Jaymie & Eddie Bane
Robby Incmikoski: All right, Eddie, can you explain what it was like working as a scout? Were you at Dodger Stadium much that year or where were you living at the time in ‘88?
Eddie Bane: I was brought over to be the lead, amateur scout with the Dodgers because they needed a little bit of a shake-up at the time in what? ‘88 and…
Robby Incmikoski: Yep.
Eddie Bane: Then I wasn't really well welcomed, but I knew Dodger Stadium because I loved it as a kid. The best experience I ever had at Dodger Stadium other than Gibson's home run: I was Fred Claire's assistant about the third year I was there. I was this top guy, but it was never advertised like that or anything, and I liked it because I got to go rep the Dodgers at the All-Star Game in Cleveland and all that kind of stuff. But anyhow, one night, Gary Sutherland and I were putting together paper lists—not computers—but paper lists for the expansion draft that was coming up. I think it was at the Marlins and [Rockies].
I was in charge of putting together the 25 man projected roster for each team, and we didn't have all the stuff that's available now. So Gary Sutherland and I were working until midnight, I guess, and obviously the only ones still at Dodger Stadium other than probably security.
Robby Incmikoski: And who's Gary Sutherland?
Eddie Bane: He was another major league scout for the Dodgers and we work together a lot. But anyhow, I walked out and I got to see Dodger Stadium with nobody there. But all the lights were on and I love Fenway and everything else but that might be the most magnificent site I've ever seen in baseball. Just walking out, Dodger Stadium, nobody there, but ready for a big crowd or whatever the next day and perfectly clean. That was as good as it got.
Robby Incmikoski: Let me ask you this, Eddie, because that's exactly the type of stuff we're looking for and what stadiums mean to people. What makes you say that? And what makes Dodger Stadium, despite being the third oldest stadium in baseball, what makes it as special as it is?
Eddie Bane: For us at the time, it was all Peter O'Malley. He was the best owner I was ever around by far. We won the World Series in 1988, and he took all the people that worked for the Dodgers except the players to Rome to celebrate the World Series. We got World Series rings but he took us all to Rome. So that was pretty cool. And the Dodgers had played in the Coliseum and then we went to the Coliseum in Rome type of deal. I'm sure they got good publicity out of that. But it was all Mr. O'Malley. He was a big leader obviously on Chavez Ravine. And then, like I said, the best owner I was ever around. He made you appreciate the stuff you saw at Dodger Stadium, because it's like the current day Chick-fil-A: the bathroom’s clean, everything that Dodger Stadium was spotless. And as you said, it's an old stadium. And I played in old Yankee Stadium before it was brought up new, and they needed a big change. But you never feel like that in Dodger Stadium. Everything feels clean and like it was just built last year.
Robby Incmikoski: That's amazing. Now, Jaymie, I want to ask you, you were, let's see, 13, 12?
Jaymie Bane: 13.
Robby Incmikoski: … when Kirk Gibson hits the homer. What memories do you have of that? What do you remember about that date? Not just specifically the homer. What do you remember about that day? Who was with you and…
Jaymie Bane: That was, so my God, we still have the picture. This might be better from my dad’s recollection, since I was 13 at the time. I think it was my dad, Cindy, Tom, my grandpa—that was always a great memory of my grandpa—obviously my siblings. Veronica wasn't born yet, I don't believe. Youngest sister. So it was my middle sister, Casey, and my brother, Corey, and did Nick come with his dad?
Eddie Bane: Jaymie the way I remember it, I think we had five tickets and we told you and your brother to leave us and go out and sit in right field.
Jaymie Bane: Yeah.
Eddie Bane: Right? And that turned out pretty fortuitous…
Jaymie Bane: So that was my memory of that. And we talked about Dodger Stadium being clean and whatnot, but I don't even know if we had seats. I think we just went in right field because my dad worked there and we could basically just go wherever we wanted. There was my brother who's three years younger than me, who's 10 and I'm 13, in Dodger Stadium and sitting in right field by ourselves. So, I remember vividly, every time I go into Dodger Stadium now, the entrance is the same as the one we went in and the—rotunda might be the wrong word—but that's what I remember is coming around the rotunda from the parking lot with my grandpa and my dad. Just remember walking around with us going around that rotunda and we stopped and took a picture. I don't know if I remember it because of the picture or if I remember it and the picture. But the picture reminds me that every time I walk past, I see it. I think I had a t-shirt jersey with Bane on the back, and I think we all had those T-shirts and sweatshirts.
Eddie Bane: I didn't wear any shirt with my name on the back, I know that.
[laughter]
Jaymie Bane: My dad being my dad, and you've been around me enough, Robby, where it's a lot, very similar personality. It's, “All right…”
Robby Incmikoski: I love it.
Jaymie Bane: I mean basically in today's words, “Bro, you and your brother go to right field. We'll see you after the ninth inning’s over.”
Robby Incmikoski: So can I make sure I have this squared away? Eddie, you had different seats and you sent your two kids to sit in right field. Is that correct? So you were not—
Eddie Bane: We were right above third base, a little up. And my dad was there. I don't remember… We were sitting in the scout section. Mike Hankins, one of our scouts, was there, I remember vividly. And my dad was there, and like Jaymie said, my dad is the patriarch of our family. Everybody loves my dad, everybody idolizes my dad, and he was just a former Navy guy that was just tough as hell but a strong Christian man and all that stuff. He had hitch hiked to see Babe Ruth play when he was a kid. And he famously left his—I think he had 12 brothers and sisters—he left his house for three months to go do that; hitchhike around like that. When he came back, his mom said, “I didn't know you were gone.” So that's the kind of family he had. But anyhow, my dad turned to me when Gibson hit the home run and he said, “This is the best moment of my life,” and I just about cried right there because he had been through a lot: World War Two, the Korean War, everything, but he turned to me when the ball went out of the ballpark and said, “the best moment of my life.” So that was pretty good.
Robby Incmikoski: So at that time, you were sitting above third base when Gibson hit the ball, is that right?
Eddie Bane: Yeah, we were above third base, and like I said, we had told Jaymie and Corey, his brother, “Here’s two tickets in right field.” I think he had tickets, but he may not have. I mean, Jaymie can talk to a wall and wall, and so I'm sure everything just fine. And they were in the vicinity of where the ball landed. So pretty good.
Robby Incmikoski: That's so let me ask you this but because I want to get Jaymie's perspective on this in a minute, but Eddie, to share that moment in that place with your dad, how special is Dodger Stadium to you given that you two were there for that moment, which he said is the greatest moment of his life?
Eddie Bane: It's really hard for me to decide—and I don't think anybody really cares what I think—but it's really hard for me to decide whether it's Dodger Stadium or Fenway Park. There is just something about those two places that is a little over the top (in a good way) for me.
Robby Incmikoski: What drives that sentiment for both ballparks for you?
Eddie Bane: With Fenway, our offices were above third base there in the stadium. Really cramped quarters. I think they would have liked to be there more than I was, but I figure if I'm scouting, I was supposed to be out. So you can walk out the back door there and you're right at about the left field foul pole where the Monster seats are. And again, I like the quiet time. You could always walk out of the offices at one o'clock at Fenway, and Dustin Pedroia would be taking ground balls. That's probably, other than some of the stuff David Ortiz and Pedro did, that's probably my best recollections of Fenway just every day. You walk out of the office, one o'clock, Dustin Pedroia is taking ground balls or he's got some rookie out, showing him how to field ground balls. And it was clockwork. Pedroia every day. And that to me, I needed that…
Robby Incmikoski: Because he's another ASU guy.
[Laughter]
Robby Incmikoski: Jaymie tell me about it, how do you put it into words, being a baseball guy like you are and then the fact that you were there for one of the greatest moments in the history of the game?
Jaymie Bane: I was thinking about this when you sent me that and we talked on the phone and I was driving the car. And I'm thinking, I've had some pretty good moments in baseball. I've never seen a no-hitter in professional baseball, and I've been in it for long enough that it’s amazing. I've seen a bunch with two outs and all that, so I've been to some really, really neat… I was sitting down the line when Jeter and Pettite took up Mario Rivera. I was scouting that game, and I remember going, man, I wish I would have had my phone out. I went, “No, that was pretty cool to remember, and there are going to be a lot of videos of it,” so I didn’t do a video. But my memory, I'm glad Dad remembered this because I had no idea my grandpa said that.
I think that that makes it even more special. So I do remember going in and my dad going, “All right, you two. See you later.” So my recollection is going down there with my brother. “Let's go sit down.” We go and sit down. I think we're the second seat up. Because in front of me—this is funny because I ended up becoming very good friends with them later on—but this woman had a green and yellow shirt on that said “Stewart,” and it was Dave Stewart's mom. I’m like, “That's Dave Stewart's mom.” I told Stew later, “Why would my parents sit me in right field. What do you think's wrong with me?” [laughter]
So, I remember, before the game, asking my dad, “Gibson’s on the World Series roster? Why? He can't walk.” I remember all year, like, Kal Daniels and him looked like they should get new legs or have them amputated or something. And then Gibson walks up to hit, and the stadium goes nuts, right?
At 13, I’m trying to be cool in front of a couple girls I’m looking at, and I remember he came up and that place was loud. And you could sense the momentum in the game, but I don't know how to explain it at that age. I remember thinking that this might be something cool to watch later on TV. And then when the ball left the bat, it was in slo-mo. Because he hit it, and at first, it's like, “He's gonna catch it at the wall.” But then it kept going and it just landed about 20 feet from us, maybe less. It wasn't something I could get. But I remember it landing. And the place erupted like I've never heard. I’ve never heard anything that loud in my life.
Eddie Bane: Guys, to put that in a little bit perspective, it was really loud and everything. But the loudest ovation I've ever heard—and I still maintain this—was when Hulk Hogan pinned the Iron Sheik in Phoenix one night and I was there. I've never heard a place erupt like that. So people erupting is not my criteria for what a good moment is, but I was there for the Hulkster pinning the Shiek.
[Laughter]
Jaymie Bane: I think at the ending of that is, I remember the raucousness of it, and it never stopped. And then Gibson came out in like a Peter or no shirt or just a T-shirt, or whatever, with a Dixie Cup of beer in his hand and just grabbed the microphone and was just talking to the crowd about, something, “Yeah, yeah, thanks for sticking around. Let's go Dodgers.” To me it lasted—
Eddie Bane: The World Series was not over in ‘88 when he hit the home run, but it was over.
Jaymie Bane: Yeah.
Eddie Bane: And you never get overconfident, whether you're scouting, playing, front office, whatever, but everyone knew they were done. As soon as he hit that ball into the seats, they were done.
Robby Incmikoski: And it only went five Dodgers won the first two. A's won game three, and then the Dodgers won games four and five…
Eddie Bane: Yeah.
Robby Incmikoski: Do you remember walking out of there at all? Eddie or Jaymie, either of you remember what the vibe was like on the way to the parking lot?
Eddie Bane: If you think about it now, this idiot dad told his two kids to go sit and right field for a World Series game. And I don't remember telling Jaymie, “Hey, we'll meet you here,” or anything. And if you know me at all, I don't think Jaymie inherited this bad quality, but I'm the most impatient person in the world. And as soon as Gibson hit the home run, I was probably trying as fast I could to get out of there to beat the traffic, which you can never do. And like Jaymie said, I think some people stuck around. I don't know how we met up. But parents nowadays, you get arrested if you just told your kid, “Hey, we'll see after the game.”
But yeah, but I had already had him fly across the country and chaperone his little brother and sister while they flew from Phoenix to Cleveland and Buffalo on their own. That's my dad business.
Jaymie Bane: He's got, I would say he's probably got a couple more stories. Fenway too. He pitched there. One of those Patriot Days. What was the one, Dad? You said about that Patriot Day game? I didn't know you like that. But one day you said, “Oh, I pitched there. I won one-nothing [or something].” I was like “What?!”
Eddie Bane: Mr. Yawkey, the owner of the Red Sox, had passed away the day before, so it was a tragic day? And they were getting ready for, I think the Boston Marathon's run on the same day or something…
Robby Incmikoski: Yes.
Eddie Bane: … and I got on a roll, and it was against [Luis] Tiant. I think I won the game two to one or something, and a left-handed pitcher hadn't won a game there all year as a starter. So it was a big deal. But Fenway was packed, like every day, and I was throwing my slop up there, and obviously, Jim Rice and Yastrzemski were lining it to people. And that lasted for seven or eight innings, and I got out of there with a win and beat Tiant, which should have never happened either.
Seeing it as a player, seeing it as a fan, and seeing it as a scout are three completely different things. Because I was always uncomfortable going in the locker room after I finished playing because I knew the locker room is their palace. And I've seen owners walk in and players don't know who they are and they risk saying to the guy next to them, “Who the hell’s that guy?”
“He's the owner. I think he belongs down here.” You can go ahead.
Robby Incmikoski: What was it like standing on the mound at Fenway Park?
Eddie Bane: The only one that looked further away than it was Angel Stadium for some reason. I think the first time I pitched, there was some high school tournament or something, and it looked like there were eight people in the stands and you could hear my mom yelling or something. So I had that vivid memory of Angel Stadium where home plate looked further away. I don't particularly remember that in Fenway. I know the old Detroit Stadium, it looked like right field was sitting on top of second base when it was supposed to be 330 or something, and it sure didn't look that.
Robby Incmikoski: I've heard that. Jaymie, whenever you go to Dodger Stadium that the Gibson seat is marked. His autograph is etched into the seat there. Do you ever go out there?
Eddie Bane: Oh, that's cool.
Jaymie Bane: Every time.
Robby Incmikoski: What comes to mind, and why do you go see it every time?
Jaymie Bane: That's just a great memory. It’s a core memory. I mean, it's something that is ingrained in my brain that through my dad's impatience and trust in the 13-year-old that you were able to experience that that close. Now, every kid tells a story and the parents are always like, “That's not really what happened. Your grandma was right behind you,” whatever. But my recollection about a lot of those things is like that. Every time I go to the stadium, if we're there early enough to beat traffic, I'll go out to right field. It's a little more dangerous than it was [laughing]…
Eddie Bane: Seeing that as a scout, guys, when you go up in the press box at Dodger Stadium. There's some famous dudes up there in the press box, and there's a table that's for scouts. It's not off to the side. You're just free to just sit there like everyone else. And every day I was there—every day—Vin Scully, who could sit wherever he wanted, every day, he'd sit with us.
And we had a code among the scouts: Do not tell any of your stories because we want to hear Vin Scully’s stories. We don't want to hear from Angel Figueroa or Joey Jett about some scouting story. Then when he would inevitably sit down and tell us some story with that voice, and it was just like being in heaven. I mean, and he just stayed until he had to go right before whatever the first pitch was, and we just stayed there glued to him, eating our macaroni and cheese or whatever they'd given us. But that was the highlight of the day going there because no matter who was in the press box, Scully would come sit with us. And again, Mr. O'Malley and Vin Scully were the two people that made the Dodgers to me.
Robby Incmikoski: Yeah, Eddie, I once peed next to Vince Scully at the press room bathroom.
Eddie Bane: That's a big deal. That’s a big people that a lot of guys don't understand, I'm sure. I hope Vin doesn't have a lot of guys follow him into the head at that time, but yeah.
[Laughter]
Eddie Bane: But, yeah, I mean, I think if you've been in his presence, he had that aura about him. I mean, it was Buck O'Neil and Vin Scully were like … Buck and I were good friends, and he told me the Satchel Paige story about when Satchel was doing something with a woman he probably shouldn't have been doing but Buck covered for him. So yeah, I mean. Some of his stories rival Scully’s. They were the two best storytellers I ever heard.
Robby Incmikoski: I would have loved to have had time to spend with Buck, but when I met Vin, I remembered this famous photo of him ice skating with Jackie Robinson. So as we’re standing there peeing, I said, “Can I confirm something with you?” Because I wasn’t gonna pass up an opportunity to ask him a question, even if the moment was ridiculous.
Eddie Bane: He wasn't going anywhere, so yeah.
Robby Incmikoski: I said, “Did you really ice skate with Jackie Robinson?” And he launches into the story as we're washing our hands, and it's just Vin and I in the bathroom—it's not a very large bathroom at all. Everything’s crammed at Dodger Stadium in the press box. So I peed next to him and got the Jackie Robinson story before we left the bathroom. So there's one of my favorite stories from the game in my life.
Eddie Bane: That's awesome. Somebody sent it to me, when Scully was talking about Mike Trout and he said, “If God was gonna make a ballplayer, that's the ballplayer he would make.” And I mean that's the best tribute Mike's probably ever got in his life, and it just came out of Scully's mouth like it was nothing.
Robby Incmikoski: By the way, I don't know if the timeline matches up, but were you responsible for drafting Trout?
Eddie Bane: I signed Mike Trout. That's the short story, long story? Yeah.
Robby Incmikoski: How did he get to? It was a 24th, I think, right?
Eddie Bane: So we pick 24 and 25. I took Randall Grichuk first, who is a good big league player and I did that because Craig Landis, Mike's agent, had pissed me off the night before the draft. So I was being really petty, and I took Mike 25th instead of 24th.
Robby Incmikoski: Amazing. So you’re retired now, right, Eddie?
Eddie Bane: No, no, we gotta get this right. When I left the Reds or when we got fired in Boston, a year after we won the World Series, the Mets brought me aboard through Allard Baird and Omar, and I agreed to go out and see some amateur players. They treated me great, and they knew I wasn't gonna write reports and all I was gonna do is give them a pref list. And for five years, they let me do that. And then they called me up to tell me that I wasn't gonna be renewed. And I said, “Yeah, I can understand that.” I'm flying first class everywhere, I don't write reports, and I give you a pref list. I would kind of question that too. But I'd had plenty. And so I didn't want to say I was retired. I got fired. It’s just kind of a badge of honor among scouts to get fired because they always want to tell you they're going in a different direction or whatever. So I was fired and I'm 72 years old. That's kind of a badge of honor.
Robby Incmikoski: That's tremendous, and you're talking about the World Series in 2018, right?
Eddie Bane: Yeah yeah.
Robby Incmikoski: Let me ask you one other thing. What kind of pride do you take in being the scout that signed—obviously, if he’s healthy, Mike Trout could be known as the most productive and greatest player in the history of baseball. I mean, he's got that kind of skills. What's it like being the guy responsible for putting him in the bigs?
Eddie Bane: Obviously I wasn't the only guy, but I was a scouting director and I made the choice. But if you look at that ten-year stretch Mike had, he was either the best player in the league or close to it every year. There was no other guy who was—Mike wasn't just the best player over that span; he was the best player every year over that span. And he's the best player I ever saw, and I faced Hank Aaron at the end of his career and I scouted Griffy and ARod and Barry and everyone. Mike had the most talent of anybody I ever saw or faced.
Robby Incmikoski: That's a story I don't think anyone's ever going to know that you took Grichuk just because Trout's agent pissed you off.
Eddie Bane: I haven’t been shy about sharing it. You get a lot of publicity for Mike obviously, and we completely killed it in that draft, and then the year 09 and then 10, we did okay. And then I got fired after the 10 draft, and I was told by my boss Tony Regens. I asked him why, and he said, “We didn't like your last couple drafts.” Now, that was late in 2010, so the '09 draft hadn't had a complete grade yet, but I think people could kind of tell that Mike was pretty good.
Robby Incmikoski: Yeah, I think we have a pretty good idea that one.