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Prior to the 2009 NY-Penn championship game at Eastwood Field, Scrapper manager Travis Fryman took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to reflect on his two years as the “boss” of the Scrappers:
MYVS: Just as you were as a rookie player in professional baseball with Detroit in 1990, last year you were a rookie manager in terms of managing in professional baseball with the Scrappers. What did you learn during your first season?
Fryman: “I learned a great deal because you obviously look at different elements of the game when you manage as opposed to when you are playing. How we handle our pitchers in this organization definitely stood out to me as a little different approach than some other organizations take. It was definitely emphasized what the objectives are and the points of emphasis at this level of development. It is about continuing development of our current players and evaluating our new players as to what we do in Cleveland from a team fundamental standpoint. Last year for me just drove home what those objectives and points of emphasis are at this level.”
MYVS: How did last year’s experience help you and how did you incorporate what you learned last year into your approach to deal with the “new” players this season?
Fryman: “The routines this year were about the same as last year. Some of the things you emphasize from a fundamental standpoint might be addressed in a different manner. My patience level was better this year, but we won more ball games so I am not sure that my patience was better or maybe it was because my patience wasn’t tested as much this year as it was last season. From a running game standpoint, I felt that I came into this season with a much better feel of how to manage a running game and there is still a lot to learn about that. I felt like I personally did a better job of handling that. The one thing I learned this year is that every group of young men we deal with will be a unique and distinctive group from the one before and this year’s club was remarkably different from last year’s club.”
MYVS: So was this 2009 Scrapper team a little more special to you than last year’s club?
Fryman: “I am an individual guy in terms of enjoying building relationships with individuals and getting to know these guys. The role that I play here is that I get the opportunity to play a big part in their development over the next 3, 4 or 5 years. I view it in the long term and not in the short term. But this group was special in that it became apparent very early they were going to play very well together. Even after the first week of team fundamentals, they had them down very well. Last year, it took three or four weeks before I felt our guys were executing team fundamentals the way we wanted them to. This year, I either did a better job of instructing that or maybe they just picked up on it a little quicker than last year. This group also got along together very well and they complemented each other very well. I think we had one or two guys who stood out more talent-wise last year, but we were a more well-rounded group of players this year.”
MYVS: Many times the success of a head coach or manager depends on the quality of personnel he surrounds himself with. Is it a fair assessment that having Kenny Rowe and Phil Clark made your job a whole lot easier?
Fryman: Phil (Clark) and I came up through the Detroit Tigers minor league system together so Phil and I both go back to our young days where we were introduced to baseball in the same system under Sparky Anderson’s influence. I can’t imagine having a better staff at this level that I have here and I say that because number one, there is not a better pitching coach at this level than Ken Rowe. He has 56-57 years in the game and his patience and his observations are outstanding. He pushes nothing and rushes nobody. There is a grace about how he coaches that comes with experience and you can’t teach that. Phil’s skill sets complement my skill sets. He was a catcher-outfielder and I am an infielder so we have the field covered pretty well in terms of out areas of understanding and knowledge. He too has an extremely strong work ethic and with that our catchers and outfielders received better quality work this year in my opinion than last year because I am learning those positions from a teaching standpoint where those are Phil’s strengths. We hit the ball well, and that is another testament to Phil and we also pitched extremely well. Add our trainer (Issei Kamada) and strength coach (Paul Synenkyj) to the three of us and that gives us a well-rounded, well-balanced staff that complements each other well.”
MYVS: So what happens to Travis Fryman after tonight’s “rubber” game in the championship series? Does he get reassigned somewhere else or does he return to Eastwood Field for his third season?
Fryman: “I know what my plans are, but I learned a long time ago that my plans don’t necessarily mean a lot. As a Christian man I learned that lesson when I was traded from Detroit to Cleveland. One of my favorite Bible verses says that in his heart, a man plans his own course, but the Lord determines his steps. But my intentions are to come back here. I enjoy working here and as I have said many times before, this situation lets me have great balance. It lets me have maximum impact in the Indians’ organization with minimum impact on my home life and nothing has changed about that.”
MYVS: So it appears that you don’t have any intentions or aspirations of moving up the ladder any time soon?
Fryman: “I enjoy it here and you can have a great impact in this organization on these young men at this level and I enjoy that immensely. This is where I enjoy doing what I am doing right now and this is where I want to be. My wife and my sons, we talk about those things. I don’t know if people believe me when I say it, but I really don’t have any aspirations, either personally or professionally (to move up). I do in terms of the kind of impact I have when it comes to how I spend the remainder of my days on this earth. But I can accomplish that in Mahoning Valley just as easily as I can in Cleveland or anywhere else. I really don’t have any career aspirations. My aspirations are more centered on the impact I would like to have on these young people’s lives.”
MYVS: So are you saying that in your present situation, you are doing what you want to do and having fun doing it?
Fryman: “There are very rare moments where what I am doing feels like a job. When I played, there was the pressure to perform and other individual pressures you put on yourself as a player and the expectations that come with that. I smile and laugh and have a lot more fun doing what I am doing now than I ever did playing. I think you are in a unique position when you work at this level with the background I have and I try to use that to make better ball players and help make them better young men too.”
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