July 27–August 3, 1995

20 questions

Richie Ashburn

By Scott Farmelant

Background: Mike Schmidt can whine all he wants about being underappreciated. But Schmitty's walking into the Hall of Fame on his first try. Richie Ashburn, on the other hand, enters after a 28-year wait.

Ashburn, 68, was the Phillies' center fielder from 1948-60, and has been the team's broadcaster for the past 32 years. A lead-off batter, "Putt Putt" Ashburn won two National league batting titles and twice finished second behind Stan "The Man" Musial.

Ashburn got on base during his career more than Pete Rose, Willie Mays, and Duke Snider. He once fouled off 14 pitches in a row before walking. Even with a mediocre arm, Ashburn was considered one of the game's finest glovesmen ever.

Ashburn was the 1948 Rookie of the Year, the only rookie ever to start an All-Star game in center field. Ashburn's #1 hangs in the Vet, a testament to a great career.

What it's like going into the Hall of Fame where the Babe, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, all of the greats, are enshrined?

I don't know what it's going to be like because I've never been there before. They say I won't know how it's going to be until I get up there. So I don't know how it's going to be.

Can you say what it's like after waiting 28 years?

[Time]'s not something I dwelled on. I'm too busy to do that. And as I sit here in the Hall of Fame, I don't know if I belong there. There's no standard. In my style, I was one of the best lead-off hitters ever. But how important is that? I can see how important that is. But do I belong in there with Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb? There are Hall of Famers and there are Hall of Famers. Some are better than others.

Did you have any bitterness, any resentment, that the Baseball Writers of America passed you over for so long?

I knew a lot of those guys personally, but no, I don't have any bitterness. I've always known the voting defies logic. The record of voters hasn't been that great. When I wrote for two Philadelphia papers, I wrote that. It's never been a big secret. I don't agree with another profession voting on my profession. That's unprecedented. Doctors don't vote on lawyers.

Did you ever doubt that you would get to Cooperstown? (Ashburn was "permanently" removed from the ballot in 1991 but later reinstated)

I never gave it a lot of thought until I was taken off. The year they passed that rule, it only affected one ballplayer. That was me. That was the only time I didn't think I was getting an even break from the Hall of Fame people. And that was rescinded. [Ex-Phillies pitcher] Robin Roberts had something to do with that.

As a media guy and ex-ballplayer, you know the demands placed on athletes by the press and fans. What's the attention been like this time around?

I've been surprised at the response. I get bags of mail every day now. My phone never stops ringing. You know, I haven't had a hit in 33 years. I don't know why there's all this sudden popularity. It's kind of nice but it would have been nicer 20 years ago. I don't want this to sound like sour grapes, but it's a matter of truth.

Mike Schmidt's recent attack on Philadelphia fans, to no surprise, hasn't been well received around the city. What's your take on Schmidt's comments?

Schmitty can be very candid. I don't think what he said ... it was taken a little out of context. The story was a little sad in a way. All it showed to me was that Schmitty could have enjoyed his playing career in Philadelphia a lot more than he did. That's a shame. If you knew Schmitty and saw him play a lot, what you saw is what you got, a guy who never did warm up to the fans much. That's just the way he was, it wasn't that he wasn't trying. He was in another world on the ball field.

Much has been made about the long-term effects of last season's strike. Do you see a long-term problem for baseball?

It's a one-year thing. Baseball has lost some fans forever. And if I was just a fan and didn't work for baseball, I would have said to heck with these guys. I was really disgusted by what was going on. I can understand why fans feel that way. But as you go along, you're going to develop new fans and some fans are going to come back because they love the game. It's a disgrace that this thing has not been settled. There's nothing the matter with the game. It's the people who run it and some of the people who play it. Oh, I better stop, you know I'll get on a soap box. It really burns me up.

What's wrong with the modern ballplayer?

I don't think there's anything wrong. They're trying to do the same thing we so-called old timers were trying to do — win games. I have zero problems with the so-called modern ballplayer. There's no difference except the money's different.

Who was your favorite teammate and why?

Teammate? Probably was Putsy Caballero. We were roommates in the minor leagues and roommates in Philadelphia ('45 and '47-52). Why is a guy your favorite? You get along, you like to do things, you don't become a pain in the neck. We were just good friends. We still get along.'

Who was your favorite opponent and why?

Jackie Robinson would have been, maybe because he hurt us so much. Of all of those great guys on the old Brooklyn Dodgers, he hurt us the most. It was more respect than anything. I didn't really know him.

Who was your least favorite opponent?

Well, it would have been pitchers. All pitchers. I never liked pitchers that much. You can't trust them for one thing. They cheat. They're the only guys in the field that can cheat. And they're trying to take your livelihood away.

You finished your career with the 1962 Mets, the worst team ever (40-120). What was that like?

The obvious answer is they wanted me to come back in '63 and I retired. It was a disaster in terms of wins and losses. I really didn't think that we would be that bad. It was a pretty good hitting team. But we didn't have pitching and we didn't have good fielding. But the people of New York just embraced us. The fans were very good and the organization was first class all the way. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it for anything — but I wouldn't want to repeat it.

Do you have any regrets about your career?

No. No. I played games I should have been locked up for but, no. Well, yeah, I did have one regret. I regret I didn't steal more bases.