Talking baseball with Robin Selvig
10/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
When Montana women???s basketball coach Robin Selvig finds something he really loves, he has a tendency to stick with it. He???s been married to Janie since 1975. He???s entering his 33rd season as coach of the Lady Griz. He???s had the same three assistant coaches the last 16 years.
But none of those commitments compares to his 50-year relationship with his favorite baseball team.
Selvig is a product of (far) northeast Montana, where every town had a baseball team, and every Sunday meant one nearby city was facing another.
One of Outlook???s pitchers was Selvig???s dad. That love for the game must have passed down in the family genes, because Selvig???s still got it.
Like many boys of the era, Selvig???s interest in baseball grew through collecting baseball cards. He thinks that???s likely how he first got hooked on Milwaukee in 1960 as an eight year old and the Braves??? star at the time, Henry Aaron.
???We got every baseball card we could get our hands on,??? Selvig says. ???Maybe the first couple of baseball cards I got were Braves, and maybe I started following them because of that. It???s hard to remember how it first started.???
Growing up in a remote location without much in the way of the day???s media, Selvig did the best he could to follow his team.
???The only time I could listen to the Braves was when they were at St. Louis,??? he says. ???The Cardinals had a strong enough radio station that I could stay up and listen to them.
???We???d get the box scores in the newspaper, and I???d follow those like crazy. There was a (televised) game of the week on Saturdays, but that was the only game you???d ever see, and rarely was it the Braves.???
Through the ensuing decades, as he moved to Missoula to play basketball for the Grizzlies, then back to Plentywood to coach girls??? basketball, then back to Missoula to take over the Lady Griz in the summer of 1978, the passion for his Braves remained.
And they???ve been through a lot together.
The team???s move from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. The WTBS years when the ubiquitous Braves of Ted Turner became ???America???s Team.??? The hint of success in the early 80s, followed by the lost years of the late 80s. And then the resurgence in the early 90s that resulted in a record 14 straight division championships and the 1995 World Series title.
The architect of those teams, first as general manager and then as manager, was the fiery Bobby Cox.
See Cox, who has announced 2010 will be his final year, pay an intense visit to an umpire during a game and it???s hard not to see Selvig on the sideline of a Lady Griz game.
Selvig disagrees, kind of.
???Bobby gets kicked out of games. I???ve never been kicked out of a game,??? Selvig jokes.
But as he continues in his praise of Cox, you could change a few details and maybe picture someone saying something similar about Selvig one day.
???I really admire Bobby Cox. When I think of him as a manager, I think of a guy who has great patience with his players. You might have a guy who is 2 for 37, but he stays with guys and a lot of them turn out to be successful.
???I think he handles people really well, and his players really seem to respect him.
???I was really glad they made the playoffs his last year. He???s been on a remarkable run. He did not win many World Series, but he could have. And sometimes being good enough just to get there is as hard as anything.???
The basketball season may have already started, but that doesn???t mean Selvig turns his back on baseball. So who better to break down the upcoming baseball playoffs?
American League Divisional Series: Tampa Bay-Texas
???I don???t follow the American League as closely because I???ve always been a National League guy, but there are a couple of things about Texas that make you root for them: the Ron Washington story and what Josh Hamilton???s gone through. Based on those stories, I think they???re a close-knit team, so you kind of pull for that.???
Selvig???s pick: Texas
American League Divisional Series: Minnesota-New York
???I don???t like the Yankees, so I???ll be pulling for Minnesota. I probably watched or heard every Twins game growing up, since that???s the TV station we got out of Minnesota when games started coming out on TV. So Dad always had the Twins on. I mean always. And the first baseball game I ever went to was in Minnesota. I got a Yogi Berra home run in batting practice.
???I like the lower-budget teams, and the Twins are really good. The Yankees are talented, but it comes down to pitching, and they haven???t been consistent with their pitching, I don???t think.???
Selvig???s pick: Minnesota
National League Divisional Series: Philadelphia-Cincinnati
???I???m glad the Braves aren???t playing either of them. I think late in the year they???ve been the two strongest teams. Philadelphia seems to have the best team, though that doesn???t mean they are going to win it. But with their pitching and hitting, anybody who???s playing Philadelphia is an underdog.???
Selvig???s pick: Philadelphia
National League Divisional Series: San Francisco-Atlanta
???I like our chances with the Giants. They have a good pitching staff, and in these short series it can all be about pitching, but it???s more about who gets on a roll. The Braves have been more up and down this year than a lot of years. They???ve been good, and then they???ve had slumps, and in a way I think that???s scary for other teams.
???We???ve got good pitching. Derek Lowe has really come on, and Tim Hudson is really good. Plus we???ve beaten Tim Lincecum this year.???
Selvig???s pick: Atlanta
American League Championship Series: Minnesota-Texas
???I think Texas seems to have a little karma going.???
Selvig???s pick: Texas
National League Championship Series: Philadelphia-Atlanta
???I think Philadelphia is the stronger team, but that doesn???t mean they are going to win it. The Braves haven???t been hitting, but they are capable, and they have some pitchers who can get hot.
???And there???s the nice story with Billy Wagner, (the Braves closer) who???s retiring this year. He???s good. He???s really got his life in perspective, based on (the recent) Sports Illustrated article.???
Selvig???s pick: Braves
World Series: Texas-Atlanta
???If the Braves can get to the World Series, they have a chance to win it. That means we got through Philadelphia, and they???re the best team in the majors now that they???re healthy.
???If we can knock off the Phillies, we can take care of the Rangers.???
Selvig???s pick: Atlanta
On the 50th anniversary of Selvig and the Braves first getting together as fan and franchise, you were expecting something else?
