Issue #3, April 2013


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** Interview with Billy Sample, ex Major Leaguer and
     Baseball Broadcaster
**

      (conducted by Wolfman Shapiro)

(Wolfman's Comments:
I want to personally thanks Mr. Sample for taking time out of his busy schedule to become our first ex Major League Baseball Player to speak with us. I don't know how many of your remember Billy when he played in the late '70s and 1980s but you could say if you reviewed his statistics he was a good player that helped the three teams he played for in his career: the Texas Rangers 1978-1984, New York Yankees in 1985 and the Atlanta Braves in 1986. His accomplishments included making the Topps All Rookie team in 1979, was fifth in stolen bases with 44 in 1983, was not easy to strike out and had a career .272 batting average and .982 fielding average.  After he finished his playing days he became a broadcaster/writer for the Braves, Mariners and Angels.  He also will discuss in his interview a movie he has helped to create about life in baseball.  The Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter is proud to welcome Billy Sample.)

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Baseball Card of Billy in his Prime when he played
for the Texas Rangers from his Facebook Pages

Wolfman:  Billy we are very honored to have you here. According to the Wiki information about yourself, when you were younger you were quite athletic and played in high school Football, Basketball and Baseball. Why did you decide to focus more on baseball? Did you stay play all three sports while in
College?

Billy I was a back up on the Debate team as a freshman, (We the Affirmative, accept the challenge of the resolve and will prove that U.S. unilateral intervention into southeast Asia is unconstitutional-- the topic in 1969) and was in two plays my junior year. It was that year, with playing the three sports, that I went home straight from school only two days in the school year. Though I think I was a slightly better football player (who's around to argue) I felt, around the age of fifteen, I think I had a better chance of going pro as a baseball player. Though I was a second team all-state wide receiver, I did not play football at James Madison University, in part, for fear of injury. The joke was on me, as I have no cartilage in the knees due to baseball ...

Wolfman:  When you were small did you play in little league? How did your interest start in baseball? Who was or were you favorite professional baseball players when you were young and which team did you root for? Did you ever think or believe you could become a major league ballplayer?

Billy I didn't get to play much until my last year in Little League, in fact, I quit one season. I was playing so little that my mother allowed me to turn in my uniform, which was not usual as she didn't allow to stop on anything that we started ... It was under my coach, Jr. Epperly, a tough taskmaster, that I developed my initial self-esteem to become a baseball player, playing third base on the league's winningest  team sponsored by Dr. Pepper. If my diet allows for carbonated sugar water, I still think of Dr. Pepper first ...

I don't know if I had a favorite team, but I can remember a lot about the Yankees. Back in those days I only got to see the Game of the Week, and that's only if I wasn't playing my own games outside. It was pleasing to see some of those players as I got involved in the game like Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson, Clete Boyer and Joe Pepitone to name a few ...

I guess I did think I could become a major league player. Growing up in minor league town (Salem, Virginia) may helped as I could measure what I needed to do to get to the next level, and sure enough some of the players I watched as a teenager became teammates, as did Mario Mendoza.

Wolfman:  How did the Texas Rangers find you to draft you? Can you tell us this story? How long did you play in the minor leagues? It shows in your on-line career statistics that the Rangers brought you up in 1978 at 23 years old, so it couldn't have been too long?

Billy A lovely man, Joe Branzell was the Rangers' area scout who drafted me in the 28th round out of high school. I was disappointed as I was led to believe that I would go somewhere in the teens, not by Joe, but by other scouts. I told Joe I didn't know they had that many rounds. Countering my disappointment, Joe said "Twenty-three teams passed over you twenty-seven times!", as if to say, don't blame us for drafting you. I'm sure that this wasn't the first time Joe had paraphrased that quote. After three years at JMU, Joe and the Rangers drafted me again, this time in the 10th round. I played a short season of "A" ball or rookie ball in Sarasota, Florida, then skipped "A" ball barely went to "Double A" in Tulsa with the following year to "Triple A" Tucson and then was called up to the Majors at the end of the "Triple A" season. I had given myself three to four years to make it, so, I was on schedule.

Wolfman:  Billy for you, what was it like to be a professional player? To those of us who are either fans or as I told you, play these simulated baseball games and get to be armchair managers, we think it is a glorious life. Is it? How did you get along with your team mates?

Billy Well, we are all different, I didn't find it so glorious, although I think I know how laypeople envision baseball life. Back then we didn't make a lot of money to enhance the glorious part of the game. My first contract was $21,000, so, you're taking home seventeen thousand during the double digit inflation days of the late nineteen seventies ... let me tell you how far that didn't go. And this is after years of making no money in the minors, well, none to speak of, and I don't think the minor league money has increased all that much ...

Now, the minimum salary is approaching five hundred thousand, so, after taxes if the ballplayer is clearing three-fifty (350,000) or so, then, you can have that income spread throughout the year. Then you couldn't do that in the late seventies and eighties ... And yes, my salary increased the next year where I made $35,000 ... but I still lived in a one room apartment.

Wolfman:  How do the players get along on a major league team. For example at a Mariner game I met a pitching rookie who was very friendly and open to briefly chat with me. But I would think the veteran players might be a bit harder to have contact with. Do the players really welcome playing as a team and how important is this?

Billy Imagine a traveling party of thirty-five to forty people in any profession, with all of the interactions in a high pressure profession. I am not sure one can characterize such a group as I played with three different organizations and they all were different. The personalities were different, though from my days, the Rangers and Yankees were more similar than either one was to the Braves in temperament and personalities ... though the Yankees and Braves were more similar in the high quality of travel.

Wolfman:  Were there any some what well known ball players we may know by name who you became friendly with? Do ex-ball players remain in touch after their playing days?

Billy I would advise fans to attend any MLB Alumni functions or BAT dinner functions because to hear the stories and to be around the players is worth your personal costs of these functions. In fact, I look forward to hearing the stories myself, it's hard to leave those functions without crying from laughing. Now, after saying all of that, I was a loner for the most part, but do enjoy the camaraderie and the humor. Some of this I captured in my movie, "Reunion 108", though the movie is not for the faint of heart, ha or those of high morality.

(Wolfman's Notes - According the movie Facebook page: "Reunion 108"
is a full-length, comedy feature film that promises to be a no holds bar behind the scenes and in your face look into the world of professional baseball. If you would like to view the trailer go to -

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=148383178659826

Additionally I found another interview done with Billy where he did comment about other MLB players he knew or had contact with done by Norm Ordaz the middle of April, check it out at:

http://9inningknowitall.com/2013/04/18/beyond-left-field-with-norm-billy-sample/ )

Wolfman:  Now that you are retired - do you miss playing the game? Was it a good life to live as a ball player and do you receive special benefits after you stopped playing? What was it like to be a broadcaster?

Billy Nope, really didn't miss playing the game, though I was a victim of collusion as I wanted to play a couple of more years. What I really miss is the camaraderie and competition and the situations like - we are trailing by one run, Wayne Tolleson is at the plate batting from the left side, his least power side. I'm on second with two outs. Winfield is cheating in leftfield. Then Wayne hits a line drive one-hopper to Dave and I have to score, with Cerone blocking the plate, and I refuse to slide - this is the kind of competition that is not found in the non-baseball world

I enjoyed broadcasting, didn't enjoy opening or closing a show particularly, but to describe the action during a game was plenty of fun, especially as I knew certain nuances that could enhance people's appreciation of the game. I felt that way as a writer/columnist as well.

Wolfman:  Can you share with us any special experiences you had while a player? Either a special game performance, or an unbelievable moment where you made a winning hit or an outstanding defensive play - what would be such a key moment or moments? What do you remember the
most of your playing days?

Billy I made more than my share of diving catches and some were unbelievable enough that I had to tell myself to make it look natural at the end of the catch, cause I had no idea how I got to the ball ... there are some youtube films of some of these catches ...

Wolfman: 
Now you know that our members are involved with Strat-o-matic? We are told and have read that there are professional players who have actually played the game and even some
sport casters who this game helped them later in life with their job. Have you heard of someone that did play Strat-o-matic?

I heard Keith Hernandez (he is has been the Met's broadcaster for a better part of two decades) mention Strat-o-matic this week during one of the games. I think I have one of my cards somewhere, an autograph collector sent it to me.

(Wolfman's Note - when I spoke to Billy originally on facebook, he knew about APBA, he didn't agree with his card on that game and also knew about Strat-o-matic too!)

Wolfman:  If any of our members would like to speak with you, what would be the best way to contact you?

Billy Probably initially through Facebook ... unless they want to invest in a movie, then they can have my direct line:-)) Actually, the movie should be out in May

My facebook website is at:  https://www.facebook.com/billy.sample.75

Wolfman:  Billy, thank you again for giving us a chance to see about life as a major league baseball player. We wish you a lot of success with your new movie and if you ever wish to come visit with us again, let us know!
 

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Wolfman has an Idea:  If there are any members who have the 1978-1986 SOM Baseball Card seasons and can scan for me an image of Billy Sample's player cards in those years I will make sure that he gets it and report back with any comments or feedback he has. Thanks!!
 



Contained inside this exciting issue of Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter:
(to view the various interviews, articles, columns and special sections click on the links {underlined} and this will take you to the appropriate webpage)
 

  RETURN TO NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE

  INTERVIEW with JEFF POLMAN, Writer, SOM Website Columnist, Replay Expert.

  INTERVIEW with JIM CALLIS and KEN DAVIDOFF, Jim is Executive Editor of Baseball America and Ken is a baseball columnist for the NY Post

  EARLY SOM CONVENTIONS COLUMN with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO -- editor of
"The Ultimate Strat Newsletter" and 2012 CBA Champion. Wolfman takes us back in
this article to the third national Strat-o-matic Convention in 1974 held in Champaign-Urbana, IL, at the University of Illinois as the Wolfman and his buddies organize their first convention. Wolfman will be our guide through the first nine conventions going through 1980 of which he was present at each one. We now begin the era from 1974-1980 when the conventions moved to Illinois. We will continue to share one new convention in each future issue till all of these early ones are published.

  INTERVIEW with PETE NELSON, (STAR), Board Member of the Star Tournaments Association, discusses what the Star Tournaments are all about.

  INTERVIEW with WILLY DOMINQUEZ, January 2013 STAR Worlds Champion

  INTERVIEW with TERRY BARTELME, SOM Gamer, Discusses his experiences with the Negro and Japanese Players working with private developers.

  COMMISSIONER's CORNER with MARC WASSERMAN -- commissioner of the Cyber Baseball Association (CBA) continues his column about what it is like to be a League Commissioner. In this article he discusses the early development of a League's Constitution, League Themes and Economics.

  SOM BASEBALL CARDS QUIZ - our test of your knowledge of the SOM Baseball Cards, questions and answers provided by Marc Wasserman. In this issue we give the answers to Quiz #2, explain our new format for this column, introduce some early SOM Baseball cards from the 1960 and 1961 seasons thanks to Tom Nahigian who is also interviewed in this issue in his own section.

  INTERVIEW with TOM NAHIGIAN -- SOM Gamer, Baseball Card Collector

  RECOMMEND ON-LINE SOM RESOURCES -- On-line Strat-o-matic and Baseball related websites that offer amazing information, special tools and products to improve your game play that we strongly recommend. In most cases, we have had personal contact with these sources who agree with the principle to work together and help promote each other.

  BOOKS TO DIE FOR and Become a BASEBALL GURU -- This page is a new page we are adding for the newsletter that is specifically about special books we are finding that either will expand your insights about the game of Baseball, help you in the creation of your current league teams or with your replays and learn more about the Strat-o-matic Base Game and Game Company's history.  At the time of the release of this newsletter we have a special arrangement with Acta Sports to offer our members a 10% discount. We hope to add more books in the future.


 




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