Batting Around with Ty Wigginton

11/30/2005
MLB.com: Who was your favorite player when you were a kid?
Ty Wigginton: Pete Rose and Don Mattingly were my favorites. I liked the way Pete Rose played the game of baseball, and I thought Don Mattingly was the best hitter in the game at the time.
MLB.com: Who has been your biggest influence?
Wigginton: My dad for sure. He grew up a big-time fan of the game. He took me to all of the Padres games. He was a season ticket holder, and he still is.
MLB.com: What's your favorite movie?
Wigginton: All of the "Rocky" movies, one through five. Nobody was better than Rocky Balboa. I like Mickey, too.
MLB.com: What is something fans might be surprised to know about you?
Wigginton: I totally enjoy all types of water sports and motorcycles.
MLB.com: What's the funniest thing you've ever seen in baseball?
Wigginton: I didn't see it, but I heard this story when I played in Pittsfield my first year. There was a blooper to right field and a couple of players dove for it but the ball could never be found. There wasn't a gopher hole. It was the vanishing ball. Supposedly, it's true. One of my coaches was playing in the game and the ball just disappeared. And if it went into somebody's shirt, nobody would admit it even at the end of the year.
MLB.com: What has been your most embarrassing moment?
Wigginton: Probably getting knocked down by a Gary Sheffield ball when he was with Atlanta. He hit a ball about 129 MPH right at my shin. I caught it and it propelled me into left field. I threw it and it rolled right about to the mound.
MLB.com: What's the best practical joke you've ever seen?
Wigginton: I've seen a guy get all of his clothes frozen into a big block of ice. It was to get back at somebody. It was at Triple-A, and two guys were playing games back and forth with each other. Finally, one guy took the other guys clothes, froze them and put them in a box.
MLB.com: When did you realize you could be a Major League player?
Wigginton: During my Double-A season, I started to think that I was going to be able to get there. Then, I went to the Arizona Fall League and the Dominican after that. Once I played in the Dominican against some of the big league players like Bartolo Colon and Miguel Tejada, I realized I had a good chance to get there.
MLB.com: Who would you most like to meet, past or present?
Wigginton: Probably Babe Ruth, just because of the whole mystique about all of the Ruth stories.

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/