“His father wasn’t happy at all,” Jan Stillwell said. You’re not going to see a pitch over the plate all season. You’ve got the pitcher batting behind you. “Do you know how you’ll be pitched? This isn’t the American League, Kurt. “I know we’ve been talking about me batting second, but if you want, I’ll bat eighth. “Well, I know you have to make some adjustments in the batting order with Sheffield here,” Stillwell told Riddoch.
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Riddoch’s head was buried in a stack of papers when Stillwell visited the manager in his office. He knew some feelings were going to be hurt. The day the Padres acquired Sheffield in a trade from the Brewers, Riddoch was scrambling, trying to make adjustments. “I’ve never wanted to win so badly in my life.” “But I came to San Diego to play baseball.
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I saw lots of players come to Kansas City, buy all this land, buy a big house, and retire. “I know San Diego is a great city, and a wonderful place to live,” Stillwell said, “but that’s not important to me. He never has been on a team that’s won the division title, nor for that matter, has even been in a pennant race. The only thing missing, Stillwell said, is winning. I’ve got a great manager, great teammates, and I get to play with a guy like Tony Gwynn. “But as soon as I got here, I just felt so comfortable, so accepted. I’d give my right arm for him, and he knows that, but you don’t want people to think I’m his Bobo. 1 reason I’m here, but it’s not like you can hang out with the manager. “I mean, Greg’s such a great guy, and he’s the No. And the only soul he really knew on the Padres was Manager Greg Riddoch, who was a minor-league instructor when Stillwell was in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He’s never been an everyday second baseman. He hadn’t played in the National League in four years.
CRUSHED BAND STARS AND TINSEL RUST FREE
Stillwell, who signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Padres three days before the opening of spring training, admittedly was a bit nervous when he came to camp.
CRUSHED BAND STARS AND TINSEL RUST FULL
“God blessed me with this opportunity, and I intend to take full advantage of it.” I love to fish, and would do it every day if I could, but I’m not even going to fish once during the season because I don’t want any distractions. I want to let everyone know they made the right choice when they signed me. I actually cry every morning because I’m laughing so hard. “You know something,” Stillwell said, “this is the best time I’ve had in my life. The group laughed hysterically, no one harder than Stilwell. It was only the third black you’ve ever seen in your life, and you were scared.” “Remember, you even had to use your car phone to call a tow truck. “Kurt, tell them about the time your BMW broke down in high school,” he said. Padre reliever Rich Rodriguez, who grew up in Los Angeles, looked at Stillwell and urged him to talk. The players share tales of poverty or gang warfare. The Padres were stretching on the outfield grass before practice one day when the subject turned to old neighborhoods. “I guess if you’re tall, good-looking and wear an earring, they know who you are,” he said. They nodded to the hostess, and even though they had no reservations, were seated immediately. In walked Gary Sheffield, when he still was with the Brewers, and teammate Greg Vaughn. Only two weeks ago, Kurt and Angie waited 1 1/2 hours for a table at a fashionable Phoenix restaurant. “I guess I don’t exactly fit the stereotype from California, do I?”Ĭertainly, Stillwell’s demeanor has its down side.
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People look at my face, and they don’t think I’ve seen sun in years.” Just look at me, and you know I’m not a sun god. “People ask where I’m from,” Stillwell said, “and it’s like they don’t believe me. He actually gets embarrassed when someone recognizes him in public.”Īnd this is a California boy, born in Glendale and reared in Thousand Oaks? Said Angie Stillwell, his wife: “He doesn’t even think of himself as anything special. He was raised in a Christian home, and he’s never presented one problem in his life. “I know people will say I brag because I’m his mother,” Jan Stillwell said, “but he was the perfect son growing up. He doesn’t waste much time sitting around watching movies.Īnd he has never smoked, drank alcohol, chewed tobacco or cursed. He could care less about music, unless it’s country. The last book he read was, “The Mental Game of Baseball,” and it has been six years since he read a non-baseball book. His idea of entertainment is stuffing dead fish and mounting them on the wall. Stillwell considers a three-piece suit a pair of blue jeans, white T-shirt and a baseball cap.