La Vida Voices: The Game with Plácido Polanco

In today’s edition of La Vida Voices, we discuss the game through the eyes of infielder Plácido Polanco. La Vida Voices will explore three themes:

• The Journey: The path taken as a player, manager, sportswriter, broadcaster or fan.
• The Game: Insights from legends who share their thoughts on playing béisbol, their approaches to hitting and pitching, the mental game involved at the highest level.
• The Life: Latino culture and how we root for our teams, follow the game and put the Latino stamp on baseball.

The Dominican-born infielder took an unusual route to the majors, playing at Miami-Dade Community College before being selected in the MLB amateur draft versus playing in a Dominican baseball academy and signing as an undrafted amateur free agent. Although a high-draft pick (19th round, St. Louis Cardinals, 1994), Polanco worked his way up to the majors with the Cardinals, making his debut on July 3, 1998. Polanco gained a reputation as a great clubhouse influence over a 16-year career that included stops in Detroit, Philadelphia, and Miami.

A two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Polanco amassed 2,142 hits (12th all-time among Dominicans) with a .297 lifetime batting average and .740 OPS. La Vida Baseball chatted with Polanco about his life in the game, about leadership, and how to succeed in baseball at the plate and at the table.

Placido polanco

You were known as a “glue guy.” What’s your approach to leadership? This, especially, since when you were at the Tigers and with the Marlins, people came to you and you kind of held the team together.

Well, first of all, thank you for having me here, and I would say, just my personality. I get along with everybody, and when you really think about it, when you’re playing baseball, you spend more time with your teammates than you do with your real family. So it’s up to you — whether you want to do it pleasant or you just want to be miserable — and I think I realized that at a very young age, and it helped.

You hear the term used a lot, “a players’ manager.” What’s your definition of a players’ manager?

I was very lucky enough to have played for Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland. They happen to be best friends, and they have a lot of similarities when they manage — and they’re players’ managers. They protect you, and if you’re willing to learn, those are the guys to be around.

How would I define ‘players’ manager?’ Let’s say that you have a bad game, right? And you struggle, you make an error or two to lose the game. You know the media, they come to you and. They come to the manager. Instead of saying, “He messed up,” or something like that, they be like, “Oh, that was a tough play.” They protect their players. They make you feel good. So then, you, as a player, you see that, and you go, “This manager, he’s got my back.” And you feel better. You play better.

You played multiple positions on the field. What was your best position, and what was your favorite position to play on the diamond?

I felt pretty comfortable at second base. You have more time because you read the ball, you don’t have to be as bent down. Third base, I really worked hard at it, and the fact that I played third base a little bit in Miami-Dade, that really helped. So I was able to adjust . When you play third base, you’re more of a goalie. Works you out mentally more — because you have to be in every pitch and be ready for that ball. But I enjoy that, because that means you’re in the game, in every pitch. It’s like the catcher. But second base, I think it was more of my natural position.

You had quite a playoffs in 2006. You were the American League Championship Series MVP, helped get the Tigers to the World Series. What’s it like being in the zone in the playoffs?

It’s really fun. I’ll tell you what. That year was really special for me because I remember a month before the regular season ended, I got a dislocated shoulder. So I wasn’t supposed to play in the playoffs. So the Tigers started looking for a second baseman, and I heard that on the news, and I’m like, “Wow, so that means I’m not coming back this year.” So I started doing my rehab, did everything right, came back like a week before and played a few games and then went to the playoffs. And I happened to be the ALCS MVP, and we went to the World Series. So that was a really good year for me, but for the organization as well.

You batted over .300 in seven seasons. What’s your approach to hitting?

Well, I knew I wasn’t going to a home run hitter, so I never tried to pull the ball. So the fact that I wanted to hit the ball to right field, it made me wait for the ball a little bit longer. So when you wait for the ball a little bit longer, you see all the off-pitches. You see the changeups. You see the curveballs, the sliders better. And the fastballs, because they give you a split of a second of more time, my approach probably will help me.

Let’s talk about the two times you were an All-Star. Do you have a favorite All-Star moment?

They both tie for first. One with the National League, one with the American League, and it’s just fun. So that’s the same atmosphere. That’s you feel in All-Star Games. But my favorite moment is just spending time with superstars from other teams that you know they’re good players, but you don’t know how good of a person they are, and they happen to be really good people. And again, you learn from them, and they learn from you, so that’s probably my favorite memories.

Growing up in the Dominican Republic where ballplayers are looked up to, who did you look up to as a baseball hero as a young kid in the Dominican?

A bunch of them: Tony Fernández, Rafael Belliard, George Bell, and those guys. Manny Lee, all those guys are really good. Alfredo Griffin, all those guys, they were my idols. They were really good — they’re still around, involved with baseball. Never got in trouble, and they were great players.

You were a young man when you left the Dominican Republic to play in the States. What were the first words that you had to learn to kind of order food and deal with life here in the United States?

Well, I’m still learning, but I’ll tell you what. I came to Miami, Miami-Dade Community College. Played two years there, and that really helped. It helped that I had to learn how to order food, like McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, whatever. Whatever it was. But the fact that I was here in Miami really helped because a lot of people speak Spanish, so it wasn’t like I really had to just speak English.

If you were going to give any advice to the young Dominican players coming up now about how to adjust to playing in the United States, what do you tell them?

Well, baseball is baseball. Wherever it is. In the United States, it’s easier because of the condition of the fields and all that. But some things that I’d tell the players, if they really want it, just to be willing to learn. You learn, not just from your coaches, but you learn from your teammates. You learn from a lot of people. So, if you have that attitude, I think you can go a long way. But if you think you know it all, then you’re stuck.

Featured Image: John Reid III / Major League Baseball