A Q&A with Chris Capuano

As mentioned last week, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chris Capuano is married to Sarah Clifford, who was raised in the Grafton, Mass., area and met Chris while a student at Duke. This column always likes to search out the Berkshire County angle in all stories and this one is no different.

Sarah was born in Pittsfield in 1980 and moved to Grafton two years later. Her mom, Peggy Sharland and her four sisters were raised in the Shire City. Peggy’s dad, Dave, worked at GE and retired after 30 years there. Sarah’s parents met while students at Westfield State College.

It was great to track Capuano down while recently in town to spend some time with his parents. I wanted some quick takes on his experience in baseball:

Beacon: Albert Pujols?
Capuano: Always a dangerous hitter-even when he hits singles they are usually rocketed through the infield.

Beacon: Maury Wills?
Capuano: Always around workouts, he runs “Maury’s Pit,” where he helps everyone with bunting tips, nice man.

Beacon: Tell me the Roger Clemens story.
Capuano: He was with Houston and he blooped one over first base for a hit and was pretty proud of himself. I picked him off and he was not happy. I was leading off the next inning and I knew what was coming.
The first pitch was under my chin and I decided I was swinging at the next pitch, no matter where it was. I lined it up the middle and almost took his head off. When I got to first, I made sure that I did not make eye contact.

Beacon: Adrian Gonzalez?
Capuano: All he talks about is hitting, always trying to get an edge on the pitchers.

Beacon: Josh Beckett?
Capuano: Glad he is here. Being away from Boston will help.

Beacon: Were you a good hitter in high school?
Capuano: Not bad, however, it is very difficult to hit major league pitching. In the National League, it is good for a pitcher just to put the ball in play. It is a long walk back to the dugout. Bunting is very important also.

Beacon: You have 43 career hits, 20 RBIs, one triple and one home run.
Capuano: I don’t think I have ever had a triple; the home run was off Byung-Hyun Kim.

Beacon: Living in Manhattan?
Capuano: It was great. The culture and everything about it was enjoyable. My parents came down for a lot of the games and we would go to dinner after.

Beacon: Who picked up the check?
Capuano: Most of the time, that would be me.

Beacon: Were you a Cameron Crazie at Duke hoop games?
Capuano: Only went to a couple of games while at Duke. I found that I needed as much of my extra time not related to baseball to keep up with my studies.

Beacon: You carry a four-handicap at your club in Arizona. Did you play much golf before college?
Capuano: I caddied for my dad at The Orchards, and when he joined Springfield CC, I started playing a lot on my own.

Beacon: Your manager, Don Mattingly?
Capuano: He has a passion for the game. He will watch our throwing sessions in the bullpen and give us tips on what the hitters are looking for.

Beacon: Magic Johnson?
Capuano: Magic is a fixture at Dodger home games, sitting by our home dugout. He is constantly interacting with the fans. He relates to us well as athletes, and when he comes in the clubhouse, he is relaxed and easy to talk to.

Beacon: Milwaukee announcer Bob Uecker?
Capuano: Uecker is so much fun to be around. Hanging out with us in the locker room, he would tell funny stories about his career and being on Johnny Carson, and in movies and TV.

Beacon: You have one of the best pick-off moves in the game. If you are called for a balk, is the ump wrong?
Capuano: The balk call is completely subjective (the rule only says a pitcher can’t try to deceive the runner), so I try to get to know the umpires and figure out how I can keep my move above-board in their eyes.

Beacon: The three-hit, complete game with 13 strikeouts that you had with the Mets?
Capuano: Felt great, nice to have those games in your memory when you need a boost.

Beacon: Closest friend on the Mets?
Capuano: R.A. Dickey was in the next locker over and we had a lot of fun conversations – some about baseball and a lot about every subject under the sun.

Beacon: You also played soccer and basketball in high school. Any goals, could you dunk?
Capuano: I was a defenseman in soccer and a forward in hoops. I could dunk in practice, but never did it in a game.

Beacon: Your wife of four years is quite an athlete herself. An accomplished equestrian, she almost made the 2004 Summer Olympics in the Pentathlon. Be honest, before you knew Sarah, did you know what that event was all about?
Capuano: I pretty much grew up with the mainstream sports in our area, and it has been great to learn about other sports and their rich histories. Horses, swords and pistols have all been so interwoven with us throughout human civilization. It’s been fun to connect with that.

Beacon: Any pets in the family, or just the horse?
Capuano: Two cats; I’m slightly allergic to dogs.

Beacon: You were right, you have no career triples. I was just testing you.
Capuano: I think I would remember that.

After spending some time with Chris Capuano, I am convinced he is a special kind of a professional athlete. Once his playing days are over, that is when plan B will kick in.

“I’m not sure if I will go back to school for a business or law degree, but I am excited about finding a second career that I can be passionate about and one that fits well with the things we love to do,” he said.

When he finally hangs up the cleats, Chris will simply look for his next challenge in life. It may be Wall Street, medical school, Capuano Law LLC, undefeated Jeopardy champ, senator from Arizona, PGA golfer or commissioner of MLB – nothing is impossible for this young man. If it is a challenge, don’t bet against him.

Posted by Dick Syriac on December 27, 2012. Filed under Berkshire Sports Guy,Columns,Opinion,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry