58.2- A Touch of Class

[chicoruiz]

I think I’m going to like Hollis O’Hara.

When he came into my office to officially sign his contract, I discovered that he was the exact opposite of the stereotypical catcher that I had in mind. Most catchers tend to be short and thickish; Hollis was a lanky 6’3” and lean, though muscular enough. And most catchers (heck, most players in general) come in to my office wearing mismatched sweats and five pounds of trashy gold chains. Hollis was wearing a tailored suit that even I could tell was expensive, probably Italian. I even noticed that when we shook hands he appeared to have had a manicure recently.

I felt suddenly self-conscious. I should have shaved. And I wished I had more Architectural Digest magazines on my desk, and fewer copies of Mad.

“So, Mr. Ruiz”, he began. “I certainly appreciate the generous contract I’m signing today. After all, I’ve only been a full-time regular for one of my big-league seasons. Let me assure you, I plan to make it my business to be worth every cent of it. As we both know, I am no great shakes with the bat, but I feel I can contribute to a winning atmosphere in other ways. I understand that you have several pitchers- Anderton and Armstrong, among others- who you feel have underperformed relative to the investment you’ve made in them. I plan to make it my mandate to do what I can to give all your pitchers an environment in which they can be the best versions of themselves.”

Well, I couldn’t have said it any better myself. We signed the deal and after a celebratory drink (Evian water for him, Grape Crush for me) the atmosphere relaxed a bit. I even ventured to ask him how he got the nickname “Duck”- it seemed unlikely for a guy like him.

“Oh that” he chuckled. Well, as you know, I’m a left-handed thrower, which is quite unusual for a catcher. So in my younger days, when a right-handed hitter was at bat and a runner tried to steal second, the dugout would yell “DUCK” at the batter so he wouldn’t be grazed by my throw to second. I never actually hit anyone, but I suppose the name just stuck.”

Yeah, I’m going to like Hollis O’Hara. I'll like him even more if he can OPS above .650 or so. I just have to remember to clean the office up a bit before he stops by again.

[Krathan]

I hope he works out for you. I appreciated what he brought to my team but I couldn’t afford to spend that much money on him for the upcoming season. I needed to do something different at catcher in order to upgrade some other positions.

[trmmilwwi]

You had me at Architectural Digest.

[RonCo]

O'Hara is a great BBA story. Solid guy.

[chicoruiz]

O'Hara is a great BBA story. Solid guy.

Yeah… his contract seems a bit over the top, especially for this year, but it’s front-loaded and, frankly, I didn’t see much else out there that I was excited about spending money on.