STEVE CUTLER HALL OF FAME SPEECH
Commissioner John “Stray” Corrado’s Introduction Speech for Steve Cutler:
Good afternoon everyone. I’m John “Stray” Corrado – Commissioner of the Mid-West Baseball League & it is my honor to be part of Steve Cutler’ induction into the Mid-West Baseball League’s Hall of Fame.
Steve embodies the team concept in running not only his Hollywood Werewolves, but in being the Deputy Commissioner to the Mid-West Baseball League.
On the individual side Steve has done wonders with his Werewolves, taking the team on a roller coaster ride from the bottom of the pack, to the top, back down & right back up where his team is at the current time & on its way to another Division title. His plans have produced six (6) first Division titles in the American League West of the MWBL. Five (5) times Hollywood has been to American League Championship Series, three (3) times to the World Series – winning it all once.
But fortunately for all of us Steve has done so much more for the Mid-West Baseball League. Steve wanted everyone to be part of the success and to be part of a great institution which is hard to do with 28 owners & many different agendas & views on how the League should run.
And that is a big part as to who Steve Cutler is.
Steve is the right hand man to the Commissioner for everything Mid-West Baseball League related. He’s there when I need to complain, he’s there when I need a friend to talk to & many – many times he’s been there to argue & fight with me on things that the League needed to hash out. With many different viewpoints & agendas, Steve’s been the one to look at it from all different aspects & help the League find a viable option & solution in the Leagues best interest.
Steve truly lends all of himself to everything he does for the MWBL. Perhaps it is only fitting that Steve be inducted today, not only as a General Manager, but as a contributor. Steve loves this League, & has made such a difference in so many aspects of it & today he continues to shine his wisdom, knowledge & passion to a League with 20+ years of history. It is with my honor, please welcome my friend, a true Mid-West Baseball League lifer and a 2015 inductee to the Mid-West Baseball League’s Hall of Fame – Deputy Commissioner Steve Cutler.
John “Stray” Corrado – Commissioner of the Mid-West Baseball League
Steve Cutler’s Speech:
I would like to thank Stray for that wonderful and thoughtful introduction. I’d also like to thank my wife, Lisa, and my three kids, Abigail, Alexa and Daniel for supporting me along the way. As I stand here looking out at everyone, I can’t tell you how excited I am that I get to talk as long as I’d like without any interruptions. The journey I took was a long one, but it was an enjoyable one. Growing up in the south suburbs of Chicago, the youngest of 3 boys in a split home, I spent my weekends & summers in the bleachers of Wrigley Field. My brother Barry and I would visit our mother in Chicago and our babysitters were Herman Franks, Gene Clines, Ronnie Woo Woo Wickers et all…She’d give us money for the bus, a $1 for bleacher seats, pack us a lunch and a thermos of kool-aid. It was then that I fell in love with baseball and the Chicago Cubs. As like the Cubs, I built my teams, tore them apart and rebuilt them to be competitive – with heartbreaks along the way.
I recall that day in 2001 when Tempe owner, Chris Douglass, and I were talking about baseball and arguing about how good Adrian Beltre was. I remember telling him that Beltre was overrated and that the 2000 year (his career year at the time) was an anomaly. Well, I think we all know who was right in that situation, and it wasn’t me. In any case, as we discussed Beltre, Chris mentioned that how he played in this baseball league where you kept your players every year, using the previous year’s statistics. It turned out that I already owned the game, just never realized you could play leagues. At the time, MWBL had no openings, so I joined the TALL league. Approximately, May 2001, Bill Schindel decided to leave his Columbus franchise and I was asked to take over the team. Bill was the architect of that team, so all I did was execute on his vision, finishing the season with 107 wins, but falling to the Chicago Mobsters in 5 games during the ALDS.
Once the season was over, I gutted the team by entering the (6 team) only Remodification draft in MWBL history – attended in person by Chris Douglass, Thomas Ma, Jeff James, Michael Fauntleroy and myself. After the draft, in which I drafted Bonds and Clemens, I traded them to rebuild with younger talent. Of course it didn’t work out to well for me…why am I in the Hall of Fame? Well, I had 3 year vision where I planned to meet Chris in the World Series and it happened as expected in 2004. A World Series I will never forget. The series was tied at 1 and I was up 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th and I brought in (I think) 24 grade Eric Gagne to close it out and take the lead. At that point, we had a combined no-hitter and there were 2-outs when I remember the haunting words mouthed by Chris, “I have you right where I want you.” I laughed and the next thing I know, Gagne walked Geoff Jenkins. The wheels came off from there, as Gagne gave up 3 consecutive hits – the winner to the player he was traded for in Aubrey Huff. Tempe then went on and closed out the series in 5 games. I remember thinking, WOW, I hope I am that good one day where I can essentially ‘call’ the World Series.
A year later after Stray knocked me out in the ALCS, I decided it was time to rebuild again. This time I was looking towards a 5 year plan. My 5 year plan turned into 6 years, but the 2007 draft was the road to my success. I remember talking with renowned MLB.com writer Jonathan Mayo prior to the draft and telling him I was taking Vanderbilt Left-Hander David Price. He thought I was crazy for taking an unknown. What followed next was the pick that is still giving Cliff Miller nightmares. Cliff took St Louis OF prospect, Chris Duncan which left the door open for Mayo to take Tim Lincecum. Having the 4th pick in the draft as well, I pulled off the coup I was looking for, drafting Clayton Kershaw. Those pitchers helped me elevate my team to my first World Series victory in 2014.
While I enjoyed building and rebuilding my team, my favorite time of year is when the MLB season completes. That 5 day stretch where I put together the preview disk, is the quickest most fulfilling sprint in the season. My family knows the time of year and I thank them for giving me the free time to build it.
In closing, I’d like to salute our esteemed Commissioner Stray Corrado who has put his heart and soul into this league and made it the best league out there. He built more than just a league, he built a ‘family’. I am very proud to be part of this Mid-West Baseball League Family & never in my wildest dreams never did I think I would be inducted into the Mid-West Baseball League Hall of Fame – but I’m sure glad it did. Thank you all.