When Everything Is Off The Record - The Power of Secrets: Brian Boehringer On Monday

It must be an interesting job to be a full-time reporter.  You get to travel.  You don't have to shave (both men and women) if you're a print-only person.  You get movies based on your jobs all the time (Case in point, name one movie about a Jazzercise instructor.  'Nuff said.).  You get told secrets all the time.  Conversely, since secrets are exactly what they are, it must stink to not be able to tell everyone what you know and they don't.  I would think the good reporters are especially good because they have so much character.  If I can trust you with my special secret,  then you are that much better than all the others whom I cannot place my trust. (Note: Most secrets are not that juicy or important, quite frankly, in the baseball world; it's just either the guy who's saying it or the presentation of the secret that makes it seem that much more spectacular.) 

All of this brings us to an interview I did with Brian Boehringer the other night.  I alluded yesterday to subjects we did not discuss.  Today I'll allude to subjects we did discuss.  For example, just to tease you like a belly dancer at a quilting contest, we talked about:

- Derek Jeter

- How Joe Torre's book is really Tom Verducci's book

- The conflict of interest agents have when representing more than one player (Did you know Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman, two closers who were free agents this off season, share the same agent?  Can you see where this can be a problem?  We'll get into this another day.  Or night.  Depends upon when you read whatever I eventually write, which hasn't been written due to the hypothetical nature of this potential discussion.  Make sense?  Didn't think so.)

That's three things we talked about.  We talked about more.  Want to know?  Think you could possibly be interested? Yes to both.  And here's where I run into some battles with my character.  I will be as candid as possible here, since that's the whole reason for Jimmy Scott's High & Tight.  Brian told me some things that I cannot pass along to you.  I'm not telling you this to appear high & mighty.  I'm Jimmy Scott.  I can be high & mighty on my own.  (I'm always High & Tight - get it?  Yeah, stupid.  Moving on.)  I'm telling you this so you are aware of the situation. 

Brian Boehringer will be the first to tell you he never was a superstar.  He's under no illusions that, during his career, he was any better than what his statistics say.  He had a couple of pretty good years out of the bullpen.  He had some real clunkers too.  Plus, he got injured and was ineffective during those stretches (you must hear what he says about how his shoulder feels today - this is compelling).  But, he's still a guy who was around some very famous, and also infamous, baseball personalities.  Brian played alongside:

- Roger Clemens

- Andy Pettitte

- Ken Caminitti

- Barry Bonds

If you crack open your Baseball Steroid Era history books, all four of these guys figure prominently.  Brian is connected to each of them. 

Brian was also a player rep from 1998 to at least 2003.  He attended Players Association meetings and heard people talk, all different people.

What did they say, Jimmy?  We, your readers and biggest fans, need to know!

Um, I can't tell you everything.  Because I got the one phrase reporters must hate to hear, as much as they love to hear:  "This part's off the record."

Cool, you think when told this, I am trusted.  I am part of this person's inner circle.  Cool.

Then you think a bit and come up with this:  Now what do I do?

It's a secret, anything off the record.  You can't pass it along.  Ever.  Not until your source says, Oh, what the heck, go tell the world I'm a serial killer.  What do I care?

A secret's first power is the very fact that you can't share it.  Those who can't keep secrets misuse their power and will go straight to hell upon death.  With that in mind, I'm not gonna pass along any of Brian's secrets.

Can you give us a clue?

I can tell you this: Some of Brian's secrets aren't that interesting.  This isn't to insult Brian.  The second power of a secret is its ability, if heard, to change the course of lives.  Some of what Brian said is just personal stuff that has nothing to do with baseball.  Some stuff falls more into the "none of your business" category of secret, like what his cell phone bill is going to be this month.  It's not really that important, to the scheme of things, and it really isn't any of our business.

With that in mind, there is some other "off the record" stuff he said that you would find interesting that I can't share.  You're speculating now, aren't you?  That's natural.  I would be too. Know this: I'm not bringing this up, that I know something you don't know, just to boast.  I'm doing it so you can get a sense of what a typical MLB, or ex-MLB, player thinks and carries around with him.  In other words, every player has his stories.  Every player (or ex-player) has his secrets.  Maybe he saw this guy cheat on his wife.  Maybe he saw this other guy cheat by corking his bat.  Maybe he was there when another guy cheated by taking steroids.

For the record, which is on right now, Brian said he never saw anyone taking steroids.  Nor did he ever take them.  I asked for specifics.  Why?  Why?  Why?  I made a note before we spoke.  It said, in bold letters, WHY?  I wanted to make sure he didn't say something and it just went away.  I wanted to keep asking WHY?   HOW? was also on my note.  Between the two, I figured he'd go a little deeper.  He does, more often than not.  Sure, listening back, I missed a follow-up or two.  It ain't easy asking all the right questions.  You need to think of them at that moment, and sometimes it takes a day or two for them to come to your head, at which point the interview is done and you can't do anything but wish you could get it back.

What will you hear here on Monday?  Here's some more teasing: 

- Brian's feelings about A-Rod

- Brian's feelings about Bud Selig

- Brian's feelings about, had he done steroids, how he would have gotten them

- Brian's feelings about Clemens, Bonds, and Caminitti

The "off the record" stuff?  There's some.  You won't hear it.  Nothing is earth-shattering.  I'm not editing out anything about Brian shooting up Jose Canseco at some Texas nightclub.  There's no smoking gun that he talks about implicating some of your favorite players.  Still, it can't be shared because he asked that it not.  Part of the power of a secret is that by keeping it, you are respecting the wishes of he (or she) who told you that very secret.  Brian's wishes must be respected.  His desire for secrecy here has to be stronger than my desire to let you hear what he said.   Just like the old saying, "What goes on in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse," sometimes, in an interview, what goes on between a player and the interviewer has to stay between the player and the interviewer.

Even if the interviewer is Jimmy Scott.

Come back here on Monday.  You'll like what Brian has to say.  Trust me.