Read The Transcript Of Our Chat With Former MLB Catcher Gary Bennett
Former MLB catcher Gary Bennett chatted with MLBTR readers for more than two hours this morning. Click here to read the transcript and learn more about Bennett below:
Gary Bennett was drafted by the Phillies in the 11th round in 1990 out of Waukegan East High School. His MLB career began with a single plate appearance more than five years later, when he pinch-hit for the Phils against David Wells. His first big league home run came in 1999, at the age of 27.
In July of 2001, Bennett was traded to the Mets for Todd Pratt. A year later, he was dealt to the Rockies.
It was in 2002, at the age of 30, that Bennett landed regular work in the Majors, serving as Colorado’s primary catcher. He then signed a free agent deal with the Padres, leading their ’03 club in innings caught. After the ’03 season, Bennett signed as a free agent with the Brewers. He served as the backup to Chad Moeller that year.
On to the Nationals in ’05, Bennett’s life as a big league mercenary catcher continued, this time with Damian Miller as his counterpart.
Bennett moved to the Cardinals for the ’06 season, working behind Yadier Molina. The Cards beat the Tigers in five games in the World Series that year, and Bennett earned a ring. The Cardinals retained Bennett for ’07, providing some rare continuity, after which he closed out his career with the Dodgers.
In the end, Bennett spent over 4,200 innings in the Majors behind the dish, catching pitchers such as Jake Peavy, Ben Sheets, and Adam Wainwright. He also hit a homer off Sheets at one point, taking Dontrelle Willis and many others deep as well. Memorable moments included walk-offs on back-to-back days against the Cubs in ’06 – one a single and the other a grand slam.
In 2007, Bennett was one of the players named in the Mitchell Report. He owned up to his use of human growth hormone, later telling Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “It was unethical, cheating, taking performance enhancement stuff.”
After Gary’s playing days wrapped up, he became a partner in a training academy called Slammers Baseball. Other ventures have included medical device sales, real estate, and non-profit foundations such as CASA Lake County and Science of Sport. The Bennetts also have three kids, one of whom played baseball at Mizzou and another currently playing at Illinois. You can follow Gary on Twitter @gdbjr5.
Gary offered to chat with MLBTR readers, and we’re happy to have him! Click here to join the live chat.
If you’re a current or former MLB player and would like to do a one-hour chat on MLBTR, please contact us!
Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former Cubs GM Ed Lynch
Former big league pitcher and Cubs general manager Ed Lynch chatted with MLBTR readers for more than two hours this morning. You can read the transcript here, and read up on his fascinating career below:
Before he became GM of the Cubs, Ed Lynch was a pitcher. He was drafted by the Rangers out of the University of South Carolina in the 22nd round back in 1977. A few years later, Lynch was traded to the Mets.
Lynch broke in with the Mets in 1980. Lynch led the Mets with 94 starts from 1981-85, working with rotation-mates such as Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Mike Scott. Known for his excellent control, Lynch ranked fifth in the NL in walk rate in ’83 and third in ’85.
Unfortunately, Lynch’s time with the legendary ’86 Mets was cut short, as he was traded to the Cubs on June 30th of that year. As Lynch later put it to Jennifer Frey of the New York Times, “It was like living with a family all year, then getting kicked out on Christmas Eve.” After the ’87 season, Lynch’s pitching career was over.
According to Frey, Lynch “went on to receive a law degree at the University of Miami. He was hired out of law school by Joe McIlvaine — then the general manager in San Diego — to serve as director of player development for the Padres.” After a brief stint under McIlvaine back with the Mets, Lynch was named GM of the Cubs in October 1994 at the age of 38.
Lynch’s top draft picks during his tenure as Cubs GM included Kerry Wood, Jon Garland, and Corey Patterson. One key Lynch trade, which I remember vividly reading about in the newspaper at the age of 15, was an August 1997 deal that sent Brian McRae, Mel Rojas, and Turk Wendell to the Mets for Mark Clark and Lance Johnson.
Those players were a key part of the 1998 Cubs, a Lynch team that broke a nine-year playoff drought. Led by a 66 home run season by Sammy Sosa and the typically-excellent Mark Grace, the ’98 Cubs also included Lynch pickups Mickey Morandini, Henry Rodriguez, Gary Gaetti, Kevin Tapani, and Rod Beck. Kerry Wood took home Rookie of the Year honors that season.
Player acquisitions during Lynch’s tenure as Cubs GM also included Brian McRae, Jaime Navarro, Todd Zeile, Luis Gonzalez, Scott Servais, Terry Mulholland, Jeff Blauser, Jon Lieber, and Eric Young. Additionally, Lynch was Cubs GM when Ryne Sandberg came out of retirement in 1996. Lynch was also responsible for the hiring of manager Don Baylor in 1999, the first minority to hold that job in franchise history.
According to a SABR article by Jon Springer, Lynch “remained in the Cubs organization for another decade as a special assistant to the GM before joining the Toronto Blue Jays as a professional scout in 2010.” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale caught up with Lynch in February 2020, revealing that he’s now working as a realtor.
Ed is the first former MLB GM to come on for a live chat here. If any other former GMs happen to read this and would like to participate, drop us a line! You get to choose which questions to publish and answer, and it only takes an hour.
Read The Transcript Of Today’s Chat Hosted By Former MLB Reliever Chuckie Fick
Chuckie Fick worked as a reliever at Fresno State, transferring to California State University, Northridge after one season there. He served as a starter for the Matadors and was drafted in the 15th round by the Cardinals in 2007. Chuckie had ties to the organization, as the son of longtime Cardinals scout Chuck Fick. He’s also the nephew of Robert Fick, the former Tigers All-Star.
Chuckie Fick worked his way through the Cardinals’ minor league system, getting a chance to start in 2008-09 before moving to the bullpen permanently. He broke into the Majors in May of 2012, debuting at age 26 at Busch Stadium and tossing a scoreless inning against Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies. He pitched for the Cardinals the following day as well, but that would be his last appearance for the organization. Fick was designated for assignment in July of 2012, and was then claimed off waivers by the Astros.
Fick had ties to the Astros organization as well at that point, having been drafted as a Cardinal by Houston’s new GM, Jeff Luhnow. As Chuckie explained in an interview with Eric Treuden of Call to the Pen last year, he’d known Luhnow for years due to the connection through Fick’s father. Having recently traded Brett Myers, the Astros were in need of bullpen help.
Fick made 18 appearances for the Astros in 2012, posting a 4.30 ERA. The club removed him from their 40-man roster in November. Fick spent 2013 with the Astros’ and Rockies’ Triple-A affiliates. He’d go on to pitch in the Mexican League, Chinese Professional Baseball League, and the Atlantic League. Though his MLB career lasted only 24 2/3 innings, Fick still managed to punch out stars such as Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Holliday, and Jonathan Lucroy.
After retiring, Fick explained to Treuden, “I had opportunities to go play again, but after 2013, I felt like a mercenary, and I never knew when or where my next paycheck was going to come from. I never identified as a ‘baseball player.’ It was my job and not my identity, so to not play anymore was not a big emotional decision for me. For the amount of attention I garnered out of high school, college, and even while in pro ball, I consider my career a success. I patted myself on the back, called my agent and told him I was done. Two days later, I hopped on a flight to Nicaragua to go surfing, and the rest is history.”
Now 37 years old, Fick works in insurance with Gallagher Global. He also serves as a pitching coach for the SoCal Giants, a baseball program run by his father. You can follow Chuckie on Twitter @chuckiefick. We were happy to welcome Chuckie for a live chat, wherein he shared some memories from his career, talked about his experiences teaming with All-Stars like Yadier Molina and Jose Altuve, recalled his lone professional hit and touched on the transition from active player into the next phase of his life. Click here to read the transcript!
Read The Transcript Of Today’s Chat Hosted By Former MLB Pitcher Josh Lindblom
Righty Josh Lindblom was drafted in the third round by the Astros back in 2005. Instead of signing, he went to the University of Tennessee, and then after a year transferred to Purdue. Lindblom was able to boost his draft stock during his time there, becoming the Boilermakers’ closer, and was chosen in the second round by the Dodgers in 2008.
Lindblom was quickly considered one of the Dodgers’ top prospects, and seemed on the fast track to the Majors. He nearly made the team out of camp in spring training ’09, and saw phrases like “future closer” tossed around by Baseball America.
Lindblom reached the Majors in June of 2011 and ended up making 27 relief appearances with a 2.73 ERA that year for the Dodgers. At the 2012 trade deadline, Lindblom was in the middle of a solid season when the Dodgers traded him and others to the Phillies for Shane Victorino. After the season, the Phillies shipped Lindblom to the Rangers in a deal for Michael Young.
With the Rangers, Lindblom moved back to a starting role and made his first big league start against the A’s. However, in December 2013, Lindblom was traded again, this time to the A’s. He spent most of 2014 at Triple-A without much success, and was designated for assignment after the season. The Pirates claimed him off waivers, but soon after he was released to sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization.
Lindblom made 62 starts from 2015-16 in KBO, and then signed a minor league deal to return to the Pirates after the ’16 season. He made four big league relief outings for the ’17 Pirates, marking a gap of more than three years between appearances in the Majors.
Having been cut by the Pirates in the summer of 2017, Lindblom returned to KBO to join the Doosan Bears for the 2018-19 seasons. This time around he dominated, pitching to a 2.68 ERA over 363 1/3 innings. He won the top KBO pitching award in both of those seasons. With KBO success, excellent spin rates, and a new approach to pitching, Lindblom was a hot commodity in free agency that winter, nabbing the #42 spot on MLBTR’s top 50 free agents list. He landed a three-year, $9.125MM contract with the Brewers.
Lindblom’s Brewers debut happened to be the shortened COVID season, though he was still able to make ten starts for the club. He began the following season in Milwaukee’s bullpen, but wound up spending 2021 and ’22 at Triple-A. In January of this year, Josh announced his retirement. He thanked those who helped him throughout his career, noting, “Most of us don’t get to choose when we finish.” Lindblom tallied 209 innings in the Majors with six different teams, striking out 200 batters. He was particularly tough on Paul Goldschmidt, punching him out six times in 12 plate appearances.
You can follow Josh on Twitter @JoshLindblom52. Recently, Josh joined the Brewers’ player development staff.
I reached out to Josh to see if he’d be up for chatting with MLBTR readers, and he spent an hour fielding questions on his fondest MLB memories, the differences between MLB and the KBO, the experience of making the transition between those two leagues, and his new role with the Brewers’ player development staff. Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat.
Read The Transcript Of Our Live Chat With Former MLB Outfielder Billy Sample
Of our ever-growing list of current and former MLB players to hold live chats here, Billy Sample is the first to have played in the 1970s.
The Texas Rangers came to be in 1972, and the following year they drafted Sample, a three-sport star, out of Virginia’s Andrew Lewis high school. He did not sign at that point, instead attending Madison College (now James Madison University). Sample boosted his stock and became a 10th round pick of the Rangers in 1976.
Billy was a September call-up for the Rangers in 1978, leading off a game against the Brewers and singling to right field on his first Major League pitch. In 1979, Sample served as the Rangers’ primary left fielder. He posted a fine .292/.365/.415 line at the plate, striking out only 7.4% of the time.
In 1981, Sample enjoyed a 19-game hitting streak, and in 1983 he ranked fifth in the American League with 44 stolen bases. He had an excellent 84.6% success rate on swipes that year.
In February of 1985, the Rangers traded Sample to the Yankees with a player to be named later for Toby Harrah. After one season in New York, Sample was traded again to the Braves.
Though more of a speedster than a home run hitter, Sample left the yard 46 times in his nine-year MLB career. The list of pitchers he took deep include Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, Mark Langston, Dennis Martinez, and Cy Young winners Vida Blue, Mike Flanagan, Mike Scott, and LaMarr Hoyt. One of Sample’s many memorable moments included a walk-off home run against the Angels’ Don Aase in 1982.
Sample played during an interesting time in MLB history, being drafted months after free agency came to the sport. He was part of the 1981 strike, in which 713 games were cancelled, and can count many legendary players as former teammates.
According to his Wikipedia entry, which Billy suggested I reference for his post-playing career, “Sample has broadcast for the Braves, Seattle Mariners, and California Angels, as well as contributing to NPR, CBS Radio, ESPN, and MLB.com. As a writer, Sample has been published in Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, and was one of the columnists at the inception of USA Today’s Baseball Weekly (now Sports Weekly).” Billy has also written and produced a movie and self-published a book.
Billy graciously lent his time to chat with MLBTR readers today, spending over four hours discussing his career on the field, what life was like for players off the field in his time, the collusion of the ’80s, broadcasting and so much more! Click here to read the transcript!
Are you a current or former MLB player? We’d love to have you on for a one-hour chat. Click here to contact us.
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Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By International Scout And Former Pitcher Ryan Sadowski
Ryan Sadowski was drafted in the 12th round in 2003 by the Giants out of the University of Florida. He broke into the Majors in 2009 as a 26-year-old, tossing six scoreless frames against the Brewers at Miller Park. The magic continued in Ryan’s next start against the Astros. By the time he was scored upon in his third start, Sadowski had opened his career with 16 scoreless innings, a San Francisco Giants record.
Sadowski’s six starts in ’09 represented the entirety of his MLB career. He jumped to the Lotte Giants in 2010, ultimately spending three years in KBO and making 79 starts. As he put it in an interview with Bill Francis, “When you’re 26 and you’ve kind of kicked around the minor leagues and gotten a little bit of play in the major leagues and then this opportunity from Asia comes around in a league that had just won a gold medal in the Olympics and had performed in the top two in the WBC the year before, you gotta take it if you’re in my position.”
When his playing days were done, Ryan made a name for himself in international scouting by producing a report that helped the Netherlands beat South Korea in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. A few years later, he was hired by the Lotte Giants in an international scouting position. He later moved to KBO’s Kia Tigers.
Currently, Ryan serves as President of Baseball International Group of Scouts, BIGS for short. As Ryan puts it, “BIGS is a scouting group focused on identifying and providing scouting reports and projections to MLB, NPB, KBO and CPBL teams on the the AAAA players who have not stuck in the major leagues but have found success in AAA. BIGS scouts also evaluate players in the NPB, KBO, and CPBL who are candidates to move to MLB or switch leagues.” You can follow Ryan on Twitter @incugator.
Ryan held an insightful live chat with MLBTR readers, discussing the differences between MLB and baseball in Asia, emerging markets around the world for baseball talent, which American players are most likely to succeed in Asia, and much more. Click here to read the transcript.
Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former MLB Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein
Rick Eckstein’s playing career ended with the 1996 Florida Gators, where he played alongside his younger brother David. Rick moved directly into a coaching role at the University of Florida, the beginning of what has become a respected career.
Eckstein eventually worked his way up the ladder to become the Nationals’ big league hitting coach for nearly five years, working under manager Davey Johnson from 2009-13. Nats players Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, and Stephen Strasburg won Silver Slugger awards under Eckstein’s watch. After a stint with the Angels as player information coach, Eckstein became an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.
Following a few years as the Twins’ minor league hitting coordinator, Eckstein was hired as the Pirates’ Major League hitting coach under managers Clint Hurdle and Derek Shelton. He served in that job for nearly three years. Rick currently serves as a consultant to MLB hitters, given his vast knowledge and experience in the game.
Rick joined MLBTR readers today for a live chat, covering the new shift rule, working with Davey Johnson, and much more. Read the transcript here.
Read The Transcript Of Our Live Chat Hosted By Former MLB Scout Tim Kissner
Today’s chat guest, Tim Kissner, has 22 years of experience as an MLB scout.
Tim was born in Homer, Alaska, and grew up in Juneau. He played baseball at Mendocino Community College and Oregon State and has a masters degree from Eastern Oregon State College.
Kissner began his MLB career as a part-time scout with the Phillies in 1999. After a few years with the Indians, Kissner moved back to the Phillies, eventually serving as the team’s Pacific Rim coordinator. Kissner spent time as the Cubs’ West Coast crosschecker, then joined the Mariners as director of international scouting. Kissner’s next step was as a special assignment scout with the Mets. He finished his MLB career back with the Phillies.
In terms of amateur scouting, Kissner signed players such as Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Kendrick, Vance Worley, Scott Mathieson, Andrew Carpenter, Anthony Gose, and Justin De Fratus. Tim’s Latin American signings include big leaguers Julio Rodriguez, Freddy Peralta, Luis Rengifo, Enyel De Los Santos, and Guillermo Heredia, as well as top prospect Noelvi Marte. By Tim’s count, the Mariners traded more than 20 of the players he signed there.
Deciding it was time for something new after a career spent scouting all around the world, Tim returned home to become a police officer in Juneau about a year ago. Tim chatted today with MLBTR readers for nearly two hours, sharing Julio Rodriguez stories, many aspects of the scouting profession, and much more. Click here to read the transcript.
Read The Transcript Of Our Live Chat Hosted By Former MLB Pitcher Deck McGuire
Deck McGuire was drafted 11th overall in 2010 by the Blue Jays as a starting pitcher out of Georgia Tech, signing for $2MM. Baseball America ranked him 95th among all prospects shortly after that. At the time, BA felt that McGuire’s “good stuff and polish” and college resume would result in a quick path to Toronto’s rotation.
Things went off track for McGuire in 2012 at Double-A, however. Eventually, the Blue Jays traded McGuire to the A’s for cash considerations in July 2014. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in 2015, and another one with the Cardinals after that season. McGuire continued finding Triple-A jobs, signing with the Reds prior to the 2017 campaign.
After a strong 2017 season as a starter at the Double-A level, the Reds rewarded the tenacious McGuire with a September call-up. He made his MLB debut at the age of 28, entering a bases loaded situation against the Cardinals and inducing a double play off the bat of Harrison Bader. McGuire even got to finish that season with a start at Wrigley Field, tossing five scoreless with only two hits allowed and a strikeout of Kris Bryant.
Following the ’17 season, McGuire moved back to the Jays on a minor league deal. By May, he was working out of the bullpen for the team that had drafted him eight years prior. In June of that year, the Rangers claimed McGuire off waivers, trading him to the Angels shortly thereafter. He made it back to the bigs for a few spot starts, also working out of the Halos’ bullpen that year.
After being part of three MLB organizations in 2018, McGuire signed a deal with KBO’s Samsung Lions. He made 21 starts for that club, including the 14th no-hitter in KBO history. McGuire landed with the Rays on a minor league deal in February 2020. That minor league season was lost to the pandemic, and McGuire moved to the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League for ’21.
McGuire started the ’22 season in the Atlantic League, which he parlayed into another minor league deal with the Reds. McGuire wrapped up his pitching career last December, writing on Twitter, “For 12 years I got to live out my dream of being a professional baseball player.”
McGuire’s journeyman career was not what anyone expected when the Blue Jays drafted him 11th overall, but his perseverance got him to the Majors for 51 2/3 innings with the Reds, Blue Jays, and Angels. Even in that brief time he struck out Bryant, Jose Altuve, Rafael Devers, and Ryan Braun, among many others. McGuire pitched for seven different MLB organizations while also spending multiple seasons overseas.
Asked about his post-retirement plans, Deck wrote in an email, “As of right now my plans are to stay in the game somehow. I’m currently working with some guys and youth teams in my area of Colorado. I’m gonna head back to Georgia Tech in the fall to graduate and be around the program.” You can follow Deck on Twitter @deckmcguire.
Today, Deck chatted for over an hour with MLBTR readers, talking about the differences between KBO and MLB, the pressure of being a high draft pick, dealing with hecklers, and much more. Read the transcript here.