CHRONICLE SPORTS


Being John Schiffner

 3 August, 2005


 


CHATHAM — “Hey Schiff,” calls out a voice from the past, just beyond the gated entrance to Veterans Field, in earshot of the dugout.

It’s only five minutes before the first pitch on this sultry summer night in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and though most coaches would prefer to not be bothered at such an inopportune time, the skipper doesn’t hesitate to see who’s there. He hops out of his seat and greets the man with an enthusiastic smile and a handshake from an outstretched arm.

It’s the signature salutation of John Schiffner, the famed field manager of the Chatham A’s, who possesses a look-you-in-your-eye, tell-it-like-it-is persona – a coach cut from the cloth of Cal Ripken Sr.

Now in his 13th consecutive season as the A’s head coach, 21st overall (serving as an assistant from 1978-1982 and 1990-1992), Schiffner has developed a reputation as the Dean of the Cape League , the modern-day Godfather. Which is not to say he’s not affable and always approachable. 

The man calling his name is Rick Wysocki, a pitcher on the 1980 Chatham A’s, who’s returned to pay a visit to his beloved coach. Schiffner’s frequent guests – Wysocki included – are often surprised he’s still here. But Schiffner, unlike his players and nomadic peers, is not interested in using the Cape League as a launching pad to the minors or majors.

There’s no question Schiffner has the credentials to take his astute knowledge of the game elsewhere. He’s piloted Chatham to the playoffs eight times in 12 seasons, won five division titles and two Cape League championships.

His renowned reputation as the league’s preeminent field manager is further confirmed by his 288 wins (.530 winning percentage), third most in the modern era (since ’63) of the Cape League , behind only Eddie Lyons (331) and Don Reed (334).

It’s easy for Schiffner to justify his extended term in Chatham from a pragmatic and pecuniary standpoint, making a comfortable living as the A’s front man, while teaching history and coaching high school baseball (of which he’s amassed more than 400 victories) in Plainfield, Conn. the other 10 months of the year. At 49 years old there’s no sense, he says, in drastically altering his lifestyle and taking a sizeable pay cut, just to be a semi-pro or assistant college coach. 

But Schiffner’s decision to forego a big league baseball career, in favor of edifying first-rate college players each summer, was one he made long ago. And it really has nothing to do with logistics, financial stability, or the possibility of breaking Reed’s win record.

“I would like the record, but I don’t coach for the record,” said Schiffner. “I coach to meet people like Evan Longoria (the A’s sparkplug second baseman), to talk baseball with someone like Matt Fincher (his assistant coach and dear friend of eight years), and to pick the brains of people like [Yarmouth-Dennis head coach] Scott Pickler. I coach to learn from those guys, and to watch the great players on our team and the others.”

This past Thursday, as the A’s took on the Falmouth Commodores at Guv Fuller Field, Schiffner gets his desired baseball fix, and he gets it in spades.

In the fourth inning of that contest, Chatham ’s all-star third baseman Chris Coghlan robs Warren McFadden of a likely base hit, dropping to one knee while backhanding a ball bulleted down the line. He gracefully recovers and fires across the diamond to record the out.

The Old Miss sophomore upstages himself with another deft play in the sixth, diving to the ground and springing up – all in one fluid motion – to keep another Commodore off the base paths.

His eyes as wide as quarters, Schiffner is momentarily rendered speechless.

“Oh my God,” Schiffner eventually marvels. “Anyone who makes plays like that can have my seat,” he tells Coghlan at the end of the inning, immediately removing himself from his reserved spot in the corner of the dugout and dusts it off in Coghlan’s honor.

The A’s, on the strength of Todd Frazier’s game-breaking grand slam in the fourth, walk away 5-2 victors, having won a season-high eight straight games. But escaping the field, even on the road, is no easy task for Schiffner, busy shaking hands and conversing with loyal fans, long after his team has left the field.

Schiffner enjoys being a man in demand, but, he acknowledges, it hasn’t always been that way. He can recall a time, not too long ago, when many boosters questioned if he was capable of managing Chatham ’s hometown team. He remembers how his storied coaching career with the A’s almost never happened.

A Probation Period 

When Schiffner returned to Chatham as an assistant in 1990, following an unfulfilling hiatus as a part-time scout for the Montreal Expos, he was just happy to be back on the field.

But Schiffner finally got his chance to take over in 1993, when Chatham field manager Rich Hill abruptly left in the middle of the season to take a job at the University of San Francisco .
Realizing his dream of managing his own Cape League team, which began during his playing days with the Harwich Mariners (’74-’76), the rookie coach didn’t disappoint. He guided the underachieving A’s – 8-13 upon Hill’s departure – to a 16-7 second half stretch and a division title.

In most instances, such a remarkable turnaround would overwhelmingly warrant an upgrade from interim to permanent head coach. But several members of the Chatham Athletic Association’s board of directors saw his promotion as a threat to the team, despite his 10 years of experience and two championship rings (’82, ’92).

Schiffner’s critics argued that in a league in which every team’s skipper is a college coach – and many Division One coaches at that – there was no room for someone who spent the better half of the year teaching teens how to field a ground ball. They contended that a high school coach would never be able to navigate the contacts needed to land the nation’s top amateur players year after year.

Despite the opposition, Schiffner was narrowly elected. And though his woeful 18-25-1 season of 1994 did little to silence his adversaries, he was granted him a reprieve given the fact five A’s players (who all later became major leaguers), abandoned the team mid-season to join Team USA . 

The next year, Chatham won the division, and in ’96 beat Falmouth for the Cape championship, before bringing home the crown again in ’98 by vanquishing Wareham .

“The first championship was the sweetest because it validated what I had told people, that I could recruit and that I could coach down here,” said Schiffner. “I was very proud and ever since then, there’s never been a word.”

Though his probationary period ended long ago, Schiffner is no less determined to summon the crčme de la crčme of college players. And his penchant for assembling a superior staff has reached a peak this year, with an unprecedented and team-record eight A’s making the Cape League All-Star team.

But that distinction doesn’t guarantee a Cape League title, and Schiffner drives home this point following his team’s vapid effort in a 10-5 loss to the Y-D Red Sox Friday.

Chatham falls behind 4-2 early and the defending Cape League champions pour it on late, with the aid of Jeff Kindel’s two-run homer in the seventh inning and Jim Turner’s two-out grand slam in the eighth, putting a halt to the A’s sterling win streak.

“Great run, eight straight, that doesn’t happen very often in this league. I’m proud of you, but today we sucked,” says Schiffner, addressing his team, gathered in their pre-determined post-game setting in right field.

“We’re all tired, but what we always like to think is that we’re the least tired. We’re asking you, and the people of Chatham are asking you, that for two more weeks you give us hard work, preparation and proper rest.

“I’ll refer back to the other night when you saw the ’67 team come back for their championship reunion. Did you see the smiles on their faces? That was 38 years ago and they had great memories of their one summer together. I don’t want to see you guys regret that. You’re the best team in the league and you deserve championship rings and a big ceremony 40 years from now. I’ve won championships, I have four rings, it doesn’t matter to me, but I don’t want to see you guys leave Cape Cod cheated.”

Schiffner’s speech has a profound effect on his team’s psyche, as they battle to a 2-2 tie against the Cotuit Kettleers on Sunday, following Saturday’s All-Star break (for two-thirds of the team, anyway).

The players are disappointed, but Schiffner is content with the outcome, which puts Chatham on the brink of a playoff berth with one week remaining in the regular season. That Schiffner is able to reinvigorate his team after a humbling loss in the twilight of the season, is a testament to his natural leadership ability, his fellow coaches say.

“He gets his kids to play, and he gets them to play better toward the end of the season,” said Pickler, noting how difficult that can be, seeing as many players, several of whom haven’t been home since Christmas, are prone to mail it in with few games remaining. “He understands this league, and he understands what it takes to be successful and that’s why the kids respect him and his program.”

The Real Schiffner 

Beyond the Cape , Schiffner’s celebrity reached nationwide attention in 2001 when Brian Dennehy – who looked and acted nothing like the real-life Schiffner – played him the movie “Summer Catch.”

But Schiffner is nothing like the crusty caricature in the film. He’s not all business all the time, and this is never more apparent during a recent pre-game practice.

Schiffner is being interviewed for “The Manager’s Show,” a daily Q&A program which airs on the A’s flagship broadcast station. Only there’s more to the job than providing laconic acumen, at least on this night. 

Fielding questions with mellifluous ease, Schiffner is slightly distracted when

Frazier lightly pinches and pokes him a few times as he passes by, treating his coach like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, not the man in charge of his playing time. Schiffner cracks a smile, but doesn’t break stride.

“Where’s Frazier, where the heck’s Frazier,” Schiffner playfully barks after the interview. He hunts him down, but by that point, Frazier has wisely changed the subject.

“Let me pitch coach,” says Frazier. “Let me pitch, so I can get three strikeouts.”

“Why, so you can match your strikeouts at the plate?” Schiffner fires back, eliciting howling laughter from the A’s dugout. “He got you, Frazier,” several players say in unison.

The two New Jersey natives – Frazier from Toms River , Schiffner from Dover – often poke fun at each other, but it’s always good-natured.

“Schiff’s a high-class guy, well respected and loved, and everybody wants to come down here to meet him and play for him,” said Frazier. “He’s also a jokester, which makes the atmosphere so great. He knows when to get serious and when to have a good time, and that’s what makes him the perfect coach.”

But being the boss also means having to put his foot down. Schiffner finds himself in that unenviable position over the weekend, dismissing a player who had cussed out an assistant coach.

“We have two rules up here. You don’t steal and you don’t disrespect a coach, and he broke one of those rules,” Schiffner announces to his team as he boards the bus to Cotuit. “It’s the first time in my 13 years I’ve had to send a kid home, but he had his chance to apologize and showed no signs of remorse until after we told him he’s leaving, so we had to let him go.”

Later on, Schiffner meets with those who cover the A’s and asks them not to reveal the player’s name and school. It’s not because he’s worried it’ll create controversy or reflect poorly on him. It’s because he cares enough to know one isolated incident, however inappropriate, shouldn’t ruin a player’s career.

A Lasting Legacy 

At 10 a.m. on Monday morning, as he stands upon the porch of his idyllic East Harwich home overlooking Grassy Pond, Schiffner appears remarkably relaxed. He’s sipping his coffee as he grills a few smoked bluefish, which he caught with his 21-foot Seapro fishing boat.

In a few hours, Chatham (24-13-1, 49 points), has a chance to qualify for the playoffs if they beat the Harwich Mariners and if Y-D (20-18-1, 41 points) loses to Cotuit. With six games to go, most are certain the A’s are a lock to clinch, except for the cautiously optimistic Schiffner.

“Right now, I’m scared to death of Y-D,” he says. “You just never know in this league, we could be due for a bad streak and Y-D could be due for a good streak. I’ll feel a lot better when we win that one game and they lose that one game. But until then I’m nervous.”

Schiffner’s apprehension is a clear indication he’s not ready to retire anytime soon. He says when that day comes, he’ll actually look forward to it. There will be more time to fish and hunt and to travel with his wife Martha – his saintly spouse wife and a devoted A’s fan. But for now, those plans are put on hold.

“I don’t have a time schedule, but I guess I’ll stop coaching when I get too old for the kids or they get too young for me, or when it’s not fun anymore,” Schiffner said. “But it’s still fun, I still love competition.”

Pressed further, he talks with all the buoyancy of a college freshman who’s just crossed the Bourne Bridge , not a jaded coach.

“For me it’s just been incredible,” said Schiffner. “Here I am, this little high school baseball coach from Plainfield , Connecticut , still coaching in the Cape League . And I can’t see myself ever coaching anywhere else but in Chatham . If you cut me, I’ll probably bleed Chatham A’s blue.”

Y-D loses to Cotuit, but Chatham fails to do its part, dropping a 3-2 decision to Harwich. The A’s only need a tie to make the playoffs, but are also still in line for the division title, trailing the Orleans Cardinals by just three points.

“We lucked out, Y-D got beat and Orleans got beat, but you guys played like it was an exhibition game today, and if we continue to play this way we’re in trouble,” Schiffner warns his team. “Hey, we’ve been here this long, we might as well stick around and win a championship.” 

Bringing home the coveted Arnold Mycock trophy will surely add to Schiffner’s prominence, but the real measure of the man occurs the night before at Lowell Park in Cotuit. 

During the team’s post-game huddle, Schiffner asks his squad to give a round of applause to Aaron Reza, the team’s alternating second baseman, who’s leaving due to a death in the family. It’s been an arduous season for the Oklahoma sophomore, who suffered an early bout of homesickness and a mid-season concussion after colliding with a teammate while chasing a foul ball.

After the team meeting, Schiffner saddles up to Reza and puts him arm around him as they begin to walk off the field.

“Thank you, thanks for everything,” says Schiffner. “You played your butt off for me and I hope you’d be interested in coming back next year .”

“I’d like that,” says Reza. “It’s been an honor playing for you. It’s been the greatest summer of my life.”

And with that, Schiffner has accomplished something he never could with any victory, division title or championship. He’s left a lasting imprint on the life of a young man. 

This is his true legacy. This is what makes him smile.

by Eric Adler
Eric Adler 


 


 

For more stories about Chatham, Harwich and the lower Cape, see the print edition of The Cape Cod Chronicle , on news stands every Thursday. Click here for a list of news dealers who carry the paper, or contact us to subscribe. Contents copyright 2005, The Cape Cod Chronicle.