Recently, I had the chance to chat with an incredible writer. A couple of months ago, John Strubel e-mailed me and asked me if I would be interested in being a Featured Writer at his baseball website, Baseball Interactive. I had to check out the site first, but within minutes of going there, I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of it. Since then, I have had a few chats with John and found out that he is very knowledgeable about baseball.
But John is a busy man. He is a radio personality and has worked a number of years in minor league baseball. Now, he is very busy writing a book called The Price of Winning. Read the below dialogue for a better description of what it is about. Scandal and controversy surrounding a Division III hockey team and the community it called home. I know that I will definitely be purchasing a copy when it is available.
So, we had a nice chat, and it is below. I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to check out Baseball Interactive as well as John's The Price of Winning site. If you have any questions or comments, e-mail me.
THE CONVERSATION BEGINS...
SethSpeaks: Let's start
with the website. You started
Baseball Interactive.
How long has the site been up, and what made you decide to do it?
JohnStrubel:
The site launched in July 2003 in beta version. I tested different
content pieces to see what users were responding too. I knew from
the outset I did not want to have a pure "blog" site. I wanted more
thoughtful, well-researched writing. So I found a small group of
writers on the web and asked for input. I started it because I have
a deep passion for baseball.
SethSpeaks: Where did that passion come
from? Were you always a big baseball fan?
JohnStrubel: Yes, since I can remember
really. I can't remember a lot of games until I was about 7 or 8,
but I do remember opening my first pack of baseball cards at age 5
(they cost 10 cents and included a really awful stick of bubble gum
that tasted like cardboard coated with sugar). My first card was
Rennie Stennett (Pirates second baseman). My first game was
the Mets-Reds at Shea Stadium in 1972. I saw
Willie
Mays play centerfield for the first and last time live.
SethSpeaks: Holy Wow!!! To have seen
Mays in person would have been incredible!!! How long did you
collect cards? Do you still collect them? And yeah, that gum was
bad!!!
JohnStrubel: I collected cards until I
was in my mid teens maybe. Baseball card collecting is totally
different now, it's a business not a hobby. I still have all my
cards though.
SethSpeaks: Yeah, card collecting is
definitely not the same as 20 years ago when I started too. I still
have mine too. They'd be hard for me to give up. Back to the site,
you provide so much information. From featured writers to updated
standings, great links and more. You also write. How do you decide
what to write, and how frequently do you write yourself?
JohnStrubel: Well, it's a balancing
act. I would love to write more than I do, but it's just not humanly
possible. I try and write two pieces a week. For me, the most
important tool for a "writer" is in the research, fact-finding. It's
time-consuming. Once that is compiled and organized the actual
writing process is fairly natural. I went to college for journalism
and was a sports editor, so I've done this already. The balancing
comes between writing and editing the site. I try and keep my topics
moving to the rhythm and beat of the sport. I'm not much for
columnists, I like stories, interviews, analysis
JohnStrubel: One last thing on that
last question. The first thing I learned as a writer was to stay out
of the way of the story. Keep a healthy distance and remain
unbiased. Too much writing today comes as much from the ego of the
actual writer and not the storyline. I don't like when journalists
cross the line on a story and infuse their opinion.
SethSpeaks: Excellent point. Just tell
the story and don't add too much opinion. Let the facts speak for
themselves. Speaking of stories, interviews and research, you are
writing a book which should be on shelves in September, called The
Price of Winning. You went to college at SUNY-Plattsburgh,
and in the late '80s their hockey program had some success, but it
ended up being tainted. What made you decide to write the book, and
why now?
JohnStrubel: Well, in short, I was at
the State University of Plattsburgh for two years (1985-1987). I was
the assistant sports information director and sports editor for the
college paper when the hockey program won their first-ever Division
III NCAA title. Plattsburgh is a small town of 20,000+ and another
6,000 college students. So, like it or not, the college is a huge
revenue source for local business. The local community is enamored
with the men's ice hockey program. So, when they won the title, the
city was turned upside down. One problem: they college - and the
local community - were violating NCAA rules.
JohnStrubel: Free housing, free meals,
etc. This was in 1986-87, before many of the Division I NCAA
infractions started coming down and hitting the national headlines.
JohnStrubel: In the weeks after the
team won the title, the NCAA received an anonymous letter from
someone within the college, detailing the violations. The
infractions committee put together an investigative team and
embarked on a three-year investigation which resulted in the 1990
ruling.
SethSpeaks: It just seems like a very
timely book because of all of the incidents that have happened in
the past couple of years in the NCAA.
JohnStrubel: Plattsburgh was officially
stripped of their title and all records were expunged from the NCAA
record books.
SethSpeaks: That had to be a shock to
the town and the college, beyond just the hockey program.
JohnStrubel: The whole ordeal rocked
the college and the city of Plattsburgh.
JohnStrubel: I don't know if you've
ever read the book
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger? It's about a high
school football program in Odessa, Texas. The team and school mean
everything to the small town. The players are treated like they're
pro athletes. It was a very similar scene in Plattsburgh.
SethSpeaks: I have heard of the book,
haven't actually read it.
JohnStrubel: There is a book idea
stewing as a result of my book and the Bissinger book. It deals with
the psychology of student-athletes (high school and/or college).
When their athletic career ends in school, and they are no longer
treated like royalty, there is a rude awakening when they face the
"real world." Athletes aren't prepared for it, they fail because
they don’t have the skills or the backing and support from those who
carried them in their playing days. Anyway, let me go back and
answer your research question here ...
SethSpeaks: that sounds like a great
book too... I completely understand that situation!!!
SethSpeaks: How long have you been
researching this for the purpose of
The Price of Winning?
How much time have you spent interviewing those involved?
JohnStrubel: I researched and
interviewed since April 2001. I drove to Boston ... and back to
Plattsburgh (twice), to conduct face-to-face interviews. I contacted
and interviewed 40-50 former players, local community members,
boosters, administration, former and active coaches and NCAA
investigators. Along the way, I had two major breakthroughs which
proves that research and persistence will eventually win out and
give you the story. Those two breakthroughs are fully documented and
in a safe place with the sources remaining confidential. I can tell
you this, I do identify the writer of the anonymous letter(s) -
there were actually three, I will publish the letters and identify
them in the book. I will also identify the other source and a ton of
very detailed conversations in the book.
SethSpeaks: Holy wow! Now I want to
read the book now!!! Excuse my lack of knowledge, but when you
decided to write the book, where did you start? Did you have to
discuss it with a publishing agency, or do you write the book and
send it somewhere?
JohnStrubel: The foreword and the first
two chapters are written and have been sent off to my editor for
review and direction. The book may get pushed back to Spring '05 so
I get it just right.
SethSpeaks: That makes sense. I really
think you've got a great story here and with all of the research and
information you've done, I can see it being sold in high volumes!
JohnStrubel: The final documents I
received from a source arrived at my home via Federal Express last
winter. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely open the
package. It was a rush to have documented evidence on paper.
SethSpeaks: I can only imagine!!! I
know you've got the website for The Price of Winning, can people
pre-order copies at this point, or where will it be distributed?
JohnStrubel: Not yet. It hasn't gone to
the publisher, obviously. When the final edits are complete and
shipped for publication, I can take pre-orders on the web through
any major book vendor -
Amazon.com,
Barnes and Noble,
Books-A-Million, etc. All the vendors are listed on the
homepage at
PriceofWinning.com (by the way, that is the book title)
SethSpeaks: Well, good luck with the
rest of the book writing process! I know I'm looking forward to
reading it!
JohnStrubel: Thanks!
SethSpeaks: So, in your
Inside Pitch article from this weekend, you discuss
Carlos
Beltran. If you were to venture a guess, where and when do
you think he will be traded?
JohnStrubel: I think there is a swell
of activity going on in the underground world of baseball already.
Don't let the media denials fool you. He is a star playing in a
small city, on a losing team. He will be moved when someone offers
the Royals what they are looking. He will be gone before July 31.
When? Who knows. But the Royals will not let him slip away as a free
agent without getting anything in return.
JohnStrubel: "what are they looking
for"
SethSpeaks: They will certainly get a
package of prospects for him, I would think. A package including at
least one pitcher. Whoever offers the best package will probably get
him.
JohnStrubel: Exactly. You can narrow it
down by identifying the "money" teams that are in a pennant race and
have a strong farm system to move some guys. Yankees, Dodgers, Red
Sox - and, depending on how they continue to play, San Diego.
SethSpeaks: The Yankees have nothing
though other than Dioner Navarro and Robinson Cano,
and I don’t think that is enough. Would the Dodgers part with
Edwin Jackson and more to get Beltran?
JohnStrubel: If they're in the pennant
race, I bet they would. Beltran has 8, 10, 12 very productive years
ahead of him
SethSpeaks: I think so too.
SethSpeaks: Speaking of books, did you
read Moneyball?
JohnStrubel: Yes. Twice
SethSpeaks: So, obviously you liked it.
What is your take on the whole SABRmetrics versus traditional,
old-school thinking?
JohnStrubel: I'd say it was compelling.
I like reading "insider" books on subjects I am intrigued about. My
first was when it was released and the second read was more of a
skim and highlighting. I used to it to re-fresh myself with the
tactics used around the draft, it's good background with the June
draft just a few weeks away.
SethSpeaks: I love the draft and
hearing about the players, stuff like that. You
added
a 2004 draft page to Baseball Interactive with links on
anything involving the draft or anything about it. Is Jered
Weaver going #1? Is that a given?
JohnStrubel: I'm not sure if it's a
given, but he will certainly go 1-2-3. There are a lot of great arms
this year. Weaver has the most favorable scouting report. I would
think it depends on a team’s needs.
SethSpeaks: that's true... OK, back to
your "roots", did you play ball growing up?
JohnStrubel: yes but I was too small
... I graduated high school 5'5." I grew to 6 feet tall between high
school and college.
SethSpeaks: what positions did you
play? Did you play in college?
JohnStrubel: I played more stickball in
the summer than you can imagine. We would play with a tennis ball
and a broom stick. When my mom was working during the day I would
saw off the end of her kitchen brooms and use them as bats, she
would get so mad at me.
SethSpeaks: that's awesome!!!
JohnStrubel: In high school I planned
on being a baseball statistician. This was long before the internet
or technology. Baseball stats - even in MLB - were compiled by hand.
When I was 15 I bought a book called "The
World of Sports Statistics" by Arthur Friedman (team
statistician for the NY Mets). I knew then, this is what I was put
on earth to do.
JohnStrubel: I would compile day-by-day
stats at home. I designed my own charts and compiled the stats from
baseball box scores in the daily papers. I would spend hours, upon
hours, transcribing, cross-referencing and filing the info. I was a
very quiet kid, considered a sports geek in school.
SethSpeaks: that is the coolest... I
thought I was the only one who thought about that kind of
stuff!!!!!!!!!
SethSpeaks: That was my next
question... which writers did you admire or read growing up? Who
were your favorite players growing up?
JohnStrubel: I didn't have any writers
that really influenced me until college. I was enamored with Mets
announcer Bob Murphy. I wanted to be in the press box. My
favorite player was
Lee
Mazzilli when he was a Met in the early 80s. He wasn't a
great player, but he was the only thing the Mets had.
JohnStrubel: Here's an interesting
note: when I found out Arthur Friedman resigned as the Mets
stat guy, I boxed up all the stats and had full intent to ship them
to Shea Stadium to show them, despite the fact I was 16, I could
jump in and do the job. My mom knew how much time I spent doing that
stuff and talked me out of sending it. She told me, "I will send
that for you if you really want me to, but you realize, you will
never see them again." That scared me, so I never sent them.
SethSpeaks: I'd be scared to lose it
all!! Did you grown up in NY?
JohnStrubel: Upstate New York, a small
city called Mechanicville, just outside of Albany, the
state capital (about 2 1/2 hours from Shea Stadium).
SethSpeaks: So, where are you located
now?
JohnStrubel: I live in Charleston,
South Carolina now. I spent the last 16 years as a radio
personality. I bounced me from city to city for a while. Charleston
Riverdogs (Class A for TB Devil Rays)
JohnStrubel: I worked for Mike Veeck
for three years as a public address announcer.
SethSpeaks: What was working with Mike
Veeck like?
JohnStrubel: He is a brilliant guy. I
remember I first meant him when he took over the team in 1997. I was
producing his radio commercials, and I took him aside in the studio
and told him my dream was to work in major league baseball. He
grinned, looked down at the Cal Ripken jersey and looked me in the
eye and said, "call me next week." It was about two weeks before the
season opener and a brand new stadium they built. I called him and
he made me come into the office and do a live audition for the PA
announcer job. I sat in his office, with a script and read aloud. It
was the strangest thing I've ever done for a job. He put me in the
booth with the PA guy who had the job at the time. They gave me a
wireless mic and let me run through the stands and mess with fans
during the half innings while the PA announcer did the standard
lineups and batter up stuff. After a week, Veeck cut the other guy
loose and dumped the job on me. I spent three year doing it.
SethSpeaks: Wow!! How fun! but what an
opportunity!
JohnStrubel: In my third year as a PA
guy, Veeck offered me a play-by-play job in Sioux Falls. It was
tempting, but I couldn't do it. I had a house, a wife, I wasn't some
19 or 20 year old kid who could throw his clothes in the back of a
car and go ... I just had to say no.
SethSpeaks: Ah yes, the Xplorers!!!
Gotta love the Northern League!
JohnStrubel: As you probably know,
minor league baseball pays like, well, you know ...
SethSpeaks: yeah, I know...
JohnStrubel: It's a 9am-12midnight/day
job during homestands You get to do play-by-play during the game,
fill programs with stat sheets in the office during the day and roll
tarp if it rains ... uh, no thanks! See, as PA guy, during rain
delays, I would take the wireless mic out to centerfield and get the
50 or so diehards, drinking beer under the awning to cheer me on as
I sprinted to the infield and dive head first on the tarp and slide
through the puddles from second base to home plate
SethSpeaks: ok, John, I appreciate you
taking the time to answer some questions. I really enjoy the
Baseball Interactive
site and wish you well as
The Price of Winning
comes together!
Again, if you have any questions for me or for John, Send Me an E-mail.