Randy Wolf, unplugged
He won't be making his scheduled appearance Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium against his former team, the Phillies, because of a shoulder injury, but Randy Wolf gets some TV time this week in the latest edition of FSN Prime Ticket's "Beyond the Bigs" series:
Among the highlights of the show focused on the former El Camino Real High and Pepperdine standout, which includes interviews with him, his mother and his brother (MLB umpire Jim):
From West Hills Little League coach Scott Drotin, on Wolf's focus in between games: "He wasn't just there to watch the game. He was studying the game."
Drotin also talks about Wolf's objection to a pre-game warm up called 'the Phatom Infield' where the coach hit an invisible ball and his team pantomined the play.
"Randy does things the right way. He wants things done the right way. Even though he was 11, 12, 13 years old, when he was on the field, he wanted it to be like a pro game."
From Mike Maio, Wolf's coach at ECR: "He made everyone around him better. He made me better. I learned how much a kid could want to play and be successful."
From Geoff Zahn, the former Dodgers and Angels left-hander and Wolf's pitching coach at Pepperdine, about how they bonded during his freshman season: "His senior year (of high school), his father passed away and I had the same deal after my freshman year at Michigan. There was a bond there and I was able to say, 'Randy I know what you're going through' and I think we got pretty close that way."
There's even this quote from Pepperdine economics professor Bob Sexton, on Wolf's transformation from student to player: "He was a different person when he crossed that line. He was the most vicious competitor you could find."
The show debuts after tonight's Dodgers-Phillies game (10:30 p.m.) and repeats Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 p.m., Saturday at 10 p.m., July 23 at 8:30 p.m., July 24 at 10:30 p.m., July 27 at 1 p.m. and July 30 at 9:30 p.m.