On December 3, 2021, George Arias joined JapanBall’s “Chatter Up!” to discuss his time playing in Japan – including his experiences with the 2003 Central League-winning Hanshin Tigers – as well as his current endeavors, coaching young players into new horizons. To check out a recap of the discussion, check out our Chatter Up! page, or watch the full video for yourself on our YouTube channel!
Shane:
Let’s get to the more exciting part, which is our guest today: George Arias. George, I’m just gonna put you in the spotlight for one second, just so everyone can see you. Welcome, and thanks for coming on.
George:
Hey Shane, thank you for having me. It’s always a pleasure to go back and talk to people [about] Japan. You know, it’s such a blessing that I had the opportunity to play there, so hopefully I get some questions and I can give you guys some answers, and have some fun today.
Shane:
Well, we appreciate it. So for those of you who aren’t aware, I’m just going to give the long-form intro of your background, so everyone can hear your story. So George is a native of Tucson, Arizona; that’s where he’s joining us from today. He played baseball there at Pueblo High School, then became a big prospect at Pima Community College and then at the [University of Arizona]. He was actually drafted three times in the MLB draft, eventually signing with [Los Angeles] Angels in ‘93, and advanced pretty quickly through the Angel system, and spent the majority of the ‘96 season with the big league team. The next year, he surprisingly was traded to the Padres in a part of a trade for Rickey Henderson, and he played with the Padres for a couple of years before landing in Japan for the 2000 season. In Japan he became one of the most feared sluggers in NPB pretty much right away: he averaged over 30 home runs a year – of course with the shorter seasons over there – very impressive. He started out with Orix, with the BlueWave, where – I’ve got to mention – he played alongside Ichiro, which I’m sure will come up today. He hit 26 homers in 116 games that first year so made a big impact. The next year, he hit 38 homers, and then signed with the [Hanshin] Tigers, and continued to rake for a few more years. I know we’ve got some Tigers fans on here, who will remember him and remember him fondly for the ‘03 season, when he hit 38 homers and led the Tigers to their first Central League title since ‘85. He played in the Mexican League, played with Yomiuri [Giants] a little bit and hung him up for good in ‘06, I believe. And now George, as you can see, is still involved in the game; he has a baseball facility in Tucson, which I’d be curious to hear what you’re up to today. But that’s George’s story, and once again, thank you so much for joining us. It’s a pleasure to have you on here and honored to have you on “Chatter Up!”
George:
Appreciate it again. That’s pretty good. You did your homework.
Shane:
Told you, it was the long form version.
George:
No, that was impressive. I’m thrilled to be here. I’m excited to share with you guys the stories I have, and whatever questions you guys come up with; happy to be here.
Shane:
Thank you. Let’s start at the beginning of your professional career. Not many people can say they’re drafted three times in the MLB draft. My first question is, why did you say no the first two times? And what was that process like, going through that three times?
George:
Coming out of college, I had a great freshman year. I got drafted in the 21st round, and the money they offered me wasn’t all that. So my advisor and I decided to go back to school. We felt that it was in our best interest to go back and put up another good year, but also get more credits towards my degree. So with that being said, I went back my sophomore year, and had another great year. I got drafted again, but the caveat with this draft was [that] I got drafted later in the 38th round, and what happened was, I struggled in school, didn’t do too well, so they knew that I was kind of out of options; they’re trying to get me at a low price. So what happened was I turned that draft down, and I had to go to summer school for – I believe– eight weeks, six weeks. I used to go from eight in the morning to nine at night for that period. I had to do that in order to graduate so I can go play at the University of Arizona. So you know, I buckled down and hit the books hard, and that’s exactly what I did.
Shane:
Wow. So the Angels picked you after playing at the U of A, and you pretty methodically advanced through the system there, and then you get a shot in the big leagues at a relatively young age, made an impression, and then all of a sudden you’re traded. So what was your reaction when you heard that news?
George:
Well, let me rewind to before I answer that question. I made it to the big leagues pretty quick, and I think the reason being was in the offseason, in the minor leagues, I’d go play winter ball in Mexico. And going into spring training of ‘96, I was just fresh out of winter ball. We had went to the Caribbean World Series, which ended at like the end of January, beginning of February. So I was fresh going into spring training, when everybody was just getting ready. So I did really well in spring training, and I think that because of that, they had no choice but to keep me; in reality, I think I was still probably another year away. I went there, I didn’t do well in the big leagues, I struggled a little bit, and that kind of put me on the ropes to win a trade, get some leverage off of him. Then the following year, in ‘97, is when they traded me for Rickey Henderson. It’s funny, because I always tell all my friends that I got traded for a Hall of Famer, but I don’t tell them that there was 8-10 other guys that got traded. So that’s just my story.
Shane:
I mean, all of us are big baseball fans, we all know the phrase “player to be named later.” Did that label ever haunt you or bother you? I’m curious about that.
George:
It’s saddening, because your dream is to play in the big leagues, right? So when you first get drafted by a team, and you go play with them, we’re so naive and young that we think, “Oh, this is going to be our team forever,” because we don’t understand the business side of things. So getting traded and going to another team, I was really devastated, because I felt like I wasn’t wanted. I mean, I think that’s our human nature; when we get released or fired, we’re not wanted. Lo and behold, with my advisor, my agent coming in saying, “Hey, it’s not that somebody doesn’t want you, look at it as somebody does want you.” So that kind of cheered me up, and allowed me to go play for the Padres and do okay.
Shane:
Interesting. So you spend some time with the Padres, AAA, whatnot. You go to Japan, can you talk us through that decision-making process? We know that’s where things really picked up for you, but I’m sure at the time you didn’t know how it’s gonna turn out?
George:
Yeah, I mean, you don’t know. I remember in ‘96 when I was with Shigetoshi Hasegawa, he was telling me that his team wanted me, which was the Orix BlueWave. At the time, I wasn’t interested in Japan, because I was a tough prospect and they weren’t going to release me. So when I got traded to the Padres, I had a couple great years of minor league [ball], I got put on the [1998] World Series roster. In the year ‘99, they gave me the job. Second game of the season, I go sliding into second base, and nearly tear my thumb off, and I was out for a month and a half. I tried to come back sooner, because I knew that it was a big year for me and I wanted to do well, and unfortunately, I came back too soon, and I didn’t do too well and I struggled. So that led me to the year 2000 in the offseason, when Japan came calling again. At that time, I think as minor leaguers, guys get labeled as “Four-A” players [i.e. AAAA – one level above AAA, but below the big leagues], the guys that are going up and down, and it can get frustrating sometimes. So at that time, when they came calling, I thought, “you know what, why not go give this a shot?” So making that decision to play in Japan was not a difficult decision, It was pretty easy: I got tired of being a “AAAA” player going up and down from the big leagues to the minor leagues. So it was a lot easier to make that decision.
Shane:
So you went into that season with confidence about your decision, and it was the right decision because things seem to click for you right away. What was it? Was it just the chance? Was it something about the style of play over there? What was it you think that allowed you to thrive right away and continuously?
George:
I guess to sit here and talk about what’s really thriving… I mean, I hit 26 home runs, but I hit .250 or .260. I went up there and I put up power numbers, and I think I’ve done that my whole career, but it was difficult going into a foreign country, trying to learn the dialects of the language, the food, the living, the interpretation of language… it’s very, very difficult for foreigners to go in there and do well, and the reason being is because, as foreigners here in the States, we’re kind of treated like kings, and we become arrogant; egotistical sometimes. And then, when we go to Japan, you see a lot of guys struggle, because it’s not American style. In Japan – what I learned right away is – it’s Japanese style. I accepted that culture, and that’s why I think I had somewhat good success. You watch a lot of other guys, they don’t accept it, and then they fail.
Shane:
Yeah, that’s interesting. I appreciate your honesty with that. So if, in the beginning, if you felt like it was a struggle, did part of you just want to go back after that first year?
George:
No, because I’m a guy that doesn’t like failure. I’m a guy that wants to persevere. If I’m struggling, I want to dig deep and find a way to get better, and that’s why I think I’ve had a good career. I stress this when I go give my talks to the kids I train. I tell them, “Listen, throughout my career, I’ve had about 6000 at bats, and I’ve had about 1600 hits.” I ask them the question, “what does that mean?” They sit there, they’re looking at me, and I’m like, “That means I failed over 4000 times.” And my point in my message to them, it’s not that you fail, that’s how you bounce back. For me to fail that much, over 4000 times, and still play for 14 years is pretty impressive. I think it’s all the way you look at it, and put things in perspective. I’m a guy that wants to get better at anything and everything, whether it’s playing golf or tennis or learning a new language. I want to try to get better, so I can. That’s just something that’s always been ingrained in me.
Shane:
Love it. That’s great. Thank you. All right, we’ve got a question from Ian.
Ian:
Hello, George. So you played with Ichiro and Tony Gwynn, who were probably the greatest singles hitters of all time. Can you talk about their preparation and just watching them in [batting practice] and during games? What made them so special?
George:
Yes, it has been a blessing for me, I got to experience both guys. When you talk about superstars like that… in baseball, we go through what we call, “Oh, he’s in a zone,” for a week or two, but those guys were in the zone for their whole career. They made hitting look so easy. Kind of quite frustrating to see Ichiro hit, because he made it look so easy. But there’s no shortcut to being a good hitter, there’s no shortcut to being great at what you do. It takes a lot of hard work and preparation, and that’s what they’ve done. You watch those guys, and the way they carry themselves, you try to learn from them. Sometimes it almost looks like it’s too easy for them, but that’s because of the hard work they put in. I was blessed to be side by side with him, and that’s something that I preach to my kids. The work and preparation that they’ve done is studying videos. Ichiro, I remember, when he got on the bus, he had his headphones on, he was locked in the minute you got on that bus. It’s great, because those are images that I remember, and those are images I try to put into my players and my kids that play baseball and try to get them to [understand].
Shane:
Ian thanks for that question, it’s a good question. While we’re on the topic of Ichiro, being who we are at JapanBall, I’ve got to ask a little more about him, he’s a big deal in our world. Looking back at your time playing as his teammate, what are your takeaways when you think back of your time with him, and what impression he made? And also, did you think that he would go to the big leagues and have the type of success that he did?
George:
Well, I remember when I was with the Padres, the whole Japanese media was falling on him, like, “who’s this kid?” And I remember him hitting a ball during spring training that got by me, and to this day, he calls it an error, and I always say it was a hit. So when I went to Japan, and I got to see him, I was like, “Okay, let me see what this kid’s all about.” Obviously, [there was a lot of] media attention he was getting, but he was so fun to watch. He’s one of those guys that it’s all business. I tell a story to this day. I’ve never really seen somebody hit a ball off the dirt and keep it fair for a double, which he did. I mean, you sit there and you just get frustrated because you’re struggling over here with pitches, and he’s making it look easy. But it was a blessing to watch. Believe me. I mean, words can’t describe how good these guys are and how easy they made hitting look, because hitting is not easy. Believe me.
Shane:
Wow. So, you were with Orix, then you go to the Tigers. I’d like to dive into various questions about that experience. The ballpark on my shirt, right? Most of the people on this call have been to Koshien Stadium, and we appreciate the fan experience and the historical experience. What was it like as a player?
George:
I tell you what, Orix has a beautiful stadium. I mean, the green grass, it was American ice, it was a great place to hit. When I went to Hanshin, the all-dirt [infield] – which I’ve never experienced in my career – was phenomenal. The history of Hanshin, the fans were phenomenal; to see 55,000 balloons go up in the air was mind boggling to see, the support that Tigers get on the road is phenomenal, and the players love that. Players love to have their fans’ support, because again, this game isn’t easy, but when you have your fans behind you, they are the tenth player. It was truly a blessing to be part of that and to experience that.
Shane:
Yeah, that’s good to hear. I think [I have] a romanticized view as a fan, and I’m glad that you agree for the most part as a player. Can you talk about the 2003 season a little bit? I’m sure it was a fun ride. What made that team special, or that season special?
George:
Well, I think what makes that team special, was that attitude is always reflected by leadership. [Senichi] Hoshino came in… what a great man, what a great gentleman. He was a man to be feared; he put the fear in you, but he got the best out of you, and that was a great thing, because that motivated us. He put the right players in place that year, and let us do our thing. When you’re having fun, you play relaxed, good things are gonna happen. When you’re afraid to make mistakes, and you’re being fearful, you’re gonna limit your potential, I don’t care who you are. It’s just the way people are when it comes to stepping it up in those big moments. So in that year, it seemed like we were all having fun. Why? Because we’re winning, winning is fun. We didn’t win all the time, but I think having the mindset of wanting to win is contagious, and if you get a whole locker room of young men wanting to win at all costs and playing hard, good things are gonna happen. There’s some great teams on the other side, your opponents, they’ve got great organizations, they’ve been developed well. But it’s all in the preparation, and a lot of it [is] you’ve got to have some luck with it. What I mean by luck is, people not getting hurt, or if people do get hurt, having people step in and fill in their shoes. So those are things that go unnoticed, but again, when you’re having fun, for sure.
Shane:
I bet, but the eternal question is does winning create a good chemistry and a fun time? Or is it the other way around? I think you can’t even distinguish it. Do you have a thought on that?
George:
If you start the first game of the season, you haven’t won anything, right? So you’ve got to go out there and have fun. What I mean by fun is, I think as a coach – because I’ve experienced coaching here and training kids – you try to prepare the kids. I mean, in order to gain confidence, I think it comes through preparation, and if you can go out there and prepare these kids, and train them and let the game be theirs and go out there and do what you do best. Yes, there’s gonna be times when they’re gonna struggle. I remember, in ‘99, I was struggling with the Padres, and Bruce Bochy, he came up to me, put his arm around me in the office and says “we’ll talk.” This is the manager, and he goes, “Hey, man, I’m gonna give you a couple of days off, relax, don’t think about nothing. We need you.” That spoke volumes, that your manager can come over here and say, “Hey, man, you’re right. Just relax, you’re thinking too much, whatever.” I think those are the managers – I know I might be wired different – but you want to run through a wall for them, because they care. I don’t think that one single person out there who plays the game, or any sport, is trying to fail. Yes, we get paid a lot of money and fans expect certain things, but we’re still human, and we’re gonna make mistakes. If we can learn to override that, have other teammates picking each other up and let alone your coaching staff, man, who knows how far you’re gonna go?
Shane:
Good stuff, thank you. I’ve got a couple of hands raised here. Charlie, you’re up next.
Charlie:
Hi, George, thank you very much for sharing your time with us today. This isn’t necessarily just limited to Japan, but anywhere for baseball, from your perspective as a batter. What makes a great pitcher? I mean, what type of pitcher was the type that you didn’t really look forward to facing?
George:
That’s a good question, Charlie. I think as a hitter, a pitcher that can hide the ball, a pitcher that can deceive you with pitch tunneling, making pitches look like one pitch, and then they break off being a different pitch. We call that effective velocity pitching in tunnels. Those are tough pitchers, and when you face those types of pitches, you have to gameplan. For instance, you get a pitcher that throws a fastball, slider, curve, change, you can’t go up to the plate on the first pitch looking for all four pitches because the speed differential is different. So you’ve got to go up there having a game plan. It’s kind of tough when you’re facing pitchers for the first time, because they have the advantage; you don’t know who they are, you don’t know what they have, you don’t know what their ball does, you don’t know what order they’re in until you face them again. So hitting is difficult. That’s why it was fun to watch Ichiro and Tony Gwynn and guys like that who made it easy. But game planning in hitting is huge, you’ve got to learn how to game plan. Technique’s one thing, but guys at that level pretty much have good technique. You’ve got to learn how to game plan.
Michael:
I’m curious what the biggest adjustment you had to make in going to Japan was. You’re talking about game planning. Did you have to change the way you approach things or adjust in any way what you were looking for, as a player?
George:
Good question. Baseball is a game of adjustments. I think the one thing that helped prepare me for Japan was playing in Mexico. In Mexico, they kind of pitch backwards. What I mean by this is, in the States, on a hitters’ count, they come after you with fastballs; in Mexico and Japan, they’ll throw you offspeed pitches. But Japan being more technicians, they hit their spots better. They can throw you four straight forkballs, they have such good command. So what I had to learn was how to be disciplined, and what I mean by that, again, is in Japan, when I was in a 2-0 count, I shouldn’t be looking for a fastball; I should be looking for a slider or curveball. It makes no sense to look for something I’m not going to get, right? So that took some adjustment, but again, like I mentioned earlier, sometimes you have to face a pitcher a couple of times just to get a better feed and a better understanding of where they’re coming from. But your first year, there’s a lot of adjustments like I said: the culture, the living situation, the language barrier. You want to be a great teammate, you want to be able to communicate with the players, but you just can’t, and you got to go through your interpreter and you have to rely on them, sometimes you’ve got to ask “Was a joke I’m saying really funny in Japanese, or is what I’m trying to get across exactly what I meant?” In that sense, there’s a lot of adjustments that we have to make.
Sean:
Hi, George, thanks for being here tonight. Along the lines of the translator issue, I was wondering about some of the other aspects of being a foreign player. Did you have your own translator? Or was a translator shared amongst the foreign players? And did the translator’s services extend to life outside of the ballpark?
George:
I guess we shared interpreters, and they did extend outwards. Japan has been really good with that, because again, we’re going into a foreign country, I didn’t even know what kind of milk to buy or where to shop. Those are things you overlook, but we’ve been blessed with great interpreters. But we have to rely on them heavily, and the organizations – Orix and the Hanshin Tigers and the Giants – have done a phenomenal job of easing that pain for us, in what the interpreters have done so well. It’s their way to get us to understand Japanese style, whether we like it or not, we have to understand that, and they did a really good job of expressing that to us. And sometimes as foreigners, we didn’t accept that, and we can be stubborn, and sometimes, I think we were looked at as judgmental, or being disrespectful. But it’s just sometimes we don’t understand, because we’re so used to playing the game of baseball the way we play it here. But we definitely relied on the interpreters, for sure.
Sean:
Can I ask a follow up question as well? I’m wondering, what were some of the ways – another off-field question – that fans showed support that surprised you, or that you found humorous when you were playing in Japan?
George:
Well, I saw a big difference when I was with Orix and then going to Hanshin. Obviously the Hanshin Tigers players are more popular, and rightly so probably because of the television. So everywhere you see people saying “Arias-san! Arias-san!” and you’re walking around, like you’re a celebrity or something, and I’m like, “Guys, I’m human.” But the one thing is, what I love about Japanese culture, is they’re so nice. I remember my wife losing her wallet three times, and it was returned to her with everything in it. It’s unheard of, you don’t do that here in the States. Walking into stores, they’re opening the door for you, telling you “Good morning. Good afternoon. Thank you for coming.” You don’t see that here in the States, and to be truthful, I didn’t realize – after my first year in Japan, going back home – how rude we really are as Americans. To take that, and compared to the culture in Japan, was shocking. That’s the one thing I miss about Japan, is how sweet and nice everybody are.
Shane:
George, you mentioned that we have to learn the Japanese way, and some guys are a little hard-headed about it. What were the things that were the hardest for you to accept? Or, for that matter, with the guys that you see that didn’t they didn’t work out over there, what are those things that were the hardest to accept?
George:
Well, a couple things. I think number one, spring training being for two months. It’s hard and you’re doing all their types of stretching. It’s a different dynamic stretch. I remember my first year getting there, walking down the hotel going through our kitchen area, we’d have to wake up at six o’clock in the morning and go out to the beach and do a little stretch for 10-15 minutes, and then you walk back into the lounge area and have your breakfast. Who does that? We don’t do this in the States, you know? So that was very shocking. Another thing is at the beginning of the game, when somebody gets on first, you’re fighting them right away. They’re playing for one run, and instead of playing for big innings, taking infield every single day is wear and tear on your body, which we hardly even do it here. We come to the field, take our hats and do the things we have to do to get ready, but you have to. I remember I was tired one game with Hanshin, and I told my interpreter, I almost had to lie, “I’m not feeling good man, I’m not gonna take infield.” Just because I wanted to rest! Because when you play with Hanshin, you go on that 22-day road trip when Koshien’s having that high school tournament. We’re traveling everywhere and going from hotel to hotel, [and] sometimes you just want to just strap it on, especially when you’re struggling. You don’t want to take infield, you just want to go there. “I’m thinking too much. I just want to play the game. Let me play the day. Let me take the infield off and strap it on.” And I remember times I’d lay in the training room, the coaches would come in and say “hey, you okay? Can you still play?” I know that was a big one, taking in-field everyday. That was Japanese style.
Shane:
So how about the inverse of that question, especially now as you’re coaching kids; what are parts of the Japanese game on the field or baseball specifically that that you learn to appreciate, that is unique to Japan? And maybe that you even try to incorporate today?
George:
Work ethic. Work ethic is huge, the Japanese work so hard to hone their craft, and that’s my point to these kids, because some kids are going to grow up to be 6’3”, 6’4”, others are going to grow to be 5’8”, 5’9”. But my point to these kids is that the baseball doesn’t know how big you are, so you have to learn to create a tremendous work ethic. I always used to see the Japanese… man do they work, especially in spring training, and kudos to them and tip my hat off to them. I was impressed to be honest, it’s spring training. These guys are working hard, and I sit down like, “Do I got to do all of that?” They have a tremendous, tremendous work ethic.
William:
What was your favorite away trip? Was there a particular city, particular stadium that you really liked visiting?
George:
Oh, Tokyo Dome, hands down. Tokyo Dome was a great place for me to hit. The ball carried. I didn’t think it was too big. I remember hitting BP, and we’re trying to hit the back of the lights in left field; that’s always fun. It’s always fun to go over there and pepper those big old marketing advertising signs that are up there. That was probably my favorite place to hit.
Shane:
So what was it like being in those games between Hanshin and Yomiuri? I guess you got a little glimpse of both sides as a player. I know the fans take it really seriously. What’s it like as a player?
George:
As a player, I mean, obviously growing up, you want to play in the big leagues. But I think growing up, you started envisioning the crowd singing, “Georgie, Georgie,” because you want to be in those moments. When you have that rivalry, those dreams, those things envisioned in your head, they come into fruition. You want to be that guy, you want to beat up those teams, you want to go and do well. That’s everything you dream of when you grow up, so it was fun. I think it just made it more intense when you played your rivalry. I mean, Hanshin Tigers and Giants, man, those are great battles. It’s always a great feeling to be in those situations for sure.
Shane:
That sounds fun. We have one person, Jonathan, who couldn’t join us, but he sent me a question. He sent me a thorough question. He’s actually doing a little bit of research on MLB tours to Japan, and he sent me this box score – I’ll share it with you – from when you played against the Yankees. Let’s see if I got it here.
Shane:
So, you had three hits and a three-run homer; five RBI. You look at the other team here, [they have] Jeter, Matsui, A-Rod, [Jason] Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Jorge Posada, Kenny Lofton, some pretty good players on that team. And then this one from The Japan Times [shows article] – you see who the hero of that game was. So Jonathan wanted to ask about this; you guys are coming off a Japan Series loss, but then you beat the Yankees, which there’s kind of a narrative of David versus Goliath, and there’s a lot of pride – it seemed – in beating the Yankees, and I think you maybe tied the [Tampa Bay] Devil Rays. What was that series like? What were your memories of that? And was there kind of a feeling on your side to really prove yourself? And did you view it as like a David versus Goliath type situation, playing against that lineup?
George:
Absolutely. I mean, you’re trying to prove to them, “Hey man, I can hit.” You want to face the best as a hitter, but sometimes when you’re struggling, you don’t want to face them, truth be told. But yeah, the Yankees come in, and like I said, it’s one of those things that I envisioned as a kid, hearing the fans cheering my name. Those are moments you create in your mind, and that you hope they come into fruition. You want to be in the spotlight, you want to be that guy batting in the bottom of the ninth inning, game on the line. I want to face the best team, I want to face the best pitcher; you’re not always going to win, but it’s the mentality you have to create, and I just happened to have a good game. The home run I hit was in Tokyo; that’s why I love to hit there. But I think you take that and the confidence playing the Tokyo Dome; it’s all about confidence, this game, this life. Everything you do is about confidence, and it’s how you prepare for it. And believe me, there’s times in this game where you lack that confidence, [and] it’s tough. But it was definitely fun to play the Rays and the Yankees, for sure.
Bob:
Good evening. You talked about the translators in Japan being so good, and just very helpful in your transition to Japan. I was just kind of curious, we have a lot of Spanish players that come to the US in the major leagues, and it’s probably a lot more than in Japan, so the cost would probably be more. But do you think those players would adjust a lot better if they had translators provided? And then the next question is, down in Mexico – you probably speak Spanish – but did they provide translators to English players in Mexico like in Japan? Just curious about that.
George:
Yeah, in Mexico, no, they didn’t have translators. But without a doubt, I think it’s imperative to have translators. The game itself is hard to play in your native language; it’s hard, it’s difficult. There’s a lot of obstacles that you have to overcome, let alone a language barrier, but sometimes it can be a good thing that you don’t know what they’re saying about you. I think that, as I stated earlier, as a player, you want them to try to be as comfortable as possible, so they can go out there and perform. So I feel for those players that don’t have translators, I played with some of them, especially when I played in Mexico, the Americans going into Mexico didn’t speak a lick of Spanish, [and] they get taken advantage of and you just don’t want to see that happen. It does become very, very difficult for players who don’t have it. Most of the coaches now in America are Latin, so there’s teams out there that are putting coaches in that position for that very reason. It’s definitely helpful to have translators, for sure.
Bob:
And the one question I just thought of that I was going to ask is, in Japan, who was the Japanese player that made you feel most at ease, or welcomed you and just kind of showed you around? Do you remember?
George:
There’s a lot of them. With Orix, it was [Akihito] Igarashi, [Yasuo] Fujii-san, [Koichi] Oshima-san. Hanshin Tigers, there was [Akihiro] Yana-san. There were a lot of players that did that. I think first, they’re kind of slow to warm up to you, because they want to know what type of character you are. Like I said, there’s been thousands of foreigners who go into Japan and struggle, and cause problems. I believe we’re kind of labeled going in that way, that we’re all that way until we show otherwise. I think when you go out there, and you prove yourself to be humble, to be a man of character and integrity, and a man who’s going to accept their style of game, they’re gonna open up more to you. Does that makes sense?
Bob:
Yeah, that makes sense. It just brings up another question. As far as major leaguers versus Japan[ese] players… you might be more of a star player when you go to Japan, because there’s a lot less of you, and in the major leagues, there’s a lot more Latin players. Do you think the major leaguers are as accepting as the Japanese players? Or could they be more accepting?
George:
I think they could be more accepting. My first year in the big leagues in ‘96, when I won that job, I wasn’t really supposed to be there. I was slated to go to AAA. So they brought in a veteran third baseman, and when I won that job, I felt as if some of those veterans didn’t want me there. Then again, in ‘98, when they called me up to the World Series roster for the Padres, I lived with Ken Caminiti for two weeks. Ken Caminiti was a third baseman, a guy that I’m supposed to replace, so it speaks volumes to the kind of character he was. So I think it’s just gonna depend on the individual, these people, of how they treat [these] guys, but I think in the US, people are fighting for jobs, and it can become difficult at times, when people don’t accept you.
Shane:
Thanks, Bob. Richard had a related question, he’s not on audio so he sent it to me. He’s curious: you’ll see guys talking in the dugout: Japanese guys, American guys, Latin guys. What’s the communication like? With the Japanese guys, what portion of them know English enough to really kind of welcome you in? [And] I guess vice versa, how many American guys are making an effort to be able to communicate with their teammates? Obviously in Spanish as well. Richard is just curious about that dynamic, [the] interactions in the dugout in the clubhouse?
George:
Well, again, if you want to be accepted, you gotta want to be able to want to learn, you want to fit in the culture. And I think that’s in any baseball club; you want to go out there, you want to be a great teammate, and if you want to be a great teammate, then try to act like them and try to be like them and try to let them know you care. So it was great, me trying to speak Japanese or them trying to speak to me in English, and we’re cracking jokes. And sometimes some jokes don’t translate, and that becomes even funnier. It is fun, when guys try to learn Japanese or they’re trying to learn English. I’m trying to remember the saying I used to say – I forget what it is in Japanese – but I used to walk around and say, “Man, I swing like a girl.” They used to get a kick out of that. I used to say, mewosamasu. I throw my bats on the ground and say, “Wake Up!” I think when you can do that, and joke around and have fun like that, I think that’s where it comes back [to] the team pulling together, and having unity and having fun together.
Marty:
Hey, listen, the guys are all interested in differences between Japanese and American ball, and when I’m asked – of course you’ve seen a lot of them – one of the things that I think is really different in Japanese ball, there’s not a lot of it still, but in Japan, corporal punishment – beating players, hitting players – it’s something you don’t see in the States. The guy that you gave a little bit of praise to earlier on, [Senichi] Hoshino, was an interesting guy. I always called Hoshino a Mr. Jekyll and Hyde, because when he’s on NHK in his suit, he’s the perfect gentleman. But it seems when he puts a uniform on and gets on the field, [as] you mentioned, the players get scared. He was infamous when he was Chunichi’s manager for beating the crap out of his players. Alonzo Powell saw a couple guys that had to go to the hospital for stitches. In fact, the reason Alonzo Powell got traded to the Tigers was that he called Hoshino and said the next time he hit one of his Japanese teammates, Hoshino was going to have to get an ambulance to go to the hospital. Two or three days later, Alonzo Powell got shipped off to the Tigers. Anyhow, I was wondering, Robert Whiting also accounts in a number of his publications where a Hanshin player under the stands was beaten mercilessly by Hoshino, and I was just wondering in your time… you praise the guy and I know those good parts, but did you see that dark side of him? Did you see him hit players?
George:
I’ve never seen him hit any player. We used to call him a field goal kicker because where he used to sit in that second row, when somebody made a mistake, he kicked that chair in the front.
Marty:
He did that with the Eagles too.
George:
I’ve never, never experienced him hit anybody. I can honestly say that I’ve only heard stories, like what you said, but I’ve never witnessed that. What I did witness was somebody with Orix kicking one of their players on the way down, because I think they missed a sign, and when he came in from the dugout, they’re kicking them on the way down. I got into it with the coach, and telling them, “You don’t be doing that to my players.” And afterwards, I had a coaches meeting, or actually, we had a meeting, and they’re explaining to me the situation. That was that, and it didn’t happen again. But I did hear stories on things like that happening. I found that hard to believe, but it was true. In my honest opinion, not once did I ever see him do that. Yes, he brought fear in, and I think it’s probably because of that, but I’ve never seen him do that.
Marty:
I think the good thing that corporal punishment – coaches, managers punching [and] hitting players – it’s gone down. It hasn’t disappeared. It hasn’t just been… Hoshino was the worst when he was youngest with the Dragons, he was still doing some of it when he’s with the Tigers. By the time he got to be the Eagles manager, he wasn’t hitting anybody anymore, but they knew that he used to, and he still had the bark, and the players were really scared of him. They really ran scared. As you say, that can help get the best out of some players, but I’m glad to see that kind of thing with hitting players, [it’s] totally something I’m against. And it’s gotten less; unfortunately hasn’t disappeared entirely.
George:
Yeah, and I think because through my experience of what I’ve learned and what I’ve seen, I think there’s ways to motivate players. I think that’s a challenge for us coaches, to dig deep and find out everybody’s character and who they are and what they’re like. Discipline and punishment are two different things. I wouldn’t lay a hand on anybody. What I would do is I take it as a challenge: “Okay, if this kid is struggling, then what can I do as a coach to do a better job in preparing him?” I think that’s always a challenge for us coaches, and that’s why I mentioned Bochy. He found ways to come and grab me and put his arm around me and say, “Hey, man, I’m gonna give you some couple of days off, I need you to rest.” You know who also did that too? [Akira] Ogi-san, with Orix. I was impressed with him. You know, Terry Francona is another one that does that. I don’t believe in doing that to players. I think if you have to draw a fear like that, I think we need to do a better job of finding ways to better ourselves as the leader to find ways to motivate players.
Shane:
Thanks, Marty, and thanks for joining us. Michael Westbay said that, “It’s my understanding that it was a kinder Hoshino after his heart attack that retired him from Chunichi.” So maybe doctor’s orders, gotta lower that blood pressure a little.
Marty:
Yeah, he did have medical problems that slowed him down later on in life, obviously and got him early. When you talk about Hoshino, he’s always described as being fiery. Indeed the way he was, he was fiery on the field, for sure.
George:
Yeah. One thing I really stress with players is, when they struggle, they tie it to their self-worth. I’m not speaking on Hoshino-san, I have a great deal of respect for him. I think, [with] me coaching over here, I see coaches go through these experiences of when their team’s not winning, that they feel like they’re terrible coaches, so they try to put fear in guys to get them to play better. In essence, we got to do a better job, I think, of preparing our kids and finding ways to motivate them. There’s some guys you can stroke, there’s other guys you can push, but I think that only comes with time and building relationships with your players.
Shane:
Good stuff. I found it interesting earlier [when] you mentioned that you thought playing in Mexico helped prepare you for Japan, because when I was preparing for this episode, I was gonna ask you about comparing the two countries, [because] you played summer league and winter league in Mexico, [and] my guess was that [there] couldn’t be two more different baseball cultures. But can you talk a little bit more about comparing those two countries? All of us here on the call are really interested in international baseball in general, and I know you’re of Mexican heritage, too. So I’m curious how that played in and what the connection was like family-wise for you, if there was one?
George:
It was an easy transition for me because my parents are from Mexico. [In] the Latin community, they play music, in Puerto Rico, Dominican and Mexico, they play music throughout the game, just like in Japan. They’ve got music and dancing, they’re having fun. US baseball, I think, is boring; it’s not as entertaining as these other countries. Mexico helped prepare me, in essence, of not being [as] spoiled as we [are] in the States. There’s a lot of things you have to do on your own. On the field, you’re dealing with guys who smoke, the Japanese and Mexican players like to smoke. You’re also dealing with the way they attack hitters from a playing standpoint; sometimes they don’t challenge, and as a hitter, sometimes we call those guys sissies; man, challenge somebody. But at the end of the day, if we really look at it, it’s really about getting you out. So from a mindset of heavy plate discipline and game planning, that’s how it kind of helped me for Japan.
Shane:
Cool, interesting stuff. So I just talked yesterday to Bob Fontaine Jr, the scout with the Angels who signed you… and I’ll do a shameless plug, he has a biography about him that came out that I told him and help them I’d help promote (In Search of Millionaires: the Life of a Baseball Gypsy), Bob Fontaine’s a legendary scout with the Angels, and he drafted pretty much the whole ‘02 World Series team. I know the Angels had a really good player development system, scouting system. Can you just talk about that Angels era, that minor league system? It seems like they really had things figured out; really impressive player development there.
George:
Yeah, I can’t stress this enough. I was blessed to be with the Angels and have coaches that cared. I mean, Joe Maddon was a [bench] coach. Eddie Rodriguez was a defensive coach, and when they came in, when I was in Lake Elsinore, in AA or AAA, they’d fly in and work with us hitters and defensively, and those guys made us work. But at the same time, they put their arms around us and say, “Hey, man, we need you to work hard. We need you to do this, we know you’ve got skills, but this is what you got to do.” They helped prepare us, and again, when you get a player feeling that, they’re gonna run through a wall for you. I know that’s the one thing that I’ve learned through my life and my experiences, I try to pass that on to my kids. I want to drive them, I want to push them, but hey, I know things can’t always be perfect, man, but we’ve got to learn to push forward, and that speaks volumes. I try to translate everything I learned to pro ball to now. I have a 18U baseball team right now, with high schoolers. I have 13 kids committed to college on one team, nine of them are D-1 players. It’s taking everything that I’ve learned in the game, and the coaches that have impacted my life, and passing them on to these kids. None of it was done by, “Hey, I’m gonna go punish somebody.” No, it’s all through discipline, and getting them to understand the hallmarks of baseball; you’ve got to grind it out. So the development is huge, and I’ve been in front of coaches at the Angels organization, the Padres. Development is huge, and that’s where it’s at. Somebody down there’s got to get the players to believe.
Shane:
That’s a good segue as I wanted to [mention]. You’ve woven into pretty much all your answers your references to the guys you’re coaching today, obviously this is your team. Can you just talk about what it is that you have? You have a facility down there, you have a team. I really appreciate how it seems like you’ve really put a lot of thought and analysis into leadership and development, so I want to hear more about your program.
George:
Yeah, so I have an indoor batting cage facility where I train players, it’s for-profit, then I have a non-profit academy where we raise money and take these players, and we take them to these tournaments, and get them in front of these college coaches. So my philosophy of development is this: it’s called “3D Coaching.” It’s a pyramid, and the bottom tier of that pyramid – 85% of coaches – are coaching the fundamentals: power, technique, cardiovascular, everybody’s going to do that, whether right or wrong, and teaching them. The next tier of that pyramid – 15% of coaches – are coaching the psychological part, which means how do you motivate players? How do you instill confidence? How do you talk to him about team cohesion? How about focus? The top of that pyramid is coaching the heart of an athlete: their purpose, their identity, their self-worth? I have always focused on the two top tiers of that pyramid, because the bottom is a guarantee; I’m going to teach them the fundamentals. But if I could teach them the two top tiers of that pyramid, and have all my coaches do the same thing, these kids are going to develop, and they’re going to want to follow you, and you’re going to put out a great product. I’ve always believed that, I went through a certification for that, it works. It’s been working with us in our academy with these young kids, getting them to college. I had one kid come through my academy who’s a number one pick for the [Pittsburgh] Pirates a couple of years ago. I don’t know how many kids have been through college through our program. Development is finding ways to touch the heart of an athlete, that’s been my biggest goal.
Shane:
Amazing. What’s the name of the facility and your program?
George:
The facility is called Centerfield Baseball Academy, and my non-profit is called Tucson Champs Academy.
Shane:
Got it. Good stuff, thank you. One more question from the chat here. Do you have any opinion of the MLB lockout in the labor situation?
George:
You know, in all honesty, I haven’t been paying attention to that; I’ve got three kids. I’m over here doing my job. I think the people that end up getting hurt are the fans… hopefully they can come to an agreement pretty soon.
Ian:
So like playing on a team, having a job – in anything – you have people you like and people you don’t like. So who was your best teammate? And how did a professional baseball team deal with maybe a bad teammate, or someone with a negative attitude who would just make everybody just get really angry if they’re ever in a room, because you’re living with that person more than you’re living with your families?
George:
Well, it’s very difficult. You’ve got a locker room full of different personalities. Not everybody’s perfect, I look in the mirror and see a guy who’s imperfect. So you have to try to get along with everybody. I think one thing that I’ve learned is, if I had a stack of quarters, and I piled them up, and I had one quarter that’s bent like this – [the quarter] being the guy that’s a bad apple – well, I can put him on top of that stack, and the team can carry him. But if you have two of those three guys in the team, it becomes very, very miserable. But those cases are going to happen, because some people are selfish and they only care about themselves. Sometimes you’ve just got to go in there and [tell] them, “Nope, enough.” But you get a lot of bad attitudes when your team is out there losing. I remember when I got traded from the Angels to the Padres in ‘97, and the team I went to, I think we were in last place. And when I walked in that locker room, it was like, segregated. We had the African Americans on one side and the whites on another and the Mexicans or the Latins on the other, and it was terrible. They were in last place, and we had to change the atmosphere, and we played some music. We had this one guy, Paul Menhart, who’s a pitcher in the big leagues, but we’d play this one Chicago song, and he would start singing, and we would all start laughing. And lo and behold, we’re all singing that song. We carry that [into] the last month of the season, man, we had a great winning record. So it’s very difficult to have guys that are selfish individuals, but sometimes, you’ve got to do what’s best; you’ve still got to try to have fun and then try to find a way to get all these guys to do it. It’s a hard thing to do, especially if you’ve got three, four or five guys that are selfish.
Ian:
And who was your favorite teammate or teammates?
George:
There were a lot of great teammates. Are you talking about my whole career? You talking about just Japan?
Ian:
Anywhere.
George:
Todd Greene was a roommate of mine. Played with the Angels for a long time, with the Yankees as backup catcher. Really, really dear friend of mine. Derrick White, he got to play with me with Hanshin Tigers for a couple of years, Greg Hansell’s another one, Jeff Williams is another one… [Shinjiro] Hiyama-san with Hanshin Tigers was another one. [Akihiro] Yano-san, with the Hanshin Tigers, Yano’s locker was across from mine. [Akihito] Igarashi with Orix, [Yasuo] Fujii-san, [So] Taguchi, so there were a lot of great players. I just can’t really pick five or ten, and what I mean by my great teammates is guys that I really got along with. There’s other guys you talk to, but not guys that you hung out with.
Shane:
That reminds me, I wanted to ask about Ken Caminiti. When I was like a 12-year-old little league third baseman, Ken Caminiti was winning MVPs and being the most badass guy in the National League. I know he had his demons. What was he like as a teammate on and off the field?
George:
Oh, phenomenal. As I mentioned earlier, who brings in their competition to live with them? I have a great story about him. In ‘98, when I was living with him, I had a CJ-7 Jeep, and he got on it. He goes, “George, I got an engine for that jeep.” “What are you talking about?” Because he used to have racecars, and he was the type of guy that built big engines for cars, and that’s what he loved to do; that was one of his passions. I was like, “Okay, yeah, whatever Ken.” So two weeks go by and he goes, “Hey, the engine is at the shop. Go take your Jeep over there.” I’m like, “What are you talking about?” “I have an engine for your Jeep.” “You’re crazy Ken, what are you talking about?” “George, just take your dumb Jeep to the shop over there.” So I take my Jeep to the shop, and lo and behold, it’s a 350 small block. He ends up putting an engine in my Jeep, and when I went to go pick it up, there was a bill of $19,000. I’m thinking to myself, “Holy crap, I can’t pay for this right now.” But he goes, “Don’t worry, I got it taken care of.” So he’s just that type of guy. He welcomes me to his house, he loves to give, and that’s what he did. And yes, he had demons. I think it was probably hard for him to say no, sometimes. I remember the following year when he went to Houston and I was with the Padres, I remember paying him back for that engine, and I just said, “Thanks, Ken, I really appreciate what you’ve done for me. You’ve impacted my life, and really taught me about giving. It’s not about receiving but giving.” And he didn’t want to accept that money, but I tell him, “Dude, I will not be able to sleep if you don’t take this money.” But that was the type of man he was, and I’ll forever be grateful for the things he’s done for me.
Shane:
That’s great. Thank you for sharing that, he was my favorite player for two or three years there, so I’m happy to hear that. It was a tragic end, but I’m glad to hear about what type of guy he was. Thanks for sharing that. So the last question I have here and then we’ll wrap it up. I know you got your program there, but what remains baseball-wise? What aspirations do you have, goals baseball-wise?
George:
Well, I got hired part time by the Tokyo Giants to be a scout. One of my aspirations is to be a full-time scout. I want to do whatever I can to help bring a championship. I want to get back involved with Japan, somehow, someway. It’s been a blessing, my kids now are going to be in college, [and] I’ve been offered several jobs to go coach professional[ly], and I didn’t want to do it because of my kids. But now that my last one is going to graduate this year, I’m just praying that I can do something that can either take me back to Japan or help me do things to make the teams better in Japan, so praying on that.
Shane:
Awesome. Well, that’s great to hear about the scouting job, congratulations on that. And I think speaking for everyone – we had close to 40 people in total on the call today – all of us are rooting for you, and hearing you talk, I think we’re confident it’s going to work out for you. It already has, but what you said, we’re rooting for you, and thanks so much for joining us. It was really a treat, and we appreciate you candidly answering all those questions, and spending the time and really thoughtfully listening to our questions. Thank you.
George:
Thank you, Shane. I really appreciate that. It’s always fun to hear questions and try to share stories and reminisce about all the times I’ve had. I’m a fan too, when it comes to different sports, you want to hear stories, and again, thank you for having me. I wish you guys the best of luck. Thank you everybody who was on the call, I really had a good time for sure. So, thank you.
Shane:
You’re welcome. Take care, George, you’re welcome to sign off. I’ll stay on for a few minutes if anyone wants to say hi, but everyone else, good seeing you. Thanks for joining “Chatter Up!” and we’ll see you next time.
