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from Standing Small
Retiring Ray Knoblauch
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
Cheryl JohnsonChuck hit on by maleJim SouhanKnoblauch Anchors Twins InfiedKnob Stays Cool About StrikePatrick ReusseCrunch Time Is Time To ShineSean HorganKnoblauch Shines At Bat|
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| Knoblauch unfazed; Twins second baseman stays cool about strike |
| By Jim Souhan |
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| February 6, 1995 Perhaps no Twin had more reason to loathe the baseball strike that started Aug. 12 and threatens to taint the '95 season than Chuck Knoblauch. In '94, the scrappy second baseman supplemented his game with slugging. While making the All-Star team for the second time, he threatened the all-time doubles record and prompted an expert or two to wonder if he could develop into a Hall of Famer. So how did he handle the breakdown of his breakthrough season? On a recent visit with a reporter in his hometown of Houston, Knoblauch, speaking from behind a new beard and alongside his new fiancee, Lisa Johnson, insisted he hasn't spent the winter cursing his fate - or the Players Association. In a casual chat at one of Houston's better Mexican restaurants, Knoblauch discussed the strike. The salsa and Knoblauch's mood were surprisingly mild. Question: Is the engagement official? Answer: Yeah. We got engaged Dec. 9. We're going to get married next winter, after the season. If there is a season. It could be a June wedding. Q: Don't you miss baseball? A: Definitely. Right now is when you usually are setting your mind as to what you have to do these last few weeks before spring training. But you have to think about what's going on. It's hard to get in shape. You don't have a time period or method to follow because you don't know what you're working toward. I've been thinking about starting to hit and throw this next week, because it has been six months since I've picked up a ball or bat - all I've done is lift weights. But what do you do, work out and throw until June, not knowing what will happen? Q: What do fans say to you? A: People are just as excited to see you as when you're playing. They aren't hostile or bitter, but then these are the same people who probably call those polls and say they'll go see replacement games. Q: Do you think those games would draw fans? A: I don't think so. I think people right now want to see baseball so bad that they might go see what it's like. But when you go to the Dome, and Puckett's not there, then I think it's going to lose a little of its flavor. Maybe they'll go to one, two, seven games before they decide it's garbage. Q: When you gave up your position as the team's union representative, people might have wondered about your union loyalty. What happened? A: It all started when Greg Gagne, who was the player rep, was at the end of his contract, and he had never had an assistant. It was a funny-type thing - 'Chuck will be my assistant' - and we didn't even vote. I said, 'Yeah, whatever,' because I didn't think I'd have to do anything. But then Greg left, and I started getting all the paperwork and I said from the beginning I didn't want to do this, but I never took the time to get out of it. It just got to the point where I didn't have the time or didn't want to put forth the effort of calling everybody. But it had nothing to do with my loyalty. I'm loyal, I just didn't like the job. Q: Would you play in the barnstorming tour that Reebok wants to sponsor? A: I got a call from [Tigers slugger] Cecil Fielder, and I think he's going to be the leader of our team. He's trying to find out who's interested. Yeah, I think it would be great for the fans. Say our team comes to Houston and plays for a weekend, you'll have all these American League All-Stars playing for fans who don't get to see them in person. Q: If the strike continues, do you anticipate many players having financial problems? A: Possibly. It doesn't matter what you do, if you're not bringing in money, and you still have bills, you might have trouble. It would be very unfortunate for people who haven't saved their money. Hopefully, if it comes to that, there will be a way they can get some help. You know, when I got my signing bonus, I bought a $ 20,000 car, and I never really spent the rest of that money. Some guys blow it right away. But my family has never lived a glamorous lifestyle. I don't have 20 cars or gold hanging all over me. I'll be fine. Q: So you're saying you'll float some loans, like [Braves pitcher] Tom Glavine offered to do? A: No. (Laughs). I don't trust anybody that much. Q: There's at least a remote possibility that the Twins could ask you to switch to shortstop, your college position, in the future. Would you do it? A: I would like to think I'm entrenched at second. I'm not saying I don't think I can play short, but why take me from something I'm good at and put me at something I'd have to re-learn? I guess the bottom line is if T.K. [Twins manager Tom Kelly] wanted me to play short, I would. But no, I don't think I should be forced to play a different position. Plus, they could trade me to some other team that needed a second baseman and get a shortstop, if that's what they wanted. Q: What is your reaction to the charge that players are greedy? A: It's really not about money; it's about a person's pride. It's really about retaining what the owners have given the players over the last 20 years. The players would be happy if everything was kept the same. My sister works for the Kilgore [Texas] school district, and I explained this to her by saying, if Henderson's school district wanted to pay you $ 50,000 to work there, would it be fair for Kilgore to have a rule saying, 'No, you're going to stay at Kilgore for $ 25,000.' Everybody in America wants to be in a position to make the most money they can. I don't consider myself greedy at all. Q: Could this strike ruin baseball? A: I don't know . . . The owners have to be asked the same question. Let me ask you this: Who are the greedy ones, the real players or the replacement players? The people who gave up part of their salaries for what they believe or the ones who will sign up to get a $ 5,000 bonus here and a $ 20,000 bonus there? Q: How would you treat a replacement player if you had to play alongside one? A: The off-field stuff would be harder on a scab than the on-field stuff, because you all travel together, you shower and dress and basically live together. If you're not getting spoken to, that would be a tough life. Q: Will the fans come back in full force after the strike is settled? A: Well, are people going to hockey games? I don't want to look as if I have a disregard for the fans, because I don't, but if you enjoy doing something, are you going to stop doing it just because there was a strike in 1994? Are you going to stop yourself from taking your son or daughter to a game? I'm a huge baseball fan, and as a kid, I didn't even remember the strikes they had back then. Q: Has anything good come from this strike? A: Well, Lisa and I wouldn't have gotten together if not for the strike. So one good thing has come from it. One. |
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