Episode 22
Fun! Interview with Billy Sample former Major League Baseball Player
The Official Seenagers, Never Too Late
With Billy Sample, former major league baseball player. Billy spent a combined nine years, from 1978-1986 playing for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves. Billy is a native of Roanoke Virginia and grew up in Salem, Virgina. Billy is known for his funny quit witt. Other MLB professionals nicknamed him "The example, Billy Sample.
Billy plays down his career in a self-deprecating way. A freaking funny guy this Billy Sample. Here is his wiki link, it's really worth the read. Super impressive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Sample
Former Yankee Billy Sample recounts playing days in new book
Lianna AlbrizioPascack Valley Community LifeView Comments
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William "Billy" Sample, professional baseball player turned broadcaster and filmmaker, has added another feather to his cap in a long history of success: published author.
The former outfielder who played for the Texas Rangers, the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves circa 1978 to 1986, has captured that magical time in his youth and channeled it into an anecdotal book he independently published in June called, "A Year in Pinstripes... And Then Some."
In the book - the cover of which features a retro photo of Sample donning his No. 11 Yankee uniform in batter stance - Sample quips that he attributes his love of English and writing to "good-looking" school teachers. Apart from his baseball career, Sample has always been a writer, taking various broadcasting jobs for the Braves and Seattle Mariners and contributing to CBS Radio, EPSN and MajorLeagueBaseball.com.
He has also been published in slew of newspapers and magazines from USA Today's Sports Weekly, to Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. He even wrote a screenplay for a film called "Reunion 108," a comedy which was released in 2013 about two generations of pro baseball players returning for a reunion game. The work earned top honors in the Best Unproduced Screenplay Category at the 2011 Hoboken Film Festival.
"I think after all these years I enjoy writing more than anything else," said Sample.
And it shows in his work.
In "Pinstripes," Sample sets the stage on a baseball diamond in 1985 and tells the entire story of his eight-year stint in baseball - a sport that he holds dear in his heart and helped shape the rest of his career. The 61-year-old father of three said he was 15 when he made a "conscious decision" he was going to pursue baseball.
"I love its history," he explained, "and I love [what] it means to a lot of people. There's a timeline in baseball that's like none other... My aunt took me to my first game in Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium. [There are] memories as a family or as a care unit that are hard to duplicate in other sports. [The] setting, the pace of the game allows for memories that will be etched in your mind forever."
Sample takes readers back to his humble upbringing in Salem, Va. to his glory days at Andrew Lewis High School where the 5-foot 9-inch powerhouse was an outstanding multi-sport athlete in baseball, football and basketball. He goes on to write about his first draft by the Rangers while attending Madison College (now James Madison University) in the mid-1970s.
"I think no matter what I've done, I've tried to enhance people's appreciation of the game," said Sample of writing the book. "It's easier to do as a player [and] live vicariously through the actions I've emitted on the field." He continued, "As a writer, I have a venue where I can steer you to enjoyable parts of the game in which you're going to learn something you didn't know before... or open up an area that you hadn't thought about before. I think I do that fairly well. I think in part it was cathartic for me to get it out."
Sample said watching Yankees players Tony Kubek and Bobby Richardson on TV growing up and being able interact with them later on in his life, along with outfielder Roy White, are some of the things he's most proud of while playing with the Yankees.
Sample has the same admiration toward some of today's Yankees, including catcher Gary Sanchez.
"You can't measure heart... Is the game really that easy for a 23-year-old to have that [kind of] talent?" he asked rhetorically.
After a successful run himself in Major League Baseball, Sample finished with a .272 batting average and 46 home runs, but none of those statistics carry more worth than the career itself, which, to Sample, is priceless.
"When you're in such a highly select profession to be performing well... I don't think it gets any better than that," he said.
"A Year in Pinstripes... And Then Some" is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Email: albrizio@northjersey.com
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Billy Sample Major League Baseball Player SUMMARY KEYWORDS baseball, Billy Sample, playing, ball, game, teenagers, Seenagers, Yankees, people, drafted, Charlie Ponger, Debbie Nigro, talking, clubhouse, kidding, slams, life, thought, scouts, drive, championship, won, MLB, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves SPEAKERS Debbie Nigro, Charlie Ponger, Billy Sample, Debbie Nigro, Billy Sample, Debbie Nigro Billy Sample Charlie Ponger, Charlie Ponger, Debbie Charlie, Charlie Ponger Billy Sample Hey everyone, welcome to the official Seenagers, Never too Late. teenagers How the hell are you? curse on this show. It's not nice. How the hell yeah. We're here. We're here with ex-Major League Baseball player in the studio. Billy Sample sampling sample today, Mr. 272 lifetime batting average. That was his career batting average sampling the teenager seenager part of Billy Sample. Yeah, he's in a teenager seenager. He just like, isn't perfect. I know. I know. Let's look at him. Yeah. Hey, Billy. double entendre are gonna run. I'm ready now. Good to have you, man. Thank you, Debbie. Good to be I didn't go and I've been watching a lot of baseball lately, because my boyfriend is a Mets fan. And we went to went to the Mets game, right. So I'm all into the baseball backstory of that you're going to start sharing some stuff about hanging sliders? Yeah. Well, when you say sliders, I'm Italian I think food. But I'll get back to you. Billy, I got a quick couple quick questions for you. All right. What was it like? Getting into the into the minor leagues? Like when you went from college? To the minor leagues? What was that like a thrill and a half for you or what? No, I was a little disappointed. You were a little higher than Oh, you were what we were in high school. I was drafted in the 28th. Round early. No kidding. I told the scouts. I didn't know they had that many rounds. Now they only have 20. Yeah. So Billy was like being drafted into purgatory from when I got drafted. But it was low. And I thought I was going somewhere in the teens. All the scouts will tell you Yeah, you're gonna be fine. We're gonna offer you enough money. And you're gonna Yeah, right. Yeah. No, it's a grind. Right? Well, the scout who drafted me? Yeah, could tell when he finally got in touch with me that I was a little disappointed in at the time, they were 2014. He said, Well, Bill 23 other teams past your 20s. I hear you are still, you know, having the great stories that a lot of people never get a chance to have. Right. So it's, we're many years after baseball, and 36 for me, 36. But everybody still wants to talk baseball with you. Well, I stayed in the game a little bit because I broadcast a little bit and I wrote a little bit so I'm probably a little more relevant than most of the old guys like us. Yeah. Maybe so when when you were growing up? And you were playing you did you play? You played more than baseball? Right? I was. Oh, come on, Charlie. You didn't get the memo? No. What else? Statewide receiver. No kidding. Yeah. That's fantastic movie. Remember the Titans? Yeah, yeah. In real life. They played us in the state finals. No kidding. That's how we couldn't even depict us in the movie. They use another team. When did you realize that? Hey, you know what, I think I'm better than a bunch of the other guys that I'm growing up with. And all that sort of stuff. Never really did. No, never really did. I thought when I was about 15 that if I had a chance to go pro on anything it was gonna be baseball is our I thought it was a little bit better in football. No kidding. You look at the players now and go You can't I can't believe it. They're making in money. I helped them make that W Yeah. To start from a good union man. Tell me so we understand so that you could have better workers rights. I think that was a fee, you as a byproduct of salaries went up. But it took me my first contract. I tell people there's it's hard to believe. I think the minimum salary now is 708. Yeah, I think that's what something is. Came up. It was 21,000 Holy, double digit inflation days of late 1970s. Let me tell you how far you're taking home. 80,000 in the big league, and the big lists won't even tell you. What do you say? I can't believe these guys get paid that much money just to play game. Do I say no. I'm saying what do you say to people who say I can't believe these guys get paid that much money to play game? I can't believe Paul McCartney makes that much money. Same deal. Right. I think it's great. There's out there. I don't know. I'm Yeah, I think it's great. Yeah. You know, it's it's shifted quickly. And a lot of it was because the owners did some things that were not quite sure. Yeah. They colluded. They? Did they do you think they still collude? Probably. They have to be careful. Yeah. Triple damages. Yeah. Okay. Let's review who you played for for people who are meeting you for the first time. And he came up when he was 23 years old. The kid ended up playing in the big play for the Yankees. One year. Very cool. That was traded. Before the 1985 season to the Yankees. I had worn out my welcome in Texas where it came up. This Atlanta Braves Braves that's pretty good roster close on the house got traded the next month. Oh, no. Don't you hate that? Oh, no. Let's talk about the underbelly of baseball. It's real. really about the underbelly of baseball. This is about the underbelly of life and a lot of people can relate to some great thing happening then somebody something screwing it up. They're coming. You close on a house and then you get fired. 05:10 Well, I'm surprised. Okay, I tend to wear out my welcome about you know, what were you just sort of you call him as as you see him kind of guy in the clubhouse or what was a player? Rep. I was an alternate Oh, you were player Rev. Honorable when you're in that? Yeah. Actually, after after six plus years in Texas, I knew I wasn't going anywhere there and, and I tried to leave on his license terms. So we could leave, but it was time to go. So when you walk in to a stadium, and in the big leagues, and the house is packed. Let's call it Yankee Stadium, I guess back then 57,000 people, and they're cheering for you. And they're yelling your name. First of all, can you hear them in the stands saying your name? Not really. No, I didn't do that much. You did, man. You bet 272 actually back then, I don't think you had the the full houses that you have. Now. I see. Because I see clips of when I was with the Yankees. It was 1985 it was manning Lee's MVP season it all see some highlights and he's hitting homeruns into empty seats. Wow. No, you don't see it today. Who was your iconic baseball hero growing up? Didn't really have one. No, no, sorry, I I admired the way Roy white carried himself with the Yankees. And I kind of wanted to tell him that I've careers intersected only towards the latter part of his before he went to Japan and my first couple years but I never did have the nerve to really say it to him. So years later, after I was traded to the Yankees in Reuters working in front office. I call them loader my clubhouse stall. And I said, Roy, look, I didn't believe in role models outside of people that I knew but I always admired the kind of quiet dignified way you carried yourself. Always got this voice like Orson Welles even like deep and he looked at me saying yeah, right, Bill. harboring this all this time, he thought I was putting them off and I see it every once in a while. We'll go Yeah, usually out in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. That's cool. Can I ask a girly question? Did you sleep with your mid under your mattress was wrapped her mid put it? Under the pillow? I didn't use the mattress, but I put it on the pillow a couple of times when I was really young. How cool is I actually had a mitt of my own they slept under had under my mattress because that was like a boy girl girl boy. Yeah. No, I just like to drop receiver. I'm a sporty sporty girl. And I have male mid. I like basketball. I mean, I played sports. So I actually love to play. Yeah, okay, I lost the championship for volleyball myself personally, but we don't talk about that. No, I understand. I've been there. Charlie, he had he had he had some great thing that he had showed us. Yeah, that is from back when. But it has a great topic for the teenagers. You know, some things I won't miss about the game. Yeah, and I think a lot of people watch professional sports and get you know, enamored with the stars and think their life must be perfect and it's not lucky they are and how much money they're making and how great it is. Now, right Yeah, but there's there's about half of those those topics if I'm making the money I want to know about the grind. I want to know about the travel grind travel what it's like in the clubhouse is 105 degrees was kind of normal. Really traveled didn't bother you things you won't miss things he won't miss what don't you miss about the game? Oh, you're asking me now? No, I'm asking what are we doing? 08:59 You're looking at two years ago you're looking at the refrigerator is he playing for us? I don't know. I gotta see nature. You are receiving age if you're looking and can remember your let's see. Let's see. Nope, he's got no teenagers have nots, robbing your grandchildren. Computer promise of college tuition is still in single digits and age. That's so funny man. Without Knology you are you up on technology? No, they take that actually they will take my computers out of my bag when I crossed into the door like a pop while you're gonna hurt yourself or your world will take that oh, that's fine. Computer everything they take it really stuff when I get back get it back because I don't know. Oh that's okay. Nobody knows his passwords are Are you playing golf or anything like that? What do you do to stay in great shape on a good run? Well, thank you especially good coming from you because you're good you want to you've always been in good shape like that crap shape last until I until I get injured then I blow up like a tick and and it takes me two years to get back into shape. Oh, it's worth it looks good. Oh, thanks, Billy, what do you think? I'm healthy enough with sexuality. So you don't have to really Charlie's been in here through the entire pandemic eating and getting fat. And then one day he found a rowing machine and he dragged it back with whatever little strength he had. And he's been doing it every day since and he's not the same guy from months ago. Look at him. He's it's just from rowing. He's coming back to life. Yeah, I solid pull up. Machine. Yeah, I stretch on that. Yeah, he's hanging everywhere around this property. Yeah, I you know, I mean, once you're a jock right level of time, there's once you're a jock, you're always a jock. Right? Tell the truth, I guess. But I've had a good run of not playing golf. Or not. Actually, I will show up for the dinners. Yeah, in fact, they tease me. Here for the dinner is Billy sample. I'll get up and wave. But you're not gonna play. I will drive the refreshment wagon. Yeah. I'll go around and try to tell jokes are a great joke teller. But no, you're pretty funny. But no, you don't want to eat my golf game? No, no, I can put a little bit yeah, when you're trying to salvage that quadruple bogey. I can't put another eight. Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Because you're such a good athlete. And then Golf is a new game and it's not coming natural to you. So you're like, Screw it. I'm not gonna do it. Okay, we'll go with it. All right. Just you just suck. No. Does baseball have something that in the entertainment industry a category? So what I'm talking about is Jennifer Hudson. Got this incredible e g o t status right? At the Tony Awards. And it's when somebody wins an Emmy, a Grammy an Oscar and a Tony. It's called the EEG guide six. Incredible. Is there something in baseball where you get like a fake name like, oh, there were special, like, greatest of all time. IGAD. You know, is there some kind of baseball where you hit all different? strikeouts? Four times? It's called? Golden sunburn you the golden sunburn. Yeah, rarely do that. If you get three times once, and struck out three times once in double a ball. And that's it. Yeah, that's impressive. He cut the three times in double a ball. Rick hunico While he was pitching in the pirates organization where he came up then the ball just seemed just to bottom out and then later on, this team didn't surprise me. When you go on long drives when you say didn't surprise me and he was putting some Vaseline on that ball. There you go. Anything about tax and yeah, my teammate. You go on long drives. Everybody has their life flash in front of them good, bad and ugly. They think of the worst thing that happened the best thing that happened when you drive and you're like, try and conjure up your best baseball moment. What is it? What's that vision vision in your head? I had one walk off home run it sad only had one. That's okay, once. That's fantastic. We got some trailing it. Yeah. I don't know. And we were trailing at the time. So I thought okay, there's just you were trailing. And then you had a walk off to win the game. We were trailing where we would it was in our willing time. It's a walk off. It's at home. So we're in Arlington, Arlington. And what's the bad thing that goes in your head in the driving like you're in the country road, you drive and drive me like that memory? There is a saying about a monkey in a football. Why? And I had one of those plays in Chicago at Wrigley Field where I was playing right and as soon as the ball left Gary Matthews bad. I knew I was in trouble. Oh, and those things don't happen when nobody's on base. Right? They happen to out I had one of those. You're like when blue had a couple of ways and I just looked awful playing. Oh, I knew that. So if I see I've starting pitcher Zane Smith today and I haven't seen Zane and I don't know 35 years. First thing I'm gonna offer is an apology. Because I played it so poorly. I didn't even touch the ball. No, they didn't give me an error like these runs on irons. Oh, lays Oh, no kidding. kind of wake up to like, Charlie, what's your job? What's your worst like driving down the country road think about all your life and that horrible memory shoots in your head like the worst thing that you can't believe is stepping on a wet home plate and snapping my ankle. Oh, that's bad. Yeah. Ouch. That one hurt out. You have spikes? Yeah, spikes, no metal spikes. Yeah. And my favorite one was a catch that I made And I'm not I'm like a peon compared to this guy. You didn't but whenever I made I made a I made a catch in left field to a diving catch. You know, parallel the ground caught the ball. We won the championship because it was Bases Loaded two outs the whole thing. And the team my team got so excited. The first baseman who was like six foot five to 50 comes running out to left field and beats the crap out of me, man oh, man, I wasn't good and all the other guys the other guys in the other team were like you had your eyes close? Because I think everybody has it memory not Mr. Samples memory, sports memory good, bad or ugly if they played any sports, right? Yeah, I'm only getting negatives right now as I'm talking to you guys. But once you're yours, oh, I got a lot of negatives. No, I'm telling you what I'm gonna tell you I lost the championship for the high school volleyball championship. Personally, at the Netball comes I smashed it with all my might and I missed the ball and it dropped. That was the end of the championship. Me personally. That's number 121 19. You had plenty of choice the end bill. He was the last one to beat yourself up. You needed to kill him? No, no. Then there was a time that was in the softball. I don't know what happened. I was sitting on the sidelines and you know girls softball like Ted what and I was talking and boom, this ball in my face. 50 miles. And there was another time at work here where you bring your downer. Are you in the dugout? No, I was actually on the sidelines just talking. I've been painting for you're doing your nails. Now. You think I would have been eyelashes or whatever. And it was time to get disqualified from the cheerleading contest because our outfits are too sexy. But let's not go there. Catholic high school girls, you know they thought it was too sexy back then. What? A tight turtleneck and a short flared, like flouncy little quarter way skirt. Oh, keep talking to us. Now we won the basketball championship. I have when I was starting forward. I was pig. Oh, yeah. Wow. You the three of the four we're shooting for it are more of a power. I can remember Billy shooting shooting the ball from like 40 feet out in the right sink. Wow. I have a basketball story. One on one. Yeah, I'm playing a guy who's about six, four Irish guy. And we're playing and I just by chance beat him that day and one on one. He slams his true. He slams the basketball down. And he says, You know what the eff is wrong with you all you Italian guineas, and I said what? And he goes, You all think you're six foot four. And I looked at him. I said You mean I'm not. That was good. You slammed his beer down. Oh, it's true story. No, the game is good. Yeah. So you like to laugh. I liked that you're here and like to laugh with us. This is great. What did you write a book about? Tell everybody because everybody's a year in pinstripes and then some enhance my year with the Yankees in 1985. Probably about 40% of the book and the rest was either going are playing Texas or Atlanta. Very cool. Yeah. I am Scott and I self published but that's that's how I was rolling. Yeah, you gotta go like, you can still get it. It's on Amazon and Kindle. Very cool. Amazon Kindle. What's the title of the book? A year in pinstripes and a year in pinstripes and then some alright everybody go out and get that book. He's a billy samples a great guy. Great guy, isn't he? Did you just invite him to because you know, this great guy. We go way back. Wow, we went to different schools together. Fantastic. Here's so much of our spirit. Thank you so much for being part of this teenagers. We'd love to having you come back with you can be our correspondent. Yeah, we need it. You can be our jersey correspondent and professional athlete course. He's our jersey correspondent. We announced we anoint you. Okay, thank you. But yeah, you gotta go cause some trouble because we can't have boring shows. Alright, everyone, thank you for listening in the teenagers. We were here. Billy sample is here with us today. What a treat. He's a very funny guy, Debbie. Yes, Charlie, I'll see you later. Thank you guys for tuning in to check out the official teenagers.com Give us a thumbs up if you think that you can relate. Apple, Spotify the whole thing. See you later ByeTranscript
