Interview Two: Al Leiter
I NTE RVI EW TWO AL Then the New York I l~i I Mets finally clinched W W the National League V Wild Card last fall, a reporter for ESPN cornered ace left-hander Al Leiter in the...
...sivr...
...But I think it's a quality that can be nurtured...
...enforcing sensitivity...
...and When I first bmh in, with theyankees...
...from dealing with people doing better than he was and deciding the i ! THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR . June 2001 only reason was that they played the game...
...LEITER: Well, partly that was dictated by the nature of his job---he was a merchant seaman, shipped out on big container ships, and he was gone for six months every year...
...Much as you think you're right and they're wrong, the alternative is dealing with a rectangular box six feet under...
...New Jew's rnm and more a when Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford...
...You got kids, don't worry about it, they'll be okay...
...But that lud standing by the sideline over there, leaning on the fence, is watching every move we make...
...When people tell me they have a strained relationship with their parents, my advice is: Get over it...
...ly do enjoy my privacy...
...Kids were misfits, kids got picked on...
...You can't elevate a kid's self-esteem before he earns genuine THE AMERIt confidence...
...It was a pretty good deterrent...
...Tm As a pitcher, how important is it to be able to throw inside...
...Thee am a lot of athletes there n-J.C Warn, Steve Lrgent, Jim Bunning Then again...
...LEITER: Exactly...
...Football, basketball...
...LEITER: Of course not...
...So it's really the courage, the tenacity that makes the difference...
...Because for me &at's one of the i d y "Mr...
...TA2 For instance...
...k , p e o p k ~ ~ ~ last roo long that wo many rurts * being scad, so now theyh ding the h@er mke wme m l e d the phyhg 6cldWn, if they want to makt a re* man+d -, they shculd look at putting a litdc trarhackinthehittcr.Somchi#e~usedto live in abdute trar.Whcn ynu in the tm a guy thrwlring 90-rnph-plus p u kmwit~hurt,bneonbone.wyou'd be~.Today~uysdiveoucavti&pk withoutanykofthathenetinride...
...LEmR: All that showing off and trash talking...
...Naaah...
...I was just talking about that with [Me# broadcaster] Tom Seaver...
...But is that something that 8 lingers, coming so close and not winning it all...
...And he was never going to be a guy that played the game...
...I ms the y o u n w w twin sister ~ n s 17 minutes oldel~and there wzur't a whole lot of guidance from my fither...
...I know people have their own problemsmmy brother just went through a divorcembut I look at my own kids and I think, "Are you kidding me...
...TA& Whce'd your own work ethic come hm...
...Think it was that way this finny out6h and act like a 10-year-old...
...LEITER: (smiles) As a matter of fact, there's a handful of guys on this team that talk quite a bit about things other than golfing, fishing, gambling...
...TAS: You always hear talk about the mental side of the game...
...He ended up leaving my mom when I was a freshman, and frankly by then it was kind of a relief...
...Yeah...
...We'= going to work on your wing...
...But teams have their little groups, and I have a pretty cohesive core group--Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile and Robin Ventura and Johnny Franco and Dennis Cook~we talk a lot about this business of people not taking responsibility, especially parents...
...So many people these days like to blame their problems on their screwed-up childhoods...
...1 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR . June 2001...
...I know here are thwe a t h k m who sayMI'rn not anpne's role model...
...TAS: I can't imagine that'd be much of a problem...
...I i n m x ~ a n y o n e a t h i c f , b u t I ' d e t h a c d h a w set dalatm bek somwhere...
...That's the unwritten rule: you don't &ow the other guy up...
...LEITER: It's all about making parents more responsible...
...it's not ping to be toletated...
...I'm thinking of being a T-ball coach fbr my local Little League...
...LEITER: Look, at this level, pitchers' physical stuff is generally about the same...
...So he'd put his head down and sprint around the bws just to keep the pitcher from getting evcn angrier...
...TAS: So what's this talk about a possible political future...
...I politicians almost as much in People mag- TAS: Youk saying you don't have the thought, "What is that old farr still playing zine these days as in the Wahington Post...
...If I'd come in mentally unready, that would be another story...
...Learn to perform mentally and physically, then you can dominate...
...TAS: So you don't buy into all the talk blaming the shootings on these kids getting bullied...
...But then I was drafted by the Yankees~the sandwich pick, as compensation for losing 1Keggie Jackson to the Angels that year--so I ended up taking the bonus...
...It turns out he used to come to my games and I never knew it...
...Someone's having a bad run, four or five ;iiii!~iil;iiii;~iiii,i finished with baseball, the politically conservative Leiter could end up as the Republican senator from New Jersey Harry Stein, author of the book How I Accidentally Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (And Found Inner Peace), recently stopped by to chat with Leiter about baseball and life thereafter...
...TAS: This goes far beyond baseball...
...That's what ! look for in a guy's face, because you really can see it, that terror of failure that almost guarantees it'll happen...
...Me, Piazza, Francq man-by *IS, I should haw a d* with fiom New Jersey is you have to buy media Vmtura have a drink--and the next day a lxidkse and a suit and tie and flipping in New York and Philadelphia...
...A hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money...
...we all have some kind of breaking ball, a little slider or curve ball, we all throw some kind of change-up...
...I haven't seen a girl that looks It him to be god-like and ~~ "I'm a l x d d pbyer, people get excited like Mike Piazza yet-have you...
...LEITER: Are you kidding me...
...And at least in some ways...
...He preached that for the most part people who made it in the world were a bunch of lying jerks...
...Bitter...
...It goes to how people behave on a battlefield, in certain jobs, anywhere where stress is a major element, any situation that demands character...
...would I want that to continue with the same intensity afier I retire...
...TAS: Right, about Judith Wallerstein's study...
...MlER Yeah...
...Being I'm not one who believes wery kid should get a trophy...
...I can't even begin to imagine being away from my wife and kids six months and then coming back and trying to fit back into the family...
...My dad couldn't handle it...
...But if a gun hasn't been stored properly and a little kid finds it at the bottom of the underwear drawer, Dad, you're going to jail...
...LacER: 1'1 be the last guy you see coming over to hug him...
...I'm not one of those people who believes every kid should get a trophy...
...You do that, you're absolutely going to see a change for the better, across the board...
...Then there's the acceptance of divorce...
...Hey, in the eal wotld your boss doesn't paise you just ˆor existing...
...I won't be a jerk about it, but tomorrow we're going to mk about what it'U take to make damn sue it doesn't happen next time...
...Morns and dads just aren't around enough...
...Pawno should be the role model...
...my Do you think the day will come when d wys the d has changed...
...TAS: Isn't that seasonal...
...p u read "Mike Piazza and several fellow some papers amwd and m a t a cornputLmBR: (laughs) Maybe I'd just to stick Mees players were down at Union Blue er...
...We had that when I was in school...
...There were guys like Don Drysdale and Bob who behe a batter even cook a swing, might put one in his car, just to keep him fiom getting any ideas...
...We'll have to see if we can squeeze in our six-year-old for Chuck E. Cheese next Thursday...
...I'm the one not doing my job, and I've got to & something about it...
...As adults...
...But I also knew I'd done my job...
...LEITER: My father died my first year in the big leagues, 61 years old...
...I If they want to maLe a d y meaningful change they I I should look at putting a little fear back in the hitter...
...fAS: What you're d y dkhg abut is personal accountability...
...Lately there has been talk that after he is cheated the team, I hadn't cheated the fans...
...I Someone comes in der a bad game and now we haw all thtse rule givcs you a pat and says "You'll get 'em next time...
...I'd k to ask thc guy, I around the game gets in your blood...
...I real- these 21-p-olds and Jlink...
...But we're going to work at it...
...Evm now, I'll generally hit 11 to 15 guys a year...
...I hadn't consecutive starts, and you can see it starting to work on him internally.You see it in the look on his face and the way he walks...
...So he didn't want to suddenly reappear in my life when I was being hailed as this upandcoming 1Kon Guidry...
...I'm not a Rhodes Scholar like Bill B e 1 signed right out of high school and am d 3 8 or 40 crcdier short of my B.A...
...fkding my ten-monthsld son, and wys, And why should 1 have to give it up...
...nat,andhde;rypoliticsis...
...to own he inside part of the plate...
...Fmkly I firs reaction k"Heym...
...I mean, I absolutely support the right to bear arms...
...TAS: It sounds like you weren't close to him...
...US: Charles Barkley said that...
...Yeah...
...Now it is just the opposite...
...The qucstion is...
...I'll get 'ern next t i m d mentally and physically I'm better prepared...
...locker room and see a 35-year-old...
...Leiter paused, then replied soberly, "You know, you're right, I guess we can't...
...six bays...
...TA& Well, if you don't do politics, what do you think you might do...
...it's not easy to giw up...
...The game used to be a lot more hard-nod...
...I used to love !&hall and I can't men mtch it anymore...
...we all know it:You fccl best when you've done a job well...
...Senator Jon] Coninwhat'd hc spend, $60 million...
...After he left home, he never wanted anyone to think he was taking credit for my success...
...So if someone else gcts shelled...
...TAS: A relief...
...When someone got between my ears, what I know about 8 fA& You dk a lot about cynicism, the loss comes up to me in a murant while I'm doing this job, you can't even hold my jock:' 1 of innocence...
...I want to be there...
...LECTOR: Hey, Charles, I understand what yauk saying...
...TAS: A really complicated character...
...So my mother was everything, the rock.You know, I think about the times she was trying to be supportive--trying to help me with my homework, which she couldn't do, because she'd only had limited schooling herself...
...And even when they are, they schedule appointments for kids like they're little businessmen...
...But it's not Like 111 the changes in baseball are for the best...
...I saw this sto W on, I think, "20/20" recently about the impact of divorce on children...
...TAS: Obviously, you don't buy into all this self-esteem stuff...
...He was just too embarrassed...
...When the parents separate, it's like one big flow chart of foul-ups, it messes them up for life...
...I know all Cafk last night...
...IEIlER You've go...
...4'W~th what 1 public eye a while, that's not attractive...
...Maybc he cries and he's upset because he didn't get the ice cream after the game...
...that still exism...
...I'm with my fim- we'll see a woman in pro ball...
...Back then we called it childhood...
...Don't just cry in your beer...
...My father was a proud guy...
...He's either a real, but I think it - imptam...
...Evidently the guy raised avrtahundddmmddolbrs ro win a p b that pays $7,000...
...Heading into his 15th Major League season, the affable, outspoken Leiter has established himself as one of the top pitchersmand best interviews~in the game...
...But then I have to stop myself and think LEITEII: No...
...Well, you know what...
...Well, guess what...
...I'm getring paid a lot of money I'd becttt make sure I'm worth it...
...TAS: There's actually something kind of admirable about that...
...WTER From my fjrnily...
...your belt, your haircut...
...Parents have to be not only more involved, but more aware...
...Died of asphyxiation...
...Now it's your job to bring the passion and the dwirc...
...But as one of a hundred...
...These days...
...Twenty pars ago, when a guy hit a home run, he just knew he'd automaticaily get drilled the next timt up...
...Luis Sojo hits a little grounder up the middle in the ninth and the Yankees win ua r the World Series...
...I'm a grown TAR Of coune the pmblem with tunning news gets vorted...
...TA$: I was listening before to some of the guys in the clubhouse talking about the school shootings...
...Plus...
...How'd you become a billionaire Democrat ing...
...Instal, 1 get to edke my ciwies oE, put on to WNJP-TV on cable...
...rn ~ook at wew J~ I In the real world your ba& doesn't praise you for existing...
...community, d special guy...
...Used to be that when someone got divorced, it was like they committed a crime...
...I'd never want to be president, THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 9 2001 61 that would scare me...
...LEITER: I saw I had to do more with myself, and ended up really getting into schoolwork, into all the accelerated programs~ AP physics, AP calculus--and had this dream of being a mechanical engineer...
...It wasn't a story I w s 21 years old and I'd look m n d the easier call if not fbr all the gwsip.You see unless they got busted...
...Ever see the writers in a locker room a h a game...
...TAS: How does this relate to the shootings...
...1 always kncw I had to do mom than a lot of people 8 I was ping to make anything of my life...
...that...
...TAS: You think it's hurting the gamc...
...LEITER: Oh, yeah...
...l bow you hate this,but...
...If a guy hitr a home run and starrs break dancing around the bases...
...even what's clearly mot LBICER It5 more than that...
...in this business...
...TAS: Frustrated...
...She gave our home such stability...
...It's absolutely insane...
...or an egomaniac...
...TAS: That was a terrific run you guys had last season...
...LEITER: Oh, a few years ago I mentioned to a columnist that when my playing days are up I might like to run for the Senate from New Jersey...
...EITER: Absolutely...
...Not on purpose, but just to tell batters "Hey, you're not diggmg in...
...In the end, I got accepted at Northwestern, Stanford, and the University of Florida...
...LEITER: Exactly...
...It was a full second before the pitcher broke into a gargantuan grin...
...Even in the liede crrwn wfierr wlivcinFloridathueatrd h e stwies about the mapr ~ k i c k ~ t i r w n m n e a c - tors...
...Didn't you ever get into a fist fight...
...I've given this a lot of thought...
...fAS: Isn't that much Iws m e in other sports...
...TAS: Are your parents still alive...
...I also thmk about the drawbacks...
...Asthma...
...He'S already beaten...
...Sure, there are a handful of guys who rise above the rest of usmClemens, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux--but the rest of us are all in that 88 to 92 mph range...
...LflTLR: Or maybe something in broadcashnethe Fox gig or the ESPN gig where you wouldn't have to do it every day...
...And not only every move, your shoes, your socks...
...He'd show up off and on, and maybe we'd go for a burger, but he'd never really be comfortable...
...Wcll...
...LEITER: (laughs) That too...
...All that's doing is endorsing mediocrity...
...wnryb*~rry is that I'd be a loose cannon...
...Now I'm that old & and I look at For someone who's already been in the UYEk Maybe some of h . W e 1 see...
...Mayk it m P a totally accuratc picme, TAS: It does seem an incredibly tight who's not for tax cub...
...instincts of a politician...
...TA& well,politir~isexpabout that...
...He wasn't about to make it seem like everything was suddenly okay...
...TAS: ...Women...
...LaTOR: Absolutely...
...When my slider's not working and they're beating the cap out of rn-o amount of feelgood talk is going to make it all right...
...There's nothing wrong with saying, "Son, you wc~n't vwy gmd today...
...They're waiting for you to ma up...
...My father had been a drill sergeant in the army, so he wouldn't think twice about cracking you one...
...LEITER: Actually, for me it went away pretty ,~ fast...
...If the umpire evcn susperrs you might have intended to rhrow at a guy, even if p u didn't hit hun, you get tosed Ctom the garne...
...I'm going to throw b m the inner third of the plate...
...Iˆ you're thtPwing inside, and the ump thinks you'^ looking at the batter in a way that is not warm and t k y , that's all it takts...
...I NTE RVI EW TWO AL Then the New York I l~i I Mets finally clinched W W the National League V Wild Card last fall, a reporter for ESPN cornered ace left-hander Al Leiter in the champagne-soaked clubhouse.The Mets had been shaky down the stretch, so as they headed into the post-season, the reporter asked what surely seemed the world's safest question: "How will you be able to win in October, when you haven't in September...
...I don't want somconc to console me...
...And it would be a lot Billy Martin went out...
...I don't want to visit my kids...
...Democratic state...
...like that the media procectcd Mickey Mantle...
...Them were sewn kids...
...It was a hot August day, and he drove up to this little place he had in Brattleboro, Vermont, and had an attack so bad he couldn't get to the inhaler...
...either...
...LEITER: After he died, my oldest brother went to his place to clean out his stuff, and on his refrigerator there was this poster of me from the Yankee magazine that he'd picked up at the stadium, and he'd drawn this beautiful border around it...
...Looking at things through his eyes, it must have been tough: Here he's got a son he adores and has the possibility of being a college kid, and maybe a big-league ballplayer, and I'm out screwing it up...
...How important, really, is it...
...TAR Based on his awn experience...
...If you got ripped off as a kid, do something about it...
...That was a bad moment...
Vol. 34 • June 2001 • No. 5
