Q&A with A's Legend Vida Blue
He was an integral part of Oakland's three straight World Series championship teams from 1972-74. Blue was selected to six All Star games, serving as the starting pitcher twice. Vida was kind enough to speak with Ports broadcaster Curtis Bryant recently.
Stockton Ports: What were some of your favorite memories from your days in the minor leagues?
Vida Blue: Minor league baseball was some of the best time of my life. I established friendships and relationships with teammates, one in particular, Gene Tenace. [He] and I came from Triple-A to the major leagues on the same day. Along with Rene Latchman, and a guy named Jim Driscoll, a utility player for the A's. We played our last season in Triple-A in Omaha, Nebraska.
I can't say I enjoyed the lifestyle. I enjoyed being around the guys. We were a lot closer then because you had to pool your money to buy food, to rent an apartment, or you rent a car-it became community property. I enjoyed that aspect of it because we did everything together. I ended up babysitting for Gene Tenace's kids when we were in Triple-A. We also played a full season in Double-A ball down in the Southern League, in Birmingham. Those are memories that are etched in your brain. You never forget those.
My first year away from home in Louisiana, I went to Burlington, Iowa, we were the Burlington Bees in the Midwest League. That was unique experience for me, to be a 19-year old kid out of high school for the first time. It was especially hard because my father had passed away and I became the bread winner.
Actually, that's how I started to play baseball. My mom wanted me to go to college and try to play college football, but I said 'These people will pay me to play baseball. So if I don't make it Mom, I promise I'll go to school and get my education.' But I worked my tail off because I really wanted to play baseball. I thought I was just as good at football but I knew baseball was my better bet.
SP: Did you love baseball more than football?
VB: Yeah, I guess I did. Because at that time there were still a slew of African-American players, and those guys, other than my father, they were posi¬tive role models. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, Bob Gibson, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and I can go on and on and on. Those were household names in the major leagues. That's where you want to be, in the major leagues. It was a totally different world for me, but it's something I knew I wanted to have a taste of and luckily I got a chance to do it.
SP: You won three consecutive World Series' (1972, '73, and '74) with the A's. How does the ex¬perience of winning a second and a third compare to winning the first?
VB: Oh, the first one is always the best one. Out of those three rings I've only worn-I'm not a bling guy- I wore my '72 ring for a little while and I finally took that off and put it in a safe deposit box. But the other two were just as great, but the first time you do it it's very gratifying, and you think about all the hard work that goes into becoming a world champion, and to do it back-to-back-to-back is still quite a feat. I sometimes pinch myself.
I was 22, 23, and 24 years of age when we won those championships, so I really didn't have a great appreciation for them. Now I'm retired and I see those old highlights come-playoffs and World Series time for Major League Baseball, they start playing that stuff-it brings back good memories. And I have a great appreciation for Reggie [Jackson] hitting the cutoff man and Dick Green throwing out Bill Buckner at third base in the '74 World Series against the Dodgers. That stuff is etched in my brain.
SP: Of all your accomplishments-the three World Series', your Cy Young award, your American League MVP, the no-hitter- which do you value the most?
VB: Oh, man. Those are tough. Individual accomplishments are great, but the ultimate team sport is at the major league level. Winning the championships has got to be the ul¬timate thing. They never remember anything else. They remember, "Oh, you were with the A's. You won three years in a row." They don't always get the years right, but they know we did it back-to-back-to-back.
SP: You do a lot of charity work. What drives you to give back?
VB: It's just the way I was brought up. You grow up as poor as I did and you have so many people in the neighborhood that would push you up that ladder of success and helped you build that character. Giving was something that I was taught to do. You always think about the person that doesn't have as much as you have. It makes me feel good to give something to someone, especially if I'm giving them my time or giving them a piece of myself. I just enjoy it. It's not about me; it's about everybody else but me.
SP: What projects are you working on right now?
VB: I'm doing some stuff at a school called Northern Light in Oakland. I've been volunteering, doing some stuff with the kids. I'm going to an 8th grade graduation. I've worked with the kids since January. Some of the students will be going on to private schools around the Bay Area. I think they're ready to move to the next level. Charity is in my blood. That's nothing special in my mind.
I've done work for the Special Olympics; I'll be doing something for the Boy Scouts, Make a Wish Foundation. Everybody, man, they know I'm coming, they know I'm in their corner. I wish I could do more, but I can only be in one place at one time. The time I do have to give, I try to give that unconditionally.
SP: You were known for having a blistering fastball. When you throw out the first pitch at Banner Island Ballpark on June 18, how hard will you be bringing it?
VB: C'mon man! I'm 60 years old. Hopefully I can hit 50 mph. I need to warm-up for three days to try to do that. I feature the knuckleball now. I might get one to the catcher, we'll see. The trick is not to bounce it. I'm smart enough to stand in front of the mound. If I'm feeling frisky I might stand on top of the mound.
SP: The Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg is one of the most hyped pitchers in history. Having had a lot of success at a young age in your career, what advice would you give him to deal with the expectations?
VB: He's under the microscope now. The only thing I can tell him is to be yourself. You can't be anyone else anyway, so just be yourself. The fact that we live in this electronic age of "right now", they can get it, see it, and follow you from the time you leave the house till the time you go to bed at night. He's in the fishbowl, so welcome to our world. He seems to have a good head on him and I wish him nothing but success.
SP: Being a former pitcher, what was your reaction to umpire Jim Joyce's missed call that cost the Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga a perfect game on June 2nd?
VB: I think this might give the powers that be a reason to put their heads together to come up with, at least on a trial basis, more replay. Not balls and strikes, but at least bang-bang plays on the bases. You want to get the call right. Sometimes umpires are out of position and sometimes they just get the play wrong. If we can use the electronic medium to assist them in getting a bang-bang play right, you just bring that much more to the table.
It does not undermine the integrity of the umpire, it just makes sure we get the play right. That would be a sad commentary for baseball if an umpire blew a call-not because it was a perfect game-just because the guy was out. If he's out, he's out. If he's safe, he's safe. I think each team should have two reviews per game. Give each manager two, and if they use them fine, if they don't, so be it. It means the umpires did a good job. It's like John Madden said. 'Who's the best official in football? The guy you never heard of'.