Secrets of spring training

Michael Smerconish: Secrets of spring training
2.25.10
By Michael Smerconish - Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Opinion Columnist

NINE THINGS I learned at spring training in Clearwater, Fla. (and one I already knew).

Bottle service: As a young player at his first big-league spring training, Charlie Manuel had a locker between Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison.

One day, Allison invited Manuel to dinner with the intention of schooling the young player on "how it is here in the big leagues and how you're supposed to act and everything," Manuel told me. Out at a bar in Orlando, Manuel recalled Allison saying, " 'I'm going to introduce you to a drink today, and you're going to drink it for the rest of your life.' "

He was right. To this day, Manuel's drink of choice is Seagram's V.O. - Canadian whiskey - on the rocks.

Speaking of Hall of Famers: Frank Coppenbarger is the Phils' director of travel and clubhouse services. In other words, the guy making sure the team - as well as their equipment and uniforms - makes it from city to city. Of course, I asked if anybody's bag ever got lost.

Coppenbarger remembered one instance involving Whitey Herzog, the former player and manager of the 1982 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, and 2010 Hall of Fame inductee.
Years ago during spring training, Coppenbarger, working for the Cardinals, was unloading the equipment truck when a colleague asked if he'd seen Herzog's bag. "I'm unloading bags and I said, 'It's got to be here somewhere.' And it was - it was back in St. Pete, where we left it," Coppenbarger told me.

"He had nothing to wear. But it was pretty comical watching all those young kids that were trying to make the team. They were offering up shoes and shirts and everything for him."

Marking their territory: Coppenbarger told me the Phils don't have their own version of Air Force One. They usually travel on a 737, but not always the same plane. And that's apparently all that changes from flight to flight. The players usually occupy the same area of the cabin all season, Coppenbarger said. "When we leave Clearwater down here to head to Philly on the first of April," he said, "everybody will stake out their territory."

Dress code in Rollinsville? One more tidbit from Coppenbarger. Which current Phillie is the most particular about his sartorial splendor out on the diamond? "Jimmy Rollins likes his uniform a lot," he told me. "He likes the way it fits."

For richer, for poorer. . . Pitcher Kyle Kendrick popped the question to girlfriend Stephenie LaGrossa of "Survivor" fame last summer.

But that doesn't mean LaGrossa tells her future husband what happens on the island before it airs. I spoke with Kendrick last Friday, the day after LaGrossa was voted off the show's all-star "Heroes vs. Villains" season. The pitcher swore he didn't know what was coming. "She kinda said it's not going to be a good one," he said.

Lenny's: The diner less than a mile from Bright House Field is a home-away-from-home for hungry Phillies fans migrating south for spring training. Not that the players themselves are missing out. Kendrick told me Lenny's caters for the team during its stay in Clearwater.

ShowcaseU.com: Reliever Chad Durbin signed a $2 million-plus contract this off-season, but that didn't slow down his entrepreneurial side. Durbin is the co-founder of ShowcaseU.com, a clearinghouse for student athletes looking to play in college or attract the attention of pro scouts. The site lets young athletes post videos, stats and resumes in hopes that the online presence will help earn a scholarship or a second look from a team or coaching staff.

Autograph-seekers: Despite my 4 a.m. wake-up call and arrival at the ballpark little more than an hour later, I wasn't the first Phils fan to hit the parking lot.

Heading into the stadium press area, I saw several shadowy figures standing among the bushes that line the players' lot. John Brazer, the team's publicity director, told me fans wait there knowing that guys like Manuel and Roy Halladay get to the ballpark early. They emerge from their hiding spot just in time to ask for an autograph.

My generation: When I told Jamie Moyer
- from one 47-year-old guy to another - that I admired his ability to stay on top of his game for so many years, baseball's elder statesman didn't disappoint.

"Part of the reason I'm playing is for those people that are in their 40s and 50s and 60s - whether they're the weekend warriors that work out or the people that train during the week," Moyer said.
"I feel like I can relate to those people a lot easier. I hope they can relate to me."

And one thing I already knew: These guys make it easy to root for them. Up close and personal, they are humble, down-to- earth and self-deprecating. That approachability comes from the top, Charlie Manuel.

Listen to Michael Smerconish weekdays 5-9 a.m. on the Big Talker, 1210/AM. Read him Sundays in the Inquirer. Contact him via the Web at www.smerconish.com.