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Jimmy Scott's High & Tight: The Scott Erickson Interview

So what do you wanna be when you grow up? A baseball player? A movie star? Scott Erickson, who won 20 games for the Twins in 1991 (and a World Series too), was lucky enough to be a baseball player. Movie star? Nah, that's not what he wants. Movie producer? Most kids don't care so much for the finance and business aspects of film, but Scott? That's his thing now: Executive Producer of movies. Which means he funded a movie, Which means, had he wanted to, he could have appeared in front of the camera. Lucky for us (probably), he stayed in the background and let the pros do the acting. He's just out now to promote it.

The film was/is called A Plumm Summer. In the Jimmy Scott's High & Tight Scott Erickson Interview, Scott talks about his career, the movie and more.

PART I

Scott reflects on the last few years of his career, which, judging by the tone of his voice and words he chooses, were largely negative. He comes back a few times to the way he was treated, to a lack of respect. He's an example of a player who, no longer in his prime, still wants to be treated like he's the #3 guy on a pitching staff. Clearly, he had some injuries and bad breaks. The conversation is an interesting one.

PART II 9:30

Scott's playing career ended during the 2006 season. Here he explains how he went from the mound at Yankee Stadium to the plains of Montana within days to begin shooting A Plumm Summer. He talks about he married his wife, Lisa Guerrero, how they became involved with the film, and why they decided to spend $3.5 million of their own money to fund it.

PART III 19:00

So they spent $3.5 million. How are they going to get it back? Scott talks about the economics of film - just a little, it's not boring. He talks about lessons he's learned, and he explains how he and Lisa ended up in Prague with a 40-piece orchestra.

PART IV 30:30

Back to baseball. Scott tried one final comeback in 2008. Why? With whom? What happened? The tone from Part I re-emerges there and when we discuss a game he started with Baltimore in the 1996 ALCS, a game now known as the Jeffrey Maier Game. It was when a young boy, Jeffrey Maier, reached over the wall in the 8th inning and caught a Derek Jeter "home run" ball. I mention how outfielder Tony Tarasco didn't seem to jump for it. Scott says, "He didn't need to." Again, listen to the tone. What do you hear? The voice of a competitor. You hear the attitude of a guy who wants, or wanted, to win. You hear the voice of a guy who you'd probably want on your team in a big spot, like in an ALCS, on the road, in Yankee Stadium. It's the voice of a guy who's probably going to be successful off the field too, making movies. And why not? In movies, pulling strings - hamstrings included - is part of "the game." Listen to Scott, and you sense the attitude of a guy who's going to win in this game as well.