FanNation - The Republic of Sport

By Mike Pagliarulo I love stories about baseball ??? particularly from the 1980-1995 period, when I was old enough to understand the game, yet not so old that my thoughts were fully occupied with having a family, a job and a hefty mortgage. So when I was perusing Baseball-Reference (hey, I don???t care how busy I am, I still look at stats) and came across the roster of Mike Pagliarulo???s 1993 Orioles, I thought, ???they???re must be a bunch of stories here.??? Cal Ripken, Harold Reynolds, Harold Baines, Fernando Valenzuela, Rick Sutcliffe ??? that???s an all character team. I sent some questions to Mike about those Orioles, and here is the exchange. - Adam White Adam White: Glenn Davis was one of the game???s most feared hitters from 1986-1990. He signed with Baltimore and fell off the table. What happened? Mike Pagliarulo: Glenn was a great guy to have on your team and a super talent. He was my teammate as an amateur in Cape Cod when we played for the Chatham A???s. Glenn played the outfield and was one tough guy from the south. I always got along great with guys from the south, but seeing I was from Medford, MA, I need a translator when we???d go out after a game. Glenn was a wild man and fierce competitor. He???d fight you at the drop of a hat. As he grew older he became more of a family man and tone down his lifestyle. By 1993, Glenn was getting older and was hurt a lot ??? the normal course of aging for players who don???t abuse steroids. Glenn wasn???t happy when I was traded to Baltimore because Johnny Oates played me at first base at times. There were some screaming matches between Glenn and the staff. To his credit, we sat after a game outside Camden Yards one night in September. We must have talked for an hour about helping the Orioles win. Glenn agreed to keep his emotions to himself and play for the team. It???s not easy for any player to keep everything inside when a teammate is playing in your normal spot in the lineup. Adam White: Fernando Valenzuela went 8-10 with the Orioles that year, but he had a 4.94 ERA and struck out just 79 in 178.7 innings. Was he just getting by on smoke and mirrors? What happened to all those strikeouts? Mike Pagliarulo: The infield at Camden Yards is awesome and ???Fern??? (as I liked to call him) wasn???t using smoke and mirrors. He was using his head and pitching great with little velocity. He had a game plan that took into consideration his defense and the playing surface. He knew where he wanted the ball hit. Adam White: Any good Rick Sutcliffe stories? Mike Pagliarulo: Sut was a great teammate and great pro. I loved playing with him. Here???s a good old school ???real baseball??? story. We???re playing Toronto at the end of the season in 1993. Sutcliffe was pitching against Tom Hentgen, who was a great pitcher for many years in Toronto. I was swinging the bat well at the time and after I got a hit in my first at bat, Hentgen hit me with a pitch in my next at bat. No words were exchanged. He wasn???t throwing at my head, and that???s just how the game is supposed to be played (only idiots charge the mound). The very next inning Sutcliffe takes the mound and he???s facing John Olerud ??? what a great swing he had. The first pitch goes off Olerud???s knee. After getting the ball back from the umpire, Sut looked over at me and winked. No one said a word. No one complained. The umpires let the game go on. That???s baseball. Whether Hentgen was throwing at me or not didn???t matter. It???s disappointing for me to see that retaliation isn???t a bigger part of the game today. I think it teaches young players respect ??? respect for other players and for the game. Adam White: Where do you rank Harold Baines on the list of best hitters you played with? Mike Pagliarulo: I loved playing with Harold Baines. He???s one of my best all-time teammates, even though we didn???t play on the same squad for long. I loved his swing and work ethic. Many times players have teammates who are more helpful than coaches. Actually, having good teammates is a vital component of player development at the minor league level, but not many people understand or talk about it much today. In 1993, I played almost the second half of the year in Baltimore and Harold and I hit in the same batting practice group. We could look at each other and not speak a word but discuss hitting the entire time. It was so much fun. He was one of the best hitters I???ve ever seen. He hit balls just as hard to right field as he did to left field. Adam White: Best Cal Ripken story? Mike Pagliarulo: The all important ???streak??? was vital to the Oriole franchise. Games were sold out to see Cal play and continue his daily routine. All those games in a row ??? it???s incredible to think about, and I can???t imagine what your body must go through, especially as a short stop. One day I was sitting at my locker about 3 PM and Ben McDonald was sitting on the couch next to me reading a magazine. The iron man game streak was growing in popularity and it was all new to me. As I sat in my locker I stared across the room into the trainers area where guys were getting taped up and submerged in the whirlpool. I just wondered how anyone could play that many games in a row ??? impossible. And just then out of nowhere Cal dives through the air (parallel to the ground) and clothesline tackled Ben on the couch. Ben got up and wrestled Cal to the ground. Then Cal got up ran around the couch only to dive over it again and take McDonald down. I said to myself: only someone that crazy can play in all those games. Adam White: Jeffrey Hammonds was a hotshot 22-year-old prospect. How good did you think he???d be? Pagliarulo: Jeffrey was as classy as they come. During his first game there was a lot of hype around the kid and I could tell he was under a lot of pressure. He had a one million dollar signing bonus or something like that. We faced a tough lefty this one afternoon, and I got to sit next to one of my old mates who happened to be around the same age as me. In Hammonds first at bat the pitcher jammed him with a fastball and cracked his bat; the ball barely made it to the mound. In his second at bat, the pitcher got inside on him again breaking his bat in two as the ball made it halfway to the mound this time. On his final at bat the pitcher threw a fastball inside almost hitting Jeffrey???s thumb. The bat was in splinters and the ball barely made it off the dirt. Just then my friend leaned over to me quietly and said, ???Pags, we were signed at the wrong time, brother.??? Adam White: I think Gregg Olson could have been a HOFer if he hadn???t been hit by injuries. People forget how good he was from 89-93, with an ERA+ of 223, 159, 125, 194 and 279. How good was he and where does he rank among the best relievers of your playing days? Mike Pagliarulo: He had one of the best curveballs I???d ever seen. Even when you knew it was coming it was tough to hit. He could throw it in and out of the strike zone by design. What a great arm. If Olly had played with better clubs maybe he wouldn???t have been used as much or quite possibly he would have been surrounded with quality setup men. I only remember getting one single off of him ??? a curve and I had no idea how I hit it. I really liked Olly because he had the mentality to pitch at the end of the game. That is a quality few have.