Mike Buddie Comments on Passing of George Steinbrenner
7/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 13, 2010
Wake Forest athletic administrator Mike Buddie played for the New York Yankees in 1998 and 1999 as part of his five years in the Major Leagues. Buddie, a fourth round draft pick of the Yankees in 1992, made his MLB debut on April 6, 1998. He went 4-1 during his rookie season and helped the Yankees win the World Series with a four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres. Buddie also pitched with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000-2002 before retiring.
Buddie is a 1993 graduate of Wake Forest with a degree in communications. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Demon Deacon baseball team and set the school record for strikeouts in a season with 138 in 1992. He is currently an associate director for development with the Deacon Club.
Mike Buddie on George Steinbrenner: "George was still hands on enough in 1997 and 1998 that he had done some research. When I got called up in 1998, he knew that I was a Cleveland (Ohio) native and we had some common ties. He called me the `Cleveland Kid' and was very good-natured with me. My rookie year, in 1998, I think after my first full week in New York, I was 2-0. I got the win on opening night and I vultured another one shortly thereafter. He started calling me the good luck charm, which was kind of fun for a rookie who was just trying to stay up with the big team. He treated me very well, I think, because of the fact that I always made the minimum (salary) and I knew my role and kept my mouth shut. He knew I was not going to be the difference in the Yankees winning the World Series or losing the World Series, so he took it easy on me."
On meeting George Steinbrenner for the first time: "It was during the strike-shortened season (the spring of 1995). We went through spring training and George obviously did not have a big league team to hang out with so he spent more time at the minor league complex. At that time, I was coming off a 13-win season in Greensboro (N.C.) and I was one of the higher draft picks in A ball and I was introduced to him. He wished me well and said he hoped to see me in New York some day. It was a very brief conversation. I think he kind of kept people at a distance by design. But you could definitely see a change in people's demeanor when he walked into a minor league clubhouse. Our instructors, the coaches, the managers, they all made sure they stayed in line when George was in the building. He commanded respect from people and he got it whether his methods were agreed upon or not. He was definitely respected when he came into the building."
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