With spring in the air, it can only be time for one thing (besides slow-pitch softball injuries and manly yardwork) — America’s pasttime. It’s baseball season, so we at White & Blue Review will, at least occasionally, dig into our vast collection of contacts and see what former Secret Servais members Creighton College World Series participants in the pros in the real world are up to nowadays. Journalism! Today: the guy who stepped into the batter’s box against Will Ferrell over the weekend talks about his days at Creighton, the 1991 CWS, Will Ferrell, having an office right next to Nolan Ryan’s and running two minor league baseball teams.
Last week, the Round Rock Express, Triple-A team of the Houston Astros, made the following announcement on their website:
“The Round Rock Express have acquired Billy Ray “Rojo” Johnson. The right-handed pitcher will be in uniform for Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. CDT game against the Nashville Sounds.
“Johnson, who was born in East Texas but was raised in Venezuela, recently had his prison sentence commuted. He served time for running a smuggling ring that imported rare and illegal species of reptiles into the United States from South America during the mid-to-late 1990s. Thursday night’s game marks Johnson’s first in American professional baseball after a storied career in the Venezuelan leagues.”
It was met with some scorn from fans who wondered why a “family-friendly” business might employ such a terrible criminal. The whole thing was, of course, a hoax. On Friday, Rojo made his first appearance out of the bullpen. It was actor and comedian Will Ferrell in a baseball uniform and a mustache. Hilarity ensued.
The person who steps into the batter’s box against Rojo — and who receives a beer shower when he charges the mound — is former Creighton baseball player J.J. Gottsch, the third baseman on the Jays’ 1991 College World Series team. Gottsch is now the Executive Vice President of Ryan-Sanders Baseball, the company that owns and operates both the Express and the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros’ Double-A affiliate. Ryan-Sanders was established by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, his son Reid Ryan and Houston businessman Don Sanders. Gottsch was the first person hired by the company in 1998, and was promoted to his current position in 2008.
Gottsch grew up in Valley, Neb., and moved to Elkhorn, Neb., before his junior year of high school. He graduated from Omaha Creighton Prep and went on to play for coach Jim Hendry at Creighton for three years, including 1991, before transferring to Texas Christian University for his final year. He now lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Evonne, and they also have a place in Corpus Christi, Texas.
White & Blue Review: Where did the idea for this Will Ferrell thing come from?
J.J. Gottsch: Will was coming to Austin to promote his charity golf tournament and some of his folks reached out to us to see if we would be interested in helping him promote it. Reid (Ryan) jumped on the idea and asked Will if he would be interested in doing something during the game, Will Agreed, and Rojo was born. Our group and Will’s folks worked together on a script and background story for “Rojo,” and it just kind of evolved from there.
WBR: Did you volunteer to be the batter or did someone ask you?
J.J.: I guess you could say I was asked to volunteer. In the early days of the Express I did a few things where I dressed up as a player and did some in-between inning promotions, so I had a little history with this type of thing, albeit not quite at that level. Plus, I’m not really looking to have a career in acting, so Reid knew I wouldn’t try to upstage Will.
WBR: Don’t you think Rojo should have manned up and fought when you charged the mound? Did you know you were going to get beer sprayed in your face?
J.J.: It pretty much went all to script except a few things. The plan after the initial exchange of words was for him to fire his glove at me and then for me to throw my helmet at him, exchange a few more words with me eventually charging the mound – where as you saw – he was waiting with an arsenal of Bud heavy. The only thing I didn’t plan on was for him to run all over the outfield, or to get me in a headlock. The original plan was to just run out of the center field gate, but when he started cruising around the outfield I just went with it – I guess good actors do that!
WBR: Did you get a chance to talk with/hang out with Ferrell? What is he like in person?
J.J.: I had a little time before we went out to do the skit, basically just to go over what we were going to do and make sure we were on the same page. We also debriefed right when we were done, basically so we could both catch our breath. We sat there for a few minutes and drank the remaining beer he brought out, so I guess that was pretty cool getting to hang out and have a cold Budweiser with Frank the Tank. A lot of people have asked what he’s like in person, and I can tell you he is just as funny in person as he is on the screen. It’s always interesting to think about how someone is, and then actually meet them. It was the same way with Nolan Ryan, I always admired him and thought he was a great pitcher, and then I got to meet him (and work for him), and he is actually a better person than he was a baseball player. Will seems to be that same type of person.
WBR: Why did you decide to go to Creighton to play for Coach Hendry?
J.J.: I originally wanted to go to Nebraska. [Ed. note: We do not approve.] My dad played there in the early 50’s and was an All Big-7 Third baseman. I was being recruited there with a large group of Seniors from other Omaha schools, but for whatever reason it seemed like they (Nebraska) wanted to go a different direction. A majority of us ended up getting recruited by Creighton, and four of us eventually signed (Kimera Bartee, Brian O’Brien and Tim Decker). Coach Hendry came to see me and told me about the program, where I might fit in, and that was it. He had a way about him, to get the talent that he during his time there was unbelievable.
WBR: What was Hendry like as a coach?
J.J.: Anything you could ever ask for. He would read you the riot act if you screwed up, but never in public. He always had our back with the media, the university and anyone else outside our team. One memory that I’ll always have is after a game in Oklahoma when he pulled me after I made my fourth error of the game. The next day when we were walking off the bus he grabbed me by my shirt and said, “don’t think you’re not starting today – now go get your glove.” He hit me ground balls the entire length of batting practice, I didn’t even get to hit. I don’t remember him hitting ground balls anytime before or after that. It meant a lot to me that he didn’t give up on me.
WBR: What was it like being the home town team in the College World Series?
J.J.: Pretty unbelievable. I grew up going to the College World Series, my parents and their friends have sat in the same seats at Rosenblatt since before I was born. I got to grow up in the ballpark watching Will Clark, Rafeal Palmero, Spike Owen, Ben McDonald and all the other great players. Then to have the opportunity to actually experience it as a player – still hard to believe it happened. It’s pretty sad that this is the last year at Rosenblatt. I’m sure there will be many cocktails going down between rows G & H in the parking lot.
WBR: Do you still keep in touch with your former teammates?
J.J.: A good majority. It’s gotten a little tougher over the years as guys have their own families now and have little league games and soccer games to attend, but we still try to catch up when we can. I would imagine we’ll all get together next year for the 20th reunion of the CWS run.
WBR: Do you still have a chance to follow the Creighton baseball program at all?
J.J.: I try to as much as I can, but trying to keep up with the two clubs we have and all the other events we do it’s a little tough. That being said, it’s been real enjoyable to watch the success [Fellow 1991 Jay] Brian O’Connor has had at Virginia [Where he is now coach], I know all the guys are really proud of him.
WBR: What were you doing in between your time at Creighton and your position with Ryan-Sanders?
J.J.: I met Reid Ryan the summer after my Junior year at Creighton (playing for the Topeka Capitals Jayhawk League team) and he talked me and three other guys into transferring to TCU for our final season. We ended up sweeping Texas that year and winning the Southwest Conference Championship, advanced to the NCAA Regionals and were one game away from the CWS. After the season Major League Baseball needed to fill a co-op team in the Pioneer League, so I signed and went to Butte, Montana and played for the Copper Kings. Following that I went to Australia and played in their professional league for a few months. I eventually returned to TCU as a grad assistant and spent two years there coaching. After that I spent a little time in Arizona working at a high-end baseball and softball specialty store, and then went to California for a year and worked for the Zappa family. It was a great experience, I was in Hollywood during the day and on the beach at night. Reality soon came knocking with a phone call from Reid asking me to come back to Texas and start a minor league franchise with him.
WBR: What do your duties with Ryan-Sanders include?
J.J.: For the first five years I was the Asst. GM with the Express, and then when we started the Hooks I became the President and General Manager of that club. I now work with both teams and oversee certain areas, specifically business development and our larger special projects.
WBR: Do you speak with Nolan Ryan often? What is he like?
J.J.: His office in Round Rock is right next to mine, so when he’s in town we get to talk a little or go have lunch. Like I said before, he’s a better person than he was a baseball player, and that’s saying a lot. It’s pretty tough these days to have role models or have your son or daughter look up to someone, but if I had a boy I would no doubt hope that Nolan was his role model. He treats everyone the same, no matter if you are the President of the United States, or a waitress at the local diner.