Good old country hardball
Thursday, March 18, 1999. USA Today - Baseball Weekly

Garth Brooks does not fool himself into thinking that he can be a major league player at the age of 37. But he's giving it everything he's got. Despite having sold 95 million albums in the past 10 years and having built a celebrity status greater than any baseball star, this country-western singer is awestruck in the spring training camp of the San Diego Padres.

Brooks earned more than $50 million last year. He's playing for a $200,000 charity fee that will be donated to his Touch 'Em All Foundation. He has been a smash hit in the Padres' camp in Peoria, Ariz. He is among the first to arrive each day at about 7 a.m., and the last to leave at 9:30 in the evening, signing balls by flashlight.

He took time out to sit down and chat with Baseball Weekly's Bob Nightengale.

Baseball Weekly: So how much fun are you having?

Garth Brooks: I'm living out the dream of my life. Other than playing music for a living, it's the most fun thing I've done. It's hard for me to love this game any more than I already do.

I'm having the time of my life. But my want is so much greater than my talent is, and that's the thing that's frustrating.

I don't want to embarrass Major League Baseball or the Padres, but the truth is I don't want to embarrass my dad. I don't want these guys saying, "Man, didn't this guy's dad ever work with him when he was a kid?"

BW: What was the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome in camp?

GB: I was the only guy here not treating me like a player. Truthfully, when I wasn't treating myself like a player, I kind of had that excuse of, "Well, I'm just out here. I don't have to do this or that." Then a couple of them gave me a very serious talk about me stepping up and becoming a player. As a player, you better be able to take the crap that comes. If you're a player, get with the program.

BW: On the first day of camp, you got hit in the ribs when you weren't paying attention as you took grounders during infield practice. How embarrassing was that?

GB: I was so mad and so embarrassed. I said, "Keep walking, you dumb (deleted)" But as soon as I did it, guys came up to me and told me stories that happened to them. It's like when you accidentally drive over your dog and kill it. The next 40 people you see will tell you about the time they drove over their dog.

BW: You mean you actually drove over your dog once?

GB: Well, actually, I killed two of them.

BW: Do your teammates give you a hard time for being too polite, apologizing every time you make a mistake?

GB: Tony Gwynn told me, "Man, if I hear you say I'm sorry one more time Sam (Gianelli, the strength coach) said, "Would you stop thanking people?"

BW: What is the difference making a mistake in the music business and making one in baseball?

GB: They're not similar at all. Like when the third strike came (in a recent game). In music, what I would do in my thing is stop the whole machine right there, get all 40 guys around, say this is what happened and this is what can't happen again.

It makes it harder for me because you're all by yourself out there. You can't rely on other people.

BW: Do people resent you being here simply because of your music credentials?

GB: Hey, I'd be the first one to say I'm here because I'm Garth Brooks. I know that. Everyone knows that. If I had to do what the other players did to get here, I wouldn't be here. I just had a window open up to help children. I want to do something for major league baseball that gets it off to a better start than its greatest year, which was last year.

BW: Have you felt overmatched at the plate?

GB: No, I haven't. But it's hard to talk about because if you don't come across as scared and intimidated, you come across as an egomaniac. But I haven't seen anything yet that was a blur.

BW: Then again, you haven't faced anyone like Randy Johnson yet.

GB: I don't know if I'm physically ready to step in against a guy like Randy, but historically, I'd love to just be able to tell my children. I mean, I can't wait to tell my children I got to sit in the same dugout as Tony Gwynn.

BW: You wouldn't be scared to face Johnson?

GB: I'm not going to step in there just to watch. I'd love to have an at-bat against the greatest there was. I want to get a hit, and as long as we're dreaming here, I'd like to take him deep.

BW: How did it feel hitting your first home run in batting practice your first week of spring training?

GB: If felt good, but -- what is it, humility ahead of honor? -- the guy before me hit seven out. The guy behind me hit eight out. I barely hit one over the left-field fence.

BW: Would you ever consider quitting your singing career to play baseball full time?

GB: I'm not going to quit singing. I think God put me on this earth to play music. This baseball thing is a childhood dream of mine, and it's for charity. But by no means will I change occupations.

BW: What would be more pleasurable, you stepping into the batter's box at a major league game or a player stepping on stage in front of a sellout crowd?

GB: This has got to be it. If I took a guy like (Jim) Leyritz right out of his seat and put him in the middle of the stage at a concert, I don't think he could get that same feeling. The feeling I get up at the plate, whether I get a hit, or an out, is it would go down in the (record) books.

BW: When do you think you'll break through and have that game you always dreamed about?

GB: Tomorrow is my friend. Each day I come here, I feel better about myself.

If tomorrow stops being my friend, I've got to have somebody here be honest with me and tell me you're becoming more of a distraction than anything else.

BW: Will you play in the minor leagues this season? Las Vegas, the Padres' Triple-A affiliate, wants you badly.

GB: I'm not going to go to a minor league park on the fact that I'm Garth Brooks and could do the ticket draw. Because then I become a roster player and I will have just knocked somebody out of a roster place. If I'm going there because these people believe that I can make a contribution, then I have to address that with my wife and kids.