I consider myself to be fortunate.  Everyday, I get a chance to serve nice clients and their pets.  One interesting client that brings his dogs to The Studly Pooch is ex-Major League baseball player Steve Lyons.

If you don’t know, Steve had an 9 year MLB career with the Red Sox, White Sox, Cubs and Braves.  Steve’s numbers are impressive too with a career batting average of .252, 17 home runs, 545 hits and 196 RBIs.  Plus, Steve played with some of the greats including: Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs and Jim Rice.  Recently, Steve was nice enough to do an interview with me.  Here’s how it went…

Me: Tell me a little bit about yourself?

Steve: My name is Steve Lyons and I grew up in the great state of Oregon.  I attended Oregon State on a baseball scholarship and in 1981 I was drafted in the 1st round by the Red Sox.  My nickname was ‘Psycho’ since I was a scrappy player with a colorful personality.

Me: Wow – what was it like when you got the call to the Majors?

Steve: I had been playing baseball since I was 8 years old but I never thought I would play at the Major League level.  I had my first Spring training with the Red Sox in 85’. Normally I don’t do too well in the Spring, however, I played great and John McNamara (the mgr at the time) gave me a chance.  My first year I had 470 at bats - the most in my career.  I was always the underdog guy so it wasn’t until I was in AAA that I thought that I could play with the big boys.  I have to say, when I was in centerfield playing with guys like Rice and Boggs - it was pretty incredible.

Me: What is your fondest MLB memory?

Steve: Two come to mind right away.  I was one of only 3 players to play all 9 positions in one game.  I’m proud of that.  Plus, in my first MLB start I hit two home runs.  That was quite an accomplishment considering I hit a total of 17 home runs in my career.

Me: One thing baseball is going though is ‘the steroid thing’.  What are your thoughts on this?

Steve: Obviously I feel that it is wrong to use steroids.  It’s a ‘black eye’ for the game but I have to say that the media has made it a lot bigger than what it should be.

I always think about the scene in ‘A Few Good Men’ where Jack Nicholson says, “You put me on a fence to keep you safe and then you ridicule me when I do just that.”

It’s the same thing with baseball.  America loves entertainment and they want baseball players to do things that the average guy can’t.  But they then ridicule the players for how they go about their business.

Me: How have pets played a role in your life?

Steve: I have to say that I had more pets when I was a kid than I do today.  Mainly because I travel a lot.

Currently, Debi (my girlfriend) and I own Bunjee and Data**.  Each are elders and we take special care of them.

I do believe pets teach kids a lot of good lessons especially about the life cycle.  I know I learned a lot from them when I was a kid.

END

A big thanks to Steve, Debi and their dogs Data** and Bunjee for this interview.

**Shortly after this interview, Data (an 18 year old pup) passed away.  My heartfelt condolences to Steve and Debi for their loss. May Data rest in peace.