Latest / Cardinal Territory: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast / Fernando Vina opens up on career, time with Cards, and more!

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Fernando Vina opens up on career, time with Cards, and more! · Cardinal Territory: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

0:08
Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of Cardinal Territory.
0:12
Speaker 1: Jim Hayes with an old friend, Fernando Vigna. And for
0:16
Speaker 1: those that don't know, he's a former All Star, two
0:19
Speaker 1: time Gold Glove winner. He's on the Wall of Honor
0:23
Speaker 1: with the Brewers. And we're going to say hi to
0:26
Speaker 1: mister Vigna in a second, but first, because we always
0:29
Speaker 1: sell here first on our podcast. We've been trying to
0:32
Speaker 1: get to seven thousand subscribers for a while and you
0:36
Speaker 1: can help us. So if you like this show, hit
0:38
Speaker 1: the button. If you know people who don't know about
0:41
Speaker 1: Cardinal Territory, tell them, tell them to subscribe. They could
0:45
Speaker 1: tell a friend, they could tell two friends, four friends.
0:47
Speaker 1: Help us get to seven k. Well, looky lucky, it's Fernandovina.
0:54
Speaker 1: Twelve years in the bigs, four with the Cardinals, four
0:58
Speaker 1: very good years with the Cardinals, and I think Cardinal
1:01
Speaker 1: fans would like the first question to be what are
1:04
Speaker 1: you up to from?
1:04
Speaker 2: Andovinia got to Gardanda. Thank you for having me, buddy,
1:08
Speaker 2: I appreciate it. It's great to see you and be
1:10
Speaker 2: back on the air in Saint Louis, a place real
1:14
Speaker 2: special to my heart. I'm just I work with kids,
1:17
Speaker 2: trying to teach them the game, and you know, trying
1:21
Speaker 2: to make them better players, trying to teach hitting, base running, defense,
1:25
Speaker 2: you name it, keeping eyes on the ball, a lot
1:26
Speaker 2: of things, a lot of the small things that are
1:28
Speaker 2: lacking it these days.
1:29
Speaker 3: Trying to get these kids better. So I take a
1:31
Speaker 3: lot of pride in it.
1:32
Speaker 2: And obviously, when you teach the kids the fundamentals of
1:35
Speaker 2: the game, it brings a lot a long life lesson.
1:38
Speaker 2: So I think you hit two birds with one stone
1:41
Speaker 2: and just trying to make kids better, and it makes
1:43
Speaker 2: me feel good when I help these kids achieve different things,
1:46
Speaker 2: and you know, maybe someday they can help and God
1:49
Speaker 2: willing help their parents and get a scholarship to a
1:52
Speaker 2: decent school to play baseball or whatever it might be.
1:54
Speaker 3: I think it will help them develop as great human beings.
1:58
Speaker 1: You were a mister fundamental, no question about it. You
2:01
Speaker 1: were like the anti modern player like Fernandovina. Would strike
2:06
Speaker 1: out just six point two percent of the time, didn't
2:10
Speaker 1: care about launch angle right, just line drives, line drives,
2:14
Speaker 1: get on base play defense, two gold gloves. And now
2:19
Speaker 1: everyone is talking about well, there's like there's two outcomes, strikeout,
2:22
Speaker 1: home run, and you were like the opposite of that.
2:25
Speaker 1: Do you think that's sort of a lost thing? The
2:27
Speaker 1: old school baseball.
2:29
Speaker 2: Player, without a doubt, without a doubt, I think that,
2:32
Speaker 2: you know, the old school baseball players would wins games.
2:35
Speaker 2: I think if you look at every year in the
2:36
Speaker 2: playoffs and teams that win the World Series, they don't
2:39
Speaker 2: strike out, and they hit the ball behind runners, they
2:41
Speaker 2: go first to third, they get good breaks and leads
2:43
Speaker 2: off bases. So, uh, you know, it's tough to watch sometimes.
2:47
Speaker 2: And I think for myself, obviously, there's some guys that
2:51
Speaker 2: you know, you can go up there and swing and
2:53
Speaker 2: miss and strike out a lot, but you got to hit.
2:54
Speaker 2: You got to come back with some home runs. But
2:56
Speaker 2: I was a guy I had to know my role,
2:58
Speaker 2: and my role was to get on base. So it was,
3:01
Speaker 2: you know, hit balls line the line, let balls get deep,
3:04
Speaker 2: Let trust my hands and let the ball travel so
3:07
Speaker 2: I could do my thing and put the ball in play.
3:09
Speaker 2: So I could, you know, get up for the big boppers,
3:12
Speaker 2: Pulholes and Edmunds and Maguire, Edgar Nteria, Polanco, you name it.
3:17
Speaker 2: You know, you had to get on base for these guys,
3:19
Speaker 2: and that was my job and I took it to
3:21
Speaker 2: heart and I loved it.
3:22
Speaker 3: And you know, I never forget.
3:23
Speaker 2: As a little kid, my dad rest in peace, he
3:26
Speaker 2: would always tell me, you know, he'd get on my case.
3:28
Speaker 2: I could go four for four or four for six
3:31
Speaker 2: with three home runs and strike out the other two times,
3:34
Speaker 2: and all we talk about on the way home was
3:35
Speaker 2: why did I strike out? So it was something that
3:37
Speaker 2: was ingrained in me as a little kid, and I
3:39
Speaker 2: did never ever want to strike out.
3:41
Speaker 3: And this is what I teach now is you know,
3:43
Speaker 3: we got to put the ball in play.
3:44
Speaker 2: You never know, putting the ball in play gives ourselves
3:47
Speaker 2: a chance, you know, of getting the ball in the hole,
3:49
Speaker 2: maybe a guy boots. It just helps your team win
3:52
Speaker 2: in so many more different ways.
3:55
Speaker 1: If you look at baseball today compared to when you played,
3:59
Speaker 1: and that was a I would go two thousand. What
4:02
Speaker 1: was your last year? Two thousand?
4:04
Speaker 3: I finished at six, you know, try with the injuries
4:07
Speaker 3: and stuff.
4:07
Speaker 2: But yeah, so you know, I was able to get
4:09
Speaker 2: almost thirteen years in which is which was a blessing
4:11
Speaker 2: thanks to Jesus.
4:13
Speaker 1: But the game has changed, Like players are bigger, faster,
4:16
Speaker 1: stronger now when you were there, there were a couple
4:19
Speaker 1: of guys that might throw ninety nine or one hundred.
4:22
Speaker 1: Now everyone does, right how much in viewer review has
4:26
Speaker 1: the game changed from when you play?
4:29
Speaker 2: I mean, I'll be honest with you, I don't think
4:30
Speaker 2: it's changed a ton. I was a guy. I mean
4:33
Speaker 2: I faced Billy Wagner, Randy Johnson, I mean Pedro Martinez,
4:37
Speaker 2: these guys all through gas. But I was the type
4:39
Speaker 2: of hitter I was okay with gas because I would
4:41
Speaker 2: keep my feet on the ground. If you get your
4:43
Speaker 2: front foot down early, it doesn't matter how fast that
4:45
Speaker 2: ball's coming. I'll take that every day instead of a
4:47
Speaker 2: guy like Maddox or or somebody with a nasty sink
4:50
Speaker 2: like Clemens or a splitter. So you know, I'm okay
4:53
Speaker 2: with hundreds or ninety eight because usually it's very straight.
4:56
Speaker 2: So you know, you get your front foot down, your
4:58
Speaker 2: hands are back, and that's you know, you play pepper,
5:01
Speaker 2: which is a beautiful thing. But obviously more guys do
5:04
Speaker 2: it now, and they're in different roles, and they come
5:06
Speaker 2: in for shorter windows, so you have to be ready.
5:08
Speaker 2: But I think a lot of this, a lot of hitters.
5:10
Speaker 2: Sometimes they get these big long, long leig kicks. They
5:12
Speaker 2: got too much going on before you know they released
5:16
Speaker 2: that pitch, and it's hard to time it and get
5:18
Speaker 2: your front foot down.
5:19
Speaker 3: So that's why you get in trouble with a lot
5:21
Speaker 3: of heat.
5:23
Speaker 1: Interesting, and I'm just curious an old school guy like you.
5:27
Speaker 1: Now you just tap your helmet if you don't think
5:31
Speaker 1: a ball was a strike. What do you think of
5:33
Speaker 1: the ABS rule?
5:35
Speaker 3: I love ABS kat.
5:37
Speaker 2: That's a beautiful thing because as a player when I played,
5:40
Speaker 2: obviously now when they when the guys are playing now
5:42
Speaker 2: in the league, I was blessed to play in the
5:43
Speaker 2: league for a long time. I never thought i'd get
5:45
Speaker 2: one day in and I got almost thirteen years until
5:48
Speaker 2: you can imagine how blessed and grateful I am. But
5:51
Speaker 2: I worked my tail off and I as a hitter.
5:54
Speaker 2: As a player, all you want is to the umpires
5:56
Speaker 2: to get the calls right.
5:57
Speaker 3: At the end of the day, let's just get these
5:59
Speaker 3: things right.
6:00
Speaker 2: So ABS guarantees that it makes you feel better about
6:03
Speaker 2: you know, is a ball fair or foul, or a
6:05
Speaker 2: call at first base is safer out or obviously the
6:08
Speaker 2: big one is getting balls and strikes correct. So that
6:11
Speaker 2: made me feel a lot better. I mean, we looked
6:13
Speaker 2: a few weeks back umpire C. B. Buckner, who was
6:17
Speaker 2: who was umpiring when I was playing. He missed six
6:19
Speaker 2: ABS calls, you know, in real time, So that's tough
6:23
Speaker 2: to do. So you can imagine when we were playing
6:25
Speaker 2: when there was and there was not any abs, how
6:27
Speaker 2: many did guys miss you know? So I think at
6:30
Speaker 2: the end of the day, just get the calls right
6:31
Speaker 2: and it makes you feel so much better as a player.
6:34
Speaker 2: And you know, the umpires get held accountable like all
6:37
Speaker 2: of us players and managers do and.
6:40
Speaker 1: In the media too. So if you were playing with
6:43
Speaker 1: the with the Avs right now, how would that change
6:46
Speaker 1: your approach knowing that a strike is going to be
6:50
Speaker 1: a strike and the ball is going to be a ball,
6:52
Speaker 1: Because I would imagine if you have a Buckner game,
6:55
Speaker 1: you're probably swinging and stuff. Maybe you wouldn't normally swing
6:59
Speaker 1: at if you had the ABS when you played, How
7:01
Speaker 1: would that change your approach?
7:03
Speaker 2: I mean, I think you can really be true to
7:05
Speaker 2: what you've been taught and how you go about your role.
7:07
Speaker 2: You know, when you practice, when you take at bats,
7:09
Speaker 2: when you're MVP, when George Kissel's flipping your balls. I mean,
7:13
Speaker 2: you can trust the strike zone and have a lot
7:15
Speaker 2: of trust in it. And before when there was not abs,
7:18
Speaker 2: you know, you couldn't trust it completely because guys could
7:21
Speaker 2: call and Eric Greig, you remember the World Series with
7:24
Speaker 2: the Marlins in Florida, Eric Greig, I mean he called
7:27
Speaker 2: God bless him and rest in peace. He called a
7:29
Speaker 2: bunch of balls off the plate by two or three balls,
7:31
Speaker 2: you know. So it just gives you as a player
7:34
Speaker 2: more trust and you more confidence, and you can take
7:36
Speaker 2: more pitches and believe in them more often. And I
7:39
Speaker 2: think at the end of the day, that makes you
7:40
Speaker 2: a way way better hit, especially if you're a leadoff
7:42
Speaker 2: guy that has to you know, work to count.
7:44
Speaker 3: You got to compete pitch to pitch.
7:48
Speaker 1: You mentioned twelve years thirteen years in the Bigs. You
7:51
Speaker 1: could have kept playing because I know you always kept
7:53
Speaker 1: yourself in good shape, but you had injuries. I think
7:56
Speaker 1: it was a knee and a hamstring, Is that what
7:58
Speaker 1: it was.
7:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, I tore my hamstring in Saint Louis running down
8:02
Speaker 2: the line on a bunt. I remember in Pittsburgh kind
8:05
Speaker 2: of you know, reaching kind of diving for the for
8:08
Speaker 2: the for the bag with my front foot and I
8:10
Speaker 2: tore the uh tendon in my connecting my hamstring to
8:14
Speaker 2: the back of my knee, So that was kind of
8:15
Speaker 2: a bummer. And uh then I had some help pateller
8:18
Speaker 2: tendonitis issues, and I think the biggest thing was my hip.
8:22
Speaker 2: I tore the labor them inside my hip joint, and
8:25
Speaker 2: that's what kind of beat me up towards the end.
8:26
Speaker 2: And uh, it's tough to continue digging when you start
8:29
Speaker 2: getting these injuries. But I tell you, tell you what,
8:31
Speaker 2: big Cat, I loved it. I played hard, I gave
8:35
Speaker 2: it my all, and I didn't leave anything. Uh uh,
8:39
Speaker 2: you know, out on I left it all out on
8:41
Speaker 2: the field. I didn't leave anything in the clubhouse. I
8:43
Speaker 2: gave it all I had and it played as hard
8:44
Speaker 2: as I could. And again, thankfully I was able to
8:47
Speaker 2: do it for almost thirteen years.
8:49
Speaker 1: Always playing hard. Our guest is Fernandovina. We're gonna take
8:52
Speaker 1: a quick break here. When we come back, we're gonna
8:55
Speaker 1: ask him about this time in Saint Louis. That's straight ahead.
8:58
Speaker 1: You're watching Cardinal Tears on the Found Territory Network.
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10:03
Speaker 1: We're talking to the great Fernando Vignia. I'd put it
10:06
Speaker 1: on Twitter, Fernando that unless we have technical difficulties, you
10:10
Speaker 1: were going to be the guest. People were looking forward
10:12
Speaker 1: to this, so here we are. I just want to
10:14
Speaker 1: ask you, when you think about your time in Saint Louis,
10:18
Speaker 1: what stands out to you?
10:21
Speaker 3: You know?
10:21
Speaker 2: I think obviously that the teammates I had in the team,
10:25
Speaker 2: and Tony LaRussa, and I believe really the history of
10:28
Speaker 2: Saint Louis Cardinal Baseball when you think about Stand the
10:30
Speaker 2: Man and Bob Gibson, Red Shandy's, Sweet Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith,
10:36
Speaker 2: I mean, you name it, these guys, Darryl Porter, these guys.
10:40
Speaker 2: So I kind of knew the history before I got
10:41
Speaker 2: traded over to Saint Louis. So to know the history
10:44
Speaker 2: coming in with all these guys and so many special
10:46
Speaker 2: players and the greatest fans in the world, and then
10:50
Speaker 2: to be able to play and be part of it
10:51
Speaker 2: and live it, man, it was something special. So to
10:54
Speaker 2: go with that. George Kissel another one that helped me tremendously.
10:57
Speaker 2: Jose Kendo. I mean, these guys are just special, special
11:00
Speaker 2: speech people, and it's something that makes you feel good
11:05
Speaker 2: going into a ball club when I got traded and
11:07
Speaker 2: then when you actually live it and be part of it.
11:09
Speaker 2: And you got to give the Dewitts a lot of
11:11
Speaker 2: credit too, They've been a great They've been great owners
11:13
Speaker 2: to put this all together, to make it all all
11:15
Speaker 2: the pieces fall into place.
11:16
Speaker 3: Also, it's just been an incredible experience.
11:19
Speaker 2: So the history of the game in Saint Louis, the
11:22
Speaker 2: way the fans treat you, and then all my teammates,
11:24
Speaker 2: you know, pool Holes, Jimmy Edmunds, Mark McGuire, Edgar Renteria Polanco.
11:29
Speaker 2: I mean, so many guys that were so so special,
11:32
Speaker 2: Kerry Robinson that were special. You know that you when
11:35
Speaker 2: you leave and you you've played your time there and
11:37
Speaker 2: all you have, you think back of the memories and
11:40
Speaker 2: I have so many Smoley special memories because we won
11:42
Speaker 2: a lot. We went to playoffs and they were there
11:45
Speaker 2: were a lot of big moments and the lights were
11:47
Speaker 2: bright and it was awesome to be part of that.
11:49
Speaker 1: Give me a memory or two that when you think
11:51
Speaker 1: about that time sticks out to you.
11:55
Speaker 3: I'll never forget.
11:56
Speaker 2: I want to say in the year two thousand, when
11:57
Speaker 2: we first won the division, caught the last ball against
12:02
Speaker 2: the Astros to win the division. And I'll never forget
12:05
Speaker 2: just the hugs and the filling we got from Tony,
12:08
Speaker 2: from a kendo, from George Kissel, who was so special
12:11
Speaker 2: in my career, in my life, and at Jimmy Edmonds, everybody,
12:15
Speaker 2: I mean, we all got together and it was such
12:17
Speaker 2: a team oriented win because we all put in so
12:21
Speaker 2: much for that year and to actually get back to
12:22
Speaker 2: the playoffs there, you know, after Walt Jockety was so
12:26
Speaker 2: special and making great trades to get us competitive there
12:29
Speaker 2: in Saint Louis, and we made the playoffs in two
12:31
Speaker 2: thousand and we got into the dance. And when you
12:33
Speaker 2: have a leader like Tony LaRussa, you know he's leading
12:37
Speaker 2: and we're behind following him, It's just makes it special.
12:39
Speaker 2: So all those times are the ones that I remember
12:42
Speaker 2: so much, and the opportunities I had at a really
12:46
Speaker 2: high level. When you know, you look at what the
12:49
Speaker 2: teams we had, and the Cardinal fans are the best,
12:52
Speaker 2: and they would come in and just pack the house.
12:54
Speaker 2: It was I don't know, fifty thousand plus right with
12:56
Speaker 2: you as a player, your hair stands up.
13:00
Speaker 1: What's it like playing for Tony? I love him? But
13:02
Speaker 1: I think there's a little element of crazy in there,
13:05
Speaker 1: always has been. He crazy. But what's it like being
13:09
Speaker 1: a player for Tony?
13:10
Speaker 2: I think you have to have a little element of
13:12
Speaker 2: being crazy a little bit. I mean Tony's he's he's
13:14
Speaker 2: a diehard. I mean I like Tony because he was
13:18
Speaker 2: so supportive of his players. I mean, he knows how
13:20
Speaker 2: hard the game is, he knows what it takes, and
13:22
Speaker 2: he supports you. He'll run through a wall for you,
13:24
Speaker 2: and that's why players will run through a wall for him.
13:27
Speaker 2: He's got so much history, He's been through so much.
13:29
Speaker 2: I mean he would stay the night in the clubhouse sometimes.
13:31
Speaker 2: He does so much research and he analyzes so much.
13:35
Speaker 2: And I mean that brain is second to none, you know,
13:38
Speaker 2: baseball wise. So I loved playing for Tony. He gave
13:40
Speaker 2: me an opportunity. I was grateful for that. Walt Jockety
13:43
Speaker 2: also rest in peace, gave me an opportunity. And those
13:46
Speaker 2: were the guy George Kissel, another guy and a kindo.
13:48
Speaker 2: I mean, George Kissel was special. He took me under
13:50
Speaker 2: his wing and hit me a ton of ground balls.
13:52
Speaker 2: But Tony's a special manager, a special man, and you
13:57
Speaker 2: gotta have you know, uh, maybe some differ things going
14:00
Speaker 2: on to elevate yourself to one of the best managers
14:03
Speaker 2: to ever manage in the game of baseball.
14:05
Speaker 3: And that's who Toty Russa is and.
14:07
Speaker 1: He's still sharp to this day. You also were in
14:10
Speaker 1: Saint Louis for the beginning of Albert Poolholes, the early
14:15
Speaker 1: stages of Albert. When you first saw that guy, were
14:18
Speaker 1: you like, this guy is going to end up a
14:21
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer? Did you know what you were seeing
14:24
Speaker 1: then was what we would come to know is Albert
14:26
Speaker 1: Pooh Holes.
14:28
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I mean you knew he was a unicorn.
14:30
Speaker 3: You know he was. He was a freak.
14:32
Speaker 2: So when we see him come up, I knew he
14:34
Speaker 2: was a I don't know, I want to say fifteenth
14:36
Speaker 2: or I don't know what round he was drafted later
14:39
Speaker 2: in the draft and out of Kansas City. And to
14:42
Speaker 2: see Pooh Hooles, the way he swung the bat, his body,
14:45
Speaker 2: the way he went about his business, the way he listened.
14:48
Speaker 3: I mean he would listen to me.
14:50
Speaker 2: I was I speak Spanish, so he would listen to me,
14:52
Speaker 2: Edgar Palanko, you name it, and he would he would
14:55
Speaker 2: take advice, you know, and really work hard at it,
14:57
Speaker 2: but you could see the talent and all he was
15:00
Speaker 2: and all special he could become. And I remember he
15:04
Speaker 2: made the ball club coming out of spring training. I
15:06
Speaker 2: think Bobby Benia got hurt and Albert Poolhole started at
15:09
Speaker 2: in left field for us.
15:11
Speaker 3: And you could see then that he was going to
15:13
Speaker 3: be a special guy.
15:15
Speaker 2: Obviously, he's a Hall of Famer and he's done so
15:18
Speaker 2: many special things in the game and so much for
15:19
Speaker 2: Saint Louis. But it was pretty simple to watch him
15:23
Speaker 2: and know what he was all about early on with
15:24
Speaker 2: all the talent he brought.
15:26
Speaker 1: And I remember he was like a lot of young
15:29
Speaker 1: players come up and they're wide eyed and they're looking
15:32
Speaker 1: around or they might leap trying to soak it in
15:35
Speaker 1: too much. Albert was all business even as a youngster.
15:38
Speaker 1: Serious serious kid, right.
15:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, he had it. He was focused. That's that's the key.
15:43
Speaker 2: I mean, you don't see too many guys locked in
15:46
Speaker 2: at an early age as a rookie, right you kind
15:48
Speaker 2: of see a deer in headlights, maybe guys, you know,
15:51
Speaker 2: young kids, But Albert was. I mean he almost looked
15:53
Speaker 2: at him and you said, man, is this guy got
15:55
Speaker 2: five six years under his belt. Already and he just
15:57
Speaker 2: showed up. And and the way he went about his
15:59
Speaker 2: business the plate. You know, most guys, when you struggle
16:03
Speaker 2: or or you know you're guaranteed as a big league
16:05
Speaker 2: hitter or as a as a hitter in baseball period
16:08
Speaker 2: before the season starts, to go into funks.
16:10
Speaker 3: That's just the way it is.
16:11
Speaker 2: It's already written down before the season starts, so you
16:14
Speaker 2: can't panic.
16:15
Speaker 3: And Albert was a guy.
16:16
Speaker 2: When he did go into a funk, he was able
16:18
Speaker 2: to fix his swing or his balance from pitch to pitch.
16:21
Speaker 2: I mean this, some guys it'll take maybe five six
16:25
Speaker 2: pitches or at bats. Albert could fix it from pitch
16:27
Speaker 2: to pitch. And that's what made him so special. And
16:29
Speaker 2: it started from day one with that approach and how
16:32
Speaker 2: he went about his business. So he was a special
16:34
Speaker 2: guy from the beginning. And you could see that just
16:36
Speaker 2: the way he competed every yet bat. He competed pitch
16:39
Speaker 2: to pitch, and he was able to change things, you know,
16:42
Speaker 2: from from one strike to the next.
16:44
Speaker 3: He was He's special, unbelievable.
16:47
Speaker 1: And now he wants to manage yaw, he wants to manage.
16:51
Speaker 1: So tell me what Fernandovin you wants. I know you
16:53
Speaker 1: did some media stuff with the ESPN. Tell me what
16:57
Speaker 1: you'd like to be in the next chapter.
16:59
Speaker 2: For Fernando Vin, I'd like to get on the field,
17:02
Speaker 2: and you know, get on the field and help kids
17:05
Speaker 2: or help minor league players or whatever it might be,
17:08
Speaker 2: to teach them how to field the ball correctly, to
17:10
Speaker 2: teach them how how much of a you know, focus
17:13
Speaker 2: you have to put on keeping your eyes on the ball,
17:16
Speaker 2: whether you're fielding it or whether you're hitting it. You
17:18
Speaker 2: got to really exaggerate it and keep your eyes on
17:20
Speaker 2: the ball after you take care of business and hit
17:23
Speaker 2: the ball or after you fill the ball. You got
17:24
Speaker 2: to over exaggerate when your practice to stay on those balls.
17:27
Speaker 2: And that's what makes you so much better as a
17:29
Speaker 2: hitter and as a fielder. George Kissel taught me that
17:31
Speaker 2: long time ago. Ozzie Smith taught me that, Omar Viscull
17:35
Speaker 2: taught me that. I mean, these are names that are
17:37
Speaker 2: special guys and special people and teachers.
17:40
Speaker 3: So I'd love to help kids in an organization.
17:44
Speaker 2: I'm trying now, hopefully God willing, get into pro scouting
17:47
Speaker 2: so I can find these type of players and kids
17:49
Speaker 2: for trades, for an organization with the same fire I
17:53
Speaker 2: played with. I have the hunger to do that, or
17:55
Speaker 2: to do some amateur scouting, to be able to find
17:57
Speaker 2: some young kids, to find that diamond in the rough,
18:00
Speaker 2: you know, the kids that uh that have good makeup,
18:03
Speaker 2: that can make a you know, make a difference on
18:06
Speaker 2: the field and and find those intangibles.
18:09
Speaker 3: So that's what I'm really into. I love the game.
18:12
Speaker 3: I missed the game.
18:13
Speaker 2: I can't compete at the level that I did because
18:15
Speaker 2: obviously my age and and you know, time goes on.
18:18
Speaker 3: But I can give a lot back to the game.
18:19
Speaker 2: And that's what I try now, teaching younger kids and
18:21
Speaker 2: high school kids, and and I'd love to do it
18:24
Speaker 2: in the scouting world.
18:26
Speaker 1: I think I think you'd be a good hire for
18:28
Speaker 1: any team. We're gonna take another quick break here. We'll
18:31
Speaker 1: come back with more with Fernandovina. You're watching Cardinal Territory
18:35
Speaker 1: on the Foul Territory Network. I love going to comedy shows.
18:40
Speaker 1: Jim Gaffigan is doing some sort of national tour and
18:44
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to get me some tickets and figure
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Speaker 1: Seat Geek. Johnt with our old buddy Fernandovina, and I
20:02
Speaker 1: mentioned this to you via taxan. We're sending this up.
20:05
Speaker 1: I got to ask you about Albert bell You know that.
20:08
Speaker 1: I had to ask you about Albert Belle. So what
20:11
Speaker 1: was it ninety six? Albert Bella was known as one
20:14
Speaker 1: of the nastiest guys, tough guys in may League Basel.
20:19
Speaker 1: Yet you had a you had a collision. He elbowed you.
20:23
Speaker 1: Total cheap shot. I'll give you that. And uh, I
20:27
Speaker 1: was googling that because I remember that, and I was like,
20:29
Speaker 1: I got to ask Fernando. Fernando said, by all means
20:32
Speaker 1: ask and I saw Belle being interviewed and he doesn't
20:36
Speaker 1: talk to the media, so I did find somewhere he said.
20:39
Speaker 1: I told him to stay out of the base path.
20:41
Speaker 1: So I'm just wondering, because you're Fernandovinia. Everybody loves Fernandovina.
20:46
Speaker 1: Did you ever hear from Albert bell yourself after your
20:51
Speaker 1: bone jarring collision?
20:54
Speaker 3: Never did? Never did. I never heard from Albert.
20:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was a big he was a big linebacker
20:59
Speaker 2: guy and kind of caught me off guard and I,
21:01
Speaker 2: you know, was off balance and he lit me up
21:04
Speaker 2: pretty good.
21:05
Speaker 3: I got to give him that.
21:05
Speaker 2: But I did not held onto that ball, and I
21:08
Speaker 2: thought about throwing it, but I you know, held tight
21:11
Speaker 2: and I didn't.
21:12
Speaker 3: But Greg Vaughan a good friend of mine.
21:14
Speaker 2: We played together in Milwaukee, and he brought me in
21:17
Speaker 2: and let me live with him as a rookie. He
21:19
Speaker 2: knew Albert Bell, and Albert Bell had some conversation with him,
21:22
Speaker 2: you know, apologizing of those nature of that nature, and
21:25
Speaker 2: you know it.
21:26
Speaker 3: Was obviously it was a cheap shot.
21:27
Speaker 2: I thought next time I would have been ready, because
21:29
Speaker 2: you can't, you know, you got to keep yourself ready
21:31
Speaker 2: in a big league game. And he blew me up,
21:33
Speaker 2: so I had to give him credit. Now, I see
21:35
Speaker 2: it come up every year. Friends start texting me, and
21:38
Speaker 2: I guess during Christmas time or the New Year, I
21:41
Speaker 2: guess it's one of the ten best collisions or something.
21:45
Speaker 3: So I gotta continue to see it. So it was okay.
21:47
Speaker 2: I was in Milwaukee, and it was in I want
21:49
Speaker 2: to say May thirty first and ninety six, if that's
21:52
Speaker 2: if I remember correctly. I'm not sure how my my
21:54
Speaker 2: memory is. But we had a decent team. There were
21:59
Speaker 2: struggle a little bit was cold there, and and I
22:02
Speaker 2: was doing okay and helping the team, so you know,
22:04
Speaker 2: in Milwaukee didn't get a lot of media covers, so
22:07
Speaker 2: that kind of put us on the map a little bit,
22:09
Speaker 2: and you.
22:10
Speaker 1: Held onto the ball like that's to me the main thing.
22:13
Speaker 1: And I also read that back to Dockers hired me
22:17
Speaker 1: u but back then I read that, you know, you
22:22
Speaker 1: could shift away all you wanted, and they put you
22:25
Speaker 1: in a position where you robbed the heck out of
22:28
Speaker 1: him with ground walls up the middle. Later in the series,
22:32
Speaker 1: so you and probably ended up with the last laugh.
22:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it was part of the game.
22:37
Speaker 2: Obviously, he did get me and he caught me off
22:39
Speaker 2: guard and it did light me up. But uh, you know,
22:41
Speaker 2: I was fine, that was okay, and I knew it
22:44
Speaker 2: was a cheap shot and I was ready from then
22:46
Speaker 2: on for any type of those teap cheap shots.
22:48
Speaker 3: You can't get too comfortable.
22:49
Speaker 2: I think at that time I got a little comfortable
22:51
Speaker 2: because I would tag the runner and throw the first
22:53
Speaker 2: But yeah, I took I took pride, kat and my defense.
22:56
Speaker 1: Uh.
22:56
Speaker 2: I worked hard at it, probably overworked pregame, sweat my
23:00
Speaker 2: rear end off to get ready for you know, I
23:02
Speaker 2: remember George Kissel could hit thirty or I don't know,
23:05
Speaker 2: thirty different type of ground balls. And I would take
23:07
Speaker 2: those ground balls day in, day out, pregame and sweat
23:10
Speaker 2: and get myself ready to go, and I would I
23:14
Speaker 2: would take pride in still in a base hit from
23:16
Speaker 2: the other team.
23:16
Speaker 3: That's what it was all about.
23:17
Speaker 2: If I couldn't get a hit, I wanted to make
23:19
Speaker 2: sure I stole one from the other team.
23:20
Speaker 3: And that's that's what my focus was as an infielder.
23:24
Speaker 2: And you know, when you when you work like that
23:25
Speaker 2: and you make the routine play and you keep your
23:27
Speaker 2: eye on the ball through the play, and you and
23:30
Speaker 2: you really work on your pre pitch and you get
23:32
Speaker 2: your feet down early before that that ball crosses home plate,
23:35
Speaker 2: good things happen. And I was able to keep that
23:37
Speaker 2: and and stay consistent with it. And when you're consistent
23:40
Speaker 2: with that approach, you win go gloves. And I was
23:42
Speaker 2: blessed to be able to win go gloves, which is
23:44
Speaker 2: a special honor for me to be part of that.
23:46
Speaker 2: And I was a part of the Saint Louis Cardinals,
23:48
Speaker 2: So that's that's very very glorifying for me, and I'm
23:52
Speaker 2: grateful for all of that.
23:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll tell you this Cardinal fans don't forget. You
23:56
Speaker 1: did a lot of things and made you a fan
23:58
Speaker 1: favorite with car fans. I hope you enjoyed talking to me.
24:02
Speaker 1: I enjoyed talking to you. Hopefully the fans enjoyed watching it.
24:06
Speaker 2: Fernando sounds good, Big Kat always. You know that we're
24:09
Speaker 2: buddies for life. You've been around so long. You're going,
24:12
Speaker 2: you know, you're going for thirty plus years, maybe here soon.
24:15
Speaker 2: And you've been doing it so long. You've been through
24:17
Speaker 2: so many different type of teams, the players, and you're
24:19
Speaker 2: you're very good with personalities, and you do a heck
24:22
Speaker 2: of a job. So I wish you all the best,
24:24
Speaker 2: but thank you for your time.
24:27
Speaker 1: All Right, when you come back to Saint Louis, we'll
24:29
Speaker 1: get together. That's gonna do it for this edition of
24:32
Speaker 1: Cardinal Territory. We'll see you in the next episode. Hopefully
24:35
Speaker 1: that one won't suck.