Up Close with Upper Deck Commissioner cshake
I recently got a chance to interview long-time Upper Deck Commissioner cshake and this has to be one of my favorites as he was went above and beyond with his responses.
1. Tell us a little more about yourself. Besides being an awesome HBD Commissioner what else takes up cshakes time and interests?
I work in consulting (whatever that means). Sometimes that means 25 hours a week, sometimes it means 80. Outside of work, I'm a movie lover and dabble in comedy writing. I go to concerts whenever I can. I've got a dog who I can't imagine life without. But, true to my love for HBD, you can find me watching Cardinals games on MLB.TV between four and six nights a week after work during the summer.
2. If you could be one fictional character IRL who would it be and why?
Hmm. Maybe Marty McFly. Time travel seems pretty sweet. Roy Hobbs from the Natural or any of the guys from Major League would be cool for obvious reasons. Or maybe Rick Deckard from Blade Runner.
3. What teams do you root for IRL? Who are you a diehard for?
I'm from Pittsburgh, so I'm a diehard Steelers and Penguins fan. I grew up rooting for Penn State, as well, but they're my no. 2 behind Michigan after I went there for college (Go Blue!). My family moved a lot when I was young, and my parents never cared for the Pirates, so I latched onto the Cardinals when McGwire hit 70 in 1998 and just stuck with them. I also used to pull for the Lakers given that Pittsburgh doesn't have an NBA team, but became sort of disillusioned with the NBA with all the super teams of the 2010s. For a number of years I felt like you could look at the rosters on the first day of the season and know who the last four teams would be. I still get Lakers notifications on my phone, but I live in Boston now, and it's been a pretty exciting time for the Celtics
4. If memory serves me right, rschaitkin is your brother? He mentioned in his Q&A that he played baseball and basketball his entire life. Did you by chance also play any sports? In the past or currently.
rschaitkin is my brother - we're twins actually. And it probably wouldn't surprise you to know that I also played baseball and basketball through the end of high school. Now, you can find us each in different cities playing beer league softball, flag football, and pickup basketball. There you go, an update on rschaitkin too. That's journalistic efficiency. Kudos.
5. Do you have any sports-related items on your bucket list that you have not yet done?
I've always wanted to hit every ballpark for a game. I've been to dozens and dozens of games, but unfortunately, the list of parks is short: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Fenway in Boston, Comerica in Detroit... I've been to Wrigley, but for a Billy Joel concert. If work and finances permit, I'm hoping to knock out Seattle, San Francisco, and LA in late April during a Cardinals west coast trip.
6. What is your favorite or most memorable in-person sports moment?
That's a tough one. I stormed the field at Michigan Stadium after Michigan beat Michigan State for the football program's 900th win, which was pretty neat. More than a few good memories of championships for a lot of my teams, but many of them were on a TV screen. Watching the Cardinals' improbable 2011 run from my freshman dorm room is something I'll never forget.
7. Two part question, what is your most memorable HBD or WIS moment and who is your favorite HBD player of all time?
Most memorable WIS moment: Upper Deck season 19, berrysboys had Heinie Swann, who was an impending free agent, and he and I negotiated back and forth on a trade deadline deal for probably three days in real time. I had never won a World Series, or maybe even made the playoffs at that point, so I was just salivating at the idea of getting a bonafide ace. I was in grad school at the time, and I remember walking to and from my classes just thinking about how cool it would be, or I'd be laying in bed at night and thinking about it as I fell asleep. He turned out to be an expensive rental, but I learned a lot from the experience - and have since won a couple of World Series here and in Just a Bit Outside (both of those memories are also up there).
Favorite HBD player: that's a hard one. HoF SP Timothy Hamilton in Upper Deck is way up there. What a stud. I remember drafting him. Forgot to set my board and couldn't believe he fell to me at 10 (I think). Pulled off another trade with berrysboys one season (also season 19, maybe?) after my FA plans fell through, as I was scrambling to find a starting CF. Sent him a solid RP whose name evades me right now for a kid, Galahad Merloni, who had fair enough defense but what looked like a weak bat. He ended up winning Rookie of the Year and later won a Gold Glove in center, made an All Star appearance, and retired with something like a .270 BA, a couple hundred HR and an OPS north of .700. In Just a Bit Outside, I've got a two-headed monster in my rotation, Rey Ryan and Rolando Petit, both of whom I drafted during a rebuild. I'll stick around in that world until they're both in the Hall.
8. Which five people, past or present, sit at your dream roundtable discussion?
Hard-hitting survey here, Ace. Haha. If it's a serious conversation? I've got a framed photo of Jackie Robinson on my wall and I think I'd love to hear him tell his story. Probably some novelists, musicians and filmmakers who I felt made some interesting observations about the world in their works. Don Delillo. Billy Joel. The funnier of the Coen brothers. And my mom, who passed away nearly 22 years ago and whose brain I often wish I could pick.
If it's for entertainment purposes alone? Chris Farley, Conan O'Brien, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Robin Williams.
9. If you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room, what would you choose and why?
That's another tough one. I love music but tend to burn out on songs after enough listens. Cutie by COIN has been a big one for me the last year or so. Don't Start Now by Dua Lipa usually hits. Historically, it could be Dreams by Fleetwood Mac or Summer, Highland Falls by Billy Joel.
If the room I'm walking into is a bar and you're handing me a karaoke mic, it's Mr. Jones by Counting Crows.
10. If you could change one thing in HBD, what would it be?
That's a tough one. I'm sure we all have our wishlists. As far as gameplay goes, I'd suggest multi-year contracts for coaches, at least at the ML level. It would solve a lot of the coaching frenzy every year. Also would be interested in an international draft, like the MLBPA is talking about with MLB right now.
Otherwise, something to drive more user engagement? Who knows. I just get uneasy every rollover because I'm worried one of my beloved worlds is going to fold haha.
Thanks for taking the time cshake and thanks for sharing all of these intimate details!
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