BASEBALL

ROBERT L. JOHNSON, Chief Executive Office, Black Entertainment Television, January 6, 2003.
CZIKOWSKY: Being from Harrisburg, home of the Harrisburg Senators, a minor league tram of the Expos, I think it would be great if the Expos moved to Washington (close to us Senators fans). Indeed, if would be just fine with us if the team took the Senators name that we have been protecting for you. We keep hearing that the Orioles are blocking a team in Washington. Is this true, and how would you get around such opposition?
JOHNSON: The owner of the Orioles is opposed to relocating the Montreal team to Washington. He does not have, according to Major League Baseball, the authority to block the team from coming to D.C. I expect there will be a financial settlement between Major League Baseball and the Orioles that will allow the Montreal team to come to Washington.

STEPHANIE MYLES, Montreal Gazette Expos Reporter, August 19, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Greetings from Harrisburg, where many Expos were Senators before becoming Expos. The Senators have enjoyed many successes and many major league players have risen through the Expos minor league system. This year, though, has not been as good as past years. Are the Expos still able to make strong commitments to their minor league system despite their financial difficulties? Also, will the Expos be able to keep any of the good players they have developed, or will finances continue to require them to trade them away?
MYLES: A multi-part question. Here’s the truth as I know it.
-The biggest misconception is that the Expos “continue to trade away their best players”. The last time that happened was Pedro Martinez-in 1997. The core of the team has been together longer than probably any in baseball.
-That being said, the talent flowing through the pipeline isn’t what it once was, to say the least.
-Harrisburg is hurting in part because of the massive amount of injuries at the big league level. More than half of the triple A team has been called up at some point, and they have to raid Harrisburg to fill their quota.
-They’ve continued to try to maintain the integrity of the farm system, spending about the same amount on the draft as they always have. But they also traded away three solid prospects to get Bartolo Colon last year (Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore, and good lefthander Cliff Lee), and that didn’t help.

BOB THOMPSON, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 2, 2003
CZIKOWSY: As much as fans in Boston hate dynasties a la Yankees, don’t they provide an element of fan appeal? When Bostonians look back at sports history, don’t they think of Larry Bird and the Celtics? Don’t we think Mike and the Bulls? The Babe, the Yankee Clipper, and the Mick with the Yankees? One year wonders are lost, and with parity in football, most people couldn’t name who won the Super Bowl two years ago. But they’ll remember Joe Montana and the 49ers. How do we achieve a balance between rewarding superior teams and not allowing greedy owners to dominate a sport?
THOMPSON: I couldn’t agree more, although I’m old enough to think of the Celtics as Bill Russell’s team, not Larry Bird’s. Dynasties enrich the long-term narrative of sports. One can legitimately wish, however, that they be built with brains and talent (as the Celtics, Bulls, and 49ers were) and not just by franchises with too much money.

DAVID SHEININ, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 19, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How would you rate next year’s Red Sox? Have their off-season moves been solid, or might they explode in their faces?
SHEININ: I think the Red Sox’s moves are pretty solid. Schilling was a perfect addition there—he’s durable and media-savvy, not to mention pretty darned good. So he’s the perfect compliment to Pedro Martinez. I’m less sure about Keith Foulke’s ability to withstand the pressure inherent in playing for the Red Sox. But in any case, the Yankees are the ones who should be worried about their moves exploding in their faces. They were an old team to begin with, and they’ve gotten older across the board (Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, Kenny Lofton, etc.)

EDWARD SIEGEL, music crusader, July 2, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: If the Star Spangled Banner loses its B flat, won’t that destroy that great national pastime: laughing at ballpark singers who can’t hit the note?
SIEGEL: I would rather we go to the TV archives to experience that over again.

LINCOLN PEIRCE, “Big Nate” cartoonist, August 27, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: As a former baseball coach, what are your thoughts on baseball returning to D.C.?
PEIRCE: I’m 100% in favor of the Expos moving to Washington and being re-named the Senators. It might be sad for the three or four Expos fans who actually go to games in Montreal, but it would be great for baseball. And the Senators, despite their overall woeful record through the years, are a huge part of baseball history.
CZIKOWSKY: Now, when can you get Rico Petrocelli’s name into your strip.
PEIRCE: Rico! Good ol’ number 6. Somewhere in my office I’ve got his 1971 baseball card.

HENRY THOMAS, Washington Post staff writer, October 25, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: It seemed that the Major League Baseball executives could have been more helpful in attempting to find who stole the baseballs (of Presidential signatures on opening day baseballs collected by Walter Johnson, grandfather of Henry Thomas). What should they have done differently?
THOMAS: Actually, MLB was extremely helpful, and Kevin Hallinan, head of MLB security, worked closely with the FBI and Hall of Fame on the case. I’m not sure that they didn’t put up some money to buy back several of the balls. I don’t know about that, but I was surprised the “owners” who bought them in the Mastro auction gave them up so easily, without a fight. Whatever the situation, both the MLB, and especially the FBI, were crucial to the resolution of the case. The Hall of Fame, and particularly President Dale Petroskey, also made all the right moves, in my opinion, completely opposite of the way the original theft was handled. The proof is in the pudding, as they say—or in this case I the baseballs—so everyone involved has to be applauded for their role in an amazingly successful outcome.
CZIKOWSKY: I agree the Washington team should be named the Senators. It is a great tradition. (Plus, in Harrisburg, your farm team here is already named the Senators.) For those who are upset that D.C. doesn’t have any Senators, naming the team keeps the irony alive.
THOMAS: Is Harrisburg an Expose farm club? I saw that the Prince William Cannons recently became affiliated with the Expos, and I think that’s great. How cool to be able to see prospects come through the minors and then some of them end up with the big club. I don’t want to take YOUR team away—I know all too well how that feels—but I would like to see the new Washington Senators farm clubs end up in this area as much as possible. Of course, Harrisburg will always have a ball team with some affiliation, so you wouldn’t really be losing them.

FREDERIC J. FROMMER, author, March 23, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: We are well aware of the divide between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans. Have you interviewed players like Roger Clemens, Luis Tiant, etc. who had successful careers with both teams? If so, how did they compare the fans of both teams and how did they compare playing for both teams?
FROMMER: Yes, in fact I did a book signing with Luis Tiant last year. I think he savored playing with the Sox more. In talking with players and fans for the book, it’s my conclusion that Sox fans take the rivalry more passionately. That may change now that the curse is broken, but I think it will return the first time the Sox lose a series to NY!

BARRY SVRLUGA, Washington Post Staff Writer, April 20, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: (Screech) the (Nationals) mascot: good or bad idea? Or perhaps it will be like the Phanatic: at first everyone wonders what it is and finally we grow to love it?
SVRLUGA: Bad idea. When people come up to you and ask, “Is that a chicken or an owl?” and you have to say, “Um, it’s a baby eagle”, then I’d say that’s a bad idea.

FAY VINCENT, former Major League Baseball Commissioner, May 31, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: The Ivy League offers no athletic scholarships. Of course, financial scholarships are offered, so athletes from lower income backgrounds may still attend an Ivy League college and receive a decent and marketable education, which is often the most important thing for many collegiate athletes since only a minority earn a living in athletics after college. What do you think of the Ivy League scholarship system?
VINCENT: Thank you for the good question. The problem of athletics and financial aid is a complicated and difficult one. The Ivy League schools give financial aid only on the basis of need, but many athletes get financial aid at those schools. I am not bothered by that, but I am troubled by giving athletes special consideration at the Ivy League schools. Sometimes the athletic grade level is very low compared to the rest of the school.

FREDERIC J. FROMMER, author, March 31, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Any thoughts on Ryan Zimmerman? Any advice on how he should avoid the advance pressure that everyone is putting on him? He’s already been anointed the Rookie of the Year and the season hasn’t even started. Does he seem the type that can take the pressure?
FROMMER: From what I’ve read about Zimmerman, he seems incredibly poised for his youth and inexperience in professional baseball (he was just drafted last year). So I think it won’t get to him. Not to add to the hype, but I think he could be a cornerstone of the franchise for years to come.

TOM STANTON, author, June 7, 2008
CZIKOWSKY” Was Babe Ruth aware of Ty Cobb’s racist attitudes and, if so, did it matter to him?
STANTON: Ruth would undoubtedly have been aware of Cobb’s racist views. The Babe was sensitive to unsubstantiated rumors that he had an African American ancestry. Such speculation was based on his facial feature Cobb and others often teased him about.

AMY SHIPLEY, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 14, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: Exactly when did various MLB policies (on performance enhancing drugs) become effective, and what exactly was prohibited at the time of each policy?
SHIPLEY: The first policy went into effect in ’03. It banned mostly steroids but not HGH. That was banned in ’05. The ’03 program was a survey program only. The survey testing was used to determine whether baseball had a “problem” and needed to continue testing. Because the number of players who tested positive in ’03—their names were never announced—exceed 5 percent (it was between 5-7 percent), baseball began a testing program in ’04 with pretty gentle penalties that were later toughened. Incidentally, the ’04 program was suspended for much of the season to protect players because of the Balco investigation. Hmmm.

RYAN ZIMMERMAN, Washington Nationals third baseman, March 20, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What did you take from your time playing for the (minor league Harrisburg) Senators that hopefully helped you? ZIMMERMAN: I learned a lot from my time with the Senators. The biggest thing I learned was to have a routine. Get to the park, do some early work, grab a bite to eat, head out for BP, then come in and get ready for the game. I had never done this before I started playing pro ball.

JIM ABBOTT, former Major League Baseball player, September 3, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: For those of us who rooted for you and can only imagine this, would you please tell us what it was like to first put on a New York Yankees uniform and to go out and pitch in Yankee Stadium? You are an important piece of history in an historic building.
ABBOTT: It is a historic building, in that history hits you right in the face when you put that jersey on. As a visiting player, it’s a special feeling, but as a Yankee, when you put on the pinstripes, there’s a moment of recognition that this is special and different. The stadium plays a big difference in that feeling that moment you walk on that beautiful field.
It was a thrill to play in New York, even thought I wasn’t the greatest of pitchers there. I have great memories and it’s part of my career that I cherish the most.
CZIKOWSKY: Baseball is American’s sport. You don’t have to be tall to play it, as in basketball, and you don’t have to be big to play it, as in football. You can be any size and shape as long as you work at it and develop your skills. You can be short, fat, deaf, missing a body party, and you can play baseball. You can be visually challenged and be an umpire. Thank you for showing that, if you put your mind and heart to it, one can be a success.
ABBOTT: You said that about the umpires, but I agree with the rest of your message completely. That’s what so great about baseball. If you have the talent, you can do it, and there’s a spot for you.
It’s sad that only one out of three people with disabilities are working, and these are people who can work, who want to work, and have a lot of abilities to bring to the workplace. We’re hoping we can create some awareness so people will look at them for their talent.
I like to look at the example of a left handed reliever. He might struggle against right handers, but there’s a spot for him the game if he’s good against left handers. Baseball is all about identifying your strengths, and knowing there’s a spot for you in the game. And I think that’s a wonderful message to put out there.