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Chat Reel: Ernie Banks

Hall of Famer says All-Star Game is bigger and better

Posted: Monday July 10, 2000 07:53 PM

Ernie Banks told CNNSI.com users of some words of wisdom he had for Sammy Sosa. Matthew Stockman/Allsport

CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's MLB All-Star chat with Hall of Famer, "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks. Welcome, Mr. Banks. It is a pleasure to have you join us today.
Ernie Banks: Thank you.

From NVPACK: How do you feel about future Hall of Famers such as Cal Ripken Jr. consistently making the All-Star team even with not-so-stellar stats?
Ernie Banks: I think that's wonderful, based on his ability, his loyalty to the game, based on his record of the years that he has played.

From Ryan: Ernie, when you played, you hit 47 homers as a shortstop, and that was considered amazing. Did you ever think that shortstop would become the awesome offensive position of today?
Ernie Banks: Yes, I did. I felt that someday, some young man will come along and break my record and it will happen. It could be Derek Jeter, or Alex Rodrigues of the Seattle Mariners, or Nomar Garciaparra.

From Guest: Mr. Banks, you played your whole career with one team. What do you think about all of the team jumping that is going on in today’s baseball? And given the chance when you played, would you have moved to another team?
Ernie Banks: Well, it's all part of the way the game is today. I enjoyed my career; I'm probably the only professional athlete who played his entire career in one city, Chicago, one mayor, Richard J. Daley, one owner, P.K. Wrigley, one park, Wrigley Field, and I played all my games in the daytime, so I had baseball in the afternoon and love at night.

From cubdawg: Ernie, What do the Cubs need to do to get back to being competitive? I believe we need an everyday leftfielder and, as usual, a third baseman. I like our starters, and our relievers are okay when the starter gives us at least 6 to 7 innings. What do you think?
Ernie Banks: I think that we have a lot of talent on the team now and that we can win.

From Rob: Who was your favorite player to play with while you were with the Cubs?
Ernie Banks: I had many players that I enjoyed playing with with the Cubs; my favorite is a guy named George Altman. We were neighbors, friends, and our children grew up together. He was a very, very smart businessman. He went to Fisk University, he was just a wonderful person, we're still friends, we still contact each other. It's wonderful having a friend like that. It started me with the philosophy in my life that friends of our friends are also our friends. George had a lot of friends that became my friends, my friends became his friends, and friendship is the balance to life.

From Lamont: How has the All-Star Game changed over the years in your eyes? Is it better or worse?
Ernie Banks: It's gotten bigger and better. There are better parks, bigger parks, better players, there's more media coverage, which is important, there is more worldwide interest in the All-Star Game. People in many countries will see this game, not just us, but many countries around the world.

From Billie McCluskey: Why have we not seen "Mr. Cub" become a major league coach? So many of us wanted you to have a World Series ring as a player but perhaps leading the Cubbies to the promised land could be even sweeter for you wouldn't it?
Ernie Banks: Yes, it would have been. I did coach for two years under Leo Durocher, who once said, "Nice guys finish last."

From Reef: What do you think about the first game of the 2000 season being played in Tokyo?
Ernie Banks: It was a wonderful thing; I was there, Hank Aaron was there, Billy Williams was there, and it really created a tremendous amount of goodwill between the U.S. and Japan. The experience with Ambassador Foley, who accepted all of us, both teams, to Japan, not only enhanced the image of baseball, it made all the players who went there better people to understand more things, and to realize that when you eat a small meal in Japan, it will cost you $300 (U.S. dollars.)

From Steven: What do you think of Sammy Sosa? Have you talked with him? Do you get along with him? Should the Cubs keep him?
Ernie Banks: Yes, I do like Sammy Sosa. I spoke to him the other day and told him that I admire what he's doing, and that I think he should just keep playing hard, the way he's always been. He's always listened to me, and I'm glad I had a chance to visit with him. When you play for the Cubs, Chicago presents an opportunity for any athlete to become a hero and an idol. In other words, when he's playing, he can be a hero with his homeruns, and when he retires, he can become an idol. He just listened and went out and hit a home run to win the game against the White Sox. So, I now have become a prophet for the Cubs!

From Bamacub: Would you have liked to hit against the pitchers of today's game seeing how many more home runs are hit every day?
Ernie Banks: Hank Aaron and I talked about this a lot. Me, personally, no. I think the pitchers today are as good as when I played. They have more finesse, better condition, and are smarter than we were.

From Mike Jordan: Mr. Banks, where is the best place to grab a bite to eat in Chicago?
Ernie Banks: A place called Harry Caray's. HOLY COW!!!

From Walquist: Which major league baseball park besides Wrigley do you have the fondest memories of? Is there any park you were unable to play in that you wish you could have played in?
Ernie Banks: Yes, Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The reason is, Philadelphia has many sins; it's the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection. That's why I liked it. W.C. Fields said, before I said that, that he'd like on his tombstone, "Altogether, I'd rather be here than in Philadelphia."

From Reef: Do you think that they should reinstate Pete Rose and elect him into the Hall of Fame?
Ernie Banks: Yes. My personal reason is that we all make mistakes in our lives, and we're not perfect, we should learn to forgive and forget. What he did on the field was really what we should judge him by. I go with prison ministry to prisons to speak to prisoners; what they talk about is, I know what you have done, but I want to know who you are. Just the opposite with Pete Rose; it's what he's done, not who he is. And he's spent time in prison. I think we should learn to recognize our own hate of people and learn to release it.

From Mike Manimbo in College Park, Md.: Did you ever charge the mound after being hit by a pitch? If so, who was the pitcher?
Ernie Banks: No, I never charged the mound, but I've seen one of my pitchers get his jaw broken by one of the batters that he threw inside and hit him, and from that, I learned that violence doesn't pay. It destroyed his career.

From Scott Wal: Which modern-day player encompasses all that is good about the game of baseball and plays the game like it was meant to be played?
Ernie Banks: The modern-day player is Alex Rodrigues, from the Seattle Mariners; he has the whole package. He has extremely good talent, he knows how to play the game, he loves the game, and he's continually learning more and more about it. He has tremendous admiration for the fans.

From Brian: Looking back, what is your favorite memory about your days with the game of baseball?
Ernie Banks: There've been many, but my favorite is when the Cubs honored me by retiring my number, and that made me the first player in the 100-year history of the Cubs, to have their number retired.

CNNSI Host: Will you be at the All-Star Game?
Ernie Banks: Yes, I will. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure three years ago, so I've been on a campaign, making people aware of this disease, and to get their blood pressure checked. What I did to control this disease is to exercise more through my doctors, lose weight, and take my medication. And Dr. Frederickson, who is with me, is traveling around the city of Atlanta making people aware of this disease through radio, television, and newspapers to have their blood pressure checked, so if they have high blood pressure they can control it. If they have this disease, there are no symptoms. Dr. Frederickson is a specialist in hypertension. We're just making people aware of this in the city of Atlanta, and I talk about my own experience and he gives the technical part of this "silent killer."
Dr. Frederickson: We're delighted to have Mr. Banks in Atlanta to raise awareness of high blood pressure. High blood pressure is the major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Atlanta has a tremendous prevalence of hypertension and the highest prevalence of kidney failure in the country. Fifty million Americans have high blood pressure; approximately half know about it, but only one in five have it adequately treated. If we adequately treated high blood pressure, we could extend the average life expectancy ten years, and we could prevent a tremendous amount of morbidity related to stroke and kidney failure. It makes tremendously more sense to treat one's blood pressure prior to the development of these diseases, than to deal with these diseases after they have already occurred."

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks again for joining us, Mr. Banks. Enjoy the All-Star Game.
Ernie Banks: Thank you very much.

 

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