Cubs manager Joe Maddon took a timeout for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: Who are coaches in other sports you admire?
A: I like Coach [Bruce] Arians with the Cardinals. I’ve gotten to be buds with Bruce ’cause I really like coaches or managers that I think are fearless, that aren’t afraid to try different things, that are not afraid of answering quote unquote tough questions … because they have a reason why they’re doing something. And if it doesn’t work, that doesn’t mean it was wrong, it just means it didn’t work at that moment. I’ve always felt that way. You should never be concerned about being second-guessed if you have a solid reason why you do different things, and I think Coach Arians typifies that. Of course, Coach [Bill] Belichick. I’ve been talking football coaches right now because I’ve been a big football guy. I’ve always thought that Coach Belichick and Coach Arians, more recently, show this fearlessness about the way they go about their business. They’re not afraid of having to answer tough questions. I think any coach that fits that particular mold, I admire. And also guys who really use the word process a lot, and don’t talk so much about outcome.
Q: What about Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in basketball?
A: Yeah, of course, sorry I didn’t even go there. He’s the other guy, you’re absolutely right. What he’s done is so significant, different. I don’t follow the NBA as much, that’s why I don’t read as much of his stuff quite honestly. You can talk about Phil Jackson for years when he was with the Lakers and the Bulls, I used to read a lot of his stuff. But yeah, Coach Popovich, I’d love to meet all these guys. To be that good for that long, and to create that kind of a system, people have no idea how difficult that is.
Q: Who is one manager in baseball history you would have loved to test your skills against?
A: Well, there’s actually two — Gene [Mauch] and Whitey [Herzog]. Two guys that I got to know. Gene treated me so well. Here’s a guy that never participated in a World Series, which is almost unbelievable. I was around him with the Angels, and I thought I learned a ton through osmosis with this guy. And also through conversation. And then Whitey I was with briefly with the Angels again, and watching Whitey’s teams and how they played, and then talking to Whitey about moments and situations. Those two guys to me would be the most intriguing, and they’re probably the two I admire the most.
Q: How would you describe your motivational style?
A: Contemporary (smile). The fact that, again, not worrying about what had happened in the past, not worrying about what rules had existed in the past and where they came from or why people believe they’re right, which I don’t. I’m a product of the ’60s and the ’70s — slightly rebellious back then in college, not so much in high school, when I got to college I think I was. And I think a lot of where I’m at right now is rooted in a lot of hypocrisy that I recognized back then that I never wanted to be personally.
Q: Give me an example of your rebelliousness.
A: Just my hair, you know, just hairdos. Back then, my dad hated it. You know, it’s kind of tough back then when your dad doesn’t like your hair. You have to go home and you have to answer to that stuff. I was never a protestor, don’t get me wrong, I was never like a vocal … what was the line I used to repeat to myself? … I was a nonconformist in a confirming society, that’s what I thought about myself back in the ’70s. And I really thought it was important not to just accept the way things were, because people say that’s the way it’s always been. That is like the worst reason you could possibly give me in order to do something, and I think that happens a lot in baseball. I think a lot of the rules and the situations in baseball, a lot of the things that are being proselytized as being appropriate now are just rooted in the past which really don’t apply now.
Q: Who are some of your favorite leaders outside of sports?
A: Oh, [retired Gen.] Colin Powell. His autobiography I really enjoyed a lot. He’s the guy that I wish had run for president at some point, out of everybody that’s run since then or till now. He would have been my No. 1 choice to have been president. All the stuff that he’s gone through, his leadership qualities … just everything about the guy, how he was raised here, how he arrived at the point that he originally did, his levelheadedness, his brightness, everything -— he woulda been my guy.
Q: What is your definition of leadership?
A: Definition of leadership is consistency. Consistent approach to the day is being a good leader. I think part of being a good leader is listening skills, and I think a big part of leadership is the ability to delegate.
Q: Where did all these motivational sayings on T-shirts, “Try Not To Suck,” come from?
A: In my head. I’m telling ya man, I’ve always been a T-shirt guy, even back with the Angels back in the minor leagues. First one was “Every Day Counts,” that was something I came out with then. I was the minor league hitting coach, and then it was the “I Got Loud” T-shirt. So every city I went into, the guy that hit the ball the loudest got one of the T-shirts. I was there for five days. And then further when I got to the Rays, “9 equals 8” was a big one there. And then here with the Cubs, it’s a bigger platform for me. All this stuff is for my Respect 90 Foundation, all the profits go to that. But guys like it, it’s fun, the fans like it. Somebody approached me about doing it.
Q: Who was the first player you used the shift against?
A: Ken Griffey Jr.
Q: How did it work?
A: He tried to bunt. And that was kind of interesting, and he smiled, it didn’t work. And he smiled into the dugout. I thought that was just kind of a success right there.
Q: Why was Bob Gibson your favorite player?
A: Even as a young guy, I recognized the tenacity. I mean, I was like 10, and Bob Gibson was the most competitive player I’ve ever seen. That was very recognizable to me as a 10-year-old ’cause I was a Cardinal fan, so I got to see him this year in Busch Stadium. Timmy McCarver introduced me to him, and I told him that. I said, “You were my favorite player because I recognized how tenacious of a competitor even when I was 10 years old.” That’s what really stood out to me … just the way he went about his business.
Q: How would you sum up what your father meant to you?
A: Everything. My dad signified stability, patience, love, honesty. … My dad signified everything that’s right with the world. In my eyes, he could do no wrong. And I really believe he didn’t do anything wrong. This guy was just like so, so solid. … He’s definitely reflective of that generation of men. But my dad was all of those things, and also a very humble, quiet, simple guy. And there was so much strength in that.
Q: You were a high school quarterback.
A: Yeah. Good one.
Q: Did you get a lot of offers?
A: I got my first few letters from like University of Miami, Duke, at that time Minnesota, Pitt. … I think I even got a letter from Notre Dame … but a lot of the Ivy League schools, like Brown and Cornell and Penn and then eventually went to Lafayette.
Q: Did you pattern your game after anybody?
A: [Joe] Namath was my favorite, of course. We invited him to spring training a couple of years ago. We text or email once in a while. Very humble man. He came to our games. I was No. 12, I wore white shoes in high school, I wore white Ridells. When I went to Lafayette — I played one year there — I had the heavier facemask because he did. My hair was long, curling under my helmet because his did. I drank scotch because he did. All of the above. I didn’t drink Johnnie Walker though, I was more into Dewar’s. I was a White Label guy.
Q: Any other boyhood idols?
A: I was a football Cardinal fan, too. Charley Johnson was another No. 12 that I loved. And then also the Cardiac Cards in the ’70s.
Q: Did you consider an NFL career?
A: People thought I could have played at a higher level. I just retired after my freshman year ’cause I wanted to play baseball. … I had a really good freshman year at Lafayette. I would have been the starting quarterback my sophomore year. I went to fall practice for my sophomore year, and I didn’t like what I was seeing, so I came out to the practice in August with my Volvo packed ready to drive home [to Hazleton, Pa.] and didn’t tell anybody. I told the coaches. I didn’t tell my dad. First time in my life, my dad never spoke. … My dad didn’t speak to me for like months.
Q: How did it end?
A: Eventually, the baseball career started. They all thought I just wanted to shut it down and have a good time. But I was really dedicated to baseball. The kicker there was when you permit fall baseball to occur during football season, and it’s in the same practice facility area and I could hear the crack of the bat in September and October — that was overwhelming to me, I had to have it.
Q: What is so great about your marinara sauce?
A: (Smile) It’s pretty much the residue of watching my mom, Auntie Flo and Auntie Fray put it together. It’s a combination of a lot of fresh ingredients. I think what is the killer component of it … I think just cooking the meat and the sauce is what really gives it the appropriate flavor. … I think really cooking the pork in the sauce really gives it the flavor you’re looking for.
Q: What does the Fourth of July mean to you?
A: I just think about my dad and my uncles. A bunch of them served in World War II. … My Uncle Chuck fought in the Korean War. I’m not just talking about my dad’s side, my mom’s side had other members that fought in the war, so I just think about that, I think about family members that did that, and the fact that I never did. And that’s probably one regret that I have, that I never really participated in the service.
Q: What do you hope your players say about you?
A: That they trust me.