Baseball fans are typically enthralled by highly regarded
prospects. After all, they are the possible future of their respective team, as
long as everything goes well with their development. Unfortunately, just being
young and talented isn’t an automatic key to a lengthy big league career.
Competition is fierce and there are never any guarantees. Jim
Campanis, Jr., once one of the most coveted young catchers in the game,
went through all of the ups and downs and saw his career end at the threshold of
the majors. Years after he stopped playing, he has plenty to say about his
career.
Baseball courses through the blood of the Campanis family. Jim
Campanis, Sr. and his father Al Campanis
both played major league ball, and Al went on to work in big league front
offices. With a lineage like that, it was practically ordained that Jim Jr. would
follow on their path.
Following a stellar high school career in California during
the 1980s, Campanis upped his game even more at the University of Southern
California. A catcher, he accumulated an array of awards and recognitions,
culminating in his selection in the third round of the 1988 draft by the
Seattle Mariners.
Although he put up very solid numbers in the minor leagues,
he never got the promotion that would have made him the third Campanis in the
majors. Following the 1994 season, he retired from playing, having posted
career minor league numbers of a .254 batting average, 56 home runs and 239
RBIs in 575 games.
Since hanging up his catching gear, Campanis has led a busy
life across varied interests. However, he is still deeply connected with his
family game and on Opening Day, 2016 he will be releasing his book, Born Into Baseball, published by Summer Game Books.
It will not only chronicle his career in baseball but also delve into other
topics such as his grandfather Al’s controversial
interview with Ted Koppel in 1987. It’s sure to be a fascinating read.
To connect with Jim, or to look for more information about
his upcoming book, give him a follow on Twitter. Keep reading to see what he
had to say during our recent exchange of emails.
Jim Campanis, Jr.
Interview:
Your grandfather Al
and father Jim were both major league players and involved in the game in other
capacities; please describe their "baseball" impact on you.: I
was literally “Born Into Baseball” so I wrote a book of dozens of baseball
stories from my grandpa, dad and my experiences in the game we love so
much. When I was five years old, I would shag batting practice and could
catch giant fly balls so when I entered Little League I was pretty advanced
compared to the other kids. It kept me one step ahead all the way into
pro baseball. My very first memories in life are around baseball.
Who was your favorite
team and player growing up, and why?: My grandpa was the GM of the Dodgers
when I was growing up, so that was my team. I also was a batboy and knew the
players personally. They called me “Little Campy” and treated me very well, except
for one guy who I wrote about in my book; the same guy my grandpa gave a bunch
of extra chances after he kept screwing up.
How did you end up
going to USC and what was your experience like there?: I always loved USC
since my grandpa and Rod Dedeaux were friends. But Rod couldn’t offer me a
full scholarship, so I verbally committed to Cal State Fullerton, who offered
me a full ride. When I went to sign my letter of intent the secretary called in
sick that day so it wasn’t prepared. I was disappointed but was told to return
the next day. That night, Coach Dedeaux called and offered me Randy
Johnson’s scholarship and I signed the next day with Don Buford. USC has
the ULTIMATE network. My teammates included relatives of famous musicians,
actors, producers, golfers, baseball players, football players and even two general
managers. We really gelled as a group and I maintain friendships with
dozens of guys from 30 years ago.
What are the most
important traits of being a good catcher?: Profound knowledge of hitter’s
weaknesses and tendencies. Calling a great game is more important than catching
a great game. The thing about catching is if your name is mentioned on defense
for anything but throwing out runner it’s a bad thing. If you are NOT mentioned
in the game you played a GREAT game that day and no one knew except the
pitchers.
What's the story of
the party you threw as a teenager that was crashed by Bret Boone?: Yeah… My
parents made the mistake of trying to take a little weekend vacation in like
1986. A bunch of my USC teammates rolled to my parent’s house in Orange
County and took over the high school party my sisters started. We were
charging kids at the door $5 and made several hundred bucks that
night! Then Boonie and his local high school buddies rolled up. I had
known Bret since he was 12, so we chatted up how great USC was and he said it
was on his list of schools. He ended up coming in for the 1988 season and
immediately made an impact on our team. We were later teammate in the
minors and are still friends.
What was your draft
experience like, and how was playing in the minor league system of the Seattle
Mariners?: This is a story in my book. My grandpa told me I was
drafted but would not tell me by who except that it was an American League
team. So that night my mind was racing thinking I would be a Yankee or
Tiger or Angel…but a freakin’ last place Mariner? They are good now but
in 1988 they were by far the poorest and cheapest organization in
baseball. Yet they were stacked in the minors with high draft picks like
Griffey. If I would have been drafted by the Royals that year my career would
likely have been very different.
Who had the best
stuff of any pitcher you ever caught?: That is impossible to answer since
no one could consistently be lights out. Randy Johnson, Roger Salkeld,
Mike Hampton, Jim Converse, Roberto Hernandez, Jeff Nelson, Ron Villone, Billy
Swift and Derek Lowe come to mind as guys who were unhittable at times.
Your grandfather's interview with Ted Koppel in 1987 garnered huge
national attention. What was its impact on you, as a college student at the
time, and now later in life?: A BIG part of my book. When the last name on
the back of your jersey said “Campanis” in the late 80’s and early 90’s everyone
knew it from that interview. To this day, I still get people asking if I am
related that that racist, which he wasn’t, and we have hundreds of examples of
work with minority and international players and coaches to prove it.
Part of my motivation to write my book (due out Opening Day 2016) is to
enlighten as many people as possible to the real
man behind the controversy. We are hoping to re-write his legacy.
How disappointed were
you that you did not reach the major leagues?: When you can’t control the
outcome of things it’s frustrating. When I was on the 40-man roster in
1992, my Double-A manager called me into his office in late August to inform me
I was going up to the big team for a cup of coffee in a few games. I was so excited. Three
pitches into that game after he told me Willie Greene fouled a ball off and
snapped my pisiform bone in my left wrist. Season over. No call up and
taken off the roster never to return. That was literally a tough break
that I couldn’t recover from physically or within the Mariners catching depth
chart. I did have some “Bitter Years” as I chronicled in my book after my
last release. It still feels like unfinished business and maybe another
motivation for writing the book was to somehow get to the “Bigs” in another
way. I’ve come to grips with it now but in my mid 30’s I was dealing with the
loss of my ability to play baseball at an elite level ever again. It was
like a death of someone close to me but I didn’t understand that until
recently.
Now that you are done
playing, what are you up to?: I’ve done a lot of the things I dreamed about
outside of baseball after I stopped playing. I’ve played guitar and
written songs since I was 15, so I played in local bands, recorded and then
took the music to my marketing jobs making jingles. Some are on the radio in
LA! I also wrote a punk rock song this year that is currently on a Rap album (I
know, Rap?) that hit #8 on the Billboard charts in September called “Sink or
Swim” by the Kottonmouth Kings. Right out of baseball, I worked for radio
stations selling airtime then moved into my own ad agency called “Campy Media”
for the last 15 years. I’m doing that part time now as I’m getting into
technology with SaaS (Software as a Service) for a Fortune 1000
company. Hey, gotta keep growing, right? The book “Born Into
Baseball” is scheduled to be released on Opening Day 2016 from Summer Games
Books. I’m very excited about the book and hope to share an insider’s view of
our beloved game.
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You can check me out on Facebook or follow me on Twitter @historianandrew
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