Thursday, March 23, 2006

Jim Sundberg Interview

On Thursday, I interviewed former Ranger Jim Sundberg. I met Jim at an autograph event in Frisco and asked if I could interview him for my blog. He was nice and said that I could interview him. Here are the results of the interview.

Q: Who were the 3 toughest pitchers to hit?
A: Roger Clemens, Jim Palmer, and Catfish Hunter

Q: Who were the 3 toughest pitchers to catch?
A: Charlie Hough, Danny Jackson, and Kevin Brown

Q: Who was the favorite manager you ever played for?
A: Dick Howser (Kansas City 1985-86)

Q: Who were your top 3 favorite teammates?
A: Don Sutton, Buddy Bell, and Scott Sanderson

Q: What is your biggest regret from your baseball career?
A: At first, Jim said he didn’t have one because he played in such a way that he didn’t have one. After that, he said that it was not being able to play in the hitter-friendly Ballpark in Arlington.

Q: How does it feel to be in the Rangers Hall of Fame?
A: He said it was a pretty big privilege to be in the same group as Nolan Ryan, Charlie Hough, and Johnny Oates.

Q: What was your favorite moment as a Texas Ranger?
A: His favorite moment as a Texas Ranger was his first major league game versus the Oakland A’s in 1974. He caught Fergie Jenkins, who he watched when he was growing up (when Fergie was a Cub). The Rangers won and Jim had a couple of hits. Jim also threw out Bert Campaneris.

Q: What are your favorite ballparks?
A: Baltimore, Boston, Toronto, and Kansas City

Q: What are your least favorite ballparks?
A: Anaheim, Oakland, and Philadelphia

Q: Which stadiums have the worst facilities for broadcasters?
A: Oakland

Q: Who do you think the next Rangers retired number should be?
A: Jim said that this was a good question. He also said that it wouldn’t be his because Michael Young is wearing his old number.

Q: Who do you think should be the next Rangers Hall of Fame inductee?
A: Toby Harrah

Q: Who was your favorite player growing up and why?
A: Ernie Banks as a Cub because Jim saw most of his games as a kid in Illinois. Ernie seemed to always be friendly and was a good player.

Q: What is your favorite thing about the baseball camps for kids that you sponsor?
A: He enjoys seeing the excitement of kids.

Q: Can you please describe your current job? (Jim is Executive Director to the President for the Rangers)
A: Jim works 60 hours a week in an intense job. He’s involved with all departments and he enjoys it.

Jim was really nice. I know how busy he is and it was really generous of him to take some time for this interview with me.

Come back next week for my predictions of what will happen in the regular season and playoffs.

4 comments:

Ken Pittman said...

Wow... great opportunity for that interview, Grant. Thanks for doing it and asking such great questions.

Grant Schiller said...

Hi Ken and batting4th. Thanks for the nice comments and for reading my blog. I hope to get some more interviews during the regular season. And batting4th, thanks for writing about my blog on dallasbaseballhome.com. I really enjoyed reading all the responses. From, Grant.

Carolyn said...

Grant, this is 'aunt carolyn' from RE. I am so proud of you! I have been e-mailing my friends and telling them about your Texas Rangers honor and your blog. Way to go! I want to hear all about the ceremony. Did someone take pictures? Will you autograph one for me? I think I am the Grant Schiller fan of the year!

Reid Report said...

Awesome interview! Very good job! Keep up the good work!