A SoCal Exclusive: Tim Salmon

We recently had the chance to talk with former Angel Tim Salmon. During our conversation, we had the opportunity to ask about his retirement, playing days, and the current 2009 Angels.

SCSH: First off, I want to thank you for joining us today. I really appreciate it.

TS: Ya, well thank you.

SCSH: One of the things, I wanted to ask is about your involvement with the Can-Am Spyder Roadster. Could you talk a little about what you’re doing with that?

TS: Well, it’s kind of a natural fit, being a retired ballplayer now and getting to play with all these toys that I’ve had. The ones I couldn’t ride or use while I was under contract. So, I am a sports enthusiast. I like to get out and play with my toys. This one was introduced to me. It’s a cool deal. It’s kind of a crossover. I usually do a lot of off road dirt stuff. I just haven’t felt comfortable with motorcycles on the street. But this is one myself or anyone other novice rider feel pretty good about. It’s a three-wheel motorcycle to speak. It’s got all the stability of a car. It’s got all the safety of a good quality car. So, this Saturday we’re going to be having an event at Angel Stadium from noon to 5:30 for all the fans to come out and test drive one around the parking lot. I’ll be there as well to take some pictures.

SCSH: You last played in the major leagues in 2006. What have you been doing since your retirement?

TS: You know I have 4 kids so I coach a lot. Coach the little teams and going back to school. I actually finished up my college degree. I got a couple of little business interested I’ve been involved in. I get to travel more now. Just kind of taking it in and staying busy. So it’s been good. I actually go to spring training with the Angels every year for about a week. I work with the guys who are on the cusp of making it to the big leagues. Make myself available for the. I think there might be some of that in the future. You know I got a lot of stuff going on, but I still try and stick close to baseball.

SCSH: You definitely seem to be quite busy. You talked a little about coaching. Do you ever see yourself re-joining the Angels as a coach (hitting coach)?

TS: You know, there could be a fit somewhere down the road. My biggest obstacle right now is my time commitment. I want to make sure I’m available for my kids. And coaching there teams and all that. But sometime down the road when they’re out of the house, I think there is a very real possibility that I could be in a uniform coaching somewhere with the Angels. It’s something I’ve grown to really appreciate and like. I didn’t know how much, I’d really enjoy coaching. But I’ve found, I’m really enjoying it. I think there is a very real possibility that I could be doing that later on.

SCSH: Now I would like to look back on your career for a little bit. What would you say is your greatest accomplishment? I know the 2002 World Series is up there, but what else?

TS: Well, I think probable the fact that I played my entire career, start to finish, with one organization. You know that means so much more now. You always hear people say that. When you get out of the game, you’ll appreciate it so much more. But it’s so true. When you get out of the game you have a connection with the organization, a family connection. I don’t think that the guys, who go out and play for many teams, get to feel that when they’re done. You know the fact that everybody top to bottom, from my first clubhouse manager to the scout who signed me, which was Joe Madden of the rays. I’ve experienced everything and it’s been with 1 uniform on my back. You know that’s probably been the most gratifying.

SCSH: Speaking of your career accomplishments, does the fact that you were just one home run shy of 300 ever bother you?

TS: You know, I really don’t. It’s more of a novelty more than anything. It’s give me a good story. If it was 499 and I was one away from 500 that would be a different story. I just tell myself that 300 is just a round number. There is really no significance to 300 at all. I don’t think it takes anything away from my career. If I was in the high 400s, there would have been huge motivation to stick it out.

SCSH: One of the things I always found remarkable about your career was your slow starts and strong finishes. From a fan’s perspective, it seemed like you would muddle through April, then go to Texas and catch fire before sustaining that high level of play through the season. I think there was even one season, the Angels tried to get you into as many Spring games as possible to counteract that trend and get you hot early. Looking back on your own experience, why do you think some players always seem to start slowly but finish strong?

TS: Well, I’ve got some philosophies on that. I think of a lot of has do with the fact that I was a power hitter. My game is such that I was hit with a lot of off speed stuff. I have a good eye, and was put in deeper counts. I walk a lot too. I was in a lot of two strike counts and positions early in the year that I wasn’t really seeing coming out of spring training. Maybe I hadn’t seen enough offseed pitches to be able to react and hit them the way I should have been. I think eventually what happened at the first six weeks, you start acclimating yourself to seeing the off speed stuff. As a power hitter you just start squaring it up. I think power hitters always have a more difficult task because their swings have a little more vent to it than some of the slash and contact guys. But you know, as a power hitter, you hit in the heart of the lineup and they’re not just going to toss fastballs to you. You’re not getting the same looks in the lineup as some of the other guys in the lineup. So there’s an adjustment period that happens and you do get a chance in spring practice. But when the season starts, you’re flying out of the gate and they don’t pitch you like that anymore. I think that is part of it, it was part of it for me. It was just seemed like after 150 at bats, I was locked in and good for the rest of the season. The reality in major league baseball is that you’ll never see hitters locked in for 3-4 months or the whole season. Even the really good guys are locked in for 4 months. The guys who are locked in for the first month or six weeks usually trail off in September. The fact that I always had slow starts, but built it, built it, finished strong, was always what I relied on. I might not be there early, but I would always be there late. And I think my career showed it.

SCSH: Now shifting to the 2009 Angels, there is no question that the team is off to a slow start, much like the 2002 Angels. In fact, I believe the ’02 Halos actually had the worst 20 game start in franchise history. However, you guys turned it around and were able to win 99 games and eventually the World Series. Do you see anything in this group of players that makes you think they can do the same thing?

TS: Oh, without a doubt. They’re more talented than we are for sure. But the issue right now is just that some of that talent is on the sideline. I think when they get their talent back in the game, you’re going to see a much different team and the team that everybody was expected to see. I think now, you just got to ride the rough road. You just got to keep your head above water. Fortunately, we’re in a division, where nobody is really running with it. And so I don’t think we’re going to have any long-term concerns if we can get these guys back on the field healthy. This is a team, when on the field and healthy, just has more talent than we had. The starting pitching is so deep. And that’s something we didn’t have. We had a great bullpen but our pitching wasn’t really as deep as they guys.

SCSH: A lot of guys here in the blogosphere have been critical of hitting coach Mikey Hatcher for the Angels’ hitting woes. You played for Hatcher for several years. What do you have to say to those who have been critical of Mikey?

TS: Well, it’s a little bit unfair to some extent. Everyone wants these hitters to be patients and take pitches and this and that. But you’re talking about guys like Vladdy, Torii, and Figgy, who is making a good adjustment this year, who have bred their whole career to swing like that. I don’t care who the hitting coach is. Nobody is going to going to go in there and change a major league veteran’s approach to hitting. I think more than anything, it comes down to some personnel choices that we’re making just to balance it out. You know, last year they started recognized that and started addressing it when they got Teixeira. That’s why they really wanted to bring him back. He works the count and he slows the game down. A guy like Bobby Abreu is from that mold too. I think it might have snuck up on them that they didn’t start exposing themselves to some of those guys. I think there has been a concerted effort to bring in guys, who can play that kind of a game. If anything, they’re starting to instill that game in some of the younger guys, who are being brought up in the system. So to really get on Hatch, is unfair. He’s a big league hitting coach, and quite honestly, these are big league hitters that have a wealth of experience with regular at bats. They’re philosophies can’t be changed overnight or even ever. So, it’s a bit unfair to come down on Hatch like that. I understand that blame has to go somewhere and usually the scapegoat can be the hitting coach when problems surround the offense.

SCSH: During the 2002 playoff run, the Angels prided themselves on timely hitting. However, in the past two playoff series against Boston, the Angels were miserable with runners in scoring position. From your experience, what makes a player “clutch.”

TS: Well by playing the Red Sox in the past few years, they’re probably playing tougher teams than we ever played. I think what made us good clutch hitters was the fact that we were a Wild Card team. We got in late and played the last 6 weeks of the regular season with nothing too lose. I mean we were up against the wall. We really just developed a character about us that fought, battled, and found a way to come through in those situations. It’s really the only thing I can point to that’s different. That maybe plays a part of it. You know when you’re playing in one run ballgames for the last month, six weeks of the regular season; it’s kind of like being in the fire every night. You’re used to it. When you look at teams like the Atlanta Braves that won all those years but never won anything big after the one World Series. When you’re kind of coasting into the postseason, you never really had a chance to temper that skill. You all of a sudden have to turn on that switch. I sometimes think that’s hard to do. I think that might be the case with this Angels team than anything personnel wise. They’re all capable of playing in big games but sometimes, unless you’re tested, it’s hard to switch that other gear and play at that level. If you don’t get the chance to do that, than it becomes really hard to just turn it on.

SCSH: One of the hot topics at our site involves Brandon Wood, who was just sent down to AAA Salt Lake. A lot of people were clamoring for him to get on everyday starting spot. What are your thoughts on Wood and his potential?

TS: Where are you going play him? Are you going to sit Figgy? Are you going to sit Aybar? I think Aybar is a much better defensive player than him. You’d rather have the better defense at short anyway. Are you going to play him for Howie at second? Are you going to play him at first for Kendry? He’s a natural third baseman/shortstop, are you all of a sudden going to make him play in the outfield or first? To me the thing is, if you’re going to play everyday, you’re going to have to move somebody and I just don’t know who you’re going to move in the infield.

SCSH: Okay, once again, thanks for your time.

TS: Thank you.