Editor’s Note: Local teacher Ben Fawbush is sharing his adventures through the Reds organization via a Lilly grant with WZBD. Follow along with each post as he takes an inside look at professional baseball in America.
By BEN FAWBUSH
Special Report
Friday launched the last leg of my journey through professional baseball as I headed to Louisville, Kentucky to watch the Reds’ Triple A (AAA) level minor league affiliate, the Louisville Bats.
Before I left home, the Bats’ Public Relations staff contacted me to tell me that today would be a doubleheader as they got rained out on Thursday. As I travelled down south towards my hotel and stadium it became pretty clear that the two games today may not happen; I have never driven through such heavy rain for such a long period of time. Ever.
Semi-trucks pulled over on the side of road. Cars traveling no faster than 30 mph for miles and miles. I pulled over at a rest stop just north of Scottsburg and got a call that the two games on Friday were cancelled, too, because of the amount of rain the field had taken on in the past 2 days. Now, a doubleheader was in the works for Saturday when the weather was to be cool and breezy (and it is just that – currently 55 degrees with a breeze as I type this in the TV Production suite overlooking Slugger Field on Saturday).
When I attempted to arrive at the Louisville Slugger Field around 1:30 p.m. to get my interviews taken care of, it was chaotic to put it mildly. On this day every year Louisville holds a marathon and all streets downtown are shut down to traffic. I turned towards the field along with a nice Ram truck behind me and got stopped by the police. I got out, as did the baseball player behind me driving the truck, and the cop told us to go back around the block and tell the cop who we were. So, being the honest guy that I am, I went back around the block and saw the police officer and told him that, “I am with the Bats. How do I get to the stadium if all of the roads are blocked?” He kindly allowed me and the ball player to cross his barricade and proceed to the stadium. Good thing I wore a Reds polo shirt today!
Once I parked in the players’ lot, I was greeted by the Public Relations Manager, Aaron Cheris. He gave me my media pass and we toured the suites and press box area of the stadium before heading downstairs to the clubhouse, batting cages, weight room, and dugout. I was able to meet with Pat Kelly, manager of the Louisville Bats, first. PK, as they all call him, has been a manager in professional baseball since 1986. I met PK in his coaches office near the locker room. It was quite comfy; soft plush chairs, a couch, desk, laptop, and his own locker with jerseys and personal items just like you would see in any professional clubhouse. He was very knowledgeable, courteous, and down to earth. I was warned that he was “a talker” ahead of time and it showed as he was 15 minutes late to get the interview started because he was talking to radio broadcaster about ball, and then things that happened in the 90s, and then back to ball, etc. When I got into the coaches office PK greeted me with a smile and firm handshake. I explained my position to him and he was intrigued.
After the brief introduction, we got right into the interview that lasted 18 minutes when it was only supposed to be no more than ten! I didn’t get to half of my questions because he was so down to earth and detailed on his answers that we kept making small talk back and forth about baseball and life. I told him after one of his answers, “I am going to cut that out and make my 8th graders listen to it every year.” We will get into that later. Here are some takeaways from my interview with Pat Kelly:
When asked about philosophy of winning, yet still having to develop the prospects to make it to the pros: He said in Arizona during spring training, the Reds sit down with their managers and tell them about their top prospects and how to handle them. He said we all have a winning mentality, but he knows what is expected of him and them. The top, TOP prospects will bat in the first through fifth spot in the lineup because data has shown that those spots, on average, get around 100 more at-bats per season thus those top prospects will get more at-bats and be able to show the Reds what they can/can’t do.
He said one of the best things of being a manager is getting to tell players that they have been called up to the Major Leagues. He had to do just that this morning (Saturday morning at 12:15 a.m.) when the Reds called up relief pitcher Lyon Richardson. He said the phone call he made at that time was great, but having to do it over the phone isn’t as personable as in person, but is still exciting to make. Richardson, by the way, had to be on a plane to Colorado today at 6 a.m. to meet up with Cincinnati!
When I asked him about assessing the potential of players who might be versatile and play multiple positions, especially infield, such as Tyler Callihan, what are some challenges that he has to deal with? I asked this specially because the Reds have a very talented and young infield at the big league level.
He said, “I do just what you said – keep them versatile and keep them playing different positions and learn new positions. Tyler has played infield and has even tried left field. Today he is playing first base. Then, when a coach asks – or the Reds ask, ‘Have you ever played so and so position before?’ He can tell them yes and it gives him an edge over others.”
He said he remembers coaching Josh VanMeter at the AA level in Pensacola and really enjoyed watching him progress.
If he could change one rule in baseball it would be to bring back making the pitchers hit because of how it makes you think and strategize a lot more than they have to now. He loves the pitch clock and doesn’t think injuries to pitchers have ever had anything to do with it; he said that, “people saying injuries and pitch clock are related are just trying to come up with something so they can get ride of it. It’s nonsense.”
When I asked what advice he would give anyone looking to manage at any level of any type of baseball (high school, college, or pro), he said this (to which I referred to earlier) and I told him I am cutting it, saving it, and playing it for my 8th grade students – and I will probably make a poster out of some of it and hang it up, “Just learn as much as you can and then be patient. We spend our whole lives striving to go to the next level. Just enjoy where you are and learn as much as you can about the game. Suck up your pride a little bit, be humble, and just appreciate learning from other people and you don’t always learn what you wanna do, but sometimes you learn what you don’t wanna do from other coaches. I think that’s just as important…so, that would be the biggest advice I’d have is just try to learn as much as you can and listen, ya know? I think we have a tendency to talk too much. We want to show everybody’s how much we know. I just think keep your mouth closed and listen and you’ll be amazed at how much you pick up.”
After the interview with PK, I went down to the dugout to hangout and watch pitchers throw on the field, infielders take infield practice, Cubs players warmup in right field (they played the Cubs AAA team this week). I was going to interview Chase Petty and Tyler Callihan today. I got to talk to Tyler (3rd round pick in 2019), but Chase (1st round pick in 2021) will have to wait until Sunday before the game because he was busy. Many of you have heard of Tyler Callihan if you are a Tincaps fan.
Tyler played for the Dayton Dragons a couple years ago when he was in High-A and faced Fort Wayne. My son told me that Tyler was a very down to earth guy from what he knew of him a few years ago – my son loved meeting the players whenever they were in town; he wasn’t wrong and I wasn’t disappointed. Callihan was a great young man with a good head on his shoulders and was very personable and positive. Here are some of my takeaways from interviewing Tyler:
He admitted to always being a free swinger early in his career up until an injury last season when he worked on “being short to the ball” and thinking “less is more”. He stated that once he started approaching hitting this way he began hitting balls further than he ever had before.
On being an infielder in AAA while the Reds have a very young and talented infield in the big leagues: He is learning to play multiple positions (1B, 2B, 3B, and LF) so that if/when that time comes for Cincy to need someone to play a position he can say, “I have played there” and that may be his calling for a while to the big leagues.
On some of the biggest sacrifices he has had to make as a professional ball player: “I think a lot of times people overlook seeing your friends and your family and that time with them especially if you have a wife and family. I have a wife and a child on the way…that time isn’t just difficult on us, but it’s difficult on the people that care about us. My wife gives up everything to follow me, be with me, and live with me. She leaves all of her friends and family to follow me, so I think that’s the biggest thing.” We then talked about the recent interview that Francisco Lindor’s wife gave regarding the birth of their new son and how he was there for the birth of the child and a few hours later he was gone, leaving for baseball again and how FaceTime is there new best friend.
Outside of baseball he enjoys spending time with his wife and puppy. He will go fishing, but will not golf during the season – that is an out of season thing to do for him.
We talked for about 10 minutes and he ended everything with, “You gotta go prove everyone wrong and take it one day at a time.” This kid has the right mentality and drive. I hope to see him dawn the Reds uniform sooner than later.
After interviewing Tyler, I sat in the dugout and made small talk with the groundskeeper and other personnel until it was time for the players to get back on the field (4pm for the 5pm start of the two 7 inning games). I got led back in to press box and suites area. My seat for Saturday night was in the TV production suite directly behind home plate with a beautiful view of the field and bridge in the background that spans the Ohio River. The first game was a long 7 innings, lasting almost 2.5 hours.
Watching players that I have seen play over the past year and a half at lower levels was really cool. Two Reds players were on a rehab assignment here today (Tyler Stephenson and Sam Moll). I got to talk briefly with Stephenson as he passed through the dugout prior to the game starting. Seeing both offense and defense challenging the umpire’s strike zone on pitches was really interesting; up in the booth we could tell where the pitch was immediately. I was sitting next to the person who does the online gamecast on the app for the Bats. I just look over and the pitch was already on the computer with the use of the Hawkeye system that tracks balls all over the field and player positioning.
Tyler Callihan had an 11-game hit streak coming into game 1 and was 0 for 3 prior to his last at-bat. He was down 2 strikes when he clubbed a triple to the right-center field gap, so that was really neat to see him continue his hot streak after talking to him pre-game. The Bats ended up losing 4-2, but I can’t complain. Watching baseball where I did and being able to do so in an amazing stadium is not something a lot of people can do.
Louisville Slugger Field is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary this year. From the outside looking in and from the seat view looking out you would never know it is that old. Now, if you would take the stroll I did in the locker area and elsewhere behind the scenes, you can definitely tell that a little remodeling or upkeep is needed. Overall, it is an awesome stadium with a great atmosphere and amazing view all around.
Tomorrow is the final day of my journey…until then.
Follow more of Ben’s blog on WZBD.com using the tag #lillyblog or by clicking here.
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