Leland Yow

Interview

5.12.05

 

As one of the original founders of Bad Ass Baseball, Leland has seen a lot of changes to the league. He has seen the league grow from about 6 guys, to the nearly 20 we have now. He was integral in the league starting to keep stats. He is solely responsible for the website creation, and updating it at least once a week. He is also one of the top leadoff men in Bad Ass Baseball. To state it simply, he is a major reason that the league has been able to not only exist as long as it has, but also thrive as much as it has.

He’s a man of few words on the field, so we tried to get him to open up off the field in the inaugural installment of The Bad Ass Interview…

At the end of this interview there will be three names for you guys to vote on who the next Bad Ass Interviewee will be. Of course if something amazingly good, or bad happens this Sunday, I reserve the right to change the interview to that person.

BAB Reporter: Tell me your thoughts on BAB What does it mean to you?

Leland Yow: I love BAD ASS. I think our league is truly special. I can't put into words how much passion I have for it. I'm in awe of how much the league has evolved and am proud to have a small part of it. In the beginning, I honestly wasn't sure how long it would last. Now I think it will be around for a long time.

BAB: Which player is your favorite to play with?

LY: If you mean, who is my favorite player to have as a teammate, its Tito. I always have fun being on his team, win or lose. During the first season, we'd play around like he was this veteran superstar and he was my mentor. (I was his Padawan for you Star Wars geeks.) I remember him saying, "If you want to be a superstar, you can't stretch with the team." So the two of us would wander out centerfield and stretch away from everyone else. We'd BS and get ourselves hyped for the game. Sometimes before an at-bat I'll ask him for words of advice or encouragement. One game, before I stepped into the box, I walked to the mound and asked him for some words of wisdom. He just looked at me and said, "Go coo coo for Cocoa Puffs." I was still laughing when he started pitching to me, but I still got a hit. It was also great when Cav traded Tito and me to Alvin's team. I've never seen Tito so fired up after that. It was awesome.

BAB: What position do you think is your best position to play and why?

LY: First Base or catcher. It's the best place for me to not fuck up. I like playing buck the most though because it gets a lot of action. I like chasing down pop ups and trying to throw guys out going for extra bases. I've never been a great fielder, but I think I've improved a lot since the league began and take pride at getting better.

BAB: If you could take the attributes of other players, who’s would you take and why?

BAB: Base running:

LY: Lynas. He just seems to fly around the bases with ease.

BA: Power Hitting:

LY: Cav. He's the best pure power hitter in the league.

BAB: Contact Hitting:

LY: Rob. He doesn't miss often and usually hits the ball hard.

BAB: Fielding:

LY: Lynas. It doesn't matter where you put him; he will shut his side of the field down.

BAB: Pitching:

LY: Rob or Cav...Hell, anyone who can throw the ball over the plate consistently. I sure as hell can't.

BAB: Throwing:

LY: Jason. Do I really need to explain?

BAB: Leadership:

LY: Rob. He's tough, but fair...and knows how to rally the troops.

BAB: You have managed the website from the beginning and have been responsible for some hilarious pictures, songs etc. Where do you come up with the ideas and how long do you spend on the website each week?

LY: It usually takes me anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours to update the site after a game. Sometimes I don't like writing the recaps because I think they always sound boring or repetitive. I'm always thinking of ideas for graphics, mostly while I'm at work driving. Cav gives me a lot of ideas for the site too. 'm always open to comments and suggestions. I wish I didn't work 50 hours a week so I could spend more time on the site. At least my college degree isn't totally going to waste.

BAB: Is there anything you would change about BAB? If so what would that be?

LY: I don't know if it's something I can personally change, but I wish more people would contribute to the league. There are some guys who contribute a lot, but there are still a handful of guys who just show up, play, and that's it. I think the league would run more efficiently if more people helped out.

BAB: Favorite BAB moment you were involved in?

LY: The first awards banquet. It’s my favorite because that's when I knew we were on to something special with the league. A year prior to that, we were just a bunch of guys playing baseball on the weekend when we could get enough guys together. At the banquet, we were a league, who just played a 40 game season. We had stats for each of those games. We had a website. And as we gave out our awards, wearing out new T-shirts, we celebrated the culmination of our successful season. Our first season was complete and we accomplished something I think was amazing. I'm still amazed by the league.

BAB: Least favorite BAB moment?

BAB: You got the first 7 picks in the draft…Who do you take?

LY: Assuming they could all play: Cav, Lynas, Torance, Brandon, Rob, Eddie, and Tito.

BAB: Do you have any baseball superstitions other than performing felatio on your bat before every at-bat?

LY: I'm not superstitious, it's bad luck. Ok bad joke. I have way too many superstitions. I may lead the league. I have a lot of little habits I do before I bat, like fix my gloves and tap the dirt out of my cleats. I have wristbands I don’t wear anymore because I think they are bad luck. I wore my live strong bracelet one game and started out 0 for 5. I took it off during the game and haven't worn it since. The bat licking I totally ripped off from Tito. I saw Barry Bonds do it too. I was gonna stop doing it, but I'm too superstitious to stop...plus I've grown a reputation for doing it. Other superstitions: when I get on base, I wear my hat backwards and undo the velcro on my gloves. I never take my left batting glove off during the game. I always put my left shoe on first. I spit in my fielding glove when I take my position in the first inning. I know I have others, but those are the ones I can think of right now.

BAB: Which field is your favorite to play on and why?

LY: Santa Clara High is the best field, but my favorite is till Taylor. The field wasn't in the best of shape, but we played there so long it just felt like home. For some reason, I think I saw the ball a lot better on that field too. Am I the only one who misses the planes flying over?

BAB: What’s your biggest BAB pet peeve?

LY: Tardiness. I can't stand it. We post the time at 10:30, yet guys still roll out there close to 11. I wake up at 4 am and bust my ass at work to get to the field on time. It just bugs me when games are held up because someone is late.

BAB: Favorite current MLB player?

LY: Currently its Bob Abreu cuz he's on fire and keeping my fantasy teams in the hunt. I can't wait for Bonds to get back though, cuz I miss watching him hit...and making the Giants a better team.