The 6 Best Jimmy Scott's High & Tight Interviews

Jerry Seinfeld was once (or probably many times) asked which episode of Seinfeld he liked best.  He couldn't say he had one favorite in particular.  They were all his "babies."  I kind of think that way about the interviews done here.  Sure, there are some more interesting than others and in some, I was personally better than others.  So I have to separate how I feel about my performance in an interview (that's the part of me that always loved to take the mound, since the focus was on me half of every inning) from the performance of the person being interviewed. 

Then, of course, the interview as a whole had to be compelling.  Some were.  Some didn't meet my expectations, meaning I thought the subject would say more but stuck to convention and didn't reveal as much as I'd hoped.  The goal here has always been to get more than sound bytes; to go beyond cliche and get people to open up.  I've wanted new stories, revealing personalities, deeper insight than you get from the morning paper.  Sometimes I get it.  Sometimes I get those "Holy sh*t" moments where the person I'm talking to is letting loose and unafraid of any consequences.  That's why a focus on retirees has worked.  Once you're out of the game, who are you going to get pressure from anymore?  They can't blackball you from playing if you can't play anymore. 

Wives have been focus #2.  I spoke to a reporter a few years ago about sources for one of his stories.  I asked him, "Did you speak to the guy's wife?"  He said no.  I made some sort of non-verbal gesture in reaction and he asked me why.  "Because they're the ones who know everything," I said.  That's entirely true.  Wives aren't just gossip mills.  To a degree, baseball wives are the backbone of baseball.  Many times, they are females (well, they are always females) who have gone from zero knowledge of the game to near-experts.  They learned the game because of their association, but eventually they learned the game out of defense.  Their livelihoods depended on the game of baseball; their lifestyles and their circle of friends and their husbands' circles of friends are/were all built around baseball.  You can only be ignorant for so long until you're considered stupid.    The wife of a plumber doesn't need to know how to fix a stopped-up sink, but she should know how her husband's business is going.  Same here, just on a much bigger scale.  When I asked the reporter if he'd spoken to the player's wife, I did so knowing she probably had better sources and better quotes than most of the people he'd spoken to.  I still think that today.

"Fine, Jimmy," you scoff, "now what are your recommendations here?  If I want to get a movie from Netflix, they tell me what I'll like.  Please.  Be like Netflix and make my life easy.  Who should I listen to at the great Jimmy Scott's High & Tight?"

All right, I'll tell you.  First, because you asked.  Second, because I was supposed to have a new interview done today (Eddie Taubensee) but I didn't have the time last week to prepare it.  I'm gonna give you the 6 (six) [VI] {seis} Best Jimmy Scott's High & Tight Interviews.  Why 6?  I don't know.  Are these really my favorite 6?  Maybe.  I could probably give you 10 or 13 or 20, but you'd get bored after 7, so my theory here is to give you 6 and keep you wanting more.  What chu think o' dat?  I'm pretty smart, ain't I?  I knew you'd agree.

So, without wasting any more of your precious time, here they are, The 6 Best Jimmy Scott's High & Tight Interviews (in no particular order):

1.  Shea Hillenbrand - He told us everything about his near fist-fight with one-time Blue Jays manager John Gibbons and had some pointed words for GM J.P. Ricciardi.  You can still hear the anger in his voice.  Fascinating.

2.  Hunter Wendelstedt - How often do you hear from an MLB umpire?  That alone is reason to click and listen.

3.  Alisa & Nelson Figueroa -  Get a husband and wife on the phone at the same time to talk about their marriage and career in baseball and you've got something.  Plus, these two have great personalities.  It's hard not to root for them.

4.  Fred Claire - He was a member of the Dodgers organization for 30 years, the majority of them as GM.  That was interesting, but the best part was his still-simmering bitterness about the FOX takeover of the team and the events leading to his dismissal, mainly stemming from the trade of Mike Piazza to Florida, a trade we came to understand in the interview that was consummated neither by the LA GM, Mr. Claire, not the Florida GM, Dave Dombrowski.  So who actually made this trade?  This was a good one.

5.  Marty Appel - I think this is my shortest interview.  They generally run anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour.  With Marty, we were done in twenty.  His publisher said Marty had limited time and a discussion about Thurman Munson was worth every minute, even if only a handful of minutes were available.  This is short, sweet and loaded.  Sounds like a pickle soaked in a wine cooler.

6.  Gabrielle Schoeneweis - One day, I will write at length about my feelings here.  I've done so a couple of times since her death, but there is more to be written when the time is right.  For now, just know she was a beautiful woman and a wonderful person.  No matter what you think or have heard, if you listen to her, you'll realize that she was sweet and funny and a joy to be around.  Why did she die?  The story is tragic and the facts are still sealed.  For now, listen to her voice, listen to her laugh and listen to her stories.  I've had fun on a lot of these.  This might have been the most fun of all.

Honorable Mention: Brent Mayne, Paul Byrd, Doug Glanville, Brian Boehringer (Parts I & II), Dr. Tom Robbins & Nancy DeLaney, Dale Murphy, Craig Swan.