign with the Royals for a
couple of years. What happens in in KC.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Well, in order to get to k C, I had
Buddy Bell was the bench coach in Cleveland, so he
had gone from the Rockies to Cleveland to be the
bench coach. Then Buddy got the job in Kansas City,
a managing job, and he was, well, he's probably my
favorite person in baseball.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I love Buddy Bell.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Yeah yeah, yeah, outstanding man, outstanding family. So I signed
with the Royals quick Buddy Bell story. I went out
there to do my physical. It was the first time
I had signed a two year deal, first and only time.
So my wife and I drive to Kansas City. They
do the MRI. I go in the doctor's office and
they put it up on the little screen and the
(22:42):
doctor starts to kind of turning his head and I
know how my shoulder feels. And he looks at the
trainer and he says, we're gonna have to talk about this.
So I knew I was I was in trouble because
if you fail physical, your toast. Nobody else is gonna
watch you either. I went out to the parking lot,
I called Buddy. Buddy used fifteen or twenty expletives probably,
and he said, I'll call you back, and he called
(23:05):
me about five minutes later and he said, we're good.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
So, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah, Buddy just wanted you to leave it all out
on the field. That's really all he cared about. He
obviously wanted to win, but if he knew guys left
everything on the field, he would support them.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
He was a big character guy. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Absolutely, I owe a lot to Buddy Bell, for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
And that's funny how it works with pro sports is
you know you've got your ability, but it also helps
who you know, and those coaching trees, no matter where
they are, whether they're a position coach or a head
coach or a manager, that can definitely help further guys
careers and make them a whole lot longer than they
would have been otherwise.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Yeah, it really does. And I think it was more
like that back then because rosters were constructed based on
more of the human part of the game versus now
they're essentially Yeah, they're constructed by the computer. For me,
there's a balance to that I'm not against the analytics.
I'm pretty well versed in it now.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Right, Yeah, Now they've been coaching for several years.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Yeah, right, But back then, it was much more about
how does this team fit together? How is this group
going to work as a unit. Fortunately, I think I
was a decent teammate along the way and worked hard
and that kept me around.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
And that was huge for Buddy and for Clint. Do
we have the right people that make this clubhouse work?
Because that was super important because there were guys that
would come in and out and you're like, oh, I
mean even as the media, we can see the guys
that you're like, Wow, this guy is not helping this
atmosphere whatsoever? Right exactly, they kind of went away, right.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
The most successful teams generally have the best chemistry. Yes,
there's exceptions to that, but at the end of the day,
we've seen so many uber talented teams that fall flat,
you know, they fall short in it, and it's really
because there's not any any chemistry there. Nobody's pulling for
the other guy, and so that still matters a lot
(25:02):
to Oh.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Absolutely, Who were some of your most favorite teammates? Were
they more pitchers or position players or a mix of both.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I would say a mix of both, and then I
probably name all pictures.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Could you kind of hang out with your group more
than you do everybody else? Yeah, and the position players
think the pictures are weird, right.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
They are? They are. Mike Sweeney used to call us kickers.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
It's like the special teams. You're like the special teams exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Let's see.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I still see heard his name in a long time, Yeah, Mike.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Yeah, he was a great guy. Yeah, he was the
type of guy that I couldn't stand in the beginning,
literally couldn't stand the guy before. I was thinking, there
is nobody on the planet that is this friendly and
nice all the time, like I see through it. But
this guy was the same every single.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Day, so genuine Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
One of the greatest teammates of all time and a
great player as well.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Yeah, that's so funny. Who else that you stay in
touch with now that are part.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Of your try So I stay in touch with Billy Wagner,
who was a year ahead of me coming through the
minor leagues with the Astros. A guy named Jay Powell,
longtime reliever sinkerballer played here with the Rockies, and I
played with him in Houston, position player Billy Spires, longtime
utility man, Doug Henry, relief pitcher. That's probably the core
(26:24):
group of guys.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Yeah, I don't keep in touch with a ton of guys,
but I still cross paths with a lot of them.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Oh well, and you were on so many different teams,
we had to have met a lot.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Oh yeah. Yeah. My phone's full of numbers that are
probably not anymore. Yeah, yeah, but that's okay. I mean,
it's still good to run into guys still being in
the game. And I actually ran across cc Sabathia a
couple of years ago now at the Area Code Games.
His son and my son were there, and yeah, it's
always fun to see those guys and kind of relive
(26:56):
the glory days.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Absolutely. Yeah. All right, So then after the Royals you
go back to Cleveland and then you have a little
stint with the White Sox and the Phillies, like you
kind of continued on, you hang it on, getting those
nineteen years in and almost ten in the pros. You're
very clear about saying it's almost because I said ten,
and you're like, no, almost ten.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
No, that that's a special number. And I didn't get there,
and that's okay, But I don't want to say I
have ten years in the big leagues because ten's the
magic number and I didn't get it.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, let's see back to Cleveland, semi healthy, stopped playing
after that year, had a big foot surgery, thought I
was done, went out and lived on our farming ranch
in eastern Colorado, started playing basketball and doing all the
things that I wanted to do while I was playing
and wouldn't let myself. Pretty Soon my foot started feeling good.
(27:47):
I had lost weight, and I was like, well the
wheel start turning.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Of course, I think I can still do this.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Yeah, exactly. I don't have that feeling anymore. Yeah's wice actually,
So I got back in shape and Buddybell gave me
an opportunity with the White Sox.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, he was the farm director at that point. I
went and pitched in Charlotte for about six weeks.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
And how old are you at this point, Scott?
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Probably thirty five?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Okay, all right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
I couldn't get from the bullpen mount to the mound
very well after about a month, and the foot was hurting. Yeah,
so they cut me loose and then I had one
more go round. I ended up throwing a bullpen. Josh
Bard caught me out here in a little baseball facility.
Ruben Amara was in town. Somebody was accepting award. Ruben
(28:36):
was in town and he said, yeah, I'll watch you
throw a bullpen. Well, it was like a metal shed
and it was super loud. I was probably throwing like
eighty three eighty four, but it sounded sound good. Two
nighty three. So I ended up spending a year in
Tripaa with Lehigh Valley. Had more fun that year than
(28:57):
I had had in baseball for a long time.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
The first month was not that much fun because they
had a couple of chances to call up a starter,
and I was pitching really well. They didn't call up
a starter, so the writing was on the wall. My
kids were young and we we just enjoyed the summer.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
So the whole family go with you.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
They did, yep, they let's see. They went to Charlotte
with me, and then they went to Lee High Valley
with me. We were kind of the traveling circus, but
it was fun.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I'm assuming you rented in all these places because you
always had your place here okay.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Right, yeah, we've definitely rented.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
The kiss of death in professional sports is buying a house.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Oh yeah, we bought one in Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Kansas City.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Yeah, that'd work very well. Had a two year deal.
I thought i'd be there for You're like, yeah, yeah,
bingo exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Oh man, okay, and you finish up. Let's see in
twenty thirteen, you have something with the Twins. Is that
something is lights.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Something is really quick?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
They had a whole bunch of guys who had like
minor surgeries in the off season, and they signed me
as kind of the insurance policy. Those guys stayed healthy
through the real early spring and they released me like
record time and early spring training.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Now do you get paid for that?
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Though?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
If you didn't play any games, you don't.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
No, nobody gets paid in spring training. But that was
that was all right. I was just trying to exhaust
every ounce of everything that I had, So I went
to sugar Land and played independent ball after I got
released by the Twins' Sugarland Sugarland, Texas. It's okay, I
believe the Astros Triple A A Phillies, Oh okay, yeah,
I was in the Atlantic League actually rented a really
(30:33):
cool house in Sugarland. Had a great experience. It was
a bunch of old guys like me who were just
kind of trying to hang on, kind of trying to
get back to affiliated ball. But we really really had
a fun summer.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
I got to uh exhaust, everything went out on my terms.
I actually was supposed to pitch a couple of nights
in the future. Somebody went down and I told the manager,
you know what, I'm ready to do this. So I
called my wife real quick and I said, Hey, I'm
gonna pitch tonight. This is going to be it. And
she gathers up the kids, comes to the stadium and
I don't even know how many innings I threw, but
(31:07):
ended up striking out the last guy and walking off,
and really haven't had any second thoughts since.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Oh my gosh, your last pitch was a strikeout and
you walked off and you're done.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
I was done. Yeah, wow, happily done.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Holy cow. That's and not many people get to do that.
Most of professional athletes, it has decided for them.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
You don't get to decide, right, Yeah, it was decided
in independent ball. I mean I got to decide an
independent ball something if that really counts.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Sure of course it does. Why not?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yeah, depends who you asked.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
And then your family got to see you, and it
just got to be a that's a cool moment. That's
like a movie moment. It is Scott, that's cool. Yeah,
that's really cool. Okay. So then that next January you
get on with Pittsburgh as a coach.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
It was actually or was it sooner than that?
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Okay, just gotten done with Sugarland. My wife said, you
know you're getting a job after Like when I told
her I was ready to retire, she said, you know
you're getting a job, right, I said yeah, because I
had been semi retired a couple of times living on
the farm.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Did you need something to do or did she not
want you there?
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Both? I needed something to do, Okay, for sure. I
love the farming lifestyle. I love the physical labor, but
there was just something missing still. And then that year
in Lehigh Valley, where I was thirty seven years old,
sitting in the bullpen with all these young guys, I
was the guy who said I would never coach. I'm
going to right off into the sunset, and I'm tired
(32:32):
of this headache. I enjoyed sitting in the bullpen helping
the other guys more than I did pitching that year.
So that kind of propelled me into the coaching world,
and it's been a great way to try to give
back help these guys in their journey. At this point,
I rarely instruct anybody on pitching mechanics or stuff like that.
It's more mentality and just off the field stuff life
(32:56):
in general.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, So you're that person that you needed. Yeah, fact,
and seriously.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I might have needed three or four of them.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
That's cool though, Scott. So did you kind of create
your own position or did they have it for you
when you started?
Speaker 1 (33:13):
So I was a pitching coach for a couple of years, Okay,
at the complex for a year, and then I was
a Florida State League pitching coach. Then I had the
rehab pitchers for two years, which was I was qualified
because of the number of surgeries I had very experienced, right. Yeah,
not because I knew what I was doing, but I
had been through it so much.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
He'd been in their shoes.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Yeah, And fortunately I was able to work with a
great pet there. So I was kind of the mental
side of it, and he was a physical side of it,
and it was really fun a couple of years doing
the injury thing, and then I actually asked if I
could have this special assistant gig that they had Jamie Carroll,
Oh yeah, famous Rocky. Yes, Kevin Young and Grady Little
(33:56):
were special assistants to player development and they didn't have
any body on the pitching side. And I've raised my
hand and said, can I do that?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Oh? Nice?
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Yeah, And That's what I've been doing ever since.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Oh that is so cool. It is to be able
to write your own ticket like that, to be in
a spot where you know you can make a difference
and do what you want to do. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
And watch my kids grow up and be able to.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Watch your kids grow up. Yeah, so you're not there,
you're not traveling with them all the time, Like how
much do you end up working with them?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
I've been essentially a week on, week off all season
for the last eight years or oh wow, something like that. Okay, yeah,
so I go to an affiliate for a week and
I come home for a week or I now I'm
going to the University of Georgia, University of Arizona, chasing
the kids around. It's been fun. I've I've really missed
(34:44):
very few of the kids' events.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
That's cool.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yeah, lots of travel, but it's it's been fun.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
And so you're just working with the affiliates for Pittsburgh.
You don't do you do any of the major league
guys or just the.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
I go to major League camp, Major leage spring training,
and then I usually actually just visit the big leagues
once when they come to Colorado.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Oh wow, nice.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Yeah, the minor leagues is way better for coaches. You
pull up to the clubhouse door, you know, you walk
ten feet near in the clubhouse versus parking security. Oh yeah,
you know, all the big cities. I'm more the small
town guy. The development piece, to me is a lot
of fun to see what these kids are when we
(35:24):
draft them and just watch them develop and blossom into.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Hopefully majorly hopefully or just good people in general.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Yeah, that's huge. All right, So quick catch up on
the kids, because, as I mentioned, we had honored Chloe
as the high School Female after the Year for twenty
twenty four with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, but
she is no longer in high school. She was done
in December and she's already starting her college career at
Georgia in volleyball, and your son's also doing sports in college.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Yeah, Chloe graduated in December. She had a two week
summer in winter to Colorado, and yeah, she's she's almost
done with her first semester at Georgia already, which is wild.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
Yeah, she loves it. She takes after my wife, so
she works ahead in class. She's organized, great time management,
and she loves the volleyball part of it. She's been
a volleyball junkie since as far back as.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
I can remember, right, and then your son.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
My son's at University of Arizona just finished Tommy John
rehab like every other young picture, it seems like. Unfortunately,
he actually hurt his UCL in his final game of
his high school career, which was tough, So he went
into Arizona hurt. We tried the PRP injection, wasted a
year because that didn't work, then had TJ, and now
(36:43):
is basically a junior trying to earn some innings at Arizona.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Do you work with him? It's probably different when it's
your kid. I mean, I've got kids that are in
their twenties and trying to relay my experience to them
is in one ear out the other, but then somebody
else does them. I'm like, that's exactly what I've been
telling you.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Does he listen to you? With everything you've gone through?
Speaker 1 (37:02):
He didn't listen for like twenty years and ten months.
Didn't want to hear what I had to say. And
that was okay. I mean, everybody ever played with said
their kid doesn't listen to him. Yeah, and I think
that's just dads in general. So I was okay with that.
I would make recommendations he didn't want to hear it. Well,
going through this whole process trying to get his feet
(37:22):
back on the ground, he finally said, well what do
you think, dad? And I literally I was thinking, Wow,
pressure's on, right because I got to get this right.
So over the last two months is the first time
I've really worked with him, and so far, so good.
Things are trending upward. But yeah, yeah, it's been nice.
You never know what the results of surgery are going
(37:45):
to be, but having a good relationship with him has
always been the most important thing for me. I don't
care if he plays baseball or not, you know, I
want to have a good relationship with my kids, and
this has actually been a really good opportunity to further
that along.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Oh that's cool. Okay. So last question for you that
I ask all of my guests, and it's perfect with
what you do right now with your job, is you've
gone through lots of ups and downs through your career.
What do you tell these guys or will you tell
your kids or anybody that's going through those rough patches
of how you keep moving forward? How did you keep
moving forward? And what do you tell them as far
(38:23):
as keeping that mentality going. It's a loaded question. Oh absolutely,
And I don't know it's circumstantial, but there's always kind
of things that you can go to.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Honestly, most of my conversations in my job center around this,
I bet, and now I don't have a good answer
for it. They let me work with these guys, and
I don't have a good answer. It really is individual.
But I think one of the biggest things that I
try to stress with them is finding freedom. And usually
most of these guys can't find freedom in their professional career.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
What do you mean by that?
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Just the little kid in the backyard having fun again
literally like game fun, anymore, and usually the answer is no,
and finding that little kid in the backyard who still
is at the plate with the bases loaded. See, I'm
talking about hitting again. That you got to find that kid,
and you usually try to peel back the layers. See.
(39:16):
It's hard to tell what we might get into, but
those are really the most rewarding things for me, and
hopefully I've helped a few guys along the way. But
finding freedom in the game again is big.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
And that's big I think in any job. I mean,
anybody that's miserable in their job, say, you know, are
you having fun? And if you're not, it's time to
figure out how to have fun again, right, or find
something that gives you that joy and freedom right right.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
These guys are, almost to a man, very hard workers.
That's part of the reason they got there, absolutely, and
the answer to them has always been work harder, and
they end up pounding their head against the wall. And
I don't know how many give up conversations I've I've
had with guys like you're going to figure out that
you care so much that you realize the best thing
(40:03):
I can do is just let it all go go
out there. This is all easier said than done. Oh obviously,
but when they find that, it's just so cool to
watch it. Yeah, they smile again. Yeah, we haven't seen
him smile for months, and all of a sudden, there
he is out on the mountain smiling.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
What if someone had come to you a few years
into your career and and told you that when you
were I know, it was a totally different time and
people just didn't talk about it, but sure were you
able to find that kid? You did? I think you
did at some points in your I did.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Yeah, Actually my best seasons two thousand, I was coming
off surgery and I was not pitching well. I did
the rehab assignment thing. I got called up to Houston
and I was not good, and actually I called my
dad and he said, just do like you did in
high school. Like, okay, Dad, that's not this is a
little bit different game than we were playing in high school.
(40:55):
But literally that was it. Like go back to confidence
and conviction and believe that you're you're the right man
for the job. I went out that night and threw
every pitch as hard as I could, and it all
worked out because I found freedom again. Yeah. So yeah,
it happened to me numerous times, most of the time
coming off injury and that's cool.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
And your dad, so both of you were in the
Chassa Hall of Fame. That's cool, it's cool. How was
your dad in there?
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Coach basketball for a long long time? Okay, and then
was an administrator for ever.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
At Lamar Ohlamar. Okay. All right, well, Scott, this was
really fun. Thank you for coming in. How was your
first interview in over how many years?
Speaker 1 (41:37):
It was great? I really much.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Longer than you've ever had an interview, probably.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Absolutely, absolutely, I can take about ten years off.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Now, right, Yeah, you don't have to do anymore for
a very very very long time. You said, you know what,
I did a forty five minute podcast, and I'm good.
I'm out.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
That's right. That's right now. If it's if you come
calling again, I will do.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Well.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
I try and make it easy. I just you know,
lay out the breadcrumbs and you just follow along.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
All right.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Hey, best of luck with everything, and thank you again.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Thank you very much, Susie.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
Thanks so much, Scott. New episodes of Cut, Traded, Fired,
Retired are released on Tuesdays on nearly every podcast platform.
Get social with the podcast on Twitter and Instagram at
ctfur podcast, and check out the website ctfurpodcast dot com.
I'm your host, Susie Wargen. To learn more about me,
visit susiewargin dot com. Thanks for listening, and until next time,
(42:28):
please be careful, be safe, and be kind. Take care
I was going to be an Astro for life. I mean,
I was all in, that's all I knew. I never
even considered being traded, and I had never seen anybody
get traded while they're on the DL. You know, there
was deadline buzz, not like there is now, but there
was some trade deadline buzz, and Jerry Hunsker, the general manager,
called me and said, well, I got good news and
(00:20):
bad news. Good news is you're going home. Bad news
is you're no longer an Astro. It was just weird.
I didn't know what to think, what to say, and
being injured was probably the toughest part because you don't
want to go to a new team being the hurt guy, right,
And that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome to Cut, Traded, Fired, Retired, a podcast featuring conversations
with professional athletes and coaches who have experienced being cut, traded, fired,
and or they're retired. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. Former
Rockies pitcher Scott Ellerton has a few ties to Colorado
for starters. He was born and raised in Lamar, where
he was a star athlete in football, basketball, and baseball.
(01:01):
When Scott was just eighteen years old, the Astros drafted
him in the first round twenty fifth overall, and instead
of college, he went straight into the system. It was
a system that would see him debut with the Astros
when he was twenty two and eventually get traded to
the Rockies, which was bittersweet because he was coming back
to Colorado, but Scott had never considered he'd be traded.
(01:23):
The Rockies weren't his last stop by any means. He'd
spend time with Cleveland twice, Kansas City, the White Sox, Phillies,
and the Twins, along with many affiliates and independent teams. Eventually,
he retired in twenty fourteen, and Scott and his family
made the Denver area of their permanent home. These days,
Scott travels about every other week working for the Pirates organization,
(01:45):
mainly helping young players on their mental game, a position that,
as you'll hear, would have been very helpful for Scott
when he was fighting to stay healthy and in the game.
Ladies and gentlemen, Scott Ellerton.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Gott traded fired. We're Retired podcast with Susie Warton Scott Ellerton.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
How are you.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I'm doing well good.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It's good to see you too. I caught you at
a good time when you said yes, And you haven't
done an interview in what decades?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It seems like it. Maybe not decades, but it's been a.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Long long time now that you haven't been a player
for a long time. Is it nice to not have
to do interviews?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It is, if I'm being honest.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Oh yeah, no, I get it.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, I'd love to stay in the game. And at
the same time, I love to fly under the radar right,
kind of be unseen and unheard from. And that's kind
of my gig.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, here you are. We're going to go through your
life and dissect like you can't believe.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Let's go. Okay, you know what's so cool about you?
And we just saw each other at the Coloro Sports
Hall of Fame where your daughter was honored as the
high school Athlete of the Year, which is very cool.
And get to bring up the fact that you are
a Lamar product and you are a Colorado through and through, guys,
So tell me a little bit about growing up in
small town Lamar where you were three sport star athlete.
(03:00):
When did you start getting into athletics, and obviously you're
a very large man. When you start growing. That had
to have been probably early on, I would.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Think, as far back as I can remember, is that right? Yeah,
My dad was a basketball coach while I was growing up,
so I spent actually more time in the gym than
I did on the baseball field. And really back then
it was play whatever sport was in season. So we
played on the street football season, we played baseball in
the backyard. That's what we did. Far back as I
(03:28):
could remember. We had a group of kids in the
neighborhood and we we went and played.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
And being in a small town. I know my husband
grew up in Rye, Colorado, so he's like, you played
sports because we didn't have enough people otherwise if you
didn't play.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Sure, yeah, exactly. That was just kind of the expectation.
If you're going to play sports, you're going to play
all of them. I don't know that we were quite
that small in the mar We had a few extra kids.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
But what classification were you when you were there.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
At that point for a but oh, that's when it
was the enrollments were set up. Okay, then, yeah, we
were basically at two A or three A school.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Okay, you did have a lot of kids then, I
mean comparatively speaking to some of the smaller ones, right, undt.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
About just under one hundred in my graduating class.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Okay, oh that's not bad. That's bigger than I thought
it was, all right. Okay, So you are a center
in basketball, which makes sense, quarterback and football, and then
were you always a pitcher with baseball or do you
play other positions as well?
Speaker 1 (04:20):
I think I played three years a shortstop in one
year of first base, okay, yes, and pitched and pitched. Okay,
Hitting's way more fun than pitching. I wish I was
better at that, but that came to an end once
high school was over.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Right, Okay, So how did you start to kind of
hone in on the fact that baseball was going to
be your sport because you did very well in the
other ones, and your team's really good. I mean, you
had three state championships in baseball, runners up a couple
times I think in basketball, and you set all kinds
of records as a quarterback too.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I think that probably became evident when I was about
a junior in high school. I was thrown pretty hard.
I actually came up here to Denver and played for
Mark Johnson at Creek. Okay, I played summer all from Mark.
Started to get some exposure to the pro clubs at
that point, and it was probably between basketball and baseball
at that point. Even though football I was getting some
(05:11):
attention as well, But at the end of the day,
my heart was in baseball and that was where I
was most talented. So that's the path I took.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, how tall were you in high school? Or did
you grow afterwards?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
No? I was six seven sixteen in high school.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Holy cow, Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
That was tall back then. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well it's still tall.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Now, still tall, but I see to eye with a
lot more people than I used to.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Isn't that weird?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
It's wild?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, people are getting taller. I feel like. Yeah. Okay,
So you graduate in nineteen ninety four, and that same
year is when the Astros draft you in the first round.
You're twenty fifth overall. You had a scholarship for college, right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I did. I had signed to go to Stanford. But
at that point, there had never been a high school
first round draft pick pitcher that chose to go to
college and actually did better improve their draft status.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, can't get a whole lot better than twenty five overall.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Probably, Well, No, and I honestly, I knew how my
arm felt. At that point. I was like, you know,
I think there'll be a little more kind to me
in pro ball, more rest between starts, that sort of thing.
And that actually was a significant part of the decision.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Oh I'm sure. Yeah, Okay, So you're eighteen at that
point and you already know your arm is not great.
I mean, no, I shouldn't say not great, but if
you feel like it's hurting at eighteen, you had a
lot of wear and tear before you even got to
the pros.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, you know, as far as far back as I
can remember, my arm would always get sore, and then
as I went along it was more sore and more sore.
Every time, you know, the intensity goes up, velocity goes up,
and the soreness came with it. So that was something
that I dealt with throughout the course of my career.
And then it did start very early.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
What did you do to try and alleviate some of it?
Was it technique? Was it the rehab? And obviously we're
talking this is in the early nineties when they did
and have all of the great technology that we have now.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Sure along the way, I've tested out just about every recovery.
I call them theories because most of them for me
were kind of like band aids. They may have helped
a little bit, but at the end of the day,
I figured out I was going to be a sore
guy and that was just the way. It was something
I had to deal with, and I guess I wouldn't
change anything if I could. Yeah, it'd be great to
(07:25):
have my arm not hurt, But I learned a ton
of things through that over the course of the years.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Well yeah, I mean nineteen years at pro ball you
dealt with that, and then obviously in high school as well.
So I think baseball players sometimes get compared to hockey
players or football players in and they're like, oh, I
mean soccers they're the worst people, always competing there, like
the floppers that don't you know, actually get hurt. But
I mean, I think baseball players they put up with
a lot of pain that people don't know about. And
(07:52):
the season is such a grind with one hundred and
sixty two games, that's a lot.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
It really is, especially for the position players. Yes, and
the guys starting pitchers are you know, they live the
life and right that's what I lived. But unfortunately, most
of the time I was just trying to piece things
together to be able to get out there and give
it my best for the next start. It was a constant.
(08:16):
If I had to describe my career in one word,
it would probably be pain, and that's bad to say,
but that was the overall overall theme. There was lots
of great things that came along with it. Don't get
me wrong, it was it was awesome, but the battle
with the arm was just just the constant.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Wow. Okay, so you go right into the Astro system
once they draft you and you forego college. What was
that like? Because it's so different than when you get
to the pros, which you finally make. You make your
major league debut in ninety eight, so you're twenty two,
so this is four years later, so it's almost four
years three and a half of being in the system.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, that was eye opening. I think the biggest difference
that I noticed immediately was when I when I got
to the Astros complex in Kasemmi, Florida, half the players
were Spanish speaking and Spanish only speaking, and there really
were no translators around. Now there's translators around everywhere, or
you got your phone. We didn't have phones for sure,
(09:15):
so the language barrier there was a huge difference. Being
away from home didn't really bother me that much. Oh interesting, Yeah,
I had travel a lot with Creek in the summers,
so that wasn't really new. We were just a bunch
of dumb young kids, you know, we were eighteen. We
were in college without the class.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Okay, still had some.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Fun, imagine too much, too much for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And then when you go into that role within the system,
whether it be you know, double A, TRIPLEA whatever, are
you starting? Are you in the bullpen? What are you doing?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah? I was. I was a starter all the way through.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
It was probably the only way I survived.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Honestly because of the pain, right exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
I was able to recover, make my next start and
look good enough, I guess on paper to be considered
to go to the big leagues.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Which you did. What do you remember that day? It
was June twentieth, nineteen ninety eight against the Reds and
you were out there for a while. Six and a third.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Six and a third that's a long long albums nowadays.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Right, did you start or were you? You did start?
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay? Right, my Campton had pulled a groin.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Oh Hampton was there.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Hampton was there?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I got called up and they had actually told me
I was only going to make two starts and be
sent back to tria A that day. Probably my most
significant memory would be feeling like calm, cool and collected
in the bullpen, kind of weird, like I should be
really nervous right now, but I'm not. I felt I
felt good, I felt like I belonged. But then as
soon as I got on the astrodome mound and I
(10:44):
raised my glove up to take the sign for my
first pitch, it was just absolutely shaking. That was an
eye opener. I'd go, Okay, this is this is real.
You know, this is the guys that you see hitting
homers on ESPN every night.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yet four earned runs, five hits, and a no decision
notice it.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, I had a lot of those and a lot.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Of losses, right, but still was like sex and a
third for your first start, Like that's huge.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Honestly, it was probably expected back then. That's what that's
true starters did. They went seven hopefully eight. I don't
want to say I was disappointed. I wanted to finish
the seventh That was really my goal for the day
was to get through seven innings. Unfortunately I didn't do that,
but I haven't lost any sleep over it.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Right, And then from there you end up staying with
them and you go to the bullpen, right I did,
And so what's the big difference there? Because I know
there's that starter versus bullpen time, and there's a big
mental difference there.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And Yeah, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Every
time the phone rang, I wanted my name called, regardless
of the situation. That part of it was awesome. The
recovery part was not. I was able to recover for
my first I don't know, let's say three months in
the bullpen, then started going downhill, didn't have the rest time,
(12:00):
and that's really where the where the arm problems started.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And then you have some shoulder surgery. I think, what
after the ninety nine season, is that your first surgery
that you end up having for surgery?
Speaker 1 (12:11):
YEP, I kind of pieced ninety nine together.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
They went to the NLDS that year.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We did ninety nine. The Padres beat us and then
the Braves beat us right in the opening rounds. But
it was able to get through ninety nine. As soon
as the playoffs were over, they called me in and
they they said, we think you have a tear. I
had been medicating all season with a sore shoulder. Back then,
it was you were way more apt to have the
(12:36):
medical staff and just players in general wanted to pitch
no matter what. It's not so much nowadays it's different.
It's probably better. I know it's better for the players.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Yeah, but we you.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Know, we just stayed on the field at all costs.
So that's what I did. And then ended up getting
my first laboram surgery after the ninety nine season.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
And what was that like? Because you're in baseball for
a very long time that point, and the injury part
and being in the training room is such a different
feeling and very difficult mentally. Not only are physically trying
to get back, but then mentally you're with the team,
but not with the team.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Oh yeah, the first one actually was kind of easy.
I make the joke that they just poked four holes
in me and sewed them up and sent me on
my way, because it really didn't feel much different. But
when I came out of surgery, really the following surgeries
were significantly different. But the first one. They I think
it just kind of cleaned things up and hoped I
could get back for the next season, which I did
(13:34):
and was a very successful season.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So that was your best season was two thousand, right?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
It was? Yeah, And I actually started that season on
a rehab assignment, so I didn't have a full season,
but wow, I was fresh again, you know, got things
cleaned up. Yeah, But honestly, by the time that season
was ending, I was already going downhill again. Oh yeah,
it's great, it's great, it's great.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
And back then, Scott, there's no rece Is there anybody
you talked to? Is there anybody that you can have
a conversation with and be like, man, you know, there's not.
And I think now they do such a better job
with that too, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
They really do. At that point, I don't remember there
being a resource.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
So no, it was you don't want to say anything.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Of course not. Yeah, you want to play.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Just bury it inside, right, right, And.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I think, you know, you go in the training room,
you get treatment, and then they know that something's going on,
but it just kind of goes unsaid and they let
you go until you can't go anymore. And I was
wonderful with that. I was absolutely fine with that. Just
let me pitch until i'd need surgery and we'll get
it fixed and I'll hit reseat and go again.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Which you did need surgery again in the next year
in one. That's when you have the biceps injury.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
I think there's too many of them to remember, are there?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
How many surgeries have you had? Do you think?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I had three laboring surgeries, same shoulder, yep, all right, shoulder,
one elbow surgery, a major foot fusion.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Uh oh geez.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
And then in the meantime I got my neck fused
and everybody says it's because I gave up to me homers,
But yeah, collateral damage. But yeah, there's.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Oh man, I was on the.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Table a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah, you were okay. So then July seventeenth, two thousand
and one, you get put on the DL with bicep tendonitis.
So that wasn't a surgery, sorry, that was just a tendonitis, right,
I'm here, that's when you came here. Yes, yeah, so
racking now I know. No, that's okay. So July seventeen,
two thousand and one, you go on the DL for
bicep tendonitis and then literally ten days later. So you're
(15:33):
traded to the Rockies for Pedro Stasio and some cash.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yes, well that was that, Like, that was wild. I
was going to be an Astro for life. I mean
I was all in, that's all I knew. I never
even considered being traded, and I had never seen anybody
get traded while they're on the DL. You know, there
was deadline buzz, not like there is now, but there
was some trade deadline buzz, and Jerry Hunsker, the general manager,
(15:58):
called me and said, well, I got good news and
bad news. Good news is you're going home. Bad news
is you're no longer an Astro. It was just weird.
I didn't know what to think, what to say, And
being injured was probably the toughest part because you don't
want to go to a new team being the hurt guy, right,
And that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
But what was it like to come back to Colorado?
That had to be cool, even though you were on
the DL.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, it really was. I was blind to the fact
that pitching in Colorado was tough. It was never tough
when I was growing up. I don't know what happened.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Is there a different from Lamar to Denver.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
There's a little bit, but not that much. Yeah, you
know what, I just I never knew any better. And
then when I got here on the DL trying to
get healthy again, it again became a monumental challenge. I
was able to get healthy enough to pitch in September
of that season, and then rehabbed all off season, did
(16:56):
everything I could, and then I ended up giving up
about three or four runs to the University of Arizona
back when we played college teams in spring training, and
I knew I was in trouble.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, wow, Yeah, so I forgot about that that they
used to play college teams.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, it was always like our opening opening game and
Ellerton went out there and couldn't get the U of
a out, So it was time to get things checked out.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Wow. So does that when you went to the sky
Socks or was that kind of all mixed in with
there because you were kind of up and down a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That was so I missed all of O two, Okay,
ended up having shoulder surgery that spring training. Missed all
of O two and then three I was on the
up and down rehab assignment, trying to pitch in Colorado
as a flyball pitcher and not healthy. Yeah, so that
made it a struggle to be at home. But overall,
I can't complain about my time here. I really liked
(17:50):
the organization. There's great people there, still great people there
and a lot of the same people. I wish I
would have been way more successful than I was, Oh absolutely,
but it was handy for family. There was always people
at the games, so that was that was great.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
That's cool. So explain to the layman, and I've had
Denny Nagel on the podcast about the difference of pitching
here compared to elsewhere, Like when you came from Houston,
what is it that makes such a difference and how
do you try and fix it? I mean that's the
million dollar question because there's so many guys that have
tried to do that and it's tough.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah. For me, the biggest struggle was the recovery.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Imagine that, oh, yeah we have less air and yeah, my.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Body just constantly hurt. And it wasn't just the arm.
It was you go to sea level and you feel
actually pretty good for a couple of days, so you
hope you pitch in one of those first couple of
games at sea level, but at the same time, while
you're trying to recover, you also have to maintain two
arsenals because when you pitch here, you have to rip
all your off speed pitches. There's no feeling for a pitch.
(18:53):
To get a pitch to move here like you wanted
to move, it's got to be full intent. And then
you go to sea level and everything breaks really easily.
Then the release point is different. So it's a challenge
of the physical challenge, but also the grind of wow,
this is this is gonna be rough. We know it
from day one, and that I think once we landed
(19:16):
on there is no fix for it. It's just something
you deal with. It seems like that's the guys who
have done the best here.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah, well, it's like and Denny I remember him saying,
you know, I wanted to come in here and do
so well, and it just it just didn't happen. I
know Hampton did the same. Everybody comes here wanting to
be the one that goes yep. I got it. I
figured out how to do this sure, and it's hard.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
It really is. When I was here, it was Jason
Jennings had a great season Rookie of the Year, but
then really, I think the toll that it takes on
your body year over year is just extremely challenging.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Absolutely. Wow. All right, So then in June of two
thousand and four, you go to Cleveland. Did you get traded?
Are we on the released from the Rockies?
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yeah? Okay?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Really who was your manager in O four? Was that Clint?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yes? Clint? Yeah, buddy? When I came over and then
and then.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Clint, did Clint call you in when you got released?
Or how?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
It wasn't much of a surprise. They put me out
of my misery. I think I gave up about nine
runs against the Yankees, and the writing was on the wall.
But really the best thing that could have happened for
me and for them, you know, it just wasn't It
wasn't going to work. I got to go to Cleveland.
(20:29):
Mark Schapiro was the general manager, and he called me
and said, we're going to give you three starts at
Buffalo and Triple A, and then we're going to call
you up. And I literally was thinking, Mark, you obviously
have not been watching me pitch because it's rough. But I,
for whatever reason, I remember going to Richmond, Virginia, and
I was just in the it might've been my first
(20:51):
throwing program down there, not even pitching that day, and
I spun a curveball and it had the bite that
I was used to it having, and I knew I
wasn't going to have to go back and figure it
out again next week, So I was able to get
my feet on the ground again. Really enjoyed my time
in Cleveland, had some success there, and was just kind
of able to regain some traction again.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
When you were with Houston, they were in the National League,
So you go National League, National League, then the rest
of your career is in the American League, right, Yes,
So that had to have helped because then you don't
ever have to hit, or did it.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
I would never blame hitting on on anything because hitting
is the best part of the game.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Okay, I know. So it didn't take it much out
of you as far as body wise to be hitting. No, no, no,
Are you a National League purist or do you like
the Okay?
Speaker 1 (21:37):
All right, yeah, me too, A big d fan.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah, even though you me when they change the rules.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yeah, I just love I was. I loved hitting and
I think the strategy involved and I just think.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
It's fascinating your game, absolutely yeah, okay. So you're in
Cleveland for a couple of years, then you become a
free agent and you sign with the Royals for a
couple of years. What happens in in KC.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Well, in order to get to k C, I had
Buddy Bell was the bench coach in Cleveland, so he
had gone from the Rockies to Cleveland to be the
bench coach. Then Buddy got the job in Kansas City,
a managing job, and he was, well, he's probably my
favorite person in baseball.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I love Buddy Bell.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Yeah yeah, yeah, outstanding man, outstanding family. So I signed
with the Royals quick Buddy Bell story. I went out
there to do my physical. It was the first time
I had signed a two year deal, first and only time.
So my wife and I drive to Kansas City. They
do the MRI. I go in the doctor's office and
they put it up on the little screen and the
(22:42):
doctor starts to kind of turning his head and I
know how my shoulder feels. And he looks at the
trainer and he says, we're gonna have to talk about this.
So I knew I was I was in trouble because
if you fail physical, your toast. Nobody else is gonna
watch you either. I went out to the parking lot,
I called Buddy. Buddy used fifteen or twenty expletives probably,
and he said, I'll call you back, and he called
(23:05):
me about five minutes later and he said, we're good.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
So, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah, Buddy just wanted you to leave it all out
on the field. That's really all he cared about. He
obviously wanted to win, but if he knew guys left
everything on the field, he would support them.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
He was a big character guy. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Absolutely, I owe a lot to Buddy Bell, for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
And that's funny how it works with pro sports is
you know you've got your ability, but it also helps
who you know, and those coaching trees, no matter where
they are, whether they're a position coach or a head
coach or a manager, that can definitely help further guys
careers and make them a whole lot longer than they
would have been otherwise.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Yeah, it really does. And I think it was more
like that back then because rosters were constructed based on
more of the human part of the game versus now
they're essentially Yeah, they're constructed by the computer. For me,
there's a balance to that I'm not against the analytics.
I'm pretty well versed in it now.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Right, Yeah, Now they've been coaching for several years.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Yeah, right, But back then, it was much more about
how does this team fit together? How is this group
going to work as a unit. Fortunately, I think I
was a decent teammate along the way and worked hard
and that kept me around.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
And that was huge for Buddy and for Clint. Do
we have the right people that make this clubhouse work?
Because that was super important because there were guys that
would come in and out and you're like, oh, I
mean even as the media, we can see the guys
that you're like, Wow, this guy is not helping this
atmosphere whatsoever? Right exactly, they kind of went away, right.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
The most successful teams generally have the best chemistry. Yes,
there's exceptions to that, but at the end of the day,
we've seen so many uber talented teams that fall flat,
you know, they fall short in it, and it's really
because there's not any any chemistry there. Nobody's pulling for
the other guy, and so that still matters a lot
(25:02):
to Oh.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Absolutely, Who were some of your most favorite teammates? Were
they more pitchers or position players or a mix of both.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I would say a mix of both, and then I
probably name all pictures.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Could you kind of hang out with your group more
than you do everybody else? Yeah, and the position players
think the pictures are weird, right.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
They are? They are. Mike Sweeney used to call us kickers.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
It's like the special teams. You're like the special teams exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Let's see.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I still see heard his name in a long time, Yeah, Mike.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Yeah, he was a great guy. Yeah, he was the
type of guy that I couldn't stand in the beginning,
literally couldn't stand the guy before. I was thinking, there
is nobody on the planet that is this friendly and
nice all the time, like I see through it. But
this guy was the same every single.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Day, so genuine Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
One of the greatest teammates of all time and a
great player as well.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Yeah, that's so funny. Who else that you stay in
touch with now that are part.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Of your try So I stay in touch with Billy Wagner,
who was a year ahead of me coming through the
minor leagues with the Astros. A guy named Jay Powell,
longtime reliever sinkerballer played here with the Rockies, and I
played with him in Houston, position player Billy Spires, longtime
utility man, Doug Henry, relief pitcher. That's probably the core
(26:24):
group of guys.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Yeah, I don't keep in touch with a ton of guys,
but I still cross paths with a lot of them.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Oh well, and you were on so many different teams,
we had to have met a lot.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Oh yeah. Yeah. My phone's full of numbers that are
probably not anymore. Yeah, yeah, but that's okay. I mean,
it's still good to run into guys still being in
the game. And I actually ran across cc Sabathia a
couple of years ago now at the Area Code Games.
His son and my son were there, and yeah, it's
always fun to see those guys and kind of relive
(26:56):
the glory days.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Absolutely. Yeah. All right, So then after the Royals you
go back to Cleveland and then you have a little
stint with the White Sox and the Phillies, like you
kind of continued on, you hang it on, getting those
nineteen years in and almost ten in the pros. You're
very clear about saying it's almost because I said ten,
and you're like, no, almost ten.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
No, that that's a special number. And I didn't get there,
and that's okay, But I don't want to say I
have ten years in the big leagues because ten's the
magic number and I didn't get it.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, let's see back to Cleveland, semi healthy, stopped playing
after that year, had a big foot surgery, thought I
was done, went out and lived on our farming ranch
in eastern Colorado, started playing basketball and doing all the
things that I wanted to do while I was playing
and wouldn't let myself. Pretty Soon my foot started feeling good.
(27:47):
I had lost weight, and I was like, well the
wheel start turning.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Of course, I think I can still do this.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Yeah, exactly. I don't have that feeling anymore. Yeah's wice actually,
So I got back in shape and Buddybell gave me
an opportunity with the White Sox.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, he was the farm director at that point. I
went and pitched in Charlotte for about six weeks.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
And how old are you at this point, Scott?
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Probably thirty five?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Okay, all right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
I couldn't get from the bullpen mount to the mound
very well after about a month, and the foot was hurting. Yeah,
so they cut me loose and then I had one
more go round. I ended up throwing a bullpen. Josh
Bard caught me out here in a little baseball facility.
Ruben Amara was in town. Somebody was accepting award. Ruben
(28:36):
was in town and he said, yeah, I'll watch you
throw a bullpen. Well, it was like a metal shed
and it was super loud. I was probably throwing like
eighty three eighty four, but it sounded sound good. Two
nighty three. So I ended up spending a year in
Tripaa with Lehigh Valley. Had more fun that year than
(28:57):
I had had in baseball for a long time.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
The first month was not that much fun because they
had a couple of chances to call up a starter,
and I was pitching really well. They didn't call up
a starter, so the writing was on the wall. My
kids were young and we we just enjoyed the summer.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
So the whole family go with you.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
They did, yep, they let's see. They went to Charlotte
with me, and then they went to Lee High Valley
with me. We were kind of the traveling circus, but
it was fun.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I'm assuming you rented in all these places because you
always had your place here okay.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Right, yeah, we've definitely rented.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
The kiss of death in professional sports is buying a house.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Oh yeah, we bought one in Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Kansas City.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Yeah, that'd work very well. Had a two year deal.
I thought i'd be there for You're like, yeah, yeah,
bingo exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Oh man, okay, and you finish up. Let's see in
twenty thirteen, you have something with the Twins. Is that
something is lights.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Something is really quick?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
They had a whole bunch of guys who had like
minor surgeries in the off season, and they signed me
as kind of the insurance policy. Those guys stayed healthy
through the real early spring and they released me like
record time and early spring training.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Now do you get paid for that?
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Though?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
If you didn't play any games, you don't.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
No, nobody gets paid in spring training. But that was
that was all right. I was just trying to exhaust
every ounce of everything that I had, So I went
to sugar Land and played independent ball after I got
released by the Twins' Sugarland Sugarland, Texas. It's okay, I
believe the Astros Triple A A Phillies, Oh okay, yeah,
I was in the Atlantic League actually rented a really
(30:33):
cool house in Sugarland. Had a great experience. It was
a bunch of old guys like me who were just
kind of trying to hang on, kind of trying to
get back to affiliated ball. But we really really had
a fun summer.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
I got to uh exhaust, everything went out on my terms.
I actually was supposed to pitch a couple of nights
in the future. Somebody went down and I told the manager,
you know what, I'm ready to do this. So I
called my wife real quick and I said, Hey, I'm
gonna pitch tonight. This is going to be it. And
she gathers up the kids, comes to the stadium and
I don't even know how many innings I threw, but
(31:07):
ended up striking out the last guy and walking off,
and really haven't had any second thoughts since.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Oh my gosh, your last pitch was a strikeout and
you walked off and you're done.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
I was done. Yeah, wow, happily done.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Holy cow. That's and not many people get to do that.
Most of professional athletes, it has decided for them.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
You don't get to decide, right, Yeah, it was decided
in independent ball. I mean I got to decide an
independent ball something if that really counts.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Sure of course it does. Why not?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yeah, depends who you asked.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
And then your family got to see you, and it
just got to be a that's a cool moment. That's
like a movie moment. It is Scott, that's cool. Yeah,
that's really cool. Okay. So then that next January you
get on with Pittsburgh as a coach.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
It was actually or was it sooner than that?
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Okay, just gotten done with Sugarland. My wife said, you
know you're getting a job after Like when I told
her I was ready to retire, she said, you know
you're getting a job, right, I said yeah, because I
had been semi retired a couple of times living on
the farm.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Did you need something to do or did she not
want you there?
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Both? I needed something to do, Okay, for sure. I
love the farming lifestyle. I love the physical labor, but
there was just something missing still. And then that year
in Lehigh Valley, where I was thirty seven years old,
sitting in the bullpen with all these young guys, I
was the guy who said I would never coach. I'm
going to right off into the sunset, and I'm tired
(32:32):
of this headache. I enjoyed sitting in the bullpen helping
the other guys more than I did pitching that year.
So that kind of propelled me into the coaching world,
and it's been a great way to try to give
back help these guys in their journey. At this point,
I rarely instruct anybody on pitching mechanics or stuff like that.
It's more mentality and just off the field stuff life
(32:56):
in general.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, So you're that person that you needed. Yeah, fact,
and seriously.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I might have needed three or four of them.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
That's cool though, Scott. So did you kind of create
your own position or did they have it for you
when you started?
Speaker 1 (33:13):
So I was a pitching coach for a couple of years, Okay,
at the complex for a year, and then I was
a Florida State League pitching coach. Then I had the
rehab pitchers for two years, which was I was qualified
because of the number of surgeries I had very experienced, right. Yeah,
not because I knew what I was doing, but I
had been through it so much.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
He'd been in their shoes.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Yeah, And fortunately I was able to work with a
great pet there. So I was kind of the mental
side of it, and he was a physical side of it,
and it was really fun a couple of years doing
the injury thing, and then I actually asked if I
could have this special assistant gig that they had Jamie Carroll,
Oh yeah, famous Rocky. Yes, Kevin Young and Grady Little
(33:56):
were special assistants to player development and they didn't have
any body on the pitching side. And I've raised my
hand and said, can I do that?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Oh? Nice?
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Yeah, And That's what I've been doing ever since.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Oh that is so cool. It is to be able
to write your own ticket like that, to be in
a spot where you know you can make a difference
and do what you want to do. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
And watch my kids grow up and be able to.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Watch your kids grow up. Yeah, so you're not there,
you're not traveling with them all the time, Like how
much do you end up working with them?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
I've been essentially a week on, week off all season
for the last eight years or oh wow, something like that. Okay, yeah,
so I go to an affiliate for a week and
I come home for a week or I now I'm
going to the University of Georgia, University of Arizona, chasing
the kids around. It's been fun. I've I've really missed
(34:44):
very few of the kids' events.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
That's cool.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yeah, lots of travel, but it's it's been fun.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
And so you're just working with the affiliates for Pittsburgh.
You don't do you do any of the major league
guys or just the.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
I go to major League camp, Major leage spring training,
and then I usually actually just visit the big leagues
once when they come to Colorado.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Oh wow, nice.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Yeah, the minor leagues is way better for coaches. You
pull up to the clubhouse door, you know, you walk
ten feet near in the clubhouse versus parking security. Oh yeah,
you know, all the big cities. I'm more the small
town guy. The development piece, to me is a lot
of fun to see what these kids are when we
(35:24):
draft them and just watch them develop and blossom into.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Hopefully majorly hopefully or just good people in general.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Yeah, that's huge. All right, So quick catch up on
the kids, because, as I mentioned, we had honored Chloe
as the high School Female after the Year for twenty
twenty four with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, but
she is no longer in high school. She was done
in December and she's already starting her college career at
Georgia in volleyball, and your son's also doing sports in college.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Yeah, Chloe graduated in December. She had a two week
summer in winter to Colorado, and yeah, she's she's almost
done with her first semester at Georgia already, which is wild.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
Yeah, she loves it. She takes after my wife, so
she works ahead in class. She's organized, great time management,
and she loves the volleyball part of it. She's been
a volleyball junkie since as far back as.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
I can remember, right, and then your son.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
My son's at University of Arizona just finished Tommy John
rehab like every other young picture, it seems like. Unfortunately,
he actually hurt his UCL in his final game of
his high school career, which was tough, So he went
into Arizona hurt. We tried the PRP injection, wasted a
year because that didn't work, then had TJ, and now
(36:43):
is basically a junior trying to earn some innings at Arizona.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Do you work with him? It's probably different when it's
your kid. I mean, I've got kids that are in
their twenties and trying to relay my experience to them
is in one ear out the other, but then somebody
else does them. I'm like, that's exactly what I've been
telling you.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Does he listen to you? With everything you've gone through?
Speaker 1 (37:02):
He didn't listen for like twenty years and ten months.
Didn't want to hear what I had to say. And
that was okay. I mean, everybody ever played with said
their kid doesn't listen to him. Yeah, and I think
that's just dads in general. So I was okay with that.
I would make recommendations he didn't want to hear it. Well,
going through this whole process trying to get his feet
(37:22):
back on the ground, he finally said, well what do
you think, dad? And I literally I was thinking, Wow,
pressure's on, right because I got to get this right.
So over the last two months is the first time
I've really worked with him, and so far, so good.
Things are trending upward. But yeah, yeah, it's been nice.
You never know what the results of surgery are going
(37:45):
to be, but having a good relationship with him has
always been the most important thing for me. I don't
care if he plays baseball or not, you know, I
want to have a good relationship with my kids, and
this has actually been a really good opportunity to further
that along.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Oh that's cool. Okay. So last question for you that
I ask all of my guests, and it's perfect with
what you do right now with your job, is you've
gone through lots of ups and downs through your career.
What do you tell these guys or will you tell
your kids or anybody that's going through those rough patches
of how you keep moving forward? How did you keep
moving forward? And what do you tell them as far
(38:23):
as keeping that mentality going. It's a loaded question. Oh absolutely,
And I don't know it's circumstantial, but there's always kind
of things that you can go to.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Honestly, most of my conversations in my job center around this,
I bet, and now I don't have a good answer
for it. They let me work with these guys, and
I don't have a good answer. It really is individual.
But I think one of the biggest things that I
try to stress with them is finding freedom. And usually
most of these guys can't find freedom in their professional career.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
What do you mean by that?
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Just the little kid in the backyard having fun again
literally like game fun, anymore, and usually the answer is no,
and finding that little kid in the backyard who still
is at the plate with the bases loaded. See, I'm
talking about hitting again. That you got to find that kid,
and you usually try to peel back the layers. See.
(39:16):
It's hard to tell what we might get into, but
those are really the most rewarding things for me, and
hopefully I've helped a few guys along the way. But
finding freedom in the game again is big.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
And that's big I think in any job. I mean,
anybody that's miserable in their job, say, you know, are
you having fun? And if you're not, it's time to
figure out how to have fun again, right, or find
something that gives you that joy and freedom right right.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
These guys are, almost to a man, very hard workers.
That's part of the reason they got there, absolutely, and
the answer to them has always been work harder, and
they end up pounding their head against the wall. And
I don't know how many give up conversations I've I've
had with guys like you're going to figure out that
you care so much that you realize the best thing
(40:03):
I can do is just let it all go go
out there. This is all easier said than done. Oh obviously,
but when they find that, it's just so cool to
watch it. Yeah, they smile again. Yeah, we haven't seen
him smile for months, and all of a sudden, there
he is out on the mountain smiling.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
What if someone had come to you a few years
into your career and and told you that when you
were I know, it was a totally different time and
people just didn't talk about it, but sure were you
able to find that kid? You did? I think you
did at some points in your I did.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Yeah, Actually my best seasons two thousand, I was coming
off surgery and I was not pitching well. I did
the rehab assignment thing. I got called up to Houston
and I was not good, and actually I called my
dad and he said, just do like you did in
high school. Like, okay, Dad, that's not this is a
little bit different game than we were playing in high school.
(40:55):
But literally that was it. Like go back to confidence
and conviction and believe that you're you're the right man
for the job. I went out that night and threw
every pitch as hard as I could, and it all
worked out because I found freedom again. Yeah. So yeah,
it happened to me numerous times, most of the time
coming off injury and that's cool.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
And your dad, so both of you were in the
Chassa Hall of Fame. That's cool, it's cool. How was
your dad in there?
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Coach basketball for a long long time? Okay, and then
was an administrator for ever.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
At Lamar Ohlamar. Okay. All right, well, Scott, this was
really fun. Thank you for coming in. How was your
first interview in over how many years?
Speaker 1 (41:37):
It was great? I really much.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Longer than you've ever had an interview, probably.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Absolutely, absolutely, I can take about ten years off.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Now, right, Yeah, you don't have to do anymore for
a very very very long time. You said, you know what,
I did a forty five minute podcast, and I'm good.
I'm out.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
That's right. That's right now. If it's if you come
calling again, I will do.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Well.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
I try and make it easy. I just you know,
lay out the breadcrumbs and you just follow along.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
All right.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Hey, best of luck with everything, and thank you again.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Thank you very much, Susie.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
Thanks so much, Scott. New episodes of Cut, Traded, Fired,
Retired are released on Tuesdays on nearly every podcast platform.
Get social with the podcast on Twitter and Instagram at
ctfur podcast, and check out the website ctfurpodcast dot com.
I'm your host, Susie Wargen. To learn more about me,
visit susiewargin dot com. Thanks for listening, and until next time,
(42:28):
please be careful, be safe, and be kind. Take care
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