- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 425,176
- Reaction score
- 43
Apr. 13—John Traub remembers the 1974 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics like it was yesterday — the A's capped the postseason with a third straight championship.
"My parents were very big Dodgers fans, and my father actually went to the first-ever game at Dodger Stadium," says Traub, the longtime general manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes. "My mother used to listen to all the games; she'd have Vin Scully on whether we were in the car or if it was in the house — every radio was tuned in to the Dodgers."
Keeping scores of games at just 10 years old, Traub has spent his entire life eating, sleeping and talking baseball. He led the Calgary Cannons as vice president and GM, and has worked as a public relations intern for the Dodgers and California Angels.
"Baseball has been in my blood ever since I was a small child," Traub says.
His dedication to the game has also played out during his two decades leading the Isotopes — as long as the late Pat McKernan did for the Albuquerque Dukes.
During Traub's tenure, the Isotopes have consistently ranked high in attendance among minor league teams and they've become a favorite pastime for families in a town where baseball is deeply rooted.
His approach to leadership is grounded in two core beliefs.
"No. 1, never forget what it's like to be a fan yourself," Traub says, "and also remember that it's always somebody's first game."
What do you enjoy most about the job?
Depends on the day. But, just the fact that we're making a difference in the community. We're making a difference in the quality of life. It's important for communities to have something like a professional baseball team — it just helps in a situation like this, where it's such a great baseball town and we have a great venue. Those things are really important, quality-of-life attributes that a city can have.
Who inspires you?
My family. My staff. The fans that come through here. Certain mentors that I've had in the industry for a long time.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
There's probably a few clichés that I could throw out. Somebody said it the first year I started working for the Angels — and they were called the California Angels at the time, not the Los Angeles Angels — that baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. It took me a while to figure out what that meant, but I figured it out. ... (Another) has to do with integrity. Somebody can have their money taken from them, they can lose their friends, they can lose jobs, they can lose homes, they can lose all that. But what is the one thing that you really have control over? Yourself, and that's your integrity. My father, who has now since passed away, probably had the most integrity of any person that I ever knew and really taught me about that.
What do you do in your free time?
(My) wife and I love to travel. And in fact, we're going to be going up to Alaska this summer for what will be the 50th state for both of us. We're really excited about that. We try to take a long driving road trip at the conclusion of every season. And we've seen a lot of things in this country — travel is really high on top of the list. I love sports. I love going to sporting events. Love going out to dinner and hanging out with friends.
What are your thoughts on these torpedo bats that keep making headlines?
I've never actually seen one of these in person. But they're not illegal. The players are using them because they think they can get the head of the bat to the ball quicker on inside pitches. Look, I think anything that ends up being something positive for the game in terms of creating more offense and getting people to talk about it, I think that's a good thing because I think baseball can use some good things happening. ... I think it's something that certainly caught a lot of people off guard when it was announced that the Yankees had these, and I could see them taking over if everybody is buying into it and they think that they're good. We don't need any more offense at our ballpark because it is one of the most hitter-friendly, if not the most hitter-friendly, ballparks in professional baseball. I'm sure the pitchers aren't too excited about it. But what baseball is all about — it should be about more action on the field, and that means, a lot of times, more offense.
Continue reading...
"My parents were very big Dodgers fans, and my father actually went to the first-ever game at Dodger Stadium," says Traub, the longtime general manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes. "My mother used to listen to all the games; she'd have Vin Scully on whether we were in the car or if it was in the house — every radio was tuned in to the Dodgers."
Keeping scores of games at just 10 years old, Traub has spent his entire life eating, sleeping and talking baseball. He led the Calgary Cannons as vice president and GM, and has worked as a public relations intern for the Dodgers and California Angels.
"Baseball has been in my blood ever since I was a small child," Traub says.
His dedication to the game has also played out during his two decades leading the Isotopes — as long as the late Pat McKernan did for the Albuquerque Dukes.
During Traub's tenure, the Isotopes have consistently ranked high in attendance among minor league teams and they've become a favorite pastime for families in a town where baseball is deeply rooted.
His approach to leadership is grounded in two core beliefs.
"No. 1, never forget what it's like to be a fan yourself," Traub says, "and also remember that it's always somebody's first game."
What do you enjoy most about the job?
Depends on the day. But, just the fact that we're making a difference in the community. We're making a difference in the quality of life. It's important for communities to have something like a professional baseball team — it just helps in a situation like this, where it's such a great baseball town and we have a great venue. Those things are really important, quality-of-life attributes that a city can have.
Who inspires you?
My family. My staff. The fans that come through here. Certain mentors that I've had in the industry for a long time.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
There's probably a few clichés that I could throw out. Somebody said it the first year I started working for the Angels — and they were called the California Angels at the time, not the Los Angeles Angels — that baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. It took me a while to figure out what that meant, but I figured it out. ... (Another) has to do with integrity. Somebody can have their money taken from them, they can lose their friends, they can lose jobs, they can lose homes, they can lose all that. But what is the one thing that you really have control over? Yourself, and that's your integrity. My father, who has now since passed away, probably had the most integrity of any person that I ever knew and really taught me about that.
What do you do in your free time?
(My) wife and I love to travel. And in fact, we're going to be going up to Alaska this summer for what will be the 50th state for both of us. We're really excited about that. We try to take a long driving road trip at the conclusion of every season. And we've seen a lot of things in this country — travel is really high on top of the list. I love sports. I love going to sporting events. Love going out to dinner and hanging out with friends.
What are your thoughts on these torpedo bats that keep making headlines?
I've never actually seen one of these in person. But they're not illegal. The players are using them because they think they can get the head of the bat to the ball quicker on inside pitches. Look, I think anything that ends up being something positive for the game in terms of creating more offense and getting people to talk about it, I think that's a good thing because I think baseball can use some good things happening. ... I think it's something that certainly caught a lot of people off guard when it was announced that the Yankees had these, and I could see them taking over if everybody is buying into it and they think that they're good. We don't need any more offense at our ballpark because it is one of the most hitter-friendly, if not the most hitter-friendly, ballparks in professional baseball. I'm sure the pitchers aren't too excited about it. But what baseball is all about — it should be about more action on the field, and that means, a lot of times, more offense.
Continue reading...
