Most of them (1) are so ridiculously nervous. A lot of times we’ll have a long top half of the seventh, and they’re just standing there. The longer it goes, the tighter they get.
Jeff Gordon stands out (2). He was atrocious. Meat Loaf was great; he talked very knowledgeably about teams in the league.
We’ve (3) done it a couple of times in the 14th inning. By then they’ve been getting after it for four or five hours, so they’ll listen to just about anything.
Umpires have become very confrontational. They’ll rip off their mask and run to the dugout and make a big show of it. I think that’s totally uncalled for.
My first ejection (4) was on a Mark Grace checked swing. Greg Gibson was the third base umpire, and Gracie went back to the dugout and was barking, but he wasn’t swearing. Well, Gibson wouldn’t take his eyes off Grace to the point where I thought he was missing action on the field.
He was waiting for Mark to say the magic words so he could throw him out, and ultimately he did. So I went out to argue. I just told him: “A good umpire looks the other way.” He said: “I’ll have you know that I’m one of the best umpires in the game.” That’s when I went overboard: “Oh, really?”
Another time I got thrown out by the second-base umpire, Marvin Hudson. There was a pickoff play and he called our guy out and the replays showed later that he was blatantly safe.
It was a hot day game, about 95 degrees and humid. So the first thing I did when I went out to argue was point up and say: “Marvin, it’s awful hot out here. Are you sure you’re not having sunstroke, because you’re too good to miss that call. “He says: “Put your hands down.” And then I blew up: “I’ll put my hands wherever I want . . .”
I thought it (5) went well. Jim and I met in a hotel room in Mesa and we talked about baseball in general and the Cubs specifically for the better part of a couple of hours. I was pretty sure they were already sold on their guy, but I appreciated that he took the time to listen to me.
Is Lou [Piniella] the right guy? That will be determined at the end of each season.
Mark DeRosa plays the game the right way. He does so many things that go unnoticed. As far as paying money to watch a guy play, I think Felix Pie is super-exciting. I keep waiting for him to pull the ball down the right-field corner just to see him run. As someone who never could run that well, guys who run fast are very intriguing.
I think I could have done a lot more. For most former players, that’s standard procedure. I might have wasted an entire season of at-bats being stubborn and trying to hit home runs. And I think I could have been a better catcher. Ron Hassey had the greatest line ever: “By the time you figure out what you’re supposed to do as a catcher in the big leagues, you can’t do it anymore.”
There were some pitchers who didn’t like to throw to me because I was demanding. We had some sissies who would get into the fifth inning with the lead and you’d see them cranking their throwing arm and looking at the pitching coach. I didn’t have much respect for guys like that.
It took a while to learn the timing of things (6). Back then. I’d start to tell a 15-minute story with two outs and two strikes on a hitter.
He (7) insinuated to me that not only was he done for that game, he was done for the remainder of the series. I had to talk him out of making that declaration. Unfortunately Curt didn’t have his filter working that night and he said some things that reflected badly on me. But that’s part of the gig as a manager.
It’s an awesome memory, something I’m very proud of. But it’s only part of my life.
Craig Counsell still calls me Skipper, but most of [my former players] call me BB.
(1)-Guest conductors for the 7th-inning stretch.
(2)-He called the Cubs’ home “Wrigley Stadium.”
(3)-He and broadcast partner Len Kasper.
(4)-While managing the Arizona Diamondbacks.
(5)-Interview with Cubs general manager Jim Hendry for the managerial vacancy.
(6)-His first stint as Cubs broadcaster, in 1990 and ’91.
(7)-Curt Schilling, who told Brenly not to “hang me out there” in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series. Brenly pulled Schilling, who later told reporters he wanted to stay in the game. The Yankees rallied to beat Byung-Hyun Kim in Game 4, but the Diamondbacks won the series in seven games.
