Talking with: Rudy Seanez

"He's a survivor.  He's one of those guys who fights every time he goes out there.  He's been a guy who's been a non-roster invitee and he goes out there and does it.  Teams like bringing guys like him around because he's a proven guy who can go out and teams know they're going to get their best effort from him.  He fights for what he has.  You respect a guy like that.  He's been around a long time, and there's a reason," says Gonzalez.  "You have a respect for a guy like that because of what he does, and what he accomplishes every time he goes down there.  I've seen him in Atlanta, San Diego.  He's worn a couple different hats.  Guys like that always seem to find a job because of what they're capable of what they're doing, and they provide leadership in the bullpen.  Teams want guys like that who have been around.  They help some of the younger guys develop a lot quicker."

I had a chance to talk with Seanez during the last homestand.   

Brian Kamenetzky: Your first professional season was in 1986.  There aren't a lot of guys left who can say that.  Is anything different about the game now than it was when you broke in?  What's different for you?

Rudy Seanez: What's different?  Just a little bit of everything.  Not anything super-drastic.  Probably the way guys pitch now.  Of course, you had your guys like Jack Morris who threw in.  And now throwing in- there's guys who pitch inside, but you don't pitch in as often just because sometimes you catch a little bit of the button and it's a hit batter.  So there are some things like that.  The games are a little quicker now.  Not super fast, but they do a few more things now to speed things up (in terms of how the game is played).  It used to be sit and wait, now the attitude is, "Hey, let's make something happen."  The biggest thing I've seen I think is the athleticism of the players.  Pitchers, position players, you've got some great athletes out there.  I think that's from nutrition and training.  You see guys doing things that weren't done back then.  You have catchers now who can run.  You've got pretty good size first basemen, and second baseman hitting fifteen, twenty home runs.  You've got Crawford, Reyes, Gathright, and I'm sure I'm missing about five other guys that run to first in under four seconds.  You hardly ever saw that (before), and I think just watching that's exciting.   

BK: Is that just a combination of training and diet?

RS: Yeah.  It's just a combination.  The training.  Guys are taking better care of themselves.  Not just during the season, but in the offseason, too.  Before, the offseason was, "Hey, I'm done.  I'm going to go home and rest, and I'll get in shape in spring training."  Now it's, "I'm gonna get better, and I'm going to come to spring training ready to win a job," or whatever the case is.  Just the way guys go about their business.  And there's a lot more money involved now, which is part of it, but I think for the most part these guys want to be good.  They want to be the best.

BK: Who were the guys that helped you when you broke in?  Players you looked up to?

RS: Oh man.  Doug Jones.  Tom Candiotti.  Brook Jacoby.  I could go on and on.  That was from the beginning.  Then when I got to L.A. (the first time, in 1994), it was Todd Worrell, Orel Hershiser, Jim Gott, Roger McDowell.  Then with Atlanta, it was Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux, Leo (Mazzone) and Bobby (Cox).  I could just go on and on naming players from different teams.  I'm sorry if I forgot to mention anybody, but there are so many guys I've learned something from, watching them or talking to them.  I've been so fortunate to be around them.

BK: You've never been the guy who has had the long term deal.  The six year contract for sixty million.

RS: No, and I never will be. 

BK: And this is the third time you've been here, you were with Atlanta twice, Cleveland twice?

RS: No, Cleveland just once.  Atlanta twice, San Diego four times. 

BK: Given all that, how do you look at the game differently than someone with that long term deal and the security that goes with it?  Do you think you appreciate the game and what it means to play in a different way?

RS:  Those guys who got those contracts, they deserve them, obviously.  For someone like me, I was always up and down and this and that, so of course I'm not going to get something like that.  But for me, the lesson was to keep going, being determined to come back after an injury (an elbow reconstruction in June of 2000), and when I got here to stay here.  So yeah, I really appreciate everything that's gone on in the game and everything the game's given me.  Actually I think going through all that helped me as a player and a person.

BK: In terms of the injuries, having to fight to stay on rosters, find jobs, and all that.

RS: Just to come back and stay.  I think once you get tagged as injury prone or having an injury like elbow reconstruction or something like that, teams are a little leery about signing you, and then when they do, they wonder if they'll call you up because there's a chance you could get injured again.  And that kind of makes you say, "Yeah, okay, I'll show them."  And that kind of makes you work a little bit harder. I'm not saying everybody needs that, but I think sometimes you do need that.  You need that little kick in the ass and extra incentive to come back and show people.  And like I said, I think that builds you as a person also.  I've seen guys that have been injured and didn't come back, and guys I thought would never come back who are and are playing at the level they used to be at.  And I know, man, that's a lot of hard work.  It makes you appreciate the things they go through.

BK: And you can identify with it.

RS: I can identify with it.  But it's all individual, as with anything.  It can play with your head a little bit.

BK: What's the longest contract you've had?

RS: (long pause as he thinks)  I think I just have got a one year deal.  You know what, I had a two year deal here in '94 and '95.  But it wasn't anything big.  Guys make that much in a day now.

BK: I wasn't even thinking in terms of money, but in terms of security.  You've managed to have a 20 year professional career essentially on a series of one year deals.  Do you ever stop and think, "Man, that's pretty amazing."

RS: Sometimes I do, but then I think I shouldn't stop right now (to think).  I should just keep going, because it's worked out well.  I'm just going to keep going for a little bit and see what happens.  For as long as I feel good, I'll play.  But I do know there's going to be an end to it here soon.  It would be awesome if I could do it on my own terms.  I go out and say, "You know what, I pitched well that last year, and that was it." 

BK: Teams keep bringing you back.  Four times with the Padres.  You must be doing something right.

RS: You know what it is?  Honestly?  I have pictures.  That's why they keep inviting me back. You have a job?  "No, we don't Mr. Seanez."  Yeah, you do.

Just kidding.  I don't know what it is, exactly.  I think I've pitched well enough for them to consider me whenever something comes up.  A lot of these teams have been great to me.  I really appreciate that.  Hopefully I can reciprocate.  Just keep doing it, keep going, and keep helping the team.  When I can't do it anymore, I'll be the first to let them know.  Hey, you know what, I need to get out of here.

BK: Do you want to stay in the game and coach, or anything like that? 

RS: No, I don't have the patience to coach at this level.  And it sounds crazy that I say that, but I think I'd rather just work with kids individually, whether it's t-ball or little league, Babe Ruth or high school level.  Stay involved, but not at this level. At this level, I think just scouting.  That would be my thing.  Keep some flexibility. 

BK: You've been with eight different teams.  Do you get to keep all the shorts and t-shirts and stuff?

RS: I have some stuff, I'll tell you that.  I was looking the other day through my closet and saw some stuff from way back, and I was like, "Damn..." 

BK: Do those t-shirts from Cleveland in the early '90s still fit?

RS: (laughs)  I wonder how I wore that stuff.  It's a little tight.  That was about eighty pounds ago.  And I think I've run across some old team photos and some stuff that guys have given me over the years.  Other than that, (pointing to his head) it's all up here.

BK