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An ongoing feature on the TBBL web
site will include monthly
interviews with some of our
league members. In our
second installment of 2010, I
recently caught up with John
Lapham.
TBBL: Hello and thanks for
taking the time to be
interviewed. How are you doing
today?
John:
I’m doing well. And so far it
has been great fun being a part
of this league.
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?
John:
I’m married. No children. I
grew up in Farmington, MI, a
suburb of Detroit. I graduated
from the University of Detroit
and have a M.A. in history from
Purdue and a J.D. from Michigan.
TBBL: You took over a team last
year in the TBBL so there isn’t
much history yet, so can you
tell me a little about some of
the other leagues you have been
a part of?
John:
Well, I’ve been playing in DMB
leagues since 1996. My first
and favorite league was the RSBL.
I played in that league for
about 6 years before it
disbanded. I came close to
winning it all a couple of times
but never quite captured the
ring. I’ve played in several
other leagues since then but
none have had much staying power
other than a couple of Sports
Attic leagues, and I never
particularly liked their league
rules.
TBBL: Do you have any players on
the trading block currently?
John:
I’m rebuilding so everyone over
the age of 27 is pretty much
always on the block. I might
also consider dealing Jonathan
Broxton but I would need to get
a couple of top prospects back
in return.
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?
John:
Not much history here, but Mike
Leake making the bigs right out
of college was probably the top
highlight. Grady Sizemore’s
poor performance and injuries
are the lowlight.
Interestingly, these two are
connected, as you’ll see in my
next response.
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?
John:
Again, not much history here,
but I’m nervous about the Mike
Leake deal. I got a couple of
decent young outfielders (Adam
Jones and Jose Tabata) for him
but both of them have big holes
in their games. Sizemore’s
problems forced my hand and
Leake was the price I had to
pay. Best trade so far is
probably the Konerko for draft
picks deal. I desperately
needed a 1b and Konerko was the
only one I could work out a deal
for. His production so far this
year (17 HR in MLB) has been a
pleasant surprise.
TBBL: Shifting to the MLB now,
who's your favorite team and
why?
John:
The Detroit Tigers are my
favorite for the usual reason:
they were my childhood team.
TBBL: Which baseball stadiums
have you visited and which is
your favorite?
John:
Tiger Stadium, Comerica Park,
Comiskey Park, Cellular Field,
Wrigley Field, Angel Stadium,
and AT&T park. My favorite is
still Tiger Stadium for the
history and those great seats in
the upper deck hanging out over
right field. I loved watching
game from that vantage point.
TBBL: Who is your favorite
baseball player, both current
and all time?
John:
All time is Al Kaline with Alan
Trammel a close second. Current
is Curtis Granderson. A great
player and person, although it
hurt quite a bit when he went to
the Yankees. Austin Jackson is
playing great for the Tigers so
far but it will be tough to
replace Granderson’s
personality.
TBBL: What is your favorite
movie of all time?
John:
A ridiculously hard question for
me with an answer that is always
changing. I’ll say Lawrence of
Arabia today but ask me tomorrow
and it may be something
different.
TBBL: Tell us something about
yourself that may surprise us.
John:
I’m an avid gardener.
TBBL: Who do you have the
biggest rivalry with in the TBBL
and why?
John:
Way too soon to say.
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