Von Hayes interview: Part II

In this segment of Lancaster Newspapers’ interview with Von Hayes, the former All-Star talks about his up-and-down big-league career. How difficult was it being part of that 5-for-1 trade? What is his opinion of Phillies fans? Why did his career end so abruptly?

There are some interesting anecdotes in here that even diehard fans may not know (or recall) …

How do you think Phillies fans remember you?

There were some tough times, there’s no doubt. I would like to think they remember me as somebody who cared about the game. I don’t think my demeanor or my personality on the field was endearing to a lot of Phillies fans. But I would have to say those are the fans who probably didn’t get to know me. Like anybody else, I want to win. I’ve always wanted to win. To a degree, that’s been a little bit of a fault — not only as a player but possibly as a manager in an affiliated program.

In the minor leagues, development is 10-times more important than winning. That’s a stepping stone I found a little difficult at times. I felt like I got better and better every year I managed. Obviously you’re working your tail off to try to get players better because that’s a win-win. You make them better to get them to the big leagues, but you’re also making them better because you want to win. If I had to pick between the two, I’d say my desire to win was a little higher than my desire for that particular player to get to the big leagues. We’re not in it for one individual. We’re in it as a team. That team concept doesn’t always exist. As a manager that is something you have to create to have success.

You were out of the big leagues at age 33, just three years after your best season. What contributed to such an abrupt end to your playing career?

The main thing was when I broke my arm in 1990, I don’t think I quite got full range of motion back. The next two years, just on regular swings, my right wrist would strain or sprain or tweak or something. It was a situation where I’d feel fine for three weeks, a month and then boom, out of nowhere, this pain would come. I’d take anti-inflammatories. For two years I was on anti-inflammatory drugs that would eat my stomach up. My last year with the Angels, I made a bad decision. I just tried to play through an injury. I had Tim Salmon breathing down my back. I didn’t want to give him an opportunity to play. So I tried to play through this injury again and as a result I pretty much played myself out of the big leagues.

Later that season, the Brewers tried to pick me up. I was honest with them. I said I’m not the player you think I might be. I can’t help you in your playoff drive. I’d really prefer to just rest and asked if they were interested in bringing me back for spring training the next year. They said, ‘Absolutely. We appreciate your honesty.’ The next year a lot of things happened. Over the winter they signed Tom Brunansky and I never got that phone call. The baseball world thought me turning down the initial offer from the Brewers was because I just didn’t want to play any more.

So I sat out a year, tried to get healthy and tried to make a comeback (in 1994) with the Brewers again. I reinjured my wrist before I was about to start Triple-A ball. I was actually having a great spring training. They were calling me up to the big-league games quite a bit and I was playing well. I thought I had a chance to make the big-league team, but I was fine with Triple-A and working my way back. That was the year they were going to go on strike. It was like, ‘What am I doing here?’ I was going to start on the disabled list, work my tail off and then they were going to go on strike. In hindsight it probably would have been a good idea to keep trying for five or six more years and end up like Julio Franco. (smiles)

Was it tough for you to be out of baseball at such a young age?

Yes, very difficult. But it was also an opportunity for me to spend time with a very young family. It was a transition that wasn’t so tough the first few years with a newborn girl and shortly after that my son was born. There were a few years there where it was meant to be. Baseball keeps eating at you. It’s hard to just walk away from something you’ve been part of your entire life.

Was the game where you hit two home runs in the first inning your most memorable moment?

Certainly that game stands out in my mind, just from the abnormality of the situation. I really wasn’t supposed to even play that day because I was struggling so bad. I was the type of guy who — whenever I didn’t play — I’d always go into the manager before the game started ask them, ‘What’s going on? I’m an everyday player.’ They’d say, ‘Well, you’re 0-for-19.’ I’d say, ‘I’m due.’ John Felske was the manager at the time. They had a lefthander going that day and he wanted to sit me down to get my head right. (Felske) said ‘I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. You think you’re going to break out? We’ll give you some extra at-bats. We’ll lead you off today.’ I ended up getting up twice that inning and hitting two home runs.

You mentioned Julio Franco earlier. The two of you are obviously linked in history. Was the 5-for-1 trade a burden for you?

I’m not going to lie to you. There was a tremendous amount of pressure involved. Just playing in Philadelphia, there’s tremendous pressure. Because of the trade and the type of players who were traded — the number five is no big deal if it’s five minor leaguers who never get to the big leagues. All five of these guys were pretty darn good.

What really made it difficult was my first year in Philadelphia. I got hurt in spring training. I never got hurt before in my short career. Now I’ve got to start on a new team without any spring training. I was an infielder my entire career previous to that. It was very important for me to get my arm in shape as an outfielder. It just didn’t happen. I was hurt to degree where I couldn’t put weight on my leg and couldn’t get my arm in shape. When I finally got healthy, the first throw I made in Philadelphia against the Cubs in 30-degree weather, I blew my arm out. That’s the way I started that season. I played the rest of the year with a torn muscle in my shoulder. I did the best I could. But to start off on that note in Philadelphia, I just compounded the problem.

What was it like as a newcomer being surrounded by players like Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt?

That was a pretty tough clubhouse. You walk in and there’s five Hall of Famers. I count Pete Rose as a Hall of Famer — someday maybe. It was very intimidating. I was by far the youngest player. I was the only single guy on the team, so it was a different atmosphere for me. It was definitely the big leagues.