Avalanche GM Hits a Home Run in Salem
by Robert E. B. Gemmill
John Katz does not lock his car door- at least not anymore. The vice president/general manager of the Salem Avalanche minor league baseball team gets a sparkle in his eye when talking about living in Salem. This after coming from Modesto, Calif., the stolen car capital of the world.
Salem is not the only thing he is passionate about, however. Even though the Avalanche are an affiliate of the Houston Astros, that does not mean he will root for them over his beloved Red Sox.
With old jerseys hanging on his walls, and family photos in abundance, Katz recently sat down to talk about baseball, the Avalanche, Salem, and of course his Red Sox.
The following are excerpts from that interview:
Q: You are from Boston, does that make you a Red Sox fan even though the Avalanche are an affiliate of the Houston Astros?
Katz: "Yes, I have two favorite baseball teams. The first is the Red Sox, and the second is whoever is playing the Yankees."
Q: You've been working in California for affiliates of the Oakland A's for the past nine years, how is it different living in Salem?
Katz: "When you go from the stolen car capital of the world, which is Modesto, California, to the number three stolen car capital of the world, which is Stockton California, to here, it makes a big difference. This is a great place to raise a family, and California was a 9 year stop in my career. There isn't a job in the world that could get me back to California...I wanted my kids to grow up in a place where they could learn and be successful, and this was a great place for it."
Q: You don't have to lock your car door here.
Katz: "I lived in Raleigh for three years when I worked for the [Carolina] Mudcats, and I used to stop by the gas station on my way in to work, pick up a Coke, and I'd leave my car running. In California you have to lock it, put The Club on, and hope for the best."
Q: Salem must be a little different from the Northeast too.
Katz: "I love the weather so far, and it's tough because in California, it will literally not rain a drop from May 1 to October, so the weather, as far as baseball goes, it's always going to be warm, so that's kind of a big difference. If I could take California's weather and live here, I'd prefer that, but I'll trade the rain just for the quality of life."
Q: Catcher Jeff Mackor was just sent to Lexington (Ky.) about a week ago to catch Roger Clemens in his rehabilitation start. Did you get a chance to meet him or see him pitch?
Katz: "No...We had a game that night, but our groundskeeper has a TV down in his office, so even though it was around the same time as our first pitch, I snuck in a watched it."
Q: How close was Roger to coming to Salem?
Katz: "It had nothing to do with the Astros. His son, Koby Clemens, plays 3rd base for Lexington, and if his son played 3rd base for the Avalanche he would've come here. I think Roger set his own schedule, and he wanted to play with his son... Pretty much when you're making $22 million a year you can decide what you want to do."
Q: What did Jeff Mackor think of the experience?
Katz: "I didn't get a chance to talk to him after, but I talked to him before, and, for a guy like Mackor, who's a veteran in this league, a veteran behind the plate, it's great for him... As a kid he grew up watching Roger Clemens, and it doesn't get better than that. But [Mackor] is just one of those guys, I don't think he'll be much more than an A or AA catcher, but he just seems to have a lot of luck. He's played at Fenway Park...He hit a home run in RFK stadium in a game against the Potomac Nationals, and he got to catch a Hall of Famer. I think he's gonna wind up being a great coach one day...And he's just a great person to have in the clubhouse."
Q: Which Avalanche players do you think may have a chance to get to the big leagues?
Katz: "It's tough to say. I think from the defensive standpoint, it's probably Edwin Maysonet, our shortstop. He's dazzling with the glove. He doesn't hit a whole lot and in this day and age, you see less and less of the shortstop hitting .200 in the big leagues because you've got everybody else hitting, but if he can find his stroke, then he's a big leaguer without a doubt. His defense can get him there alone. You could also probably say the same thing about Lou Santangelo, our catcher, who's probably one of the best catchers I've had in my career, and I've had a lot of good catchers...As far as pitchers go, there's a couple there, Chad Reineke jumps up as probably being the closest...It's kinda hard to tell because the odds are against every one of these guys. Maybe 1 out of every 25 guys is going to make it. I've been real fortunate in my career to have some really great ballplayers. Jason Kendall, Esteban Loaiza, Tim Hudson, it's amazing to watch some of these guys. And then there's always the good stories. Jason Hart, who bounced around tremendously, had one of the best bats I've ever seen. He had a brain tumor a few years ago. I think he's back in AAA with the A's or the Rangers doing real well...Sometimes it's nicer to see those guys make it than the guys that you expect."
Q: You majored in marketing and had a minor in journalism at Hofstra. How did you end up in baseball?
Katz: "I'm kind of embarrassed to say, but I backed into it. I was finishing up my MBA at Hofstra and I transferred to UMBC to be closer to my girlfriend. One of my buddies was interning there in the Fall League, and said there were other internships there and I should call them. So he gave me the number and I called, and it was one of my other friends from Hofstra who was running the internship program. And again, small world, the guy who ultimately hired me was Tim Purpura, the GM of the Houston Astros now."
Q: When you were in Modesto, you had a big part in the renovation of that stadium. Do you have any such plans in Salem?
Katz: "This park's only 11 years old right now, so it's more some of the amenity features. We've talked about doing it last year, and they spent about $1.2 million before I got here renovating suites on the club level upstairs and the barbecue area down the right field line. In the future, I'd like to see some things done. This park is 100 percent symmetrical, and that's the one thing I don't like about it, because there's no character. It's got great views from every seat, you can see the mountains, see the city, but it's the same down the right field line as it is down the left field line, and if you stand in center field and look at the stands, they're exactly the same."
Q: Maybe you should make a hill in center field like they have in Houston.
Katz: "In Chattanooga they had a camel that lived in center field and was in play."
Q: Salem is hosting the The Carolina-California League all-Star Game on June 27th. Do you have a special role in preparation for that game?
Katz: "Everything. It's a pain in the neck, but it's an honor to be able to host the game. It's actually a funny story. I was mad, in 2003 when we got the contract to build a ballpark in Stockton, i wanted the game in '06, and they told me we couldn't have it because it was in Salem, Va. I was a little upset, and we got it in Stockton in '07. But it's tough, you've gotta coordinate getting 32 people from 2 different airports in California here. Now we could've taken the easy way and flew them into Raleigh, or flew them into Greensboro, but I've been around players who have played in this game for 8 years, and every one of them to a T has said it wasn't much fun for them. There's a bunch of stuff going on, there's just nothing for the players. So I'm trying to do some little amenities that are special for the players. The California guys don't know about it, but we're gonna pick them up from the airport in limousines, take their bags and bring them to the ballpark, and just try to give them a little bit more of a big league atmosphere so they can have a little more fun. And when the players go back to California, Kinston, and Myrtle Beach and all those places, I want them to come away with lasting memories."
Q: How is the site of the All-Star Game chosen?
Katz: "The Carolina League is on a rotation."
Q: What Avalanche players are playing in the All-Star Game?
Katz: "Lou Santangelo, Chad Reineke, Rodrigo Escobar and Wallace Torbert."
Q: Do you have any players from Virginia Tech on the Avalanche?
Katz: "Not here, but the top all-star vote-getter in the Carolina league was a catcher from there. He's the real deal. He hits .340 or something like that, and he's the only guy on the all-star ballot that got every single vote. There was not another catcher who got a vote."
Q: What do you look for in a player?
Katz: "It's tough to say, the first time I ever saw Tim Hudson throw, I was like, this guy will never be able to pitch in A ball. Then I saw him progress and progress, and all of a sudden he's in AA, and in the big leagues winning games. Athleticism is big, and for pitchers, I don't necessarily want to see a guy strike out twenty guys a game, I wanna see a guy who keeps the ball down and gets people out. Offensively, a guy who can make things happen...Move runners along and get in scoring position."
Q: Are the Avalanche geared up to make a run the second half of the season?
Katz: "They are certainly playing the best ball they've played all season...I think we've got a chance, we've got a young team, and there's a lot of holes in the line-up, but some of those guys are starting to play better. The guys who should be hitting are starting to hit."
Q: Could we see a Red Sox-Astros World Series this year?
Katz: "I'd love to see that...The Astros can definitely make a run. Last year they started fifteen games under .500, and came back and went to the world series...But I'd love to see the Astros do it...I've always had a soft spot for them.