The first time I met Trevor Hoffman was in 1986. Hoffman and I both attended Cypress Community College. At the time Hoffman played on the school's baseball team. And I was a sports reporter for the school newspaper. I had interviewed him a few times, typically asking him a few questions after a win or a loss, when I had decided to do an interview with the team's double-play combination. At the time, Hoffman was a shortstop.
Fast forward to 1993. Hoffman, the younger brother of former Major League infielder Glenn Hoffman, had just been traded from Florida to San Diego. Since 1986, Hoffman's baseball career had taken him to the University of Arizona, then to the Cincinnati Reds organization, to the Marlins, then finally the Padres.
In the Reds' organization, Hoffman was converted from infielder to pitcher. Though Hoffman's Hall of Fame career was extraordinary for a relief pitcher lacking a dominant fastball, it was his cannon arm (and his inability to hit consistently) that facilitated the Reds to offer Hoffman the chance to convert to pitcher ... or to be cut.
Around the mid-way point of the 1993 season, the Padres traded Gary Sheffield to Florida for three players, Hoffman being one of them. The last time I actually talked with Hoffman was at Jack Murphy Stadium, shortly after the trade. I was sitting on the first base side, field level, when I noticed Padres players signing autographs. So I did what anyone in my position would do ...
... I asked Trevor Hoffman for an autograph.
While Hoffman signed my ball, I told him of the time I had interviewed him at Cypress for that feature I had written. Hoffman, much to my surprise, remembered me.
"Yeah, I remember you," he said. "Your hair is a little longer now, isn't it?"
It was longer. About 8 inches longer.
It was great to have talked with Hoffman that day. When the trade was announced, I remember how excited I was that he been traded to a team so close to home. I would get to watch him play against the Dodgers up in L.A., as well as travel to San Diego to see him pitch. But I could have never imagined that I was watching the beginning of a Hall of Fame career.
Trevor Hoffman announced his retirement yesterday, after 18 years, a record 601 saves, and a World Series appearance for the 1998 Padres. Perhaps the next time I talk with Hoffman will be in Cooperstown when he gives his Hall of Fame induction speech.
-B. C. Helm
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