John Still Enjoying the Game

By Brian Bohl on June 5, 2009

Bridgeport, CT- Scattered papers and candy wrappers make Tommy John’s not-so-spacious office a cluttered mess. Like the Ducks stadium, the Ballpark at Harbor Yard doesn’t provide for a sizable managerial office.

John doesn’t seem to mind the close quarters. His Bridgeport Bluefish just posted a 10th-inning home run to prevent a three-game sweep to the Ducks in a Wednesday morning game that started at a bleary-eye-inducing 10:35 a.m. John will be ready to head on the bus soon for an upcoming road trip.

Despite 288 major league victories in a career that spanned 21 seasons, John’s currently lifestyle is decidedly minor league. The former Yankee standout and borderline Hall of Famer said the mileage and facilities hasn’t dampened his enjoyment in coming to the ballpark.

“I love to,” John said about reporting for work daily. “We’re going on a road trip and we look forward to it. Sure do.”

Since being named manager right before the 2007 season, John’s enthusiasm has been tempered by the Bridgeport’s mediocrity. Back-to-back finished out of the playoffs can be taxing, especially when a ballpark that used to be the crown jewel of the league is now almost antiquated as teams like the Ducks and Somerset Patriots built nicer ones a short time later and expansion teams like Lancaster and York developed state-of-the-art facilities.

The Bluefish finished 2007 with a 60-66 ledger, coming in fifth. Bridgeport posted a 67-73 record last year and the current campaign hasn’t started much better. Entering Friday, the Bluefish were 15-24, last in the Liberty Division and 8 ½ games behind first-place Southern Maryland.

The team is averaging 2,209, making it last in the league behind financially struggling Newark. Three clubs (the Ducks, Lancaster and Somerset) are averaging more than 4,700, putting the Bluefish at a disadvantage. If anything can wipe the smile off John’s face, it’s the constant struggle to get his team to make the step to being a contender.

“If you play well it does,” John said with a hearty laugh when asked if he is still having fun. “If you don’t play very well like we’ve had the last couple of days, it’s not a lot of fun to manage anything.”

John was a four-time All-Star and is in his sixth decade of professional baseball. It was 46 years ago he made his big league debut as a 20-year-old Cleveland Indians pitcher, starting a career that featured 2,245 strikeouts, four World Series appearances and a surgical procedure on his pitching arm that was so revolutionary and successful that it became known as Tommy John surgery and has saved many subsequent pitching careers.

The three-time 20-game winner pitched until he was 46, becoming one of the most successful left-handed pitchers in baseball history. He still gets to spend time on the field. In between innings of home games, the on-field host brings John out from the dugout to sip tea provided by a sponsor.

John eagerly takes a drink and gives a hokey endorsement to the crowd, a tongue-in-cheek play on baseball’s old-time commercials. His tutelage has also helped his players, like former Tampa Bay pitcher and current Bridgeport ace Esteban Yan, who is an All-Star candidate under John after starting 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA through his first six starts.

“Tommy’s cool. He says what he has to say and we try and do what we have to do,” Yan said.

Managing in the Atlantic League also gives John a chance to match wits with well-known former players and current managers like Tim Raines (Newark), Sparky Lyle (Somerset), Butch Hobson (Southern Maryland) and Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who manages the Ducks.

John said he is close friends with Carter, extending a relationship started during their playing careers. When they get together to talk, Carter does have bragging rights if he chooses to employ it. The backstop batted .375 against the 6-3, 185-pound southpaw, lining six hits in 16 at-bats with two RBIs. John struck out Carter twice and never allowed an extra-base hit to him, though.

Through the first six games in the ferry series, the Ducks and Bluefish have split.

“Gary’s been a friend of mine for a long time,” John said. “We played against each other when he was with the Mets and Expos and all that. Whether we win or lose, Gary’s a friend and it’s fun.”

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