March 2, 2009

     An ongoing feature on the TBBL web site will include monthly interviews with some of our league members.  In our fourth installment, the TBBL recently caught up with Greg W. of the Los Angeles Halos.  Greg has had a competitive team in the TBBL each year he has been in the league and 2009 looks to be another great year for the Halos.  Please enjoy the interview below:

TBBL: Hello and thanks for taking the time to be interviewed. How are you doing today?

Greg:  Doing well thanks … getting excited for the start of the baseball season and the TBBL, but most of all counting down the days until the unauthorized Arod tell-all book hits the shelves! ;)

BTW … can’t say this enough, thank you for all your hard work on the TBBL. You do a spectacular job with the TBBL from the website and all its features to the assembly of top notch owners.

TBBL: Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Married? Kids? Where did you grow up, what college did you attend (if you did), and where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?

Greg:  I grew up in Northern NJ but now live in Toluca Lake, CA, famous for being Bob Hope’s town. I work in the entertainment biz when I am not playing DMB.  I currently run 2 retro leagues the BDWL currently in 1974 and the BDSL about to start the 1984 season … [unsolicited plug … we do have an opening in each league!]. Additionally, I play in 3 other leagues another retro league (1962) and 2 modern leagues the BYOF and of course the TBBL.

My boy is 6 and has begun his baseball career … no greater joy than having a catch with your child! Hmm…10 years … I continue to see myself as I proud dad and reaching 1,500 wins in the TBBL! ;)

TBBL: Since you've been a member of the Thunder Bay Baseball League, your team has been extremely successful, including a championship in 2005.  What is your best memory of your team from that season?

Greg:  That was an interesting team. I am not sure I have ever had two players go off the way Beltre and Guerrero did that season. They combined for 103 homeruns, 309 RBI and 256 runs.  I look back and have to laugh that Carl Pavano was the ace of my staff winning 21 games … wow. Santana came on board mid-season and only went 4-3 in the regular season but paid huge dividends in the playoffs.  This wasn’t my best team as I think 2006 and 2008 were better, but as I have learned once the playoffs start all bets are off.

The Championship series was an emotional roller coaster for us as we lost the 1^st two games which were real heart breakers. Game #1, Santana pitched an amazing game for 8 innings (TBBL playoff record 16 Ks) and then blew a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 9^th and lost the game. Then in game #2 we blew another lead and then lost in 15 innings. I really thought it was over and the Rockers would get their repeat, but we turned it around and took the next 4 games.

TBBL: Do you have any players on the trading block currently?

Greg:  Always Arod! Please send me an offer! I am convinced that the Halos are suffering from the “curse of Arod” and will never win another championship as long as Arod is on our team!

TBBL: What is the defining moment -- the top highlight -- of your franchise these past few years? And what is the absolute worst moment -- the top lowlight?

Greg:  Without a doubt winning a championship is the top highlight.  The quality of the owners and the competition level is so high in the TBBL it makes winning a championship even more special. The TBBL has not had a repeat winner and I feel honored to be in the company of the other winners: Mr. Tomlinson, Rocky, Brendan and Dave. Now if I could just win a championship in the NL, I could retire a content owner.

The worst moment had to be the good old fashioned ass-whoop’n that Carefree handed us in the playoffs last year. I knew Carefree was going to be a tough match up but I don’t even think we had a lead in any of the games.  As I mention later, I traded away a lot of future value to go for it and to lose in such a one-sided series was a horrible way to end the season. I did feel a little better than Dave went on to win it all, he was great during our series and I was very happy for him if it couldn’t be me.

Umm…actually, I just had this horrible flashback to 2007 where we had a 5-2 lead going into the 8^th inning of game 7 of our playoff series against that Jersey club and went on to lose the game as Rivera blew the save and then the game on a walk off suicide squeeze … ouch!

TBBL: If there was one trade that you could take back, which trade would that be? And what's the best trade you've made to date?

Greg:  Maybe surprisingly it is not the trade that made your list of all-time worse trades where in 1984 I traded Prince Fielder in a deal for Nick Johnson and John Thompson. Thanks to what it ultimately accomplished for me I wouldn’t take that one back. It would probably be one of the trades I made last season in my effort to compete with Salem as I would love to have back Adrian Beltre, Erick Aybar, Ryan Dempster, Brian Matusz or Justin Masterson.  The other trade which will probably come back to haunt me is the one where I traded away Johan Santana. I am pretty sure I am the only owner that has traded away Santana twice in the same league.

The trade that worked out best for me was the deal that I made with minutes left in the trade deadline in 2005 where I got Johan Santana since without Santana I would not have a championship. At the time, I really thought that I paid way too much but Joe did a nice job of creating a bidding war at the deadline.  Ultimately, I knew I needed an ace and I had some depth so I made the deal. I feel bad for Joe since I think he got really unlucky with this deal as Olsen and Reyes at that time were top pitching prospects and Mulder and Guillen were solid major leaguers. If I was in his shoes back then I would have made that deal ten out of ten times.  The Confederates did go on to win 105 games the next season, so I guess it wasn’t all bad.

TBBL: Shifting to the MLB now, who's your favorite team and why?

Greg: The New York Yankees have been my team since about 1969 when I went to my first ballgame at Yankee Stadium. Growing up in Northern NJ, back before the internet and ESPN, you really only had 2 choices the Yanks or the Mets. I will eternally be thankful to my father that he took me to a Yankee game and not a Met game as my first. ;)

TBBL: Which baseball stadiums have you visited and which is your favorite?

Greg:  Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Dodger Stadium, PETCO Park and Angel Stadium. Yankee Stadium thanks to its history and energy will always be my favorite. I was there before the remodel and after and look forward to seeing the new stadium this season. However, if anyone ever finds themselves in San Diego, PETCO Park is a pretty amazing place to see a game … especially with kids.

TBBL: Who is your favorite baseball player, both current and all time?

Greg:  My first favorite player was Roy White since I really liked his approach to the game and there really wasn’t many options on the Yankees in the late 60’s early 70’s (my brother had already tapped The Captain so he was off limits to me). Don Mattingly ultimately became my favorite (what Yankee fan didn’t love Donnie Baseball?). Currently I cant really say I have an absolute favorite player since I tend to root for my DMB players. However, I think Joba has a chance to me a real fav of mine since he is a Yankee, he is on my BYOF team and is a really fun player to watch.

TBBL: What is your favorite movie of all time?

Greg: It’s tough to narrow it down to just one since I like movies for different reasons (Godfathers, Chinatown, Casino, Caddyshack, The Natural and Good Fellas), but one movie that continues to hold up and I cant turn off when it comes on is Tin Cup. Several years ago I had the pleasure of watching it with one of the actors and he provided commentary about the behind the scenes shenanigans which were even funnier than the movie.

TBBL: Tell us something about yourself that may surprise us.

Greg:  I don’t like Arod! ;)  

TBBL: Who do you have the biggest rivalry with in the TBBL and why?

Greg:  I only realigned to the AL in 2006 so it has only been two years, therefore besides my life long rivalry with my brother Robert, a rivalry with Mark’s Salem club is heating up. They beat us out for the division crown in 2007 and then stole the division crown from our clutches again in 2008 by a game. I can’t believe I couldn’t even win a division with 110 wins?