. _r.a

GIARDINA: The first question I have is about the I97l World Series. How did it feel winning
that compared to when you won the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in'67?

BRILES: Any World Series is really special. Just playing in the Series is very, very special,
because not everyone, even though they play throughout a long career has that opportunity.
1967, was special because that was the first time and you really don't know what to expect. One
of the things that was overpowering was the amount of press that were at the ballpark. I'm not
talking hundreds, I'm talking thousands and in 1967 was with St. Louis we played Boston. Well,
every little newspaper in all of New England, you know, had a representative, so it was literally
thousands of newspaper people descended upon you wanting to know all about you and the
background and of course competition for readership is very intense so their all looking for
special angles and everything else. But,67 was special because it was the first time and I think
growing up as a young boy you might dream of being an all-star and you might dream as a
pitcher of maybe winning twenty games, but the real number one dream is to play in a World
Series and then on top of that, is to win the World Series. So, the first time you go through that,
that's an all new experience and will always remain special. And that was also the year, a couple
of years before playoffs were instituted, so, if you won the pennant, then you went right into the
World Series and it started just two days later. You had one off day, then the Series started.
1971, it was the third year for the playoffs system and so, winning your division was not the
same as winning a pennant in L967 because you still had another teurm to defeat before you get
into the World Series so, it was added pressure and we were able to defeat the Giants. So, that
got us into the World Series and I think it just took longer to build and it made winning your
division a little more anti-climatic because it didn't mean you got to the Series. It just meant you
were one step away, so, winning the playoffs then really became very, very exciting and then
getting into the Series. What was special about 197L was the fact that we were such underdogs.
Baltimore had four twenty game winners on their pitching staff. They had future Hall of Famers
on their team with Brooks and Frank Robinson and of course Jim Palmer and others. So, they
really got the publicity and they were the media darlings and those of us playing on the
Pittsburgh club were astonished that we weren't given that much coverage or were given that
much respect, and so when the Series started we weren't able to start with our two hottest pitchers
and that was Steve Blass and myself. And so we jumped out to leads in the first and second
game, and our pitchers didn't make it to the third inning. And so when Baltimore won those first
two games, the media just had a field day. "Baltimore's going to win the Series in three games"
even though you have to play four. I guess they figured we would forfeit one or something. But
we came from behind, came back to Pittsburgh, won all three games at home, Steve Blass
winning the third, Bruce Kison in relief winning the fourth and I won the fifth. All of a sudden,
everybody said "Hey wait a minute, Pittsburgh could win this thing." Then to go ahead and win
it and win it in Baltimore you know was very special. And what's above media exposure and
everything, what's really , what really is so special about a World Series is the fact that it doesn't
matter what you did all season long. All season long, all that did was get you to the Series and
then it just depends on how well you perform in the little short period of time that can almost
make or break your career. It at least will either enhance or detract from your reputation as a

i

player and someone who can perform under extreme pressure. And for me, World Series play
really enhanced my reputation as a pitcher who could play well under pressure, not only perform
well, but exceed expectations and that stayed with me my whole career.

GIARDINA: What were the fans perceptions of the team

at that time? Do you feel they were
more supportive of the Pittsburgh Pirates at that time then they are now and even a few years ago
when the Pirates had that string of the championships in this division?

BRILES: Well, if you go back in Pirate history, the last time the Pirates

had won anything was
1927, that was before the miracle of 1960 and then when the Pirates not only won the World
Series in 1960 but it was against the Yankees so that all the history of the great Yankee teams
and the persona and mystique of the Yankees only enhanced the World Series victory by the
Pirates. But from 1960 until 197L, actually 1970, the Pirates hadn't won. In 1970, the Pirates
won their division, but it was with almost a totally new team of young players that they had
signed and developed with the exception of players like Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell and
Roberto Clemente. Almost all of the rest were new from 1969 on and so this indeed was a whole
new team and the fans of Pittsburgh were pretty excited about these young players because they
could, living up to Pirate reputation, they were exceptional hitters. And the people of Pittsburgh
seemed to like that. And what needed to be added was some extra pitching and so the general
manager at that time, Joe Brown, went out he added, he made a big trade in 1970, like an eight
player deal and got some pitching and Dave Justy had been traded from St. Louis to Pittsburgh in
1970, then I came over in the, just before spring training of.7l to add depth to the pitching staff.
And indeed it was the pitching that really turned the corner for the Pirates and I think really
tumed them into world champions. The people accepted that team very, very well and we won
our division again in72, finished third in 73, and then in 1974 there started to be a little bit of a
turnover in personnel and that happened all the way up in through 79,the next World
Championship, when you had a new relief core; you had basically a new pitching staff and you
had about the same turnover that was experienced from 60 to 71, as from 7l to 79. But, I think
the fans excepted the team, never broke the attendance record of 1960, which was a million
seven, so our attendance records didn't reflect the fanaticism, but I think in those days, you didn't
market as much as you do today, and didn't have as many special events. And the business side
of baseball wasn't as important and the business side including promotions and marketing to the
fans that just was an undeveloped area and in the 90's, our organization received awards for its
marketing and getting fans to the ballpark and so in the early 90's, we did break attendance
records, drawing over two million, getting to over two and a half million as a matter of fact. And
I think there was as much excitement in winning divisions in 90, gl,gzas there was in winning

world championships in 197L,79.

GIARDINA: I remember the first year they won the division in 90, my sister and I went to the
airport and it was actually packed and I could see the excitement of the people there. Do you

think it's that people perceive the Pirates as not having been a terribly successful baseball team
throughout their history? It seems to me that a lot of people don't realize how much success this
franchise has had throughout the history.

BRILES: The success, there was a huge

gap for a long period of time, and I, like I mentioned
between 1927 and 1960, very little success, matter of fact, the team in the fifties was called the
Rinky Dinks. The gentleman who turned out to be the trainer for the Pirates in the 70's, Tony
Barterome, played first base on that team and didn't have any power and didn't hit much for
average but held the record for never hitting into a double play in one season. That's 'cause he
couldn't hit. You have to hit to hit into double plays. But after 1960, the Pirates remained very
competitive, all the way through the present day, with exception of three or four years in the mid
80's when the ballclub almost left Pittsburgh. But what Pittsburgh was remembered, especially
by the older generations, was that period of time between 1927 and 1960 when not much
happened and there weren't a lot of good players, the good players that came through were traded
and moved on and so there wasn't a lot to shout about. But 1960 seemed to be the turning point
and Pittsburgh was very competitive in the middle to late 60's and then of course in the decade of
the 70's, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds were the ones who won a division every
year or won a world championship or won the pennant just almost the whole decade of the 70's.
And then, Pittsburgh, early 80's was competitive and then rebuilt in the later part of the 80's, and
now in the 90's we've been winning. So we're looking now at going through a transition period,
probably even through 95 and at L996 of starting another young team that's going to be very,
very competitive and possibly win just like we did in 90,97, and92.

GIARDINA: How much do you contribute the success of the Pirates recently to Jim Leyland?

BRILES: Well, I think with, if you're

an organization that brings up a lot of young players and
count on young players producing, the leadership, your field leadership becomes all important
because young players have questionable confidence and that confidence can rise and fall almost
on a game basis. They're not mature as to how they manage their lives and their approach to the
game of baseball and so it takes somebody with very special skills to manage these young
people, to keep them inspired, to keep them in line, to discipline without losing respect and those
are the elements that make Jim Leyland so special. And when you add the fact that he doesn't
want to go anywhere else, he could manage somewhere else for more money but doesn,t want to.
He wants to stay right here until he retires. And so, when you have that, young players can
see
stability and they can see a manager that is dedicated to the franchise andhe's dedicated
to
helping young players help the organization win. And that in itself gives them
some confidence
knowing that Jim Leyland's gonna be here and so when they do something
really well the
manager is going to remember that, it's not as though you did something
for ttris manager and
another year or two he's gone, someone else is in here. Well, like
the clicago Cubs, ILean, they
have a different manager every year. And so you're constantly
fighting for Jpace, you,re
constantly fighting for someone to have confidence in you
'cause they don,t understand what

yourve done before. That's an advantage a young player has with Jim Leyland. Plus he knows
the game, knows how to manage and as I've said has a key ingredient of being able to maintain
discipline without losing the respect of his players.

GIARDINA: What would you say your proudest moment was as a Pirate?
BRILES: As a Pirate, no question

the World Series victory of.1971, when I threw a two hit
shutout. Not only threw a shutout but got a basehit, drove in a run. I mean it was a real, real
special day. The only other moment that was similar was not World Series play. A performance
like that in a World Series really has to stand by itself because when you come up with a game
like that, under that kind of pressure, intemational exposure, as I mentioned earlier, that it really,
really enhances your reputation. And it's something that I chose to live here after my career was
over and so those memories stay with your fans and it can serye you your whole life. The other
special moment came the following season, I was pitching against San Francisco and I pitched a
one hitter, only one guy got on base. Almost a perfect game and due to scoring controversy, the
scorer called that one a basehit, it was really an error, and that was the only guy the got on. So, I
came within an eyelash of throwing a perfect game. That would have been the other special

moment.

GIARDINA: What was it like to play with Roberto Clemente

and

Willie Stargell?

BRILES: I guess anytime you're on a winning ballclub

there's a lot of key ingredients that go
into making that club a winner. First of all, players have to respect one another and you have to
have the superstars as well as the stars and the journeyman players, /our role player, your bench
players, people who contribute a little bit. But that little bit at key times, you know, can almost

make or break your season. But your club is always built around your two, three or four
superstars on your team and they change in style. When I was with St. Louis, the superstars
there were Lou Brock and a Bob Gibson, and Curt Flood, Roger Marris was there, Orlando
Zepeda. It wasn't as though Lou Brock was our speed and stole bases and helped create runs for
us and defensively, you know, he had speed to help us defensively. Roger Marris batted third
and got key basehits all over the place. Zepeda with some power but he was also an outstanding
defensive player. So in St. Louis, it was the whole was equal to the sum of its parts. It would've
been hard for us to win had any of those parts been removed. In Pittsburgh, with Stargell as
strictly a power hitter, played leftfield, average defensively. C[emente, superstar, Hall of Famer,
everything in rightfield. So, he made up for a little bit in leftfield. We had average defense
in
centerfield. But, Clemente could, Clemente hit in front of Stargell, get on base, hit with
occasional power if he wanted to, superb arm. He could win Uattgames by stopping
runners from
taking an extra base or throwing runners out. Stargell had a very strong arm
and could do
virtually the same thing. But their major contribution to the tqir pimJurgh pirates
was the fact
that they could hit and drive in a lot of runs. Stargell hit forty-eight
homeruns that year. The

most homeruns that someone hit for the St. Louis Cardinals in 67 was twenty-five. So you had
different styles of ballclubs. But the superstars are the ones that can elevate your club and carry
your ballclub for an extended period of time. Willie Stargell did it. Clemente did it and really
shone and carried the ballclub in the World Series. So that was very, very special. And when
you watch players of the caliber of Clemente and Stargell play everyday, that's when you really
appreciate how gifted they are. And sometimes, their contribution is off the field: a pat on the
back to a player who's struggling, being sympathetic, empathetic, to what's happening. A guy
might be having an off year and feels left out because he's not contributing as much in a
championship season as well as others and superstars can sometimes take up that slack for a
period of time until that player gets back on track. And that is what happened during our
championship years. And really what's evidenced, as I mentioned, away from the field
contributions. In 197L, our number one shortstop, Gene Alley, was injured, had a bad shoulder
and could not play in the World Series and the Baltimore Orioles manager, Earl Weaver, made
the comment that if the Pittsburgh Pirates had to have Jackie Hernandez at shortstop for all seven
games, there's no way that the Pirates could win with Jackie Hernandez at shortstop. Well,
Roberto Clemente, and no one knew about it, took Jackie Hemandez aside and just had a little
player to player chat and build up his confidence and we're happy to have him and proud that
you're going to be playing shortstop. You're going to be one of the heroes of the series and we
can win with you at shortstop. Well as it tumed out, Jackie Hernandez didn't make an error in all
seven games of the World Series and not only that, but he made the last put out of the World
Series. A ball was hit up the middle and he went way behind second base and as a shortstop,
fielded the ball, and made an off balance throw to get the runner at first and that was the tying
run. So it was a key play of the game and it was Jackie Hernandez who made it. But that was a
contribution that Clemente made even though he was the MVP of the World Series on the field,
he also, for the Pirates, did one small little thing and helped build the confidence of a player that
turned out to be one of our key contributors to a World Series. So, they contribute in many
ways, most will contribute mostly on the field. But it's those special ones, when you win World
Series and have championship teams, that's the character that also comes with it. The personality
of a team is extremely important, and how well players get along, how well they respect one
another that makes for a team that's hard to beat and that's when you start talking, "Well, this
team has potential to be a dynasty," meaning you're able to win more than one year. And of
course, the team of TL won in1970, won a division; world championship,Tl; division, 72;
finished third in 73;but came right back and won a division in74 and so on throughout the
decade culminating with a World Series in1979. So it's very special, but those two as the
anchors combined with Bill Mazeroski, who retired after the 1972 season. When you have those
three gentlemen on your ballclub is special.

GIARDINA:

What was training camp like that first year after Roberto's death?

BRILES: It was a very difficult, very solemn camp. What adds to that of course
saying "Who is going to take Clemente's spot?" you know, "who's going to

fill

is the press is
his shoes?', The

answer to that is no one. You just don't go out and find a superstar. And you never fill
someone's shoes you try to get on without them. And that's really I think why in 73, we really
didn't win is our team was floundering, because you not only lost a player who counld play
defensively for you, but he also hit third, right in front of Stargell. And that is just absolutely
taken away from you and so your readjusting your lineup, your trying to adjust defensively. Our
outfield was average defensively and now you're going to put someone else in the outfield of less
defensive ability then Clemente. So, it made your outfield, you know, real average. So it really
hurt our ballclub. But, to lose someone like that it's hard to get over. And I don't think in1973
we really got over that.

GIARDINA:

So it's more, you think the affect is more personal, on a psychological level?

BRILES: It is really both. It is really all of those elements

because when you look at the
structure of your club, you build them around your number three and number four hitter. You
like someone hitting first who can get on base. Well, that was still intact, Dave Cash was our
lead-off hitter, or Gene Clines and Al Oliver usually hit second. But now all of a sudden, you
had to find somebody who's going to hit third in front of Stargell. And if he was a left handed
hitter, you know, then we were going to see a lot of left handed pitching and they could more
neutralize our number three and number four hitters. So, you needed a right handed bat. And all
of those, his death affected our ballclub from a talent standpoint, from an emotional standpoint
and a psychological standpoint. And as I mentioned, it took us half about half a season before
we kind of got our ship righted if you will. Manny Sanguean tried to play rightfield, for Pete's
sake and struggled with that and his arm wasn't as good, different position. And we were really
trying to find someone and finally they decided to bring up a young player and let him make a lot
of mistakes out there and that was Dave Parker. So, Dave Parker got to the big leagues probably
a year or two earlier then he normally would have but was pressed into service when we weren't
going anywhere in73. And he was brought up, got his feet wet, contributed, and that was the
start of his great major league career.

GIARDINA: Who do you

see as

filling

the role of the superstar for the Pirates in the next few

years?

BRILES: Well, right now, that position is open. We really don't

have anyone on our ballclub

that you would consider a superstar. And I don't know, probably the last two according to
today's standards that you would've considered superstars would've been Barry Bonds and
possibly a Bobby Bonilla. But after they left via free agency, we really didn't have a superstar.
And the success of the Pirates without them, has been the fact that it's been the whole unit has
been able to contribute. And we're looking for young players now to step and show that that's the
kind of player they can be. So, that star and superstar position is wide open and is waiting for
some of our young fellows to seize the opportunity, because it is definetly there.

GIARDINA: Is there a difference in players' attitudes today compared to when you were an
active player as far as team loyalty and union solidarity?

BRILES: No, I think solidarity of players is as strong today

as

it was in years past, I think for

different reasons. In the 60's and 70's, maybe even early 80's, the players were taken advantage
of going way back when, but through negotiations, those problems were pretty much solved. and
after the 80's, it primarily turned to the financial side of things and salaries. And so your player
today does not have the same concerns as that player of the 70's and further back really had.
They travel better today, stay in nicer hotels,their meal money is proportionally better, but
salaries have escalated dramatically. Before 1980, if you got, you know, a twenty or thirty or
forty thousand dollar raise for a superb season, I mean, that was huge money. But today's
market, I mean, it jumps by millions and I think that is what has changed.. The players today are
bigger, stronger, faster, there's better equipment, as I mentioned, they travel better, but I don't
know that they play the game better. And to me, there's a difference. I think they're learning to
try to play the game better, and as I mentioned, when you're looking for superstars, I think there
were more superstars because baseball wasn't sharing the talent pool as much with other sports as
it does today because today players can earn a lot of money playing football, playing basketball
and playing hockey, playing individual sports and so baseball doesn't have a captive audience
anymore as it once did. And you used to have three, four and five superstars on a team and that
was a team that was usually winning quite a bit and if they weren't superstars, they were at least
stars and I don't think you have as many on a team today because the pool and also because of
expansion. There are more teams today then there used to be and the talent that is in major
leagues is spread out among more teams. But the loyalty factor, I think that's almost an artificial
situation. It was nice when they talked about in years past there was a lot of loyalty, well players
had no choice, I mean, there wasn't free agency, you could get buried in an organization and if
they didn't release you, they owned your rights for life and as a result you didn't have any
movement and it was forced loyalty, if you will. But, I think, in a lot of cases, both sides were
more willing to have a player stay with them for a longer period of time. Years past, you were
usually traded when you didn't fit in anymore. As long as you were performing will, you usually
stayed with a club pretty much. But today your looking at improving your rosters pretty quickly.
The average age and experience of major league players is younger today and so you're
constantly looking because you can lose players through free agency. Your roster changes more
quickly so I don't think there's as much and opportunity, if you will, for the loyalty factor to exist
as it once did.

GIARDINA: Do you think the perception of the Pirates and other small market teams as being
sort of like a minor league team to the big market teams, you know, with Barry Bonds going to
San Francisco and Bobby Bonilla going to New York. Do you think that's a fair perception? It
seems that a lot of people fell like these teams, they bring up the young players and once they
become really good players, they leave and go to the teams that can pay them more money.

BRILES: Well that's exactly what's happened over the years is the big markets who have a huge
financial advantage over smaller markets have used that advantage to buy talent, not necessarily
grow their own, but because there is no regulatory system involved in baseball and you don't
have revenue sharing and that much per say in key areas of baseball that the big market teams
earn a lot of extra money they use that to go buy players. And the disadvantage that you have is
small market teams like Pittsburgh are forced to pay New York dollars with Pittsburgh money
and we don't have it. And that's the inequity in the system and that's what Major League
baseball is going through with these labor negotiations here is to try and fix that system and it
needs to be fixed. You can't have competitive balance throughout the twenty-eight Major
League teams if you have eight or nine major markets control the money. I mean, everybody has
to have a piece of the action. You almost have a salary cap because if you over pay or over
extend your payroll then you have to reach into your own pocket, it's not at the expense of other
small markets. And so that's one of the things that they absolutely must fix. Baseball no longer
has any room to be able to afford these inequities and they've got to get it fixed. They have to
have revenue sharing so that the ownership of baseball and baseball as an industry can look at
parity so that every spring, every team, when every major league team, major markets, small
markets, when they go to spring training, they can truly and sincerely say, "this could be the year.
We've got a chance at winning this." And now when your looking at making trades before or
during the season and then right after the season, you're genuinely looking for one or two or three
players that might make you a winner. But anytime you have the inequity in a system like exists
today, you can do all of those things and you'lI have a New York, Chicago or L.A. because they
have the extra money, they'lljust go grab the players and take them right away from you. We're
an organization that grew our own players, we signed the Bonillas in our minor league system
and the Barr), Bonds and developed them, spent all the money developing them and made them
pretty fair offers to sty and in regular circumstances they probably would have stayed except that
all of a sudden you get a New York involved, a Chicago involved, L.A., San Francisco ended up
coming up with the money that they could literally blow the Pirates out of the water with the two
more million dollars a year. Well, it's hard to turn down, over the course of six or seven years,
twelve million dollars. And your only worth it, in my opinion, if some fool is out there willing
to pay it. And just because, the negative to all of it, is that just because you spend the money,
doesn't mean that you're going to win. And there's great examples in Major League Baseball
over the years of franchises that have spent exorbitant amounts of money on free agents and
buying talent that never won. The Califomia Angels, Ted Turner down in Atlanta, they haven't
won a World Series yet, George Steinbrenner hasn't won since what, 1978, something like that.
So, just because spend the money, there's no guarantee in baseball because you play everyday,
162 times a year. There's no guarantee that your going to win but what's happened in the

meantime is you've destroyed an industry because you've gotten salaries and expenses totally out
of whack and now people can't afford to be in the business. So, that's what they have to fix and
that's why it's important that these labor negotiations that are going on in baseball right now are
done in the right way and come to the proper solution. The proper solution in my opinion being
they need to revenue share so that everybody can be competitive and be on an equal playing field
and thus automatically creating a salary cap. If a team wants to overspend, then what they're
talking, instead of a salary cap, is there's some kind of taxation or penalty for overspending and I
think if they come up with the right numbers that you'll have a pretty equitable system and
baseball as an industry will be solvent again and you won't care whether you're in a big market or
small market, you're going to make competitive wages regardless of where you play.

teams, if
they get to the status of Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds, the Pirates would be able to have a
chance to keep players?

GIARDINA: So the players that are with Pittsburgh now or the other small market

BRILES: Yes, under a new system. Under a new system because we will have pretty much as
much money as the big markets and it will cost the big markets additional revenue, via penalty, if
they overspend according to the system. And baseball is the only spoft, only major league sport,
that doesn't revenue share in this way. And that's why the NFL and the NBA have been so
successful in the past. And now, the National Hockey League is looking at trying to institute a
similar system that's going to make teams that are in smaller markets to keep them competitive
financially so that they can have teams that will be in the hunt every year and it's not just the
same major markets that are winning every year. You need for everybody to participate in that
winning tradition to have a healthy industry.

have is: What do you think the future is of baseball in
Pittsburgh and the last part of that question is: what do you think the Pirates can do to win back
the fans' support after this strike?

GIARDINA: The last question I

BRILES: The Pirates should, they

selected a potential owner, indeed be the owner, I think gives
us some stability. It assures the region that the Pirates are going to stay here which is very
important and eliminates the insecurity that people might feel about the franchise without losing
millions of dollars a year. I think they can look at operating on at least a break even basis and
possibly even make a few dollars. So, the change of ownership in Pittsburgh and the potential
new labor contract I think bodes well for small markets like Pittsburgh so that they can survive
and be competitive. It's not enough just to survive but you have to be able to be competitive and
be able to have your share of winning years, that's very important. We've been proactive. You
can't wait for a season to start and then say "Well we've got to get the fans back." The first key
ingredient for a franchise is its season ticket holder base and so as soon as the strike was
announced on August L2, we began communicating with all our season ticket holders telling
them they could get a refund on the unused tickets, that they could apply that toward next year,s

if they wanted to, we'll pay them interest on their money over the wintertime if
they wanted to leave their money and use it as a credit toward their money as a credit toward
season tickets

their season ticket purchase the following year. We just got through on successive Thursdays of
holding a reception for all of our season ticket holders that wanted to come and it turned out to be
over fourteen hundred over a period of three nights, so that they personally could hear from our
president, and from our general manager and from our manager and all of us who work on the
business side of the operations, answer questions, talk about their concerns as season ticket
holders, what are we going to do, the benefit packages that we're going to offer and they come
away from that seeing that we're treating them very, very fairly. Most people understand labor
stoppages and strikes and lockouts and all those things because its been part of American
business, you know, forever. So they understand those things. What our fans don't want to see
is that now all of a sudden ticket prices escalate, they can't afford to come to the games and
again, for the third consecutive year, we're not raising ticket prices and so we're one of the best
values in all of Major League baseball as far as our ticket prices are concerned. And then fans
look also for clean stadium, secure stadium, a family atmosphere. They look at, how do you
have fun when you come to a ballpark and so we make sure the facilities look gook, our
scoreboard is very entertaining, that the Pirate Parrot is doing the right things and that our
marketing is strong. Our marketing, meaning our group sales, our season ticket sales, putting
together promotions that people like and we try to do that through targeting youth days and adult
days and items that people like to wear, you know, wearing apparel, jerseys and hats and t-shirts,
things of that nature are what we try to do and we try to make them quality so that they will last.
It's not something that you can wear at the game and then falls apart. So we look at promotions
being an integral part of all of this. And then the probably the key ingredient is that you need to
put a good ballclub on the field. A ballclub not only that has some talent and people understand
in our marketplace, that we're in transition, that we're looking at rebuilding our club again for the
second half of this decade to be a winning franchise and this time we might be able to keep our
players for an extended period of time. But what they want to see are players that like to play,
that play hard, that want to hustle, that have the right type of image, that they can look at their
sons and daughters and say, "Yeah, I'd like you to grow up just like them," rather than having to
apologias for the actions of players and those are the types of players that we look for. And the
character issue is very important to us in a small market because we need for fans to identify with
our players, that's our product. And they will identify with that player if they like the way he
plays and they like the way he conducts himself on the field and off the field, the image that he
portrays, his involvement in the community if you will, during the season and in the off season.
Those elements are very, very important and we try to get young players involved in charitable
activities and charitable programs and raising funds that help support these charitable efforts. So,
all of these elements are really what we're going to be doing to win the trust of our fans and we
want them to understand and be able to enjoy the game of baseball and do it in a family
atmosphere and so we've been working very hard behind the scenes to make sure when they say
"play ball" that we're ready to accommodate them and make sure that they come away from
Three Rivers Stadium, whether the team wins or loses, they can say "Hey, I got my money's
worth," and "We lost today, but boy they play hard, they play good baseball, this is good Major

League baseball and I want to come back." When they come the first time, it's because they love
baseball, when they come back the second time, they're saying that they like everything that
you're doing and of course in a small market, you need them to come back three and four times
and when you do that, you've really won the marketing game.