It's the RedWingsBaseball.com Furious 5: five minutes with your favorite Red Wings players, and a nonstop, fast and furious, Ramones-like barrage of at least 15 minutes' worth of questions packed into one interview. Some questions are serious, some are not - follow along as the player tries to determine which questions are which.
The
Player: Outfielder Josh Rabe
Furious 5 Interview Date: 8/8/03, Frontier Field, Rochester Red Wings
Dugout
Length of Interview: 5 minutes
Number of Questions asked: 26
This
interview was conducted by Sara Bryson, RWB.com department assistant
RedWingsBaseball.com: In 2002 with Ft. Myers, you fell only 4 games
short of current Boston Red Sox player Kevin Millar's minor league record
of reaching base safely in 71 straight games. What did that feel like?
Josh Rabe: It didn't feel like anything at all…I didn't really think about it until I got to fifty, then it got a lot of media coverage, and then it ended and I went to Double-A.
RWB.com: In your Triple-A debut with Rochester, you went 2-for-3 with a home run and a game-saving catch in the ninth inning, with the Red Wings winning 5-3 over Indianapolis. That must have been a great feeling. What was that night like for you?
JR: It was more of a relief than anything because in my Double-A debut I went 0-for-4 , and it wasn't good. That's what I was thinking about on my trip up here from Binghamton that morning, so I just wanted to have a good game.
RWB.com:
I have heard that you have trouble sleeping at night during the season.
Any ideas why that is?
JR: (laughs) I don't know. I was talking to your partner in crime there
(a.k.a., RedWingsBaseball.com's Nick Sciarratta), and he was talking
about not sleeping, and I was like 'Yeah, I have the same problem'.
I don't know, I just start thinking about stuff and I can't get to sleep.
RWB.com: I understand that you come from a very small town in Illinois (population 883). Has it been difficult to adjust to living in a fairly large city now?
JR: No, because I always traveled around and played sports growing up, so I kind of experienced big city life. So no, I didn't have to make any adjustments at all.
RWB.com: Have you ever been cow tipping?
JR: (smiles) No, that's a fallacy. Not true.
RWB.com: What is your favorite thing about Rochester thus far?
JR: Living with an old college friend. We talk about old times, so we have a pretty good time.
RWB.com:
Growing up, who were your role models?
JR: My parents were my role models. I didn't really look up to anyone
famous, although I did really like Troy Aikman.
RWB.com: Who was your favorite baseball player?
JR: Ozzie Smith.
RWB.com: Were you aware that a William Rabe played for Rochester back in 1940? In 13 games, he batted .250 (16-for-64) with two home runs and seven RBI. Any relation?
JR: No, I don't think so.
RWB.com: What was your major at Quincy University?
JR: I majored in political science. I was going to go to law school.
RWB.com: Dogs or cats?
JR: Cats.
RWB.com: What was the last movie you saw?
JR: "Spies Like Us," last night.
RWB.com:
What has been the best moment of your baseball career so far?
JR: Winning the conference tournament my junior year of college.
RWB.com: The worst?
JR: (laughs) That same day, not going to the NCAA regionals.
RWB.com: Do you have any superstitions or rituals that you do before a game?
JR: I tape my bat before every game.
RWB.com: What toppings do you like on your pizza?
JR: Ham and mushrooms.
RWB.com: During the 2001 season with the Quad City River Bandits, there was a stretch for at least a month when the team played nothing but road games due to a flood. What is the worst thing about being on the road?
JR: Oh, it was terrible. We played at the worst baseball park in professional baseball: Clinton, Iowa. The bus would pick us up in front of our apartment, every day, every morning and it was just terrible. The clubhouse was awful. We had to ride the bus home and shower at home and we didn't have lockers either. We went 21 days straight on the road. I would not want to do it again.
RWB.com: Who is your roommate when you're on the road?
JR: Michael Ryan.
RWB.com: If you had not pursued baseball as a career, where do you think you would be now?
JR: Probably in my second year of law school …hopefully… (laughs) if all went well.
RWB.com: Where do you hope to be in five years?
JR: Not in Rochester. (We know he means this in the most loving way)
RWB.com: What is your favorite thing about playing baseball?
JR: The feeling you get when you hit the ball solidly and squarely.
RWB.com: Is the glass half full or half empty?
JR: (chuckles) Half empty.
RWB.com: Have you eaten one of Rochester's famous garbage plates since arriving in town?
JR: My roommate has been talking about those, but no, I haven't gotten around to it yet. I've heard all about them though. I hear they are pretty good late-night.
RWB.com: What is your biggest fear?
JR: Hmmm…Failing because I wasn't prepared.
RWB.com: What is your favorite holiday and why?
JR: The 4th of July because it's warm.
RWB.com: If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
JR: Wow…(attempts to divert the question to me, and I then shamefully admit that I do not know who I would choose myself) That's a tough one. Did you make these up yourself? (I admit that I did) Man! This is the toughest one yet. (again tries to divert the question to me) … Okay, it might be pretty shallow, but I would say Pete Rose. I would like to meet that guy.