Actually I didn’t meet him today; I already knew him. And he’s not a major leaguer anymore. What happened was, Tony Saunders, former pitcher for the Florida Marlins and more recently the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, came in to the car dealership where I work to have some aftermarket stuff done to his truck. I had gone to high school with him for a year, but that was all the way back in 1989.
In any case, he pitched for Florida when they won the World Series in 97, and I went around telling everyone I knew that I had gone to school with him. While pitching for Tampa Bay last year, he broke his arm. I saw the highlight on ESPN and it was a butal, gruesome injury. Moreover, no pitcher had ever returned to the major leagues after breaking their pitching arm. But Saunders had a promising rehabilitation and looked as if he would be the first. But it didn’t happen, as he broke his arm again during a rehab minor league start. And with that his career was over.
Once I realized that he was the same guy I had known freshman year, I became a big fan. I always checked the box scores for his pitching lines, and watched for his highlights on ESPN. I was greatly saddened by his injury, and even more so when the recurrence proved career-ending. And that’s why I was thrilled to get the chance to tell him all this face to face. I introduced myself, and on hearing my name, he recognized me. I was ecstatic, since he was almost kind of a hero to me, having been a peer and all. I’m a huge baseball fan and I just couldn’t believe that someone I had known had played in the majors and actually owned a World Series ring. So even though I knew he was a regular guy, I was still totally star struck. Somehow, thankfully, I managed to keep my cool while talking with him. It was just a really cool thing that happened.
Yeah, Tony Saunders. I felt so badly for the guy when he broke his arm the first time, and the second time… damn, what a blow. I saw the ESPN footage, too, and I’ve never forgotten it. I remember him crying at the press conferences. I’m not usually touched by athletes’ career-ending injuries, but his definitely got to me.
It’s so good to hear that he’s a nice guy. Pro sports needs more of 'em.
Do you know what he’s been up to? I know it might be painful for him now, but it’d be a shame if he left the game of baseball entirely. I think he’d make a great Little League coach.
i’ve met frank thomas and tom glavine in the same weekend in las vegas. played pai gow poker with frank thomas (DH for the White Sox) at Luxor and then saw him later at club Ra with the most attractive woman i have ever seen. same blackjack table as Tom Glavine at the Hard Rock casino. and i actually showed Dean Cain how to set his pai gow poker hand. so he’s not a major leaguer but he was in vegas too but a different weekend. basically i spend too much time in that city. just got back from there this weekend. the only “celebrity” i ran into was Wayne from the wonder years. kevin’s older bro.
I met Tony Saunders earlier this year. He chatted with me for almost 20 minutes at D/FW airport. It struck me that he would actually stand there and chat with me. He was a class guy, and Audrey’s right. Pro sports need more of them.
Absolutely. And that makes the fact that he’ll never pitch again that much worse, IMHO. I have encountered ballplayers that were total stuck-up assholes. The fact that Tony wasn’t one of them makes his plight that much more poignant, it seems to me. I asked him what his plans were now that he wasn’t playing anymore, and he had no idea. “I guess I’ll just see what happens,” he said.
I used to live pretty much down the street from the Ballpark in Arlington(what a name) and saw something that almost made me sick. I’m not going to sit here and name names, but he still plays for the Rangers. The players were showing up at the ballpark for some reason(there was no game that day) and most were giving autographs to the kids as they were moving toward the interest. A kid walked up to this paricular player and asked for an autograph. He told the kid to get money from his parents and then come back and ask. I can’t remember what the dollar amount was, but it was something like $50. I couldn’t fucking believe it. He was making millions and turned a fan away for that. The kid looked devestated and I lost all respect for the guy right there. So, that’s my crappy baseball player story. People like that make the rest look bad.
My best friend is married to Derek Lowe (middle relief for the Red Sox). He turned out to be a great guy contrary to my first impression (makes L sign on forehead). He was her date to my wedding and I have video tape of Derek Lowe taking pictures of me
He has yet to hook me up with the love of my life, Angels manager Mike Scioscia, dammit.
I asked him what he’s planning to do now that his playing days are over, and he said he didn’t know yet. The fact that he’s still earning over $1million on his contract (as near as I can figure it, given a WS appearance and 3+ seasons of major league service time) gives him a little leeway to really think it over. Plus there is that still-broken left arm…If I see him when he comes to pick up his truck (which should be tomorrow), I’ll pass along your words. FWIW, I think you’re right on.
Thanks for the update, JBirdman12.