Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
By Scoop Malinowski
DOB: August 24, 1960 In: Havre de Grace, Maryland
Childhood Heroes: “Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer.”
Early Baseball Memory: “So many of them. I made a road trip with my dad when I was nine. My dad (Cal Sr.) was managing in AAA for the Rochester Red Wings. I was the batboy for the whole trip, stayed with the team for a whole week. That was a special memory.”
Nicknames: “Junior, JR.”
Hobbies/Interests: “Basketball, racquetball, time with family.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Catching the last out in the World Series in 1983 (vs Philadelphia). Garry Maddox hit it. Wasn’t a great catch or a very difficult catch but it was very symbolic.”
Favorite Sport To Watch Outside Baseball: “Basketball.”
Worst Injury: “Herniated disc in 1997.”
Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Shaquille O’Neal – I’m going to watch him tonight (in Orlando, Cal is in training camp with the Orioles in Sarasota, FL in 1993). Michael Jordan. Mike Tyson – I really liked watching him fight.”
Closest Baseball Friends: “Eddie Murray. From my old days. He took me under his wing. He saw my situation was different from the other players. I came in when I was twenty one. He came in when he was twenty one. When everyone left, they wen to their families. I was single. He was single. We started hanging out. We keep in touch. Not as much as I would like to. With a family it’s not easy. Brady Anderson.”
Favorite Movie: A Few Good Men.”
Childhood Ambition: “Big league baseball was the only thing I ever thought of.”
Musical Tastes: “I have no real music taste.”
Favorite Meal: “When I grew up I was thankful that my mom (Vi) was cooking for me. I was grateful. I have a lot of favorite meals.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “So many. If I start naming people, I’ll leave out some.”
Memorable High School Game: “Pitching the state final after I was drafted. It was postponed from a week earlier when I was pitching on one day’s rest. My arm was sore and I gave up some walks and an RBI double. We were losing but then the sky got dark and the rain came and washed it out. We played a week later and I struck out seventeen and we won the state championship. There was a little luck involved [smiles].”
People Qualities Most Admired: “People who are willing to work hard for what they want. It’s general, but… If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it. A lot of the time it requires a lot of hard work to accomplish something. But it makes it better in the end if you have to work hard to get it.”
Future Ambition: “The only thing I really want to do is control my schedule. For my entire life, everything revolves around the baseball schedule. Baseball took our dad away from our family. I want to have dinner every night with my family, go to school plays, that kind of thing. I have a need to be available for my family. I’d like to stay involved in baseball but I can’t be a manager or a coach or an announcer.”
Career Accomplishments: Major League Baseball player for Baltimore Orioles from 1981-2001; Played in 2,632 consecutive games; 3,001 games played; 19-time MLB All Star; Two-time MLB MVP and two-time All Star Game MVP; MLB All Century Team; Inducted to hall of Fame in 2007.
(Note: I did this Biofile with Cal at Orioles spring training in Sarasota, right after doing one with his pal Brady Anderson at the adjacent locker.)
