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Nice job, pretty boy.
The mustachioedMets legendgets a triple play of paths in The Boyfriend.
(Thats a big step in a male relationship, Jerry observes.
Its like going all the way.)
He attempts to seduce Elaine, only forthatto fizzle out when he reveals himself as a smoker.
Seinfeldgave me an extra life, he explains.
When I retired, I thought I would be forgotten.
Do people want to talk with you more about Game 6 orSeinfeld?Oh, itsSeinfeld.
Excellent.Both have diminished, if Im being honest.
This episode aired about two years after your retirement from the MLB.
I didnt know where I was going to go with my life.
I mean, my whole life had been baseball to that point.
So you get a call thatSeinfeldwants you for an episode.
What was your initial reaction?I didnt know anything about theSeinfeldshow.
Nothing at all?We played night games.
We didnt watch prime time.
I also never watched prime time in my first year of retirement, so I never heard ofSeinfeld.
When Jerry conceived the show, he was a fan of mine and a fan of the Mets.
Thats when they were going to film the episode.
It was very rushed.
I thought it was just going to be a little cameo a short appearance.
Then I realized that I was a very prominent figure in the episode.
I was actually the guest star.
So I agreed to it, and I arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Youll be there for a week, and theyll pay you $15,000.
I said, Okay, Ill do it.
What did you observe when you walked onto the set on day one?
How did the cast and crew respond to your presence?Larry was very friendly and welcoming.
Jerry was a little sheepish but welcoming.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was about three months pregnant with her first child, I believe.
She probably wasnt feeling that great, but she was wonderful to work with.
Jason Alexander was a little standoffish most of the week.
Michael Richards was very inquisitive about baseball.
He knew nothing about it and questioned me throughout the week.
He was interested in the lifestyle and what my profession contained.
He was very sweet, a nice man.
A retired baseball player?
I had to pass their litmus test and censors, and I didnt make any mistakes.
Jason came up to me with a big smile and shook my hand and said, Nice going.
From that point on, he was wonderful.
I guess I had to prove myself.
I realized I couldnt hold them up and be terrible and not memorize lines.
I had a lot of lines.
It was a very, very stressful week.
I knew that the whole scene was two pages of dialogue.
It was more than a little bit daunting.
I memorized not only my lines in every scene, but I also knew Jerry and Jasons lines.
And I didnt make a mistake after that.
Larry came up to me and said, Its important that we get this right.
We really want real laughter.
I really couldnt appreciate what was going on until I watched it when the episode aired.
What do you appreciate about the experience now?Ive only watched the episode a couple times.
I have a hard time watching it, so I havent in several years.
But every now and again, I happen to stumble on it.
Wayne Knight was wonderful.
Hes a big baseball fan and a terrific guy.
Why do you have trouble watching it?I feel like its embarrassing to me.
I dont think I did that great a job.
Oh, I wont stand for this.
You did a wonderful job, and its one of the shows classic episodes.Were always more self-critical of ourselves.
Larry actually came up to me years later at a baseball game.
We didnt tell you, but it was going to all revolve around how you did.
Larry said, We had our fingers crossed.
You passed the grade.
We were so thrilled you knew your lines.
They felt that the show took off with that episode.
Have you ever actually held an interest in comedy?I grew up on television.
Im not a guy that goes to comedy clubs.
Ive seen Rodney Dangerfield live.
I loved watchingRowan & Martins Laugh-InandThe Dean Martin Show.
Don Rickles, Joey Bishop, Milton Berle, and Carl Reiner all the great comedians.
I go that far back.
Jonathan Winters came into the clubhouse with the Cardinals because he was a huge fan of the team.
He was chatting away and having a blast talking to us.
How was Roger McDowell recruited to be the spitter?
Larry asked me who would be good at the role, even if its a small one.
I said, If you want someone to really commit to the bit, Roger is your guy.
And he goes, Where does he live?
And I responded, Hes in Mississippi.
And he said, Thats no problem.
They had to think about all the episodes.
The writers had to come up with different storylines every week.
Its a lot of pressure.
You said that you were unaware ofSeinfeldprior to being offered this role.
Did you start watching the show afterward?I didnt.
In my retirement, I was enjoying being able to go out and have dinner at a normal hour.
The 90s were just terrific.
I wasnt ever able to do that before because we played predominantly night games.
She refuses to take it off and is berated for not doing so.
Where do you stand on that?
You dont have to wear a Yankees hat or a hat of whatever team invited you.
But the protocol is if youve been invited, youre a guest, and you dont do that.
It was way too soon.
You also briefly appeared in The Finale as one of the characters who attends the quartets Good Samaritan trial.
What memories do you have of coming back to film that cameo?
I had a speaking line with Wayne that was very funny, but it didnt make it.
They didnt use it and I was shocked.
Do you remember the dialogue?No, of course not.
I was more curious about what would make the final cut.
We were there a whole week.
I was next to John OHurley and Wayne.
In between shooting the scenes, the three of us had a blast talking about baseball and comedy.
And when it was over, my back blew out.
I legitimately threw my back out from sitting all week.
I was laid up for three weeks after that.
It was really bad.
I wasnt able to fly home right away.
I stayed an extra week in Los Angeles until it calmed down.
Did NBC foot the medical bill?No, I had good insurance.
It was a pretty divisive ending among fans.
Do you personally think its a good finale?There were a lot of good vignettes.
And the fact that I was there during the process made it much more fun to watch.
Whats your relationship like with Jerry these days?
I dont see him too often.
Im not in that social circle.
Hes got his life to live.
Hes out in East Hampton and in the city and Im sure Los Angeles too.
Hes a busy guy.
I did see him in Fort Lauderdale while he was on tour last winter.
He left me tickets for the show, and I went backstage to see him and catch up.
He comes to the booth once a year.
Hes a season ticket holder and has a suite at Citi Field.
Its always great fun to have him in the booth.
We should have a go at make that happen.
What didSeinfelddo for your career after the episode aired?
I was just kicking around not actually pursuing an acting career.
I didnt get the acting bug.
Sooner or later, youre no longer out there in the public eye.
Baseball revolves around people that like sports.
WithSeinfeld,our entire society basically watched that show.
People from all walks of life, and all interests, gathered to watch it every week.
So it just gave me a second life and more recognition.
What was it like to kiss Elaine?
It gave me legs.
It kept me out there, and people knew who I was.
I was living in Manhattan andat Elaines all the time.
Like, are you kidding?
That show is one of the greatest experiences of my life.
