If you’ve spent much time at all around the Mariners’ bullpen this year, you probably already know something about the weirdness of John Wetteland. Last month I watched him stand against the bullpen wall in the ninth inning, spinning a baseball over and over in his hand, zoning out. A guy next to me said something like, “Come on John, you know you can do better than Aardsma!” Wetteland just shook his head, not opening his eyes, still spinning the ball: he’d heard the question and responded, but he was still in his own realm.
A while back I compiled some news stories on Wetteland to create a profile of him in his playing days, and here are some good quotes from them. 20 years ago, in 1989, Wetteland had a whole series of odd buttons lined up above his Dodgers’ locker, each with a lively inscription. Some examples:
"I was raised by a pack of wild corn dogs."
"Praying for the big one to hit L.A."
"I've got a crate of Uzis and a case of scotch—let's go to Disneyland."
"Don't presume that I will respond [to questions] in a logical or rational manner."
The next year, when Wetteland wasn’t doing so well with the Dodgers, he said: "It's like I've landed in a hole deep enough so that they have to pump sunlight to you. I've got to find a way out.”
Five years later, in 1995 (the spring before his tough ALDS vs. the Mariners), Wetteland had become a born-again Christian, but he hadn’t (and hasn’t) lost the fire. Back then, he said: "It's funny because I'm a real nice guy in everything and easy to get along with. I will serve you until I die off the field. But, on the field, something happens, something changes, man."
And this about drinking: "Say players on a baseball team want to go out and have a good time and be men. Yeah, right. You wake up the next morning and you think that an athlete, with what alcohol does to a body, will be able to contribute 100 percent of his abilities to a club?"
would consent to bullpen-coach for the M's. They're awfully blessed to have him, though, and check how well the no-name relievers have performed this year. The war helmets, the attitudes, the saves, the whole nine yards.
Wonder how long the M's can keep Wetteland around?
I believe the relievers sing to each other before the game in their little huddle thing. Not positive on that one, though.
I've got to think that the bullpen coach's duties are heavily favored toward the mental side of things, so it's nice to have someone so wacky that will keep things loose, especially after a rough stretch.
I wonder if Wetteland is too offbeat for the guys who run teams to believe they can trust him to be pitching coach, much less manager. Just looking now, Frank Robinson fired him from the Nationals' bullpen job in 2006 and said: "It wasn't just their performance. It was the idea of them not handling themselves during game time in a professional way." But his stuff is working here, and it's easy to overlook how good a closer he was: he must have credibility with the relievers.
I can see Wetteland's free spirit approach alienating the stuffed shirts, of which Frank Robinson definitely qualifies.
Am very impressed that Zduriencik and Wakamatsu look past the Purist Concerns to get a good bullpen coach out there.
A couple of war helmets can do wonders for an athlete's forwardgoing mindset :- ) ... staying loose is a big part of being In The Zone...
I can see how the 'fun' could be seen as a bad thing on a bad team, so as long as Wetteland's crew keeps doing a good job he shouldn't have a problem.