Thru Cub Eyes: Randy Hundley

Every Friday we peek into Cub History by selecting one player to tell us how it was in his own words. Banks, Kessinger, Beckert and Billy Williams have already been featured. These are excerpts from Carrie Muskat’s fine anthology Banks to Sandberg to Grace. Be sure to add this volume to your vast collection of fine Cub Literature.

My sense in ’69 was that we didn’t have enough pitching. I think, in retrospect – at the time we didn’t know anything about it – but I think Leo could’ve used his bench a little better. I think he could’ve used Paul Popovich at all the infield positions a little more to give all the guys a little break. He probably could’ve put somebody behind the plate for me a couple times. In ’69 I caught 155, 154 games. That’s a lot of ballgames. They’re not games I went in to substitute for. They were complete ballgames.

Todd had it on at a mighty young age. I don’t think he knew I was a player. I’ll never forget coming off a road trip in Cincinnati. It was like his fourth or fifth birthday, and my wife had signed him up for T-ball. I said, “What position did he sign up for?”

She said “He wants to be a catcher.” I don’t think he knew I was a catcher.

He knew he wanted to be a ballplayer when he was two. He constantly had a ball and glove in his hand. I was that way as a kid myself. My blood cells and Todd’s blood cells have baseball written all over them.

Todd and I used to work on a lot of fundamentals in our backyard. I used to throw balls to him in the dirt and he’d cry. I said to him “You told me you want to be a ballplayer, and if you do you’ve got to learn this stuff.” He worked hard at it as a kid.

Physically, I think people understand, but mentally I don’t think people comprehend what it’s like being behind the plate and trying to get a pitcher through a ballgame. Some days you just say, “This is going to be a long day,” and somehow or another you get through it. All the pitchers get all the glory for it.